Darby Girl Subscription Box Review + Coupon – October 2016
Darby Girl is a monthly subscription box by craft site Darby Smart that’s just for tween girls. Every month, they send along supplies for a fun new craft. This box even came with a bonus craft!
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
The Subscription Box: Darby Girl
The Cost: $19 per box, or choose from two other subscription levels (6 months for $57.00, or one year for $95.00)
The Products: Each box has supplies for a cute craft, plus inspiring photos of the finished product and a link to the instructions.
Ships to: US only, but shipping is free!
Check out all of our Darby Smart reviews and the Craft Subscription Box Directory!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
This month’s box contains two crafty activities! The first is a DIY emoji magnet project using polymer clay, and the second is a toy from Mattel called AmiGami.
AmiGami Horse – Value $5.68
AmiGami works like this: you get a little animal figurine and a bunch of punch-out paper shapes and stickers. There are also a few tools, such as little pegs that fit into holes in the figurine and a tool for twisting the paper into little spirals. It’s up to you what fantastical flair you decorate your animal with! I chose a few twisty ribbons and some stickers. There are expressive sets of eyes, diamonds, horseshoes and much more to pick from.
This was an easy “craft” but also a really fun one. I loved the bright colors and playful patterns. Maybe the best part, especially thinking about the younger audience, is that there’s no cutting, glue, or other messiness involved in this activity. Even the paper flourishes are attached by threading these little pegs through pre-cut holes in the paper, then securing them with a heart-shaped “washer”. Everything snaps together then snaps into the figurine. No adhesive required!
The second craft is all about emojis. Darby Girl doesn’t include the instructions in the box but instead gives you a link to follow where you can find them. Just enter the corresponding code to unlock all the details and photos of each step.
These emoji faces and the code for the instructions are on the back side of the info card. The faces will come in handy in a few steps!
2 2 oz. Packages of Yellow Sculpey Clay – Value $10.70 ($5.35 each)
I love Sculpey! The colors are always so pigmented, and the polymer-based clay allows for so many different possibilities.
The clay takes a little bit of kneading to make it pliable enough to work with. I started with smaller pieces and rolled them in my hands until they were soft.
Round Cookie Cutter – Value $1.25 (based on similar items)
This circular cookie cutter is about 2-ish inches wide. It’s perfect for cutting out tiny circles from rolled-out clay.
I twisted this cookie cutter back and forth a little bit after I pressed it into the clay just to make sure it sliced through all the way. Pop your circles in the oven for about 15 minutes, and they’ll be ready to go.
3-Pack of Sharpies (Black, Red, and Blue) – Value $3.47
Sharpies are so handy to have around, whether it’s for crafting or other practical, around-the-house kinds of needs. Darby Girl instructs you to use the Sharpies to draw emoji faces on your baked Sculpey circles.
I kept the card of emoji faces nearby to use as a guide. If you’re not confident in your penmanship, you can also cut out the emoji face shapes and glue them onto the circles.
ProMAG 12 Piece Flexible Magnets, 0.5 Inch – Value $0.89
These magnets are small, but they’re pretty strong. They take a bit of wrangling to get out of this super-tight packaging, so be sure to have scissors on hand!
Liquid Fusion Clear Urethane Adhesive, 0.66 fl oz. – Value $2.67
I expected this adhesive to be pretty smelly, but it wasn’t really at all. Maybe that’s just because it was such a small container. Watch out, though, because it comes out fast when you cut the tip open!
Put a drop of glue on the magnet, then press it into the back of the magnet. I put mine in the center. If you want a stronger magnet, I suggest doing two magnets per circle.
Ta da! Here’s the finished product! I think they’re pretty cute. And they’re pretty secure hanging on my fridge.
The Verdict: I loved this Darby Girl box as an adult, and I’d bet a crafty tween would also have a lot of fun with it! It’s easy, tidy, and even pop-culture relevant. If you’re the one buying the box for a tween, you’ll be happy that this $19.00 box contains closer to $25.00 worth of supplies and surprises. Cool, cute, and creative, this box gets a big heart-eyed emoji from me!
What do you think of the Darby Girl box? Do you know a crafty gal who might like it?
Written by Anna Reilly
Hmm, I’ve tried Darby Smart but I’ve never seen a Darby Girl review. I don’t like that they sent a premade kit from another company… that sort of defeats the purpose of the DIY box to me. I realize it’s a craft, but it’s not something that Darby Smart came up with but is something parents can just go buy.