What should I put in my child’s craft box?  Being the owner of Made By Me Craft Parties my children have access to a whole room full of craft supplies and as a result they’re eager recipients of my cast offs!  But what do you do if you’re just starting out?  What on earth do you buy to set up your children with art and craft supplies and start their first craft kit?

Here’s a list of things I think are perfect items for your kit;

Felt tips/coloured pencils
Plain white card
Coloured paper
Stickers
Glitter (if you can bare it!) Eco glitter is even better.
Beads
Pipe cleaners
Sticky foam shapes and gems
Washi tape (paper Sellotape)
PVA glue
Pritt Stick glue
Scissors (age dependent)
Lolly pop sticks
Apron for younger kids
Small pop up bin or similar
Watercolour paints for older kids and paint brushes

Where to buy craft supplies?

It can be an expensive lark getting all these supplies together if you’re just starting out.  So don’t rush off to the expensive craft stores, besides, with a little bit of time and thought you can put together a kit for very little cost.

Firstly, if you have a Scrapstore near you, this is an excellent place to start.  You can buy a bag or box of scrap for a few pounds and fill it with ribbon, wool, paper, card, embellishments, boxes and random bits and bobs for modelling.  Scrapstores often have a shelf of art supplies for sale, such as paints and glue that are good value.

Secondly, consider a trip to the likes of Poundland, Wilkinsons, The Range and even Lidl or Aldi.  You won’t be able to get all the supplies in one place, but you can certainly pick up a few bargains on your travels to get you on your way.  Just choose your materials a bit carefully if you’re buying for older children, it’s worth investing a bit more money into their paint brushes and paper.

Finally, you can find ready-made boxes of crafts in lots of the supermarkets and craft stores and these are well worth buying as a birthday present.  Besides, you can then add to them as and when you see any bits you like.

Organising Craft Supplies

Once you’ve bought all your goodies, there are lots of ways to organise them.  Keep an eye out for my next blog post giving you lots of ideas for craft storage and making crafting accessible for your children.

I hope you’re inspired on what to put in your child’s craft box, what else would you add?  Have you found a hidden gem to purchase your craft supplies from?  I’d love to know in the comments.

Photos taken by Samantha Prewett Photography