Reviewing Darby Smart & Darby Girl

WHEW, it HAS been a super crafty week here at Pocketful of Joules! I’m kind of exhausted from the craftiness…

I actually received these boxes from Darby Smart the week of Christmas and they’ve been sitting there silently judging me for weeks. With Jack running around the house, I couldn’t exactly break out the fabric paint and go to town, right?

The Marquee Sign Box
The first box I received is the grown-up version, the Darby Smart box for making your own marquee sign. Marquee signs are HUGE right now – you can find DIY versions all over Pinterest – so I was pretty excited to see a kit that included everything I needed to make one.

Included in the kit:

  • Awl (not an owl… an awl, which is a pokey knife thingie)
  • Metallic pen
  • LED lights
  • Oversized alphabet stencils
  • 2 foam boards (one for practice)

I actually got two of these kits, so I gave one to my sister. Kelsey is about to graduate from James Madison University (JMU) with a BS in Nursing AND a BS in Kinesiology (what can I say, we are a family of overachievers!), so she decided to do a special JMU pride marquee sign:

darby kelseySuper cute, right? I’ve been debating on what to do for my marquee. I’m torn between doing it Christmas themed (maybe “Joy”), one for Jack’s room (“JACK”) or one to go on one of our gallery walls (“Love”)… but right now I’m kind of stuck in indecision. OOOH, or I could do one for my office that simply says “WORK” or maybe even “WERK” to keep it sassy…

The “Let’s Get Framed” Box
Darby Smart recently launched, Darby Girl, a craft club for teens. You can purchase a box for one month, six months (3 boxes) or one year (6 boxes) and boxes start at $16. This is a really cool gift for a teen or tween in your life who loves to craft… and reasonably priced too!

The box I received was the “Let’s Get Framed” box, which contains everything you need to make mini bulletin boards.

Included in this kit:

  • 2 fabric dyes
  • Stretchy elastic
  • Fabric
  • Cork tiles
  • E6000 glue
  • Beads in a Bottle (which is like old-school puffy paint)

I’m going to be honest… I still haven’t found time to do this kit. I know, BAD blogger! But the kit is really designed for a teen, so it seems silly to do the kit and then just have it sitting around the house. So, here’s the deal – if you have a teen or tween that would love to do this kit, leave me a comment below. I’ll pick someone and send the kit to you to enjoy!

With just a little work, THIS is what you could end up with:

darby girl - samplesThere are also some really cool examples in the Darby Smart Showroom. So check them out and see what other people came up with!

Today’s post marks the end of my craftinista week. Although I don’t typically do “theme” weeks on the blog, this was kind of fun! In fact, I’m kind of accidently continuing the theme thing next week, but instead of being DIY projects, it’s going to be all about fashion because I just had an AWESOME Twice order delivered and I will be receiving my January Stitch Fix box too.

Tell me, do you like the “theme” week thing or do you prefer I just write about whatever strikes me each particular day? Would your teen/tween like the Darby Girl box? Let me know in the comments!

1/13/14 Update: Okay, I just wrote names on pieces of paper and made my dog pick one with his nose… The winner is: Ryan Richael! I’ll be emailing you directly to get your mailing address so I can pop this in the mail for your daughter!

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5 thoughts on “Reviewing Darby Smart & Darby Girl”

  1. I say write about whatever floats your boat. We’ll read it! 🙂

    I ordered the Darby Girl Box as a last minute Christmas gift for my tween. (Is 10 a “tween”? My child is totally 10 going on 14.) She loves arts and crafts. It shipped this week and I can’t wait! I need to find some kind of monthly box subscription for myself, I just need to decide what I want – crafts, makeup, food, too many choices!

    1. There are a TON of subscription box choices out there, which is why I love it when I get the chance to review one. I’m going to be getting/reviewing an ‘intimates’ box soon…which sounds pretty awesome!

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