How to Make an Art Box for a Child
Children are full of creativity, and they love getting a chance to express themselves in hands-on ways. Arts and crafts are a productive way to give children this opportunity. Creating an art box for your child puts all the necessary resources at her fingertips. It gives children the chance to explore different art mediums and to create artwork independently. You can easily collect supplies for your art box at craft stores, dollar stores, and even from around your house. Use these steps to help you build a fun and useful art box for your child.
Things You'll Need
- Storage container
- Drawing supplies
- Paper
- Painting supplies
- Adhesives
- Art tools
- Cleaning supplies
Instructions
Start with a box to put all your supplies in. It can be as simple as a shoe box, or something more complex and tailored to your needs. You can use a plastic tote, tackle box, treasure chest or anything else that will fit the art supplies you want your child to have. Begin with the drawing basics. Your art box should include pencils, pens, crayons, colored pencils and markers. You might want to add oil pastels for creating more advanced artwork. Stock your art box with paper for drawing, painting and crafting. Include plain paper, sketch books, construction paper, colored card stock and scrapbook papers. Full-sized paper can be cut down into smaller sizes for easier use and storage. You can also add colored tissue paper for crafting. Add painting supplies that suit your child's skills and interests. You might include water colors, finger paints, acrylic paints, tempera paints and puffy paint. Don't forget paint brushes and sponges. You may also want to add a plastic paint palette for pouring and mixing paint. Include crafting adhesives. You can add regular white glue, crafting glue, glue sticks and glue dots, glitter glue, basic tape or two-sided tape. Place art tools into your box. This might include regular scissors, decorative edged scissors, decorative hole punches and a ruler. Fill your box with other miscellaneous art supplies your child might enjoy. Consider adding ribbon, stickers, craft foam, small balls of yarn, pipe cleaners, play-dough or clay. Organize small craft items into plastic storage bags, like sequins, buttons or beads. You can also add stamps and ink pads. Put cleaning and protective supplies in your art box to help eliminate messes. Add an apron to protect your child's clothing while working. Add a plastic bag to collect small trash items. Include paper towels or wet wipes to help clean up small messes.
