My daughter is really enjoying stringing things these days and I thought this would be a great next step for her. The reviews were all great except about the paint smell, which I wasn't worried about.My daughter was so excited to try these and I thought what great string it has plastic ends which will make it very durable and easy to string...until I tried one of the butterfly beads. The string goes in fine, but there doesn't seem to be anyway to get it all the way through the bead. Once you don't have the plastic to push on it get stuck 3/4 of the way through! So frustrating!!! Now I have to go through the trouble and expense of returning it...maybe I'll just throw it away!Very disappointed and especially in Melissa & Doug products not being cheap to begin with I expect better design and quality!