Being creative sometimes takes a bit of help as there is so much choice out there. Do you sit down and do some creative writing? Do some candle making, knitting or crochet? Or maybe just pull out a piece of paper and some pencils and start to draw? We do a lot of arts and crafts in our house and with lockdowns in place we have been trying different things for the kids to try so that they are not stuck in a loop of just drawing or painting. The youngest is really into making things with polymer clay at the moment, with her latest creation being Harry Potter on a broomstick for her Potter mad older sister. Whilst she loves her drawing, painting, modelling and anything crafty really, she has had her eye on the GEMEX sets that transform gel to gems in a few minutes and was absolutely delighted when John Adams kindly sent us the GEMEX Deluxe Creation Station to review.
The GEMEX sets use gel poured into moulds and with the aid of the magic light transforms it into gorgeous sparkling gems that can be used for jewellery making or decorations for a variety of other crafts projects.
With a few sets in the GEMEX range we were sent the GEMEX Deluxe Creation Station, which is suitable for children ages 5 years and upwards and can make up to 100 gems. In the box is:
- Creation Station with Shell light
- 2x 25g Liquid Magic
- 6x Packets Assorted Style Decorations
- Jewellery: 1x Bracelet, 1x Pair of Clip-on Earrings, 1x Ring
- 2x Hair Clips
- 1x Keychain
- Sticker Sheet
- Stirring tool
- 2x Magic Moulds
- 1x Bag of Loops
- Instructions
The GEMEX Deluxe Creation Station is the largest set in the GEMEX range and comes with nearly everything that is needed to make up to 100 unique and gorgeous gems in approx. 3 minutes, you just need to add 4x AAA batteries as these are not supplied. Once the gems are created you can really start to get crafty by turning them into hairclips, necklaces, keychains and much more. The GEMEX sets allow you to impress your friends with unique, one of a kind handcrafted jewellery.
The GEMEX Deluxe Creation is a large workstation that houses the LED clamshell light (this requires 4x AAA batteries), has storage compartments for all the decorations (stars, confetti’s etc.), holders for the gel bottles and has workspace for the silicone mould tray.
The set is very simple to use. Once you have filled the storage compartments with all the small decorations so that you have easy access to them and not constantly have to open packets or tubs (it has a plastic cover that can be placed over the top to stop spillage when not in use), you select the mould that you want to use and place in the workspace (the moulds have shapes like peardrops, hearts, cherries, ice cream cone, ice lolly etc.). You then squeeze the quick drying gel (has a non-sticky formula) from the bottle into the mould, filling it up and using the stirring tool to pop any bubbles in the gel. You then add any decorations that you want in the gem, pushing them into the gel with the stirring tool and making sure that you completely cover them. Once the moulds are filled and decorated you place the mould in the clamshell (magic shell).
Once the mould is in the clamshell and the lid closed, within 4 minutes (including cool down time) you will have some nice new sparkly decorated gems to make into jewellery. Once the mould is in the clamshell you just close the lid, press the button on the back of it and wait 3 minutes. Whist waiting, the stars on the clamshell with flash different colours to let you know it is working. When finished, it will beep and the stars will stop flashing. You cannot remove the mould at this point as it will still be quite warm/hot so leave it for 30-60 seconds.
Once the mould has cooled, you can then pop out the gems and add them to the hairclips or keyring or make jewellery such as rings and clip-on earrings. The gems come out very solid and have a flawless clarity, colour and texture.
Overall, this set is very easy to use and will get the creative juices flowing. Initially it took us around 30 minutes to set up the creation station, cutting open bags and filling storage compartments etc. and reading through the instruction manual to fully understand how it all worked, but once done on the next use you are ready to go straight away. Our eight-year-old tester absolutely loved it. She has spent hours considering her deigns and decorations. The set can make up to 100 gems before having to buy new gel and decorations.
She has not only loved creating her own gems, decorated in her own unique designs, but has really enjoyed the jewellery making aspect to give her creations to elder sister as well and wearing them herself.
The set is very creative, easy to use and the finished product is very solid and durable. An excellent set to encourage a child’s creativity and a good way to spend some quality time with them. It would also be good for arts & crafts sessions if you are doing home schooling. With very little gel used after our first use, it should last a while, making it good value for money.
The only issue we found is not to use cheap batteries as the backs of the gems can come out tacky and will need another cycle in the clamshell. By using better quality batteries we didn’t have this problem.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £29.99
For more information, visit www.johnadams.co.uk. Available to buy from Amazon here.
