Summer is here and for me, that means one thing – the holidays. Keeping the kids gainfully occupied during these hot summer months can be quite challenging. As a mom to an 8-year-old, an early educator and a craft blogger I get to explore my passion for art and craft every day, thanks to my work.
So how is that going to help you? We at Kidsstoppress understand that coming up with things to do with the kids is just so difficult. You don’t need to wrack your brains. We have planned loads of fun and interesting activities and challenges for your child depending on their age group.
But before we get started on that, we thought you should go shopping for some art and crafts supplies that will make life much easier for you. I have carefully chosen my supplies ensuring that they are easily available and are easy on the pockets too. From that extensive bag of supplies, there are a favourite few that I absolutely can’t do without.
Here goes the list.
Craft Sticks
As much as we love to eat ice creams on a hot summer afternoon we also love to collect those ice cream sticks and create recycled crafts out of it. They are cheap and durable and there are a ton of ways to use them for summer activities.
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Ribbons
Collect all those ribbons that come with the gift packages that you receive. The possibilities are endless. A simple ribbon bow can give an edgy look to just about any craft. Fold it, loop it and turn it into the most amazing shapes.
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Glitter Pens
It may surprise you but markers can be useful in creating many crafts and not just for noting down things. With a wide variety of markers available in the market you can create beautiful mugs, dishes and many other personalised creations. So do keep them in your craft closet for sure.
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Wooden Clips
Wooden clips crafts make for easy DIY home decor and crafts for school kids. From lovely picture frames to toddler fine motor activities, colourful wooden clips can be useful in various ways.
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Foam paper
Foam paper comes in lovely colours. It’s easy to cut to desired shapes and sizes. It is a part of most of my crafts. Create lovely fridge magnets, puppets and stamps using foam.
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Yarn
The yarn has been a craft staple for generations with craft projects like knitting, crocheting and tons of other possibilities. My craft box is full of yarn in all possible colours. You can create lovely crafts using even the scraps.
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Pipe Cleaner
Pipe cleaners are again our favourite supply. There are endless possibilities you can use them for. It comes in a variety of colours and is fairly inexpensive. They can give hours of entertainment to kids as they twist and turn them into their desired shapes or simply use for beading.
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Try our favourite pipe cleaner crafts here: How To Make A 3D Water Cycle Model
Pompom
Pompoms are a universal craft supply that can turn the simplest craft into an adorable one with their lovely textures and colours. Kids love playing with pompoms with tons of simple and fun ideas to incorporate into their learning activities.
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Punch Machines
Punche Machines are available in a variety of shapes and patterns. Punching gives you the perfect cutout of desired shapes and finesse to the crafts. Kids love the punching action which helps in the development of their fine motor skills too. Let your imagination run wild with these lovely designs.
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Try our favourite punch crafts here: Inexpensive and Simple Gift Wrapping Ideas For Kids Presents
Craft Scissors
Scissors are the most important supply needed for any crafts. Apart from the regular ones, I tend to hoard these lovely patterned scissors that are available in a variety of curves and waves. They are child-friendly and are absolutely safe for them to use. Provide your kids with coloured papers and a trash bowl and they will spend hours with these lovely scissors working on their fine motor skills.
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Felt
Felt is available in a variety of colours which gives us endless possibilities of using it. One of the best properties of felt is that it tends to stick to other felt and hence it is great for reusable activities. Felt board or flannel board are great learning tools for toddlers that they enjoy playing with.
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Washi Tape/Paper Tape
Washi tape designs are available in various colourful,(vintage, bright or pastel colours) glittery and flowery patterns. They can make anything look good in an instant. Turn old toilet paper rolls or cereal boxes into gorgeous crafts, decorations or works of art with just a few strips of washi tape. It is easy for young children to handle as well.
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3D Glitter Outliner
This 3D Cone Outliner is perfect for creating beautiful outlines or hand-drawn masterpieces on a variety of bases. These are available in a number of shades and come with a long nozzle that allows you to trace out the perfect pattern. You can use this outliner to define the boundaries of your designs and later fill them up with colour. Can be used on earthen pots, diyas & surfaces like wood, leather, stone, canvas, metal, terracotta and many other surfaces.
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Googly Eyes
Beware! Someone is watching you! Googly eyes can bring life into just about any craft. Let your imagination run wild and create monsters and creatures with these spooky little things that are available in large and small sizes to add a touch of fun to any project, especially Halloween.
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Brand new and high quality. Make your unique design. Great to beautify your photo album, books. Decoration of your beloved diary, notebook and personal space. Get a lot of DIY pleasure and a good mood with these colourful tapes. Great option for your kids (boys and girls) project work. Not easy to de-gum, not easy to penetrate, not easy to damage the wall. Environmental protection is assured as the tapes can be reused. Buy here
Themisto – Hot Melt Glue Gun with Sticks
Energy efficient,easy and safe to use: 40w glue gun and make quick repairs: save cash by repairing your own items. Use this hot glue gun and melting sticks for quick emergency repairs on wood, glass, cards, fabric, plastics, ceramics and more.
Self-Adhesive Glitter Foam Sheets are ideal for making scrapbooks, craft projects and making greeting cards. This pack contains 10 sheets and is self-adhesive so that you don’t have to undergo the hassle of handling huge quantities of glue.
It can cut paper, plastic, textiles, cardboard and other materials. It can be used for DIY art and craft projects and hobbies. Blades stay sharp and strong for long and are designed for maximum performance and precision.
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Ready-mix tempera are ready to use paints in bright playful colors specially developed for early age. Ready-mix tempera also offers expression of creativity through colouring and painting activities, giving young children a sense of achievement.
Multi-functional wooden buttons that are ideal for sewing, knitting,dolls clothes dress making, scrapbooking,card making, decoration, and other craft projects.
These washable ink pens are great for coloring and the washable ink means the risk of damage to clothing is reduced too.Perfect for you and your Kids’ art activities.
Tune into your children’s creativity with art materials at an early age to help them become thoughtful.
Modelling dough is soft, and easy to mould for young hands. The dough comes in a wide-mouthed container for convenient handling and features a soft flip-top cap to provide comfort while gripping and opening.
These cute Stamp Stickers will make your work much more attractive and fun. Can be used as for card making, & stationery, gifting, and Office stationery.
These rollers brushes can be used for various painting styles and art and craft projects.
You can easily write on them with pen, pencil, marker or even crayon. It can stick to all surfaces, even clothing. Moreover, it is easy to remove.
This list of essential supplies should help you ace the craft game, this summer, with your kids? Is there any other craft essential you just can’t do without? Let us know in the comments below!
Image Source: sg.theasianparent.com
Janani S Koushik
Namita Mehta
Kanishka Pariani
Mareena Francis
