Times are crazy. Here are ideas on how to find balance and quality spend time with your kiddos.
Crafting Supplies You Should Always Have on Hand
Every mom needs a go to box of crafting supplies for when the kiddies are bored or the weather is bad and they can't go outside, or they have already watched too much TV and need something to do. Crafting with kids can go from elaborate to very basic. You don't need to have an art degree to entertain you kids with some glue and stickers and crayons. Below are some supplies that you should always have on hand for when the need to entertain your child arises or if you want to be able to make holiday or season related crafts without having to schlep to the store every time.
1. Crayons - This is like a no brainer. We had crayons in our house before we even had kids. We generally prefer crayola and you can usually get a good price at back to school season.
2. Markers - There are certain crafts where crayons just won't cut it and you really need markers to get the look you're going for. You can have washable ones and also some mommy only sharpies. Metallic colors are great to have on hand!
3. Glue - Whether you prefer, liquid or glue sticks or glue dots, this is a staple. For more advanced projects, definitely have a hot glue gun on hand. Remember putting glue on your hands and then peeling it off once it dried. Yeah, the good old days when that's all we needed for entertainment...
4. A Variety of Paper - Stock up on all sorts of papers including construction paper, copy paper, and card stock. If you want to get super fancy, you can even have a stock of scrapbooking paper. This is useful for a huge variety of craft projects!
5. Child-safe Scissors - Another essential. These are good whether or not you actually expect your child to do the cutting. You don't want to use your adult scissors and leave them on the table while you continue your project and have your toddler pick them up. Better safe than sorry!!
6. Paint - For little guys, finger paints are great and a ton of fun. You can purchase this, make your own, or use yogurt as your paint. (I'll give you the info on that in a future post) As they get older, washable tempera paints are great. Another fun option is water colors. I find that tempera is best for actual crafting, while water colors are good for strictly painting.
7. Paint brushes - There are so many kinds of paint brushes you can have! There are jumbo ones for the little guys and the foam ones. T especially likes those. Then there are the small water colors ones. Just go with what you feel is suitable for your kid.
The following items are no longer essentials, but definitely good to have:
9. Stickers
10. Glitter
11. Tissue Paper
12. Craft Sticks (or Popsicle Sticks)
13. Googly Eyes - My son will play with these whether or not there is an art project involved.
14. Contact Paper - Great for suncatchers, sticky collages, place mats, or just preserving your artwork
15. Pom Poms
16. Modge Podge - Great for yarn lanterns, collages, and a ton more
Finally, try not to pay full price for pretty much anything. Definitely raid your local dollar store like Dollar Tree and Deals. Then wait for your craft store to have sales. You can download the Joann's and Michael's and Hobby Lobby apps to stay informed on sales. Crafting is a great way to spend quality time with your kid, add to your seasonal and holiday decor, and just have fun. I will be posting some of T and my Halloween craft projects soon!!
xoxo,
Emily
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