This so-called Loom Fever

Taking a break from exploring (and blogging about) Phnom Penh, my mom and I got caught into the whole Rainbow Loom craze. Yes, yes, it's been around for awhile now and I remember mothers making a huge deal out of it at Michael's last year while I was in Canada. But I never paid it much attention until my curiosity peaked last month and I caved. I thought it was just a little kids type of thing at first, but damn. I was wrong.

IT IS DARN TONS OF FUN. 

I remember said curiosity peaking when I was watching an episode of Kris TV (fellow Pinoys, you know what I'm talking about) where Kris Aquino featured the famous Rainbow Loom. I never really realized just how BIG of a thing they were in the Philippines! 

And of course, the moment we got into it, we became desperate in trying to find those rubber bands in toy stores in Manila. No surprise that they sold out fast. It's amazing really how much people can get into stuff like this! It's fun, quite easy and you feel pretty proud of yourself after finishing a loom project. After all, it is a great way for parents to bond with kids (especially mothers and daughters) so I'm seeing the appeal. 

Kudos to Cheong Choon Ng for inventing this!

To be cliche, it's definitely for all ages (though of course, not little children who could swallow the bands and clips)

Note: the following were taken off my Instagram, so don't question the quality of these photos. I admit, I am a sucker for those darn filters.

This was my first ever attempt at making loom bracelets - on my flight from Toronto to the Philippines last month. It was kind of a great way to kill time...

 Graduating from the simple single band and triple band bracelets, my mom and I moved on to more difficult bracelet patterns (well, for us at our novice level then). Gotta say, quite proud of how these turned out...

Then of course, we graduated from bracelet making and moved on to figurines - Disney figurines to be exact.

Teehee, a proud momma of my lil' Ariel!

You can find the tutorial for this mermaid here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq5dKwoHnyw

Because we were really getting into it, my mom and I could not leave for Cambodia without our loom making gear in tow. Hah! 

And the result of a non-stop loom-figurine-making-fest with my mother dearest? 

Note: These were all made in the first two days we were in Phnom Penh. We've been here for a week and a half now. (Oh dear, the loom making damage!)

How many characters can you spot?

My mom and I have been trolling YouTube for all sorts of tutorials, and my favourite would have to be those by TutorialsbyA. Go check her out if you haven't already!

That all being said, have you tried your hand at it? If not, I suggest you get to it! Warning though, once you get into it, it is an all-time-consuming activity (least for my mom and I). So it's a great summer activity to do with the family (and friends, and coworkers, and strangers... if you get my drift). If you were one of the first to get into it and are scoffing at my late amazement of this invention, then I tip my hat off to you for enjoying this for far longer than I have and mastering the art of 'rainbow looming'.

Any thoughts on what the next craze will be next year, or in the following years to come?

Happy discovering!