Take & Make DIY Matryoshka Doll Kit Review & Giveaway! Ends 7/29/14

I am SO not a crafty person. Like… at all. However, when I was offered an opportunity to review one of Take & Make’s DIY kits, I decided to go for it.

Take & Make is a site dedicated to bringing crafters and do-it-yourselfers together by way of their custom DIY kits. They currently have 3 different kits to choose from — Personalized Glow-in-the-Dark Room Decor, DIY Matryoshka Doll Charms, and DIY Layered Wrap Bracelets. (Psst — If you’re a crafter with some original projects of your own, you may want to check out their site. They’re looking for more talent and may create a self-branded kit of YOUR project! How cool!)

I decided to go with the Matryoshka Doll kit, even though the thought of creating, designing and painting tiny clay figures scared the crapola out of me. Thankfully (and surprisingly), they turned out pretty neat.

The kit came in a simple cardboard box that featured a photo of the creator of this project. There was also a little polka dotted fabric bow pasted on the front flap. Cute.

First look. The intro card included photos of the process, as well as a QR code on the back that takes you to a video tutorial (which can also be easily found on their website here). The top right photo is how the finished dolls are intended to look.

Second look. All of the supplies! Oh — I should also note that the box smelled like cinnamon. Weird, right? I think it was either scented paper squigglies (do those even exist?) or something was spritzed inside to make it smell nice. Either way, it was a nice, unexpected surprise.

Paints, Glaze, and a Paintbrush – Six different paint colors were included. I would have liked to have seen a few more, but after some experimental mixing, I did fine with what was offered. The glaze is used to seal/finish the dolls, and the paintbrush… is self-explanatory.

Sculpey Oven Bake Clay – I haven’t used clay in years. And never for “grown up” stuff. Or baking. I won’t lie, this was pretty damn intimidating.

More Supplies – 6 eye pins, super glue to hold the pins in place, 6 small double rings, 2 key rings, and 6 toothpicks for painting details.

I decided to nix the traditional Matryoshka doll approach and instead make dolls to resemble my little family. I kept the basic pear-shaped design though… The photo above shows the first step — shaping the clay.

Ta-da! My naked little pear family.

I stuck the eye pins through each one, as instructed in the video. I was originally going to turn these into ornaments to hang on our Christmas tree, but later decided against it. I want to be able to keep them out year-round. (I sorta regret putting the pins in now… Ah well.)

Fast-forward through baking them and painting them… I failed to take photos of the painting process because once I started, I didn’t wanna stop. It was actually sort of relaxing and therapeutic in a way. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. That said, I’m still not much of an artist. Still, I’m happy with how they turned out.

Here’s my tubby little family right after the glaze dried. I sort of cheated and used a permanent marker to draw the outlines, and sadly it bled a little when I applied the glaze. Oops. Thankfully it wasn’t too bad.

Here’s my husband and I. He looks the least like himself than the rest of the dolls, but I really didn’t know what else to add. He’s kinda boring looking now that he shaved his beard. 😉 I think mine represents me pretty well. Even if I do sort of resemble Peter Griffin from “Family Guy”. haha

Here are the girls. Everly is on the left, holding “Wanda”, her beloved plastic yellow wand. Chloe is holding her favorite lovey, “Kitty”. Not the most impressive drawings, but I love how they represent the girls so perfectly at this time in their life. Dear Wanda and Kitty immortalized in clay! 😉

Oh, I’m not sure if you can tell from the other photos, but these guys are teeny. Maybe an inch to an inch and a half tall. (Can I use that as an excuse for my poor painting skills?)

My own personal un-craftiness aside, I am SO in love with these dolls! This project totally took me out of my comfort zone and I was so happy I pushed myself to personalize them like I did. Woo! Go me!

Take & Make has kindly offered to give one of my readers a Matryoshka kit of their own! Awesome! Just enter via the Rafflecopter below!
Don’t wanna wait to see if you win? You can buy the kit right here for $24.98 shipped. Happy crafting!

** Don’t forget to check out my list of FREE (or really cheap) BOXES here! **

(Feelin’ lucky? Go enter some of my giveaways here!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received this kit for review purposes. I was not compensated in any way. All opinions are my own. Post may contain affiliate links. Giveaway open to US residents only, 18+. Prize fulfillment to be handled directly by Take & Make.