Introducing Flibberti – Craft Gift Sets for Children

If your kids are anything like my two they like “doing”. And I’m all for encouraging this want. Too many children end up in front of the TV, with their heads in computer games and start to become zoned out from the real world. So any excuse to get them using their hands and brains to create is in my mind a good one. Children have a remarkable amount of energy don’t they and even though I was one once, there are times when I look at my two beautiful girls and wonder where they get their never-ending fuel from. I obviously feed them too well! I find channeling this massive energy store important and feel that quieter pursuits like craft are just as important as the more energetic ones. They help to focus the mind and become like an active meditation for small people.

My eldest, Sophia in particular loves craft. If we could fit this into our daily schedule she’d be there at the front of the queue and she seems to be displaying a real ability which is great. Something to nurture and grow. So, whilst looking for last minute presents for Christmas (last minute seemed to be a theme last year in our house), and having a nose around on Twitter I came across “Flibberti”. I’m not sure if they followed me first; probably, but I was very intrigued by the name. Flibberti is run by Ceri Busby and was launched in December 2012 so it’s a very new business. I hopped across to their website and found some gorgeous bracelet and necklace making sets for girls aged 4 years plus. But please don’t switch off just yet if you have boys as Ceri has plans for other craft sets which will also appeal to little boys too.

The first thing that struck me was the quality and that they were much more grown up and realistic than some of the offerings you can find in shops or on the internet. I’ve tried the wooden bead sets which are lovely especially when the kiddies are younger, and the plastic ones in my mind just look a little basic and cheap, so it was lovely to find something different. One of Flibberti’s intentions is to make quality craft gifts which children will love, that you can’t find on the high street and that are good quality without breaking the bank. I think they’ve achieved that.

I emailed Ceri to find out what the beads were made of and she explained that the bracelets kits (for 6 years plus) were glass & metal beads, and the chunkier bracelet kits (for 4 years plus) and the necklace kits (for 6 years plus) were a mixture of glass, metal and plastic beads. The kits also come with the elastic wire needed to thread the beads onto and instructions. I decided to go for a purple bracelet and necklace set and excitedly awaited their arrival.

When they arrived, each set was packaged in a pretty organza bag, wrapped in tissue paper and then placed into a manila pillow box tied with ribbon. I had a sneaky peek before wrapping them up for Christmas and was very impressed and secretly looking forward to helping Sophia make them.

Sophia was over the moon with her present and eager to get going. I had to stall her several times before we made them. I knew they would need some quality time spent on them and we needed other small people, namely Jess, to be napping before we could embark on this task together.

My girls are very headstrong, so I have and I am still learning when to back off and leave them to freely express themselves and when they need some guidance. Sophia was adamant in how her sets were going to look. We did have a bit of a disagreement about the fact that she really needed to plan it a little if she wanted the lovely flower charm to be in the middle and everything else mirrored on both sides. I tried to explain that it was pretty important that we planned what she wanted the necklace and bracelet to look like before assembling it. It’s sometimes hard to explain a concept like this which, as adults we just understand but as a child can be viewed as quite frankly an annoyance. Anyway, you’ll be pleased to know that we worked it all out and then made the kits up.

Sophia's bracelet & necklace creations

We spent two lovely hours together and the end result was worth all the effort. Sophia was so chuffed with what she had created and so was I. They looked lovely as I’m sure you’ll agree. The great thing about these sets is that she will wear them, look after them and they’ll end up in her jewellery box not the dress up box. She’s proudly worn them several times and she’s very keen to get a few more.

Purple Necklace Gift Set

The first thing I thought once made was they’d make fab party bag gifts for birthday parties. A little different to the norm. Ceri herself, on her website describes them as, “a perfect gift for birthday presents, flower girl gift, wedding favour, party prize, children’s party bag gift or stocking filler.” And priced from £4.25 they won’t break the bank and you’ll end up with something worthwhile to keep.

Purple bracelet gift set

It’s Ceri’s intention to grow the range and she has recently brought out a new bracelet set with a skull design on it. You will find pictures of this on her FB page. I recently made contact with her again to find out more on what she has planned for this year. This is what she said, “I’m going to be selling hanging hearts that children can sew themselves and possibly some other shapes that might appeal to younger boys such as stars. I’m also looking at pencil cases and little bags where children can design their own and also hand puppets.”

I’m a big fan of craft time with kids so I’ll be looking forward to seeing all the bits Ceri at Flibberti will be bringing out in the coming year. As a very new venture with lots of potential I wish her good luck with the business and hope it goes from strength to strength.

If you’d like to find out more about Flibberti and the craft sets they sell, then you can find them at www.flibberti.co.uk. They also have a Facebook page: www.facebook.com/flibberticrafts and you can follow them on Twitter @flibberticrafts.

UPDATE: FLIBBERTI HAS SADLY CEASED TRADING.