Review: Thinking outside the box with Gel-a-Peel

This summer Big Sister and I have been playing with Gel-a-Peel. These tubes of gel come in a set with stencils to create your own jewellery which can be worn when dry. After creating a few bracelets we got creative and personalised some headphones because the gel is great to decorate items too. The best thing is once dry you can peel the gel off most non-porous surfaces and start all over again when you fancy a change.

A close up of a gel-a-peel template with a young girl squeezing the gel out to create a bracelet

We were sent the Gel-a-Peel Accessory Pearly Pastel Kit to review. 3 tubes of pearlescent gels (white, pale pink and mint green) come in the pack with design templates, a mould to make special shapes, applicators and earring hooks.

To get started we chose the template sheet with some of the more simple patterns and used washi tape to attach it to the table underneath the clear plastic sheet. I carefully took the lid and plug off a tube of gel and added a round tip (there are also star and rake shape tips). M squeezed the tube to trace over the pattern for a bracelet. It is a little tricky to create a steady flow of gel and you need to ensure that all the lines touch and are thick enough so it all stays together when it is dry and peeled off the plastic sheet.  If any bits are looking a bit weak, or they snap, you can use the gels as a glue and go over the dry gel to strengthen them.

How long you have to wait for your design to dry depends on how thick your design is and the temperature of the house. Simple designs take an hour, but we left ours (and some moulded jewel shapes) overnight to ensure they were completely dry. You then get to peel the creation off the plastic and wear them. 

M's first attempt had some weak spots which needed strengthening. She was also impatient to try them on rather than wait for them to dry. With only one plastic sheet you have to wait for them to be peeled off before you can make more, she loved making them so much this was the biggest problem for her.

A child's hand on a white wall wearing a pink and white Gel-a-Peel bracelet

We were challenged as part of the review to get crafty and see what else we could use Gel-a-Peel to decorate. We decided to embellish a pair of headphones because we have two pairs and it meant M could personalise hers. We used a combination of dry sections from a broken bracelet and squeezing the gel straight on to the headphones. Keeping the decoration on an object gives you more flexibility so you can have thin lines and they don't need to join up.

Purple and white headphones decorated with flowers created using Gel-a-Peel

Gel-a-Peel is a little tricky and requires a child to be focused and patient so best suited for age 6 upwards (manufacturers recommend from age 8). It can get a bit messy if the gel is accidentally smeared, but it is satisfying peeling off hard surfaces when dry. In fact the recommended way to clean the applicators is to poke out and peel off the dry gel. Anyone who put PVC glue on their hands as a child so they could peel it off in one big piece will enjoy cleaning up after this activity (warning: it is meant to be an irritant to skin so should be dry before touching).

You can get the gel in lots of different colours and I’m busy thinking of all the different ways we could use them (I say “we” because these are way too much fun just for my eldest to play with). Each pen can create a equivalent of 20 beginner bracelets, but in reality when getting used to squeezing out the right amount it is unlikely to make that many. Gel-a-Peel provided inspiration to get us thinking with this shell purse decoration. There are more ideas on the Gel-A-Peel website too.

A shell bag decorated using Gel-a-Peel stock image from Gel-a-Peel

The Gel-a-Peel Accessory Kit contains: 3 Gel-a-Peel tubes, 16 design templates, clear drawing sheet, gel tray with squeegee tool, 5 tips (3 round, 1 rake and 1 star), a cleaning tool and some jewellery parts (hook earrings). The instructions are short but contain lots of helpful tips on how to get the best results.

M and I really enjoyed using the kit and we have been looking at the other kits available. There are lots of other colour gels and different shape tips too. 

A close up of a couple of gel-a-peel tubes, a template washi taped to the table and a pink and white butterfly bracelet
***Disclosure: I received Gel-a-Peel kit to review and a challenge to get crafty***

6 comments

  1. This looks like lots of fun and unusual too. I love some crafty activities and for adults not just kids!
    The decorating of other things looks especially fun.

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  2. Wow this is amazing! my daughter would be obsessed with this I'm sure! x

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  3. This looks like such a brilliant product, exactly the sort of thing my daughter would really love.

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  4. Wow this set looks fab, my daughter is about to turn 5 so I'll check if I can get it in time for her birthday! She's obsessed with jewellery so making her own would be great

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  5. These look really good fun x Love to give them a try.

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  6. Oh this looks so good. My daughter would absoulately love this ! X

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