Kids & Crafts- Making a Craft Kit

Crafts can be an easy and fun way to spend time together as a family, to make inexpensive decorations, and to keep kids busy. With winter coming up, the chance of an unexpected day stuck inside is pretty good. Craft time can fill those snow days up nicely, and allow you to make gifts for the holidays.

It's always a great idea to keep a small box filled with some craft items that can be used on the spur of the moment. I have a small tub that I keep stocked with basic items, and some not so basic items, if the price is right. Here are my recommendations for a kid friendly craft kit.

Foam- shapes, sheets, or items made of foam. You can find many good foam items at Dollar Tree. Craft stores are also a great source for foam items. Michaels & Hobby Lobby regularly put foam kits on sale cheap, so pick one or two up when you find them at a good price. Walmart carries these, as well, and after a major holiday, the holiday kits go on clearance.

Felt- Sheets of felt can be found for around $.25 each, sometimes cheaper.

Pipe Cleaners- an assortment of colors can be used to make all sorts of things, from ornaments & napkin rings, to animals. Dollar Tree carries these as well.

Construction Paper

Scissors

Glue- I recommend a hot glue gun & glue sticks (to be used with adult supervision!), as well as Tacky Glue, and plain old white glue & glue sticks.

Markers, Crayons, & Colored Pencils for drawing- I pick these up when they are super cheap during Back to School sales!

All of these items alone can make plenty of fun craft projects, and you have something on hand for rainy, snowy, yucky days, when the kids are driving you nuts! To store all of these items, I get a small tub, big enough to fit the construction paper, and deep. You can use a pencil box to store the smaller items.

Picking up one or two things here and there can make it a cheap way to fill a box for a day of fun! And always remember- Freecycle, ReUseIt, Craigslist, and 2nd Hand Stores can make for a great place to find some cheap supplies!

Here are some additional items that you can pick up cheap to add into your Craft Kit.

Glitter
Jingle Bells
Hole Punch
Ruler
Stapler
Tape
Beads
Spangles- these are the foil shapes similar to sequins, but usually larger
Sequins
Buttons
Paint
Paint brushes
Feathers

There are a lot of items you can use around the house- egg cartons, foam meat trays (my store swapped to plastic, but either works good, if you wash it really well), cardboard boxes (you can use the boxes from cereal, mac n cheese, or anything else that comes in a box, as well!), the metal lid to frozen juice concentrate containers- there are plenty of things found just in the kitchen that can become a great craft item, instead of another landfill item! Feel free to add your own ideas in the comment section!

Good luck with your own craft kit!