Painting Without The Mess (A Schoolhouse Crew Review)

Ashleigh LOVES to draw.  One only has to walk into her bedroom and see all the drawings of cats all over her walls to see that she loves to express herself through artistic mediums.  Crayons, markers and paint are her favorite things and she is constantly illustrating her own books and creating pictures to share with us.  Because of this, when we were given the opportunity to review the Kwik Stix 12 Pack from The Pencil Grip, Inc., I knew it would be something that would be perfect for her.

You are probably already familiar with The Pencil Grip, Inc., or at least you're probably familiar with their product.  Invented in 1992, the Pencil Grip is a piece of rubber that can be attached to a pen or pencil in order to help teach proper hand positioning while holding a writing apparatus or can help make writing more comfortable for those with arthritis and easing hand fatigue.

While we were given a sample of the Pencil Grip to try out (and which Garrett has really taken a shine to), this real winner here was the 12 colorful and easy to handle paint sticks known as Kwik Stix.

Kwik Stix are solid tempera paint sticks in bright colors that require no water or paint brushes to use.  Much like fat crayons or makers, kids simply draw or color with them.  The colors are very creamy and the paint glides on smoothly and they dry quickly (about 90 seconds).   The stick themselves work similar to a glue stick, as more paint is needed the student simply twists the bottom to expose more of the paint stick.  The paint itself is a semi-solid, also similar to a glue stick.   The colors themselves are very bold and provide full coverage to the project they are being used on.   And the best part is that there is little to no mess at all.  What little cleanup that may be needed is easy with simple soap and water.

Ashleigh using a Kwik Stix on a Stone

Ashleigh absolutely fell in love with these paint sticks and used them for many different projects.  I found her coloring her school work with them as well as using them for her art work.

The Stix worked well on various types of media - watercolor paper, regular printer paper, and even wooden shapes that she picked out from Walmart.

 However, this weekend, I found her using them to paint some of the rocks that we have in our flower bed.  Using the bright colors, she was transforming them into garden decorations like turtles and lady bugs.  

I was actually very surprised to see that the paint dried on the rock and didn't rub off the surface even while being handled.   And since it doesn't rain here often, her little garden creations will be around for a long while.

She did try to paint a pine cone to make a hedgehog and that took a bit longer to dry but even that dried and did not smudge.

Some of Ashleigh's Creations Made with Kwik Stix

A Turtle Made With a Large Stone

Ladybug Made with a Smaller Stone

A Bit of Color In Our Flower Bed

A Colorful Art Project

A Wood Cutout of a Bird

Without a doubt, Kwik Stix were an absolute hit with Ashleigh and my husband and I have already decided that they are something that will be a regular purchase for our household.  The 12 pack that we reviewed was the more traditional bold colors, however, The Pencil Grip, Inc. also sells a 6 pack of Kwik Stix in Neon Colors as well as a 6 Pack of Kwik Stix in Metallic colors, both of which could open a whole realm of new possibilities for Ashleigh's artwork.

Find out more about The Pencil Grip, Inc. and Kwik Stix at any of their social media platforms:

Website:  http://www.thepencilgrip.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/thepencilgrip

Pinterest:   : https://www.pinterest.com/KwikStixPaint/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ThePencilGrip @ThePencilGrip

The Pencil Grip, Inc. provided 100 members of the Review Crew with different packages of their Kwik Stix paint sticks.  To see how they used them and what they thought of them, be sure to click the banner below.