What do you keep around the house?

[Stacey B]

I am trying to improve my ds's art supplies, up until recently he has been sharing mine but it seems like he needs some separate stuff that he can use without having to be super careful, or watched. I'd love to stick to the more natural stuff (I don't want those little foam pieces floating around the house).
So what supplies do you have around, and what gets used the most?

[sewchris2642]

Everything! Odds and ends of buttons, beads, broken jewelry, yarn pieces, fabric scraps, pipe cleaners, acrylic paint and brushes, basting brushes (to "paint" with water outside), chalk (chalk board and sidewalk), crayons, colored pencils, markers, construction paper, paper plates, Styrofoam trays from the grocery store, brown paper bags, powdered tempera paint and liquid starch (finger paint), pasta shells dyed with food coloring and rubbing alcohol, white glue, newsprint, dried beans and peas, fabric crayons, play dough, modeling clay, wooden shapes and spools, string, duct tape, scissors, old magazines. All of these things have been used more than once by my kids.

[LaughingHyena]

I was clearing out the craft supplies yesterday, here's what we have
(DD is nearly 5 and DS is 2)

crayons, coloured pencils, chalks and washable markers
scissors & glue sticks
box of pom poms (they use these for all sorts of things)
box of scraps of fabric/coloured paper/pictures from junk mail (I keep a box of precut pictures & shapes for DS)
plain paper, tissue paper, card
Playdough & cutters
paint and brushes


I put away the glitter glue for now as I find it to messy

[racheleuphoria]

I just updated our art nook in a big way, including setting up a bunch of things that my 2.5 year old and 4.5 year old can access all by themselves. Here is a 5-part series on what I did, from planning, specific purchases and organization: http://euphoriamaternity.wordpress.c...-child-part-2/ Hope that helps!

[cyncyn]

We have all kinds of stuff. DD loves to repurpose cardboard boxes and other recyclables/reusables like paper bags, string, rubber bands etc. I prefer the natural stuff too. I had to ban those foam shapes. They are too chemical stinky for me. Also feathers. I don't like to use animal products and our dog will eat them : My favs: Lots of markers, glue sticks (best for unsupervised use ), self-stick wiggly eyes, chenille stems (AKA pipe cleaners), wooden shapes, paper in all sorts of shapes, thickness and color, fabric scraps, buttons, pasta, cotton balls, old calendars and magazines. I try to watch for things on clearance, like the wooden tree shapes I got at Michael's on the after Christmas sale.

[mrs*kewpie*pie]

we stick to the basics: construction paper, glue, glue sticks, scissors, crayons, markers, paints, the dreaded foam shapes , plain paper, old magazines, playdough, and theres usually interesting stuff in the trash that can be repurposed too