We have a big set of shelves right beside our table that's stocked with all the kid's craft supplies, so everything is waiting and ready for whenever the creative mood strikes! Sure beats having to constantly rummage through cupboards and i like the Moonlets to be able to help themselves whenever they need something without my help.
Two things make craft time easy for us...
CRAFT MATS Big green cutting/craft mats are perfect for each of the kids to have as their workspace to catch the mess and protect the table too. They go on the table no matter what they're doing or there's no crafting, that's the rule.
GRAB BASKETS Our shelves have lots of baskets and containers that are each full of a certain thing, so the kids can take a basket and have whatever they need at the table. Packing up is easy because everything just goes into the basket and then back on the shelf.
OUR CRAFT SUPPLIES:
* General supplies to have on hand all the time include scissors, rulers, sticky tape, blu-tak, glue (glue stick & pva), pencil sharpeners, erasers, hole-punch and a stapler.
* Paper is obviously the easiest, cheapest and most versatile material to have on hand so we always have basic copy paper, sketch pads, lined writing paper and notebooks, textured and coloured paper and envelopes. Always a couple of old magazines for cutting up, discarded wrapping paper or old books too. Origami paper also handy.
* Collage materials, which is is usually the favourite basket for the Moonlets, full to the brim with just about everything. At the moment we have glitter, feathers, toilet rolls, ribbon, buttons, pipe-cleaners, googly eyes, stickers, egg cartons, sequins, felt, thread, wool, fabric offcuts, beads, just about anything i deem worth saving from packaging or presents and heaps of other stuff too. Most definately an 'anything goes' basket! It's all food for their imagination.
* For art supplies i think variety is the key. In our painting box we have water, acrylic and oil paints with lots of different sized paintbrushes and sponges. Water colour pencils have recently been added. Crayons are out of favour with my kids these days so instead we have oil pastels, which are beautiful rich colours, perfect for using on dark coloured paper too. And of course the regular textas and pencils. A few stamps and inkpads.
We have gathered so many bits and pieces over the years. And I tend to pick up new paint or supplies whenever i see things on special or even little bags of weird things at op-shops. With so much available to them all the time to choose from, there is often something that's been pushed to the back of the shelves or that we haven't had out for a while, which makes it seem all new again.
I've gathered a couple of new things and stocked up for school holidays lately. I guess it wasn't particularly necessary... but I do like shopping for craft supplies!
What do you have in your craft cupboard for the kids? Any favourites or perhaps things you avoid at all costs?!?
