All the makings for six sparkly necklaces. Kids construct the layers of the butterflies with adhesives to make  3-D charms that hang on the premade necklace cords. There's enough in this kit for a small birthday party craft activity that can go home as a party favor. Just right for 7's and up with a little help from adults. A nice choice for a princess or hello, spring party. Also a good choice for a play date or two. 7 & up.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2013.

A peel and press kit with a premade pink purse and self-adhesive sticker butterfly with easy to stick on sequins and rhinestones. Trust us, the bag inside is cuter than the photo on the box and will appeal to the "dress-up" fantasy of some five-year old princess types.

Age: Early School Years. Award Year: 2013. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

A colorful collection of printed papers, interesting images, colored paper, backing boards, fabrics, glues, scissors, frames and an idea book for creating original art. It is a treasure box full of goodies with an open-ended approach for learning about creative composition and design. A good choice for 7 year olds and up.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2013.

Enough supplies for making over 200 paper beads! A splendid kit for learning the technique for making big and little paper beads with colorful patterned, solid colored papers. The kit includes two tools for making the beads, gel cord, paper flowers, seed beads, sequins, varnish, paint brush and stencils for making more bead papers. 7 & up.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2013. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Often the directions determine if a kit works well or not. In this case kids get clear step-by-step instructions for making colorful bracelets, necklaces, key chains, headband, and even a belt! The kit comes with a 200+ feet of cord, a generous supply, as well as colorful beads, hooks, key ring, plus glue and scissors. Great choice for play dates or solo craft time. This is one of those perennial crafts that develops fine motor skills and rewards patience with finished products that kids can use. Marked 7 & up, but we'd say it's a better bet for slightly older kids with more dexterity.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2013.

Rich colors to choose from this set of non-toxic oil pastels. They come in a slide out box with sturdy tray that will keep them well stored between uses. Although pastels can be blended, these come with a rich variety of hues making it possible to achieve even greater variety by switching from one pastel to another. There are six shades of green alone and a wonderful collection of reds, blues and more. The set ranges from pastels to jewel tones. Of course, pastels are messier than crayons, so protect the table surface they work on and their clothes. This set and several others with different graphics are available from eeBoo. 5 and up, up, up.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2013. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

The "X" design of this new sticker maker makes for a fun modern piece of room decor. And even better, it's very easy to use. The set comes with many sets of premade art for coloring in (including a page of velvet-shaped art), but from our point of view we loved that you can make your own stickers from photographs or things you find in magazines. Comes with markers, a sticker journal, pre-made shapes and one refill. Additional refills are available from the company for $7.95.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2013. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

We're big fans of 3D wonder paint. It's great fun to make the designs and then decorate your windows with them. Our biggest problem is that we never wait long enough to let it dry so we always have one that is smushed a bit. This kit comes with six glitter paints (some are intended as liners), suggested traceable patterns, 2 plastic project sheets (where you place the glitter paint), self-adhesive rhinestones and instructions. You can either attach your snowflakes to the window or make 3D ornaments that can be hung up with the included satin ribbon. We had less success with the new Activity Kit -- that is intended for making 3D flowers. Ours just didn't work out very well.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years, Tweens. Award Year: 2013.

A really satisifying kit for adding some light and sparkle to any room. Comes with three battery powered (batteries included) round clear plastic globe bulbs that have faceted surfaces. The set comes with plastic leaves, shimmering fabrics, beads, self-adhesive rhinestones, thread, double-sided sticky foam, a bead threader and an instruction book with ideas.  Comes with green satin cords to hang the lights up with. Very pretty and our testers liked that the bulbs have three different settings for varying d

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2013.

Remember your old inflatable bop toy? You punched it and it popped right back up. A classic that has always been great for letting off steam or pent up energy on long winter days when going out is not possible. They were standard fare, although they often deflated into a useless heap after the patch kit was misplaced. These days there are still plenty of vinyl bop toys around, but this new collection comes with a choice of cotton fabric covers that will reduce the chances of the inflatable getting a quick knick. Choose a friendly brown bear, a goofy penguin, or a smooshed grey elephant. They are made of  eco-biodegradable vinyl that will eventually disappear rather than clog up the land fill. Yes, they are pricey and we hope the small start-up company will be able to bring their price down before long. That said, it is a toy that will see a lot of action. 2-6

SNAP:A great toy for active venting without getting scolded for punching or kicking. It's also big enough to be enjoyed by kids who are 5 or even 6.

Age: Toddlers, Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2012.