Thrifty art supplies

You don’t have to spend a lot of money on art supplies to enjoy art!

If your kids like to cut and paste get them to make collages with a glue stick and a pile of magazines. Reuse old postcards, magazines, newspapers (great for cutting out words for kids that can’t write yet). Second hand shops are great for old magazines at affordable prices. The doctor’s surgery, dentist and local hairdressers are all good sources for these magazines when they are finished with their stock. Try to get a mixture of topics and avoid real trashy celebrity magazines.

A list of potentially useful items:

• Newspaper
• Postcards
• Magazines, flyers, newspaper supplements – for colourful images and coloured paper for collages.
• Cardboard from cereal boxes makes great card for art projects
• Buttons. When recycling clothes cut off the buttons and keep them in a jar they make interesting additions to pictures- Lids. Twist top cartons lids like the ones used for litres of milk or juice cartons. Even the two litre milk cartons can be used. Jar lids can also be used.
• Tissue paper. From new shoes boxes or wrapping. This can be used to paint on, layering over images and for making flowers.
• Cotton wool
• Twine or an assortment of wool and threads
• Feathers
• Straws
• Ice cream sticks
• Easter egg wrappers – great opportunity to collect different coloured foil.
• Brown or white paper bags
• Egg cartons
• Toilet roll inserts

Commercial craft bits & bobs that kids like. Keep an eye out in your local stationary shop, local supermarket or book shop for when they discount craft items and keep a small stock. Or you can go to one of the on line craft suppliers and stock up.

• felt pompoms,
• googly eyes,
• pipe cleaners
• Glitter, glitter glue, glitter gel, sequins, sequin mesh - all colours
• Stickers for younger kids, it can be old out of date supermarket promotion stickers, hold onto them. The kids can always colour over the original content.

Keep all the craft materials in a box including scissors, glue and tape.

Teach the kids to clean up as part of the activity that way you don't get left with all the clean up.