Crayola Unleashes Children's Imaginations with New Color Breakthroughs

EASTON, Pa., Feb. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Inspired by the millions of children who unleash their imaginations with burnt sienna, wild blue yonder and the hundreds of hues it's brought to life, Crayola is set to unveil its 2011 line of breakthrough creative play activities at the American International Toy Fair in New York City on Feb. 13. Drawing on its expertise in color innovation and passion for helping parents raise creative and inspired kids, Crayola asked, "what if bubbles were colored, paper shined like metal, chalk and sand could glow in the dark and the iPad became a coloring book?"  

Crayola has brought to life new colors for creating glowing sand art and paintings, colors that turn the iPad into an interactive coloring book, mess-free, metallic colors that magically appear on white paper and the mother of all color inventions – colored bubbles in vibrant colors that only Crayola could create.

"For us, unleashing the wonder and dreams in every child begins with color," said Mike Perry, president and chief operating officer, Crayola LLC. "Transforming the wonder of the imagination into visible form is even more exciting for children when they are creating with colors that do incredible and unexpected things like glow or float in the air."

Crayola's 2011 line up of creative activities includes:  Glow Explosion Sand Art Sculptures, a revolutionary new way for children to create magical, glow-in-the-dark sand art with super-bright, glowing colors.  Just mix sand together with the "glow activator" to make it light up like a glow stick, and then pour layers of glowing sand into the sculpture forms to create the brightest sand art ever! For children 6 and up; suggested retail price is $9.99.

Crayola is also bringing glow-in-the-dark art outdoors with Washable Glow Chalk. Kids can create glowing sidewalk art that glows for up to four hours! It's easy to do with just a few simple steps.  Simply mix the colored chalk powder, glow activator and water together and then pour into the chalk mold tray. Let the chalk set for 30 minutes to harden, and let the nighttime creative fun begin! Best of all, it washes away from driveways and sidewalks.  For children 6 and up; suggested retail price is $9.99.

Crayola's new Washable Colored Bubble Launcher lets kids create a symphony of bubbles in bright, brilliant colors that only Crayola could create! Just connect a bottle of Washable Colored Bubbles to the launcher, attach the crank handle for left or right-hand use and kids are set to quickly and easily create a bubble storm in colors like purple pizzazz, screamin' green, sunset orange, wild blue yonder and pink flamingo. The Bubble Launcher is totally kid powered with no batteries required, so they control the amount of bubbles they crank, create, launch and catch! Moms don't have to worry because colored bubbles are washable from sidewalks, driveways and clothes. The fun lingers, but the color washes away!  Washable Colored Bubbles are for outdoor use only. For children 4 and up; suggested retail price is $14.99.

Crayola is bringing color innovation to the digital world with Crayola Story Studio Comic Maker: Spiderman, Crayola Story Studio Fairy Tale Maker: Disney Princess and Crayola Story Studio Adventure Maker: Disney-Pixar Cars 2.  Crayola Story Studio is the first web-based application that uses face recognition software to let children easily morph their photos into customizable cartoon characters.  A special code found in each pack lets kids unlock the Story Studio application on Crayola.com and transform themselves into a character that stars with Spiderman in a comic book, in a fairy tale with a Disney Princess, or in scenes with the Disney-Pixar Cars 2 characters.  Story Studio's initial launch last year garnered a "Best High Tech Toy for 2010" by the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio.  For kids 5 and up; suggested retail price for each kit is $9.99.

The  Crayola ColorStudio™ HD created with partner Griffin Technology brings digital coloring and drawing to life by using the iconic colors from the Crayola 64 Box, turning the iPad into an interactive coloring book with moving images and music!  The multi-activity drawing application for the iPad works with a digital stylus called the Crayola iMarker that simulates marks made with a Crayola crayon, marker, colored pencil and a paint brush on the screen. Young artists can color and interact with special "live" animated coloring book pages that move and react as kids color and feature custom-produced pictures, animations, music, sound effects and high-quality special effects.  The Crayola ColorStudio HD App features a large built-in library of art that provides hundreds of hours of play in themed environments like undersea, jungle and playtime activities. The Crayola iMarker purchase includes a free ColorStudio HD App download on the iPad. For children 3 and up; suggested retail price is $29.99.

Don't be fooled; what appears to be white paper is actually Crayola's Mess Free Color Wonder Metallic Paper! The mess-free marker and paper system unleashes kids' wonder and adventure as they magically reveal shimmering colors that shine like metal with Mess Free Color Wonder markers!  Start drawing and reveal the metallic sheen, then watch as the mess-free magic continues as shimmering silver tones change to steely blues, radiant reds and glistening greens that shift and change colors when the paper is moved.  The metallic colors inspire kids to imagine and create things that shine like a hero's shield, a glistening tiara and a shiny robot. The Mess Free Color Wonder ink only appears on the special Color Wonder paper and not on skin, clothing or walls, so there's no worry about mess! For children 3 and up; suggested retail price is $9.99.

With Crayola's 3D Dry-Erase Activity Set, kids' imaginations will be floating out of their minds and off the 3D board, literally!  The first 3D dry erase surface for kids allow them to create eye-popping art again and again using Washable Crayola Dry Erase Bright crayons, so there's no need for 3D glasses!   With Crayola's Washable Dry Erase crayons, it's easy to remove marks from clothing and skin—but not accidently brush your artwork off the board.  The convenient built-in crayon holder on the front keeps them easily organized, which keeps mom happy. For children 5 and up; suggested retail price is $12.99.

New Crayola Glow Explosion Sand Art Sculptures, Washable Glow Chalk, Mess Free Color Wonder Metallic Paper, Washable Colored Bubbles and the 3D Dry-Erase Activity Set will be on-shelf at major retailers nationwide beginning in February. The Crayola ColorStudio HD and iMarker will be available in April, and the Crayola Story Studio series of activity kits will be in stores beginning Aug. 1.

For additional information, please visit Crayola's Toy Fair online press kit at http://www.virtualpressoffice.com/public/kit/CrayolaTF11.

SOURCE Crayola