Caydo sent me some of their products to see if they would scratch my crafting ADHD itch. I’ve used a variety of kits that claim to have everything you need, only to have to run to the store after a single project. Let’s see how they did.
Wireless Electric Pen for Diamond Art
Amazon
Price: $16
Diamond art is not something I’ve ever had much patience for. I was willing to give it a second chance, though for a pen that didn’t require the wax and instead used suction to pick up the diamonds. No wax equals less mess and in some cases, less money from having to buy extra for a project.
The pen comes with a little starter project (I got a butterfly). It’s just the right size to test out the pen and see if it’s right for you. I was surprised at how easily it lifted the diamonds and kept them until I put it down on my project.
It’s comfortable to hold, charges via USB-C, and comes with four different heads. Everything fits in the metal case to protect it when you toss it in your bag.
My only complaint about this one is it has a small fan that makes a humming sound while you work. It’s not loud enough to ruin my crafting zen, but some people might find it annoying. I can overlook this because it saves me time and supplies by not making me use the wax sheets to pick up diamonds.
Bead Spinner
Amazon
Price: $10
Friendship bracelets were a hyperfocus of mine last year. I like making them, but stringing those little beads can be tedious and takes up a lot of time. I’ve been curious about a bead spinner for a while and was happy to check out Caydo’s take on it. For only $10, I felt it was worth a shot to see if it sped up the process.
The bead spinner comes with everything you need to get started, including clear elastic, clay beads, scissors, tweezers, and it runs off AAA batteries or a USB cable.
I’m not a fan of clay beads, but I started with those since that is what it came with. Overall, it worked really well. It takes a few tries to get the hang of it and get beads on the needle, but once you have the needle in the right spot, it goes pretty fast.
I also tried using seed beads and those worked but with a little more frustration. The only hiccup with seed beads is that some of them are not as open as the others and they get stuck on the needle. I was happy with the result and how fast it went. This is ideal if you like to mix a bunch of colors together and not care about the ending pattern or if your bracelet is one solid color.
I suggest watching a few videos on how to tie off your bracelets when doing this method so they don’t spill all over the place (I was a bit clumsy with this part of the process).
One thing I would like to see changed is that the elastic doesn’t say what thickness it is. It works great for the clay beads, but if you want to use it with seed beads, knowing the elastic thickness would be helpful.
Fusion Beads
Amazon
Price: $35
Of all the crafts on this list, I feel like fusion beads are the most well-known. They are easy to get started with, take up very little working space, and are generally inexpensive. You can find countless patterns online to create anything you can imagine or even come up with your own.
The Caydo fusion bead kit comes with everything you need to get going, including the cutest little iron I’ve ever seen.
Inside the box are fusion beads in 36 colors, two connecting pegboards for assembling the designs, ironing paper (cut to the size of the pegboard), an iron, a heat mat (for setting the iron on), little trays to hold your beads, and a box of miscellaneous accessories for finalizing your projects. The box it comes in has a QR code to download and customize your own patterns and instructions on how to print them out for using with the kit.
I was a little skeptical of the iron being strong enough to do the job, but it surprised me. Not only did it heat up super fast (a minute max) it was more than sufficient for fusing the beads.
Much like diamond painting, you need to have a special amount of patience to do this one. I would highly recommend this one as a gift for anyone you know who enjoys this kind of craft. And you can’t beat the price at only $35 on Amazon (at the time of this review, there was a $5 coupon that knocked it down to $30)
I think Caydo is my new favorite brand for all-inclusive art kits. When I started this write-up, I thought I would be going to the store with a list of supplies. I appreciate that the kits came with everything I needed to do multiple projects. All the kits also came with QR codes to watch tutorials to help you get going. I’m happy to have added each of these to my crafting arsenal.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received a review sample.
