elfinbaby Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 We refurbish our supplies every christmas. Besides the usual paint, marker, colors, glue, paper, etc., what do you like to keep handy? Any items that your kids just can't get enough of? - and I'm not referring to an art set or something like that. My kids can't get enough of TAPE! I buy dozens of rolls every year so they won't use mine. I've been doing this for several years and I'm running out of creative ideas. Thanks! BTW my kids are 11, 7, 6, and 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Yes, lots of tape! And different kinds-scotch, masking, blue painters, double sided. Pipe cleaners leftover boxes buttons felt small wooden sticks and other balsa pieces leftover styrofoam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissKNG Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Glitter pens!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 THose silky crayons (colorix?) that twist up and are soft like tubes of lipstick are really fun to use. Clay--real clay. beads, felt, fabric ribbon all hits here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Yes to all of the above and: Googly eyes Multi colored pom poms Bits of yarn Stickers (extras from my scrapbooking) Cotton balls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQmom Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Definitely tape, but second to that would have to be glitter glue. My kids LOVE that stuff. And not the kind in the skinny little tube that is hard to squeeze out--they like large fat bottles of it. I think Elmer's has a nice set of 5 for about $5. Also, foam stickers--especially the glitter kind. Gel pens, crayons, and markers and lots of black paper. I've been known to cut up sheets of black cardstock or construction paper into four small squares and staple them together to make a gel pen writing booklet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoyfulMama Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 This is precisely why I gave up on a craft box, and now have about 15 craft boxes at the top of my closet. :D Yes, all organized with labels. All of the above, plus, fabric puff paints and fabric markers, fun-shape scizzors, buttons, foam shapes, sticky-backed gems, feathers, old cards (for collages), and one bathroom cabinet collects toilet paper tubes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I dedicated a room for our craft supplies. It's a work in progress, I've been stocking it for half a year now, and still trying to get everything we might possibly need. (This is just my personality, can be a perfectionist at times.) http://satorismiles.com/homeschool-room-photos/craft-kitchen/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 We refurbish our supplies every christmas. Besides the usual paint, marker, colors, glue, paper, etc., what do you like to keep handy? Any items that your kids just can't get enough of? - and I'm not referring to an art set or something like that. My kids can't get enough of TAPE! I buy dozens of rolls every year so they won't use mine. I've been doing this for several years and I'm running out of creative ideas. Thanks! BTW my kids are 11, 7, 6, and 1 Buy something at Micheals, and then get a % off your next visit chit. Stroll the aisles. We have 3 kinds of glue, glitter glue pens, a bag of pompoms of various types, a bag of feathers , glitter, beads, colored sand, Art Stix (from prismacolor) and raised sheets for "rubbings" made with the Art Stix (My son loves the geometrical patterns to then color in) (I got this great idea visiting the Getty Villa in LA), water sol. crayons (I think we have Caran D'Arche) which you draw and then take a wet brush to for blending, 2 dozen kinds of brushes, various papers--tracing, newsprint, watercolor, sketch, those "rulers" that have odd edges so you can tear paper along them and give it a fancy edge, ditto with fancy blade scissors, sidewalk chalk. I get the cheap bulky stuff at Micheal's (or goodwill), and the rest at Dick Blick.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayne J Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 among all the other great replies, the one thing we use all the time that I never thought I would have to keep "in stock" is cardstock in various colors. They use it for paper dolls, puppets on a stick, various buildings and architectural purposes and lots of other things, like, oh, say, cards. When I was a kid we used newsprint--you know, that awful old beige colored paper that didn't erase worth anything? Now my kids are spoiled and won't use anything but clean white copy paper. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Our art supplies drawers have 1. Lots of Colored construction paper/cardstock 2. Lots of blank white paper for drawing 3. Pipe Cleaners 4. Stickers (all kinds) 5. feathers in many colors 6. felt 7. buttons 8. colored rice grains 9. colored noodles 10. clothes pins 11. paint 12. googly eyes 13. glitter glue 14. popsicle sticks (plain and colored) 15. tongue depressors (plain and colored) 16. Popsicle sticks with grooves in them so you can stack them like lincoln logs and then we have the usual glue, markers, colored pencils, and lots of tape on the desks for them to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMary2 Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 We refurbish our supplies every christmas. Besides the usual paint, marker, colors, glue, paper, etc., what do you like to keep handy? Any items that your kids just can't get enough of? - and I'm not referring to an art set or something like that. My kids can't get enough of TAPE! I buy dozens of rolls every year so they won't use mine. I've been doing this for several years and I'm running out of creative ideas. Thanks! BTW my kids are 11, 7, 6, and 1 Pipe cleaners popsicle (craft) sticks hot glue gun googlie eyes tissue paper plaster of paris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meet me in paris Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 We love paper punches like these. Circles and squares come in SO handy all the time. You can get them at Michael's or JoAnn very inexpensively with a coupon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfinbaby Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 Such good ideas! Yay! Thanks so much. Where do I get colored noodles and rice grains?? And Satori, that is over the top awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 I got my colored pasta at Michaels I believe, or Lakeshore Learning.. I keep a bin in our pantry and every time I throw something away, I look at it and decide whether it's recyclable or can be used for future crafts. Also, I emailed my local mamas list for baby jars, and anything I might be able to use for crafts. This way I got my local newspaper to give me tons of newspapers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yvonne Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Colored rice and pasta are super easy to make. Just get a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Put some in a bowl or ziploc bag. Add a few drops of food coloring. Put the rice or pasta in. Stir it around in the alcohol/food coloring for a minute. Pour it through a sieve or scoop the pasta/rice with a sieve. (Save the alcohol/food coloring to reuse with the next batch.) Spread the colored rice/pasta on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels and let it dry over night. Easy and much cheaper than buying the little bags of it. A second way to color rice is with the Colorations Liquid Water Colors. I made a rice bin for the children when they were younger. It was a favorite activity! I put the rice in an under the bed, plastic storage box on wheels (so I could roll it under a table when we weren't using it.) I squirted different colors of the Colorations Water Colors in different sections of the rice. Mixed with a big spoon. Let dry for half a day. It was beautiful! The kids loved playing with that rice bin for a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 I got my colored rice and noodles at http://www.classroomdirect.com I tried coloring my own once and the colors just didn't come out at bright as the stuff we buy. I'm not sure if I did something wrong or what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfinbaby Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 Awesome! I've been wanting to know all my life how to die grains:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 (edited) many of the things already listed lots of wool for felting loads of fabric yarn for knitting (right now we're using up a ton of yarn on pom-pom wreaths http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.re-nest.com/uimages/re-nest/11-17-09wreath10.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/how-to/how-to-easy-green-wreath-101653&usg=__DuCursd1oywQV_M4z2h2xQYAGx4=&h=432&w=600&sz=348&hl=en&start=10&um=1&tbnid=bf4ExnSrjqmSOM:&tbnh=97&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpom%2Bpom%2Bwreath%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1 (scroll down a little to see sample) buttons My latest score for the craft shelf was a bunch of vintage scraps, lace, buttons, and odds and ins. I'm now hitting garage sales and thrift stores to find more stuff like that. I also have a crazy supply of beads from working in the business for 15 years. I'm trying to collect stuff now that will keep my girls interested into their teens. I foresee them making things and selling them on Etsy. :) Edited December 15, 2009 by helena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 (edited) , Edited December 15, 2009 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 (edited) According to my children, not enough! They would do "Art" every day, if I'd let them..... oh, wait, I remember now, I do let them! :D The girls are little -- twins, 3, oldest, 5 -- so they like to color, paint, cut, glue, and put glitter anywhere. In our art stock, we have: Art smocks -- I bought extra-small nurse's scrub tops, and they wear these backwards (with the V in the back). Works great to keep the clothes clean! Crayons (twistables & regular) Markers (wash off) Markers (Sharpies/perm) Pencils Colored pencils Construction paper White paper LARGE sheets of paper (my dad's old desk calendars, turned upside-down -- good for watercolors) Card stock Brown craft roll paper Glue (Elmer's) Q-Tips (for spreading glue) Paper towels Glue sticks Rubber cement Hole punch Stapler Scissors (straight-edge & "The Wiggly Scissors") ;) Scotch tape -- dispensed by Mommy-the-Tape-Monitor :glare: Waxed paper Foil paper Newspaper Yarns & strings (you never know how these might come in handy for "the project") Ribbons Buttons Sequins Glitter -- don't even talk to me about glitter Contact paper (translucent & patterned) Watercolor paints Finger paints Tempura paints Paint brushes Stamps Play dough -- does this count? Clay -- dries hard, they love this (Crayola tub) Spray polyurethane (only Mommy uses this to preserve some things) Craft sticks -- natural & colors Shells Beads Pom poms Googly eyes Pipe cleaners Colored pasta (for stringing into necklaces) Food coloring Sand Sandpaper Felt squares Rocks, pine cones, leaves, acorns, sticks, and various other objects from our "nature collection" -- these end up in their art Books -- such as You Can Draw Animals (something like that). Simple books that teach the oldest how to draw. She is REALLY into drawing right now. Stickers! I'm sure there's something else we have I haven't thought of, but my husband says it's time for bed. Gotta go! HTH! Edited December 15, 2009 by Sahamamama Stickers! How could I forget stickers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiobrain Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Sculpey III A pasta machine wire tin foil high quality colored pencils high quality drawing pencils kneaded erasers mod podge a plastic tablecloth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prim*rose Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 For some reason, dd loves colored tissue paper. Can't have enough of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Colored rice and pasta are super easy to make. I made colored rice and pasta using hand sanitizer and food coloring. If you are wanting really bright colors, use the concentrated gel instead of the liquid. but this was easier and less messy. Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 I know some else mentioned fabric. We specificly keep old clothes in our craft box. My kids find numerous things to do with old teeshirts, jeans, ect. Cardboard boxes are also popular around here lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 (edited) - low heat glue gun - beads - sequins - findings (itsy bitsy crunchable metal tubes that can seal string & wire together) - seed beads - copper wire - french wire - leather and leather cords - squares of felt - embroidery floss - wire cutters - acrylic paints - shrinky dinky material - colored duct tape - scraps of wood - sandpaper - metallic leaf (gold leaf, silver leaf, sparkly magenta leaf) Edited December 15, 2009 by dragons in the flower bed I keep thinking of more stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 THose silky crayons (colorix?) that twist up and are soft like tubes of lipstick are really fun to use. Crayola's version is called Slick Stix. You can buy the 5 pack locally, but I had to go online for the 12 pack. They are insanely fun to use! Tape, glitter glue, and pipe cleaners for sure. Not an item to purchase, but we keep a box full of stuff that comes from product packaging - - twisty ties, sturdy tags and 'sign' type items, plastic inserts, little boxes, fancy bits of paper. Promotional stuff that comes in the mail is another great source for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfinbaby Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 This has been such a great brain stormer for me. I've gotten several new ideas. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.