Saturday, March 8, 2008

My Favorite Craft Supplies

MATERIALS LIST

Washable glue

Glue brushes

Glue sticks

Washable markers

Crayons- all sorts

Paints

Tape

Child safety scissors

Contact paper

Sample paint chips

Old mittens/gloves/socks

Felt

Milk cartons

Construction paper

Craft magnets

Shimmer n’ shine

Glitter glue/pen

Hole punch

Googly eyes

Paper fasteners

Pipe cleaners

Pompoms

Stickers

Tissue paper

Aluminum foil

Berry baskets

Boxes

Bottle caps

Buttons

Cardboard

Dry cereal/pasta

Coffee filters/lids

Cotton balls

Diaper wipe boxes

Egg cartons

Envelopes

Feathers

Paper bags

Paper plates

Paper scraps

Photos of family & friends

Popsicle sticks

Shoeboxes/lids

Soda bottles

Stamps

Yarn

Wrapping paper scraps

Playdough

Paint brushes

Paint cups

Butcher roll of paper

Model Magic

Drawing Paper/Pad

Foam- sheets and pieces

Some Notes on these Materials:

Paints- I recommend Activity Paint sold by Discount School Supply. It can be used for easel painting and fingerpainting so you get more for your money.

Invest in spill proof paint cups and brushes to match. It makes controlling the mess easier!

Watercolors are fun too. Prang has rich colors. Crayola offers watercolor pencils that you draw with and then use just water to paint over to make the watercolor come out. This is great for young artists. Discount School Supply sells liquid watercolor that you can fill into markers, stamp pads, and just to use as paint.

I've just replaced some of my activity paint with Biocolor Paints. They don't blend but marbleize and can cover a variety of media. Plus, there additives such as glitter, shimmer, puffy, and fabric to make the paint even more fun!

Tape- colored masking tape, clear tape, and double sided

Crayons- brand does matter! Crayola makes lots of different types of crayons for every age. My First Crayons make a great color line for the very young. Off brands tend to be more wax than color which can be discouraging to the young artist. Beeswax crayons are also very nice.

Scissors- for twos and those new to scissors try the kind with spring action so not much fine motor skill is needed to open them up again. Move up to a dull blade regular pair after they have practiced enough. Fiskars makes good ones for the very small.

Little Table- if you don’t have one already, consider a small table for your children to craft at and to do projects. They love chairs their size and it also provides a clear space for the work to be done. Little Tikes sells a table that is a great size for two children.


Butcher Paper- I can not recommend this stuff enough!! You can do all sorts of things with it from making murals to wrapping gifts to decorating props for dramas to easel paper. I even use it when my kids get fussy at the dinner prep hour. I lay a piece out on the floor with colored pencils and stencils and they each get a corner. If I can do this in my tiny kitchen, you can too! It will last forever. I have the 50lb weight so we can use wet and dry media.

Ferby Pencils- These produce fabulous color and last a long time. I use a hand sharpener from Fiskars to make them last long with a nice point.

7 comments:

Jen said...

I have to second how nice a little table is. We got the Little Tikes one to put in the kitchen (tiled) when we got new carpet everywhere else. It is WONDERFUL to have space for him to work that is just his size and does not make me a nervous wreck every time he wants to paint or play playdoh!

km said...

I have been lurking for about a month. I keep meaning to email you or something. I googled something FIAR and found you. I'm so thankful. I'm hs'ing my 6 this year. 5 will be K next year. And I've also got an almost 3. We're doing FIAR...and thank you so much for the information you're sharing.

Amber said...

Wow! Great list! I am so glad that I "found you"! Your blog is a joy to read and I love, love, love the FIAR info! Awesome blog!

Yo said...

wow! that's great. now, tell us how you store it all for easy use.
thanks,
Yo

iluvcallalilies said...

Great list! We also include stickers, Contact Paper (clear), feathers, and a wide variety of papers (many shapes, sizes, colors, styles).

Janitorial Supplies said...

Nice list:) These are all essentials for making crafts.

jengod said...

Wonderful "craft pantry" list. Thank you for sharing.