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I am such a creature of habit… just ask my family. I can listen to the same song 100 times in a row, eat the same sandwich for lunch everyday for a month, and wear the same outfit everyday for a week (I’d wash it, of course. I’m weird, but I’m not gross).

My poor children usually have to suffer along with my boring routines, but every once in a while I hear “mom, can we puh-leeease listen to another song??” from the backseat. I have to remind myself that most people like a little variety in life 🙂

So I try my best to spice things up, and expose my kids to a wide array of experiences and things. This includes art supplies! Growing up, I loved markers.The best Christmas I can remember is when Santa brought me 8 packs of markers and a whole big stack of white notebooks. I was in heaven. But again, I don’t want to force my little monkeys to use markers everyday for the rest of their lives, so we’re trying to branch out a bit.

So here is a master list of supplies kids can create with! I’m always amazed at the things they think of, and how they can create something out of almost nothing. You could put any combination of these items in front of your kids, and I bet they’d make something awesome. So have fun with it! See how many of these things you have laying around the house, and get crafting!

*Note: obviously, use your best judgement and make sure you stick to age-appropraite materials. I sure won’t be giving Owen a hot glue gun anytime soon 🙂

Coloring / Painting

-Markers
-Crayons
-Colored pencils
-Pens (different colors)
-Washable paint
-Acrylic paint
-Puffy paint
-Watercolors
-Oil pastels
-Paint brushes
-Colored chalk
-Ink and stamps
-Stencils
-Ruler

Paper / Fabric

-Paper (construction paper, card stock, newspaper, wrapping paper, scrapbooking paper, colored tissue paper, etc)
-Envelopes
-Brown paper bags (like the ones I used to make this scrapbook)
-Felt
-Fabric scraps
-Burlap

Stringy things

-String (crafts stores have all kinds of string, from cotton to rubbery!)
-Ribbon
-Shoelaces
-Yarn
-Elastic
-Rubber bands

Cutting / Pasting

-Scissors (some come with blades that cut cool designs!)
-Glue stick / bottle of glue
-Hot glue gun (low temp)
-Glitter glue
-Tape (plain or decorative)
-Velcro (the adhesive dots are awesome!)
-Stapler
-Hole punch
-Paper punches (different shapes)

Around the House

-Egg cartons
-Empty cardboard containers (oatmeal containers, cereal boxes, shoe boxes, tissue boxes, etc)
-Empty jars (peanut butter jars are plastic and work great!)
-Empty cans with lids (coffee cans, hot chocolate tins)
-Toilet paper / paper towel rolls
-Bubble wrap
-Paper clips
-Macaroni
-Dried beans
-Tin foil (try these tin foil boats)
-Paper plates
-Straws
-Cotton balls
-Cupcakes liners
-Toothbrushes
-Clothespins
-Q tips

Other fun ideas!

-Sponges
-Magnet strips (adhesive!)
-Cardboard
-Foam sheets
-Pipe cleaners
-Beads (options are endless here, you could even make your own)
-Buttons
-Popsicle sticks (these come in different colors!)
-Feathers
-Googly eyes (we like the self-adhesive kind)
-Pom poms
-Glitter
-Sequins / jewels
-Stickers (glittery, scratch-n-sniff, foam… you name it!)
-Balsa wood (very lightweight, and easy for kids to use)
-Play dough
-Modeling clay