Last week, my 4 year old comes to me and says, “Mommy, I want a rubber band bracelet. Like my friends at school.”
I had no idea what he was talking about, and I just forgot about it. The next day, StepDaughterNYC says to me, “You know, LO says he wants a rubber band bracelet, do you know what he’s talking about?” Hmm. He must really want one of these things, I think to myself. So then, I’m on Facebook and I see a post on my newsfeed from Learning Express Pinecrest . Apparently, they have “Just received a new shipment of Rainbow Looms! In stock NOW! Hurry in! They won’t last!!” And there, lo and behold, are these pictures of all these colorful rubber band bracelets. They’re all different colored and intricately interlaced. They look kinda cool, but they’re still just bracelets made of rubber bands. The bracelets are made with this thing Learning Express had posted called a Rainbow Loom. A Rainbow Loom is a plastic weaving loom that creates bracelets and rings from colored rubber bands. Ah ha! Rainbow Loom!
So I look online and Amazon is selling the Rainbow Loom
for $38. $38! Great. I am not going to spend $38 for a rubber band bracelet maker.
for $38. $38! Great. I am not going to spend $38 for a rubber band bracelet maker.The very next day, I take the LO to soccer class and I see this:
Two little girls with their Rainbow Loom making bracelets! (In retrospect, I should’ve just paid the little girls to make me one.) The day after that, I take the LO to the pediatrician, and the receptionist is wearing (of course!) a rubber band bracelet. “Is that one of those Rainbow Loom things?” I ask. “OMG, yes. My daughters are obsessed with them!” That was it. I knew I was officially knee-deep in my first Kid-Craze/Fad. 2013’s answer to Silly Bandz. I hear that schools are already banning them because kids are selling them to their peers. There’s a twelve year old Miami boy on Instagram selling his little sister’s creations. Yes, I’m starting to sense crazy. I take StepDaughterNYC to Learning Express and tell her we’re going to go buy a Rainbow Loom.
We get there and there are no less than four people in front of us to BUY A RAINBOW LOOM. Learning Express is a great store and all, but I’ve NEVER stood in line there before! As I make my way to the front, another four people come in to the store and line up behind me. All are buying a Rainbow Loom.
Here’s the Rainbow Loom (it was originally called Twistz Bandz) kit:
It retails for $16.99. It comes with a pack of assorted colored bands that will make a good number of bracelets to start with. Individual packs of single colors, including Glow in the Dark
can be purchased separately and retail for $3.99 and $4.99 a pack. This woman told me she had two kids so she had to get each kid their own packs. (Look at her basket!)
can be purchased separately and retail for $3.99 and $4.99 a pack. This woman told me she had two kids so she had to get each kid their own packs. (Look at her basket!)
As of now, the looms and bands are sold out on the Rainbow Loom site. Amazon
has their Rainbow Loom prices jacked up because of the demand and places like ToysRUs and Michael’s aren’t selling them. Will the fad take over the rest of the country, or will it just bubble over here in Miami? Who knows? But it might be wise to go pick up one now before you are stuck paying $50 bucks on Ebay when it shows up on a letter to Santa. Learning Express Pinecrest is also offering Rainbow Loom classes, so you can hone your rubber band bracelet making skills. Want even more Rainbow Loom bracelet inspiration and ideas? Check out the Mommy Mafia Miami’s Rainbow Loom Pinterest page here.
has their Rainbow Loom prices jacked up because of the demand and places like ToysRUs and Michael’s aren’t selling them. Will the fad take over the rest of the country, or will it just bubble over here in Miami? Who knows? But it might be wise to go pick up one now before you are stuck paying $50 bucks on Ebay when it shows up on a letter to Santa. Learning Express Pinecrest is also offering Rainbow Loom classes, so you can hone your rubber band bracelet making skills. Want even more Rainbow Loom bracelet inspiration and ideas? Check out the Mommy Mafia Miami’s Rainbow Loom Pinterest page here.
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That is a lot of bands did you take them if you did that will be awesome I have a rainbow loom I don’t have so much bands then that oooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Learning express in San Jose, California had a lot of looms and refill bands available
Hi Maddi, Yes we made all of the bracelets you can see in the picture. I’m sure you are going to have an amazing collection soon. You should check out our Pinterest page for more Rainbow Loom ideas! http://pinterest.com/MommyMafiaMIAMI/rainbow-loom/
Thanks for stopping by!
Looking to buy replacement bands. What is the name of the store in photo? I would like to order from them, I live in Maryland and don’t know where the bands are being sold around here. Thank you
Hi Kara! The name of the store in the photo is Learning Express Pinecrest. I’m not sure if they ship or not. Here’s a link to the learning express site: http://www.learningexpress.com/store/pinecrest/ Their phone # is 305.663.8699. Good Luck!
Learning express in san jose , california had kits and refil bands available
Thanks Holly!
They’re sold at the mall in a place called, As Seen On TV. Very reasonable. I think at Christmas they were around $10. They also had bags of refills.But you don’t need the loom if you just use your fingers . My 5yr old neighbor showed me how.
Am thinking of buying my grandaughter one for her birthday. She will be 14 but I’m afraid this will be too juvenile for her age. What do you think?
That’s a tough one Teresa. I think she’s right at the borderline. I will say, that both of my Step-daughters got into it, (ages 19 & 21) but because they were making them for their little brother, not for themselves. Luckily, it’s not a huge investment, the kit is $19.99 and comes with more than enough bands to make plenty of bracelets. So you if you wanted to get her the kit, you could see if she’s “into” it or not. She might surprise you and start selling her own creations on Etsy.com. There are a lot for sale there now!
I think you should get it for her.
Tracey
I brought one for my 14 year old she loves them
Thanks Maddie! Good to know!
Yes I am a student/ kid and this rainbow loom fad will go in and out before you know it. I Rememeber when silly bands were in and by the time I convinced my parents they where out . I just got Rainbow Loom today @ Micheals, and I love it! Plus I know this is still expensive but I got it for $16.99! This is almost a fad every where I’m in the Jacksonville area .
Alexandra, thank you so much for taking the time to share with us! I know you just got your Rainbow Loom, but have you already made some cool bracelets? Do you have any favorite color combos? Don’t forget to check out the Mommy Mafia MIAMI Rainbow Loom Pinterest page. Lots of ideas there!
Was that the thing on TV my child has Ben driving me crazy about it and I want to get it but don’t know what ???????????
Tracey
Are there commercials out now, Tracey? I haven’t seen any yet, but I know that Michael’s is FINALLY carrying them now!
They now sell a similar loom at toys r us for $14.99
They’re cheap and don’t work. Plus, they are a copy of the Rainbow Loom. The creator of the Rainbow Loom put lots of hard work into the product, and they’re better quality, too.
Almost forgot to mention… I wonder if these are the same rubber bands they sell at our local dollar stores for hair… maybe that is something to look into… my sons are 13 and 8 and are really into these… I just ordered 3600 bands on ebay for $13 and an additional 1800 of glow in the dark and glitter ones for $10.. I plan on making them and putting them in 8 year olds halloween treat bags for his class
Carrie! That’s a GREAT Halloween idea! Love it! My LO is obsessed with the Glow-in-the-Dark ones so I think you were smart to buy so many. I briefly saw the toys r us one, I think I saw it on t.v., is it called “Crazy Loom” or something like that?
Do they sell them at jewel or dollar store
The story is really inspirational.
I know I’m a little late to the party here, but my younger girls (9 and 10) asked for the loom and bands for Christmas. We finally got them about a week and a half ago. So far, all five of my children (9, 10, 12, and 15 year old girls, as well as my 18 year old son), as well as myself, have gone insane making them. We’ve got around 300 pieces so far (bracelets, backpack “tags”, pencil grips, barefoot sandals, slave bracelets, etc.). I’ve watched quite a few tutorials on YouTube, try them while I’m watching, then created a spreadsheet as to which kids I think could handle each design due to difficulty level. We have 2 Fun Looms (around $8), 2 Cra-Z-Looms (around $12), and 2 Rainbow Looms (got mine on the Rainbow Loom site for $14.99), I actually prefer the Fun Loom myself. My 12 year old loves the Cra-Z-Loom. My 9 year old prefers the mini tool for basic bracelets and fishtail designs. The rest don’t care, as long as they get a loom to work on. The only good thing about the Rainbow Loom is being able to pull the pin bars off and re-configure them so they line up evenly as a lot of their videos have the bars placed like that, but you can get the same effect on the Cra-Z-Loom or Fun Loom if you’re careful. We use a Stanley brand “toolbox” for storage. Model: 014026R SortMaster Organizer. Little plastic inserts divide each section and you can customize it so it has anywhere from 7 to 17 compartments (6 in the middle are fixed, with one LARGE space that can be divided into 11 more sections). These boxes were only $9.99 on Amazon, compared to the Rainbow Loom storage boxes on the site for $14.99 or more. The Stanley boxes are 16 1/2″ x 12.3″ x 3.4″ deep. The Rainbow Loom ones, even the XL model ($25.99) is only 15 1/4″ x 14.125″ x 2.125″ deep so the Stanley brand toolbox offers a little more storage space for only around 1/3 the price of the “official” box. Just a tip for anyone else who comes across this page a little late in the game, like I did.
Hi Kimber! WOW 300 pieces is a LOT! That is quite a collection! Thank you for sharing the differences between the Rainbow Loom, The Fun Loom, and The Cra-Z Loom. I think its fantastic that it has been something your whole family has had fun doing. Thank you for sharing!
No problem! The bands alone range from cheap to “Holy Cow!” depending on the brand and how many you get in a pack. The looms, even the inexpensive ones, aren’t exactly cheap. I brought up the box “issue” just to try to help people save a little on storage options. Each section of the Stanley brand toolboxes can hold 2 of the 600+ band packs from the Rainbow loom site, and since they’re adjustable, you can also store a couple looms themselves, the mini tools, beads, charms, etc. depending on how you configure them, of course. The lids of them have little grooves that the top part of the dividers go into so there are also no worries about mixing bands, beads or charms. Great, sturdy, little storage option which is good for travel as well since the boxes have molded handles.
I have just found this blog post. This craze has now hit Australia! My 4.5 year old daughter came home from school a couple of weeks ago asking for a rubber band bracelet. I was like, a what? LOL I was just trying to find out what they were called and this is where I ended up. Yep, it is my first “big kid now” craze. I wasn’t expecting such a thing so soon arrghh LOL 🙂
Rainbow loom bracelets are becoming crazy for the kids. These are looking really wonderful.