Earlier this month Eva and I reviewed the My Friendship Bracelet Maker from Choose Friendship Company. We enjoyed the product and I wanted to pass on some news to you who are doing your Christmas shopping. The Choose Friendship Company is launching their brand new e-commerce site this Cyber Monday. Here’s the press release below.

ENJOY TURKEY & FRIENDS ALL WEEKEND THEN SHOP THE FRIENDSHIP FACTORY DOT COM CYBER MONDAY
eCommerce Site Featuring Best-Seller “My Friendship Bracelet Maker®” Makes Its Debut November 26 For Gifts Galore

Clinton, Michigan (November 21, 2012) – When it comes to holiday shopping, some crazy antics have been reported from camping outside store doors to driving to shops in the middle of the night. Thank goodness for Cyber Monday where one-click shopping and shipping leaves parents, aunties and best friends smiling through the most wonderful time of year. If you’ve got tweens or teens on your list then Choose Friendship Company, makers of wearable and shareable craft kits, wants you know about the launch of their brand new ecommerce site, www.TheFriendshipFactory.com. With “shelves” full and everything in one place, shoppers can zip in and scoop up everything for the terrific kid(s) on their list any time and any day.

Giving a craft kit that will last beyond the tree and the trimmings makes a powerful statement. Boys and girls get a kick out of creating one-of-a-kind friendship bracelets, lanyards or key rings. The creativity, thoughtfulness and time it takes to make a craft are a gift in itself. Choose Friendship has created an award-winning product line with plenty of colorful threads, looms, carry cases and kits to delight everyone.

“Many of us have already begun our frantic searches for travel activities, rainy day crafts and down-right boredom busters,” wrote one industry reviewer from the prestigious Parents’ Choice Foundation. “Enter My Friendship Bracelet Maker Traveler to rescue us from hours of are we there yet? and stop touching me! and I’m bored! The My Friendship Bracelet Maker Traveler features a clip to hold the strings, string holders at the bottom to prevent tangling during knotting and a pull-out drawer to hold threads; it even comes with twenty brightly colored pre-cut threads so that it is ready-to-go right out of the box. Not only did the kit have me at ‘self-contained,’ but it focuses on values such as friendship and artistic creativity. Beyond these social values, working on the craft can help hone hand-eye coordination, patience, sequencing and fine-motor skills.”

Indeed, every major toy industry award program adored these craft products that focus on friendship. From Dr. Toy to The National Parenting Center, the product line’s four best sellers — My Friendship Bracelet Maker, My Ribbon Barrette Maker, My Friendship Bracelet Maker Traveler and My Circle of Creativity — have earned top honors that number 17 and counting in just two years!

Choose Friendship is not only the craft kit company’s name but also its mantra. The family business — started by a retired Detroit auto efficiency executive learning to braid a bracelet with his young granddaughters – has gone global, bringing innovation to simple crafting techniques. The joy of the product line is its ability to engage impressionable kids of the importance of friends and self-expression.

Among the great gift ideas found on www.TheFriendshipFactory.com are:

My Image Bracelet Maker™ • $29.99 • Ages 6+
Charm the arm by using photos, magazine pictures, internet images or the included preprinted image cards to assemble bracelets that unique. Image Bracelets tell a story and allow kids to keep close at hand their amazing adventures and BFFs. Easy-to-use computer software allows youngsters to upload and crop favorite photos, then simply print from a home printer or save and send to a local photo-processing center. Enclosed cutting mechanism safely trims images precisely to size and fingers never come into contact with blade. Elastic string for threading allows for easy on-and-off. Refill kit sold separately for $14.99.

My Circle of Creativity • $29.99 • Ages 8+
Help your child celebrate their most important friendships with this Circle of Creativity craft kit to make amazing bracelets or lanyards to trade and treasure. This clever kit comes with an easy-to-read instruction sheets and a loom with 12 patterns on 6 pattern discs, 30 bobbins, 112 pre-cut threads (in 14 fun colors) and 100 pony beads (in 10 colors). Make circular bracelets — rather than flat — or lanyards with amazing box knot and cobra knots for keychains or decorations. Over 300 pieces come in a sturdy, all in one carrying case that keeps the supplies neat and organized.

My Friendship Bracelet Maker Traveler • $16.99 • Ages 8+
My Friendship Bracelet Maker goes global with the Traveler! Crafters will appreciate the globe clip that keeps the bracelet in place during knotting. Clever numbered slots keep colored threads organized. The nifty slide-out storage drawer features 20 pre-cut Prism® embroidery threads in 10 different colors. Like all products, the included instructions – from how to thread the loom to basic knots — are easy to understand. For more visual ideas, users can log on to the company website for great how-to videos and written instructions.

My Friendship Bracelet Maker® • $24.99 • Ages 6+
The classic and first product by Choose Friendship, My Friendship Bracelet Maker brings youngsters the coolest and easiest way to make their favorite friendship bracelets — because fun, friends and fashion are forever! My Friendship Bracelet Maker kit utilizes a butterfly clip to secure the strings when knotting and the unique string holder keeps the strings firmly in place. Below is a storage compartment that contains 60 pre-cut strings in 14 different colors.

My Ribbon Barrette Maker • $24.99 • Ages 6+
Create your own fabulous designs with the My Ribbon Barrette Maker. Start by securing your selected ribbons in the holder and loom, then braid and weave your pattern, adding colorful tri-beads to personalize your project. My Ribbon Barrette Maker includes loom, tray, 8 barrettes, 16 ribbons in 8 colors, and 128 tri-beads. Refill kit also available for $14.99.

For families who want to feature these fun craft activities at a party and make them the party favor, the company will sell party packs of six units: the My Ribbon Barrette Makers or the My Friendship Bracelet Makers for $124.99 and the My Image Bracelet Makers for $149.99.

ABOUT CHOOSE FRIENDSHIP COMPANY
Originally known as Crorey Creations, the Choose Friendship Company manufactures the innovative craft kit called My Friendship Bracelet Maker®, (MyFBM), and several other products in the Maker collection. Invented for his granddaughters by David Crorey, a retired auto industry executive with an engineering background, My Friendship Bracelet Maker offers an easy, organized and portable way to create friendship bracelets, a favorite craft tradition of girls and teens, and in-be-“tweens.”

Because friendship bracelets have long been an international symbol of friendship, the company has established quarterly Choose Friendship campaigns encouraging support networks between kids across the country. After great success with the “Red, White and Blue, Kids Serve Too!” campaign where kids sent in red, white and blue friendship bracelets to children of military families, the popular “Pink and White, Kids Join the Fight!” campaign was a way to support kids in families dealing with breast cancer. “Embracing You With a Circle of Blue” reaches out to young people living with Type 1 diabetes. In 2012, an anti-bullying song & video titled “Inside Out,” sung by teen Marisa Nahas, will be released promoting the blessings of friends and the importance of choosing friendship over bullying. Watch their website for details of the first ever celebratory Friendship Ball. For more information on products, causes and community, visit their new website www.ChooseFriendship.com.