Target Arts & Crafts Kit Subscription for Kids – April 2017

Target is now offering an Art & Craft Kit Subscription for Kids, bringing a different creative activity to your doorstep each month for $14.99.

We signed up as soon as this launched, and this is the first delivery, from April 2017. You'll notice this is packaged very simply - it looks like any other online order from Target.

My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

The Subscription Box: Target Art & Craft Kit Subscription for Kids

The Cost: $14.99

The Products: A different crafting activity each month. Ranging from coloring kits to DIY accessories, the variety will spark their imagination and keep them excited to see what they will create next!
Instructions are provided when necessary. For ages 4-10.

Good to know: You do save 5% by subscribing, making the true cost $14.30 - make sure to select the subscribe option when you sign up.

You can find more educational and STEM subscriptions for kids and a list of all Target subscription boxes in our subscription box directory!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wish list!

Faber-Castell Watercolor Pencil Art Kit - Retail $12.99 (Currently on sale at Target for $11.99)

This watercolor pencil kit is rated for ages 9+. I thought this was a surprising choice for their first shipment since Target doesn't let you select an age for your subscription and they advertise ages 4-10.

This kit contains some instructions, watercolor paper, a set of pencils, and a pencil sharpener and brush. Just add water!

I personally love watercolor pencils to this day, and I loved getting art sets like this as a kid, so I put my thoughts about value aside and got ready to dig in.

Faber-Castell is a big and popular art supply brand. The instruction book doesn't take you start-to-finish through any exercises, but it gives you a lot of techniques to try and some helpful inspiration.

There's a basic primer on what watercolor pencils are and how they work.

For a kid who loves to draw, this book as a lot of different exercises to try - like shading and shadows, and color mixing techniques.

They even go through some composition and drawing fundamentals, like composition and blocking out shapes.

The set also included 10 watercolor pencils in a handy reusable pouch:

I love the colors - fresh art supplies are always exciting!

The kit also includes a pencil sharpener, so you can keep all your details nice and sharp:

And, of course, a handy watercolor brush for applying water to your drawings. This is a simple #4 round acrylic brush, and I thought it was good quality for a pre-assembled art kit - better than I expected!

Finally, the blank canvas: a watercolor sketchbook.

This sketchbook has 24 pages and has a simply glued binding, so you can easily remove the sheets when you're ready to display your finished piece. The paper is A5 sized, or about the size of an 8.5 x 11 sheet folded in half.

Who doesn't love the promise of a blank page? The orange and pink colors in my colored pencil set caught my eye, so I decided to do a quick study of the scene on my desk:

Pamplemousse La Croix is definitely my favorite and these cans are certainly portrait-worthy in my book. 😉

I did experiment with some of the techniques in the book, layering dry pencils over wash, trying a bit of splatter, and even added some salt to try and add texture. I'm pretty pleased with the end result, although I think I went a little overboard with layering.

Verdict: If I put myself in the shoes of my 10-year-old self, I'd definitely have been excited to receive this watercolor kit. Value-wise, though, I'm having flashbacks to the first Amazon STEM Club shipment that I reviewed: when I subscribe to a subscription that's not especially curated or personalized for me, I never want to get something that retails for less than what I paid, and that is, unfortunately, the case with this first delivery from Target.

Amazon has definitely improved on value and quality from their rocky start, so I'm hoping Target will too. Both brands have the inventory and audience to reach tons of people with their subscriptions, but it feels like they may be using this as a way to clear old inventory instead of putting it on sale. Unless we see a higher value or more curation, then ultimately I don't think they'll have staying power.

Did you subscribe to Target's Art & Craft Kit Subscription for Kids when it was announced? Did you receive the same product this month? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!