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68 of 68 found the following review helpful:
 OK starter set, but will not buy this againAug 31, 2009
By Sonja
We bought this when we ordered the easel. It is an ok starter set as it has most of what your toddler will need to use his easel.
Then marker arrived broken - the point pressed in the first time we touched it to the whiteboard and we had to throw it away.
The chalk is horrible - it makes a lot of dust. We will definitely buy another brand ASAP.
The paint cups seem very nice - this is the only item we will probably keep.
The paintbrushes are only ok - the hairs come off after only a couple of uses. It is very nice that the brushes are color coded with the paint and the paint cups.
The set only comes with one eraser - we had to get another for the whiteboard. The one it comes with works well for the chalkboard.
51 of 51 found the following review helpful:
 Creative & OrganizedAug 28, 2009
By Ursula K. Raphael
"AstraDaemon, The Zombiephiles"
My son received this as a gift to go with his Melissa & Doug Deluxe Standing Easel, and my son loves it. Comes with seven items:
1) Washable paint in four colors: red, blue, yellow, green...my son has learned how to mix colors for orange and purple...and the paint is washable but you still might want to purchase a Melissa and Doug Artist's Smock.
2) Paper roll is nice, but kind of thin...depending on how your child paints, it may soak through a little.
3) Dry-erase marker in blue; I bought an Expo Low Odor Dry Erase Marker Set so my son would have different colors, but the one that comes with the set works great & wipes off easily.
4) Felt eraser. We use this one for the chalkboard side of his easel, and I bought another eraser for the dry-erase side of the easel.
5) The spill-proof cups are awesome. The lids screw off so you can pour the paint in, and they have flip tops that can be open while in use. There is a hole under the flip lid that accomodates the paint brush, and the area around the hole slants downwards so any run-off slides back into the cup and not over the edge.
6) The four paintbrushes come in red, blue, yellow, and green -- helps a child keep the colors from getting messy.
7) The chalk is awesome, but not sure why they have black chalk in the set -- you can't even see it on a green board. The chalk goes on and wipes off easy enough. The design makes it easier to hold, especially for littles ones learning how to hold a writing instrument correctly.
I wish the set came with two erasers, and more than one dry-erase marker, but otherwise this is a perfect set.
30 of 30 found the following review helpful:
 Perfect Companion SetOct 29, 2007
By Kristen
I bought the Melissa and Doug Easel and this companion set to go along with it for my nephew. There are no drawbacks. The brushes match the cups. The cups are spill proof. It has everything your child will need to paint, draw, or write up a storm. This was a well thought up and executed product.
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
perfect companion for the M & D easelNov 22, 2007
By J. Jones
My mother got the easel for my 3 year-old for his birthday so I grabbed this set to go with it. The plastic trays work very well to catch any drips or chalk dust, the paint cups have a great slanted insert that works to keep the paint drips in the cups and the paint is just the right thickness to minimize drips. The dry-erase marker dried up relatively quickly, but it really wasn't the big attraction for my son anyways.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Great set, except for one thing....Jun 14, 2010
By Bmommy
We got the Melissa & Doug Easel Companion Set a couple years ago when we purchased the Melissa & Doug Deluxe Standing Easel and we really like it a lot, except for one thing.
First, the positive: the brushes are really high-quality and durable. The chalk is great, with nice colors and easy to hold because of the unique shape. The containers are really handy and very clever. They have two lids, one that you can use when you are painting, kind of cone-shaped, inverted with a hole....so you can dip your paintbrush into it, and easily wipe off the edges on this cleverly-designed lid. Then of course a top-lid that goes over that, when you are not using the paints. The eraser is good-quality and durable. The dry-erase marker is standard. Since there is only one, I bought another set with more colors.Expo 7-Piece Original Dry Erase Organizer Kit
The only negative: The paints look vibrant in the containers, and still look bright when you first put them on paper. Unfortunately, when the paint dries it is faded in color. At least, this is our experience when using the Melissa & Doug Easel paper. By the way, you can get 3 replacement rolls here on Amazon for a really good price. Melissa & Doug Deluxe Easel Paper (3 pack bundle) So it's fine for everyday art, but if you want to do something special as a keepsake, like we did, be prepared for the colors to be more muted than they look. Since I'm not an art expert by any stretch, I don't know if it's because of the paper or the paints....but it definitely wasn't the result we were looking for.
Overall, I would still buy this set again. As with all Melissa & Doug items, it is high-quality and durable, and includes quite a bit for the money. Just wanted to mention the paint issue above, in case it matters to anyone else.
And by the way, the Melissa & Doug Deluxe Standing Easel is a fantastic purchase. Our child was 3 when we got it, it has grown with him to age 6, and will easily last another couple years (height-wise for the child, not in durability. As far as durability, the easel will probably last forever!) Hope this has been helpful for someone.
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