This post was made possible by the great elves at Learning Express, Wilmington. They have two locations, plus, if you are local, they have Express Lane Service where you can buy toys from them over the Internet for quick in-store pickup.

I’ve never had an elf mad at me…at least, I don’t think so. And I don’t want to make enemies of the Learning Express elves, especially the head elf, Shelley.
Shelley is incredible. She listened to my harebrained idea of posting on my blog about fun toys to enhance creativity for kids. We talked about how play = creativity.
Kids need both.
Shelley loves creativity. She let me come in to her store and film my kids playing. She let me interview her on camera. (Alas, I can’t get my video-editor to work….)
Then Shelley let my kids become toy testers for her. My kids voted for the Creativity for Kids “Make Your Own Cupcake Soaps” kit.
Keep in mind, this was about 5 million years ago, so Shelley is also incredibly patient. And, so far, she hasn’t sent angry elves my way.
My kids had a blast with the kit. Because there is no need for mixing or melting the soap clay, I had a blast. I could focus on helping them reach their goal for their soap. Each child could make one soap, but I managed to divvy out enough for the kids to make a couple extras.
The cupcake soap dough, which comes pre-scented, feels like the clay children use in craft projects. It has a soft, chalky feel to it.

My kids range in ages from 2 to 8 and, even though the age range on the kit recommends 5 to 95, I let them all try it out. My oldest came closest to the approximation of the designs that the kit illustrates. My 6-year-old less so and the 2-year-old just loved kneading the clay.
All three had fun creating their own soaps, kneading and rolling the clay into balls and trimming–with a plastic knife-like tool that is included–some of the pieces to decorate. Each one was finished off with glittery sprinkles.
The instructions detailed how to make a “strawberry” topped cupcake, a candy cane swirl cupcake and a flower cupcake. (Take a look at the photo gallery and see if you can identify each of them…okay, so the photography doesn’t do justice to the cupcake soap artistry of my kids, but you might get a general idea.)
The soaps even came with paper cupcake holders and plastic containers for storage and gift giving.
One warning: I’m not a much of a scent person and the soap smelled really sweet to me. My kids, on the other hand, loved the smell, as did some of their friends, who received the soap as gifts.

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