Get your hands on HANDS ON

DISCLAIMER: Not a sponsored post. I have neither received compensation for writing this review nor do I have any connection to the brand/product mentioned.

On our continued quest to keep Ali’s (our daughter) gadget use to a minimum, my husband and I would always be looking up ways to keep her busy and entertained. When she turned a year old, we started keeping an ample stash of art materials at home – from kid crayons to watercolor paints, basic white paper and illustration boards. We noticed that once she is immersed in her art, she can easily and very quickly forget about the TV show that she wanted to watch or that she was asking to see a YouTube video just minutes earlier.

And so, art became an effective means for our toddler to express herself, pass time and eventually help us achieve our goal in minimizing her screen time.

Today, I would like to feature my latest find and the cause of many fun and happy hours not only for Ali but for us adults as well.

I discovered Hands On on a Facebook ad and was quickly intrigued by their products. As soon as I finished scrolling through their FB page, I went to their Instagram page as well, mainly to check for legitimacy and with what I saw – I was immediately sold. I messaged the seller right away and had my order processed immediately.

For Ali, we got her the following:

The order experience

I sent my orders on August 25 at 6:20 AM. At 10:30 AM, a Hands On representative already replied, sent me payment instructions and processed my order. (By the way, I was not trying to be inconsiderate by sending out an IG DM very early in the morning. It’s just that I work at nights and would get sleep in the morning. 6:20 AM was actually my bedtime and wanted to get my order in before I sleep).

On August 28, I sent another message checking on the status of the order and was informed that the next shipment would be on Sunday. With that, I already started counting the days in my head on when the order would arrive. Since I’m in the province, I gave an allowance of about 3 to 5 days max.

Lo and behold, my order arrived on September 3, 9 days after I made the order and 4 days after shipment date. This is actually pretty fast considering that (1) I’m in the province and (2) there are still quarantine regulations in place.

When it arrived, I was expecting the item to just be inside a regular parcel bag. Instead, I was instantly pleased when the delivery man handed me the parcel and it felt like the items were boxed. That was initially a huge check in my book.

When I opened the parcel, I first saw the Playdough Playmat wrapped in thick bubble plastic and the box containing the orders. On top of the box was a message of thanks for supporting their small business.

Upon opening, I could see my orders tucked in and safely arranged inside.

Each item has an instruction on how to use, secure and store.

The Playdough

The Playdough was the first one that we tried. Each set consists of 4 tubs of playdough. I love how soft and squishy the playdough feels on toddler hands. My daughter found it easy to mold and form shapes using her tiny hands and fingers. She can cut, shape and form with ease. I also appreciate that it does not have any strong smell at all. As a mom who does the after care, it was really nice that it was easy to clean up. Even though it was easy to mold, it does not cling on too heavily to surfaces making it easy for me to pick up tiny clumps and pieces.

On the other hand, the cutters are average sized, fun shapes that my daughter loved primarily because of the assortment of colors. I can sense her feeling of accomplishment as she crafted one shape after the other. We also enjoyed using the playmats and incorporating them with our story time or using them as something to aid us when we run out of play ideas.

^{LETTING ALI MANIPULATE HER PLAYDOUGH GIVES HER MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO STRENGTHEN HER HAND MUSCLES, IMPROVE COORDINATION AND SUPPORT HER IMAGINATION.}

^{WE CAN INTEGRATE PLAYDOUGH MAKING TO OUR STORYTIME TELLING. SOMETIMES, I JUST NEED TO SIT BACK AND SUPERVISE WHILE SHE DOES THE MOLDING AND STORYTELLING ON HER OWN.}  

The Paints

As for the paints, they came in a set of 6, each bottle with 100mL of paint. Like the playdough, the paint does not emit any strong smell at all. It has a bright pigmentation and quite easy to manipulate given that I’m not the slightest bit artistic and has not had enough experience with paint and that it was also my daughter’s first time to work with paints as she was used to watercolour.

Initially, we made use of the basic colors that are available and then tried to mix the primary ones to create secondary colors. We did not feel like one color overpowers another. They were very blendable and produce just the right shade needed. So far, we were able to get the other colors that we wanted as long as we start working on small amounts first to test how well they mix with each other.

As for cleaning, the paint can easily be removed provided that you soak the materials under running water right away. Should you forget to do so, all you need to do is pour warm water on the items and the dried paint will easily break off.

As for clothing being stained with the paint products, I can attest based on experience, that the stain can easily be removed even with just water alone. I was very quick to wash out the paint from Ali’s clothes but was somehow negligent with mine. They were just ragged houseclothes anyway but I was also amazed that they still easily come out once washed well. You don’t even have to apply a lot of pressure. Just do your basic handwash with soap and water and you’re clothes are good to go.

All in all, I was really satisfied with this purchase and I’m glad our daughter is too. Since COVID happened, we were no longer able to do our usual park and outdoor plays so it was really a challenge trying to rack our brains on how to keep her entertained.

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To know more about HANDS ON products, prices and how to order, visit their FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM pages.