Throughout the years, I’ve been asked by my readers, “What are your favorite go-to materials when it comes to kid crafts?”
I always struggle with answering this but not anymore. Today I’m putting it all together in this “Favorite Craft Supplies For Kids” resource post!
In all reality I’m a VERY simple girl when it comes to the craft tutorials I share.
If you have been a long time follower of mine, I don’t like fancy tools or even elaborate materials. When it comes to the ideas I put out there, the most important factor to me is that it involves inexpensive and easy to find supplies. I don’t want my readers running around, feeling stressed or spending tons of money. The whole point of crafting with kids, is to bring joy into your home. Not chaos.
You will often find me shopping at Dollar Tree, Target and even Walmart for my supplies. Michaels is another favorite of mine but honestly, a basic grocery store is a great starting point as well. After-all – you are already shopping for your family there. Why not get your craft supplies at the same time?
When I can’t pin-point a particular item at any of these locations, I will always suggest Amazon and direct link to the item in my tutorial supply list. This way you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your home. SCORE!
Anyways, back to the real reason why you landed on today’s post.
Below you will find SEVERAL of our “tried and true” favorite materials for kids crafts. I’ve spent a lot of my time on this particular post and I really do hope it helps you out. Everything is linked up with our Amazon links to help you order them right away. From here, you can order them yourself OR you can even make a wish list for your child, so someone you know can help them build up that PERFECT craft stash. Remember – this is an easy way to get Christmas shopping done with a few clicks!
Several of these craft supplies are very basic and any brand, at any store, will typically work. But some of these in the list, I do have “specifics” that “I” prefer. It’s just recommendations from years of experience. Please feel free to ignore if need be! :-)
And one more note before I dive into the fun. I mentioned above that there are Amazon links in this post. These are my personal affiliate links to Amazon, where I can earn a small commission off of anything you buy on this list. The prices are no different or higher than normal but you could be supporting our website in a BIG way because I referred you! Like I said, I typically purchase my supplies at local stores like Walmart, Target or Dollar Tree BUT if you are an Amazon lover or just like ordering online for convenience, clicking the links will make it easy for you, while supporting my business as well!
Now on to my list of MY FAVORITE supplies for a great kid craft stash! Again, this is my recommended list and what I personally love to keep on hand & what you might find in our tutorials. Several of these materials can be skipped if you like and/or substituted for something else you have on hand. Please take this list as a recommendation not “do as I say” type list. Also – the links to Amazon are to similar products that I use. I tried to match/link to things, as best as I could :-)
Happy shopping & crafting, my friends! Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, so you never miss a new tutorial from us! #gluedtomycrafts
*** This post contains affiliate links to similar items on Amazon ***
1. First things first – adhesives. Hands down – for most of our crafts, I prefer Elmer’s White School Glue to any other brand out there. We also love their black glitter glue for our watercolor crafts.
When I don’t want anything too “wet” or “slow drying” for our adhesive, I prefer large glue dots, a stapler or an inexpensive tape runner from the scrapbook aisles. A few rolls of different washi tapes or painter’s tape is good to keep on hand too!
I typically don’t use a glue gun around my son but I do have THIS cordless one in my stash.
2. My second favorite thing to use is Tulip Fabric Puffy Paint. You might see me mention the material A LOT on Glued To My Crafts.
We use this craft medium mostly in our paint splat crafts and I just love the texture it makes when it’s dries. Sometimes it’s also great for adding dotted eyes or a simple mouth to crafts.
3. Popsicle Sticks – I typically like and use the jumbo size popsicle sticks in our crafts but the regular size ones work as well. I also like to keep a good stash of wooden craft spoons and clothespins on hand at all times.
4. Foam Paint Brushes – They are typically cheap, easy to clean and kids can have a good grip on them because of the size. I also love these when it comes to painting my son’s hands for handprints in our keepsake ideas!
5. Color Printer – a good amount of our tutorials come with free printable templates to help you get started. Therefore “I think” a good printer is useful for you to take advantage of all the awesome things I come up with throughout the year and have designed specifically for my awesome readers :-)
I personally like this HP DeskJet 3755 All-in-One Printer, since I can take advantage of their monthly ink program with it. For around $6 a month, I get 100 prints with unlimited ink sent to me. If you can, look into the program because it will save you a ton of money in the long run, as well!
6. Wiggle Eyes – you can’t go wrong with any size, color or shape! We use them all the time to give life to our creations. I also love to pick up adhesive wiggle eyes for saving time!
One tip I have, is when you are ready to throw away the artwork, pop off the glued-on wiggle eyes to reuse them again later. This will save you some money in the long run! If you use Elmer’s school glue to adhere them, this is typically an easy task to take them off.
7. Rhinestones, sequins and glitter – anything to add a little sparkle to those already awesome creations!
I personally like and prefer the thick chunky glitter to the super tiny stuff. And if I can find them, I also prefer rhinestones that have adhesive on the back already {like a sticker} for easy adding to our crafts. The same tip for the wiggle eyes above, can be applied here too with the rhinestones!
8. Paper Plates and Bowls – any size will do and/or brand! Typically I buy the larger size ones at the grocery store but Dollar Tree is great too. I also like to pick up a package of brown and white paper bags while I’m at it!
9. Colored Cardstock or Construction Paper – in ALL the colors of the rainbow and of course, we keep every scrap just in case!! Plus a good stash of white cardstock for printing those printables from us ;-)
10. Tissue Paper – again, in ALL the colors of the rainbow! A BIG tip I have, is to save every little piece of tissue paper you come across throughout the year. From birthday gifts to stores that hand it out in their shopping bags, keep it for your crafts! You seriously can’t beat the price of FREE and a little bit goes a long way!
11. Clear Contact Paper – we often use this in our “stained glass” or “what will you put inside your” crafts. It’s just a craft medium that is clear and makes everything “stick” together in a laminated way!
If contact paper isn’t your thing, a good laminator is great to have on hand as well!
12. Cupcake Liners – another favorite of mine to keep in ALL the colors and prints. They come in handy in our pretend play crafts, mixed media ideas and/or card tutorials!
13. Terra Cotta Pots – we have used these clay pieces in so many ideas on Glued To My Crafts, that we even have a HUGE blog post roundup because of it! They are great for easy holiday decor and gifts!
14. Watercolors – this is a painting material I recently fell in love with this year. I primarily use them in our free “black glue” printables and I love the Crayola brand!
15. Recycled Store Flyers and Newspapers – although this isn’t an item you buy, I just want to remind you of a FREE craft medium you probably have in your home right now. I love using sales flyers I get from grocery stores for various tutorials. One of them being our Mixed Media Farm Truck post!
On the same breath of “recycling” I also like to save egg cartons for various craft ideas well!
16. Shaving Cream – the cheaper the better! And I know you are probably thinking it’s completely outside the box but when mixed with a little school glue, it makes a FUN bumpy paint texture when it dries. We have a great tutorial HERE for an example.
17. Kwik Stix Paint Crayons – this is something I recently discovered this summer and it’s basically a mess-free paint for kids. It’s like crayons but they dry like paint after a few minutes. I highly suggest them if you have younger children!
18. Paint Sharpie Markers – perfect for OLDER children in your life. They can sign their name, write on any surface or draw on a finishing face onto their creations! I also like to keep a good stash of black Sharpie markers on hand.
19. Cookie Cutters – besides baking with them, they are great to use as “stencils.” Take for example – a gingerbread man craft. Trace the cookie cutter onto cardstock, trim out with scissors and decorate!
20. Elmer’s Magic Slime Liquid – for the slime lovers, I can’t say enough great things about this “magic liquid.” One bottle makes FOUR slime concoctions. Just mix 1/4 cup with a bottle of glue and you have instant slime! I have more details HERE.
21. Large Blank Paint Canvases – before I started offering keepsake printables on our website, blank canvases were always a MUST in our home. You can find some examples of what we made HERE.
22. Crinkle Paper – we like to add it to various crafts and gifts! Take for example our Shredded Paper Unicorn post.
23. Baby Wipes – we know not everyone is close to a sink when they are crafting, so I highly suggest you ALWAYS have baby wipes near by for easy cleanup. Especially when working with paint!
24. Paper Doilies – in any size! Just like the cupcake liners, you can fold, embellish and cut them into various shapes for your paper crafts! I like to keep them on hand, in various solid colors. This past Valentine’s Day I used the heart shaped ones ALOT for classroom card ideas.
25. Cotton Balls and Make Up Cotton Pads – from Santa beards to tails on Easter bunnies, cotton balls and pads are an “outside the traditional” craft material!
26. Colorful Buttons – again, these can be any size and color. With glue dots, you can pretty much add them to ANY craft idea! My tip is to even save the extra ones that come from clothes you purchase, to add to your stash!
27. Air Dry Clay – no fuss with “mixing” materials or no need to turn on the oven for baking. You can make ornaments, magnets and decor pieces with ease!
28. Washable Ink Pads – we LOVE to keep several different colors on hand for our thumbprint and even handprint craft ideas {above is our “daddy’s sea of love” printable}
29. Large Coffee Filters – you can leave them plain or decorate them with watercolors to make snowflakes, turkeys or even umbrellas!
30. Pipe Cleaners – it’s amazing what you can bend these pieces into! I mean, look! CARROTS!
31. Decorative Plastic Leaves – this past fall we went a little crazy on the plastic leaf tutorials and there is a great roundup for you to check out because of it!
32. Paint Dabbers – these are great for little kids to play with! Have children dab a few dots on dry coffee filters and then spray with a squirt bottle for a fun watercolor look!
33. Pom Poms – this is another material that you can stock up on in various sizes and colors! You can use them as is OR use them like a “stamp” just like in our “pom pom painted hot air balloon” craft.
34. Tassel Maker – in the past we made ghost gift tags with this particular maker. I also think a Pom Pom Maker is great to keep on hand!
35. Yarn – again, in all the colors of the rainbow if you can! But if I had to choose just one color to keep on hand, I would say WHITE!
36. Basic Kitchen Sponges – they are great to cut into STAMPS! Take for example our Birthday Cake Cards.
37. Craft Felt – just like cardstock, keep craft felt in ALL the colors, in your stash is a good idea.
38. Paper Craft Tubes or Recycled Toilet Paper Rolls – these are great for various projects, including our superhero idea!
39. Tulle – there is an array of crafts you can make with tulle but my personal favorite is this Santa Beard idea.
40. Surprisingly – SEASHELLS! Whether from a beach vacay or you buy them from the store, I like throwing these together on blank canvases, frames and even vases!
41. And finally – Paper Straws! This is another “outside the traditional” craft material. We have used them for spider legs, Christmas trees and even this Popsicle Stick Paper Straw Flag post.
