SpirographMandala Maker - Easy Way to Create Amazing Designs - Design Mandala Art - Ages 8+

DH and I actually bought this for ourselves. We were looking for little no-brainer activities to do whilst sitting in front of the baseball game on tv. I like using cheap watercolor paper and making my designs. Then, I go back and paint the shapes. It's like grown-up coloring. I use the spirograph during the baseball game, then later on when I want to do the painting, I put on an audiobook and paint away. So far, DH has just used the pieces with the included marker pens to make interesting designs on regular old printer paper. Endless fun.

Granddaughter loves it

It's pretty impressive!I started to get into drawing again. The Spirograph Mandala Maker looked pretty interesting. The gears that you get with this package is pretty minimal. So, if you have the regular Spirograph or even the Super Spirograph, feel free to experiment with using other size gears within the 4 different size rings. One stencil has a centre size of 128 teeth and the outer 58 teeth. The other stencil is 96 teeth in the centre with the outer one being 72 teeth.One HUGE improvement that Spirograph made over other Spirograph sets is; that the rings have a top barrier/lip that prevents the gears from popping out. Especially if your pen/pencil is in the first few holes. This small innovation should be implimented with the standard 144/96 and the 150/105 rings. I'm going to submit this idea to Spirograph. I think that all who read my review should recommend the same idea. A top lip over the teeth that prevents the gears from popping out would be an awesome improvement with the ability to order them from their supply.I experimented with Canson's black paper and Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils. I loved the result. Markers get absorbed by the black paper. So, I wouldn't recommend using markers. However, opaque pencils like Faber-Castell and Derwent work great. Crayola pencils work, but you may have to go over it twice. So, if you want to also experiement with black paper, go with opaque pencils. Then seal it with a Fixative, if you want to preserve your work.

All the frustrations of childhood came back to me in the first 15 minutes of my playing with this: pens that slip to spoil the design, pens that cut through the paper, wheels that skip if the user applies ever-so-slight a difference in pressure or angle, and paper that moves around! Ah! Such memories! :DThe frame is huge, much bigger than the 8”x10” paper which comes with the kit. The instructions say to slip the paper into the slots at the back of the frame, but the paper bends at the corners and then slips out, spoiling the design.The only answer is Spirograph’s original answer to the problem: cardboard and pushpins. Yes, folks, back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, adults were expected to determine whether or not their child could handle a toy which used pushpins. (The set I had as a kid came with a little clear pillbox of cute pushpins.) You’re shocked; I’m sure. But that’s the only way this will work; put a thin piece of cardboard on the table/desk, put paper into the frame, set the frame on the cardboard, and pin the paper in place. Yes, this means you can only give this set to kids who are mature enough to deal with pushpins, but it’s not a toy for toddlers anyway.Now, the gel pens are a huge improvement over the old ball points, so that’s a plus. And the mandala stencils are kind of cute. But the real charm is in the original elements of the Spirograph, and it still takes skill and patience to make the designs.I recommend this for artistically inclined or mathematically curious adults, teens, tweens, and children age 6+. It’s a grand old toy with a new hipster twist.

So much fun and really simple to use