Household Items That Double as Art Supplies when you’re Crafting on a Budget with Children
Getting creative with children is one of the great joys of family life, offering a brilliant way to bond and support their development. For parents and foster carers alike, providing these enriching experiences is a high priority. However, the cost of specialised art supplies can quickly add up, putting a strain on household budgets. The solution might be closer than you think. Your home is likely already a treasure trove of potential art materials, waiting to be discovered in kitchen cupboards, recycling bins, and the garden. A shift in perspective is all it takes to unlock a world of low-cost, imaginative crafting sessions.
Kitchen Cupboard Creativity
The kitchen is an excellent starting point for any budding artist, whether they are your own children or you are looking after children with Fosterplus. Uncooked pasta in various shapes makes for wonderful collage material or can be threaded onto string to create jewellery. A splash of food colouring in a bag with the pasta can add a vibrant twist. Similarly, dried lentils, beans, and rice are perfect for creating detailed mosaic pictures; simply draw a design on paper or card, apply glue, and sprinkle them on. For printing, look no further than the vegetable drawer. A potato cut in half can be carved into any shape, but also consider the interesting patterns made by the end of a stick of celery or the cross-section of a bell pepper.
Homemade Paints and Modelling Doughs
You can also create your own fundamental supplies. A simple, non-toxic paint is easily made by mixing flour, water, and a little salt, then adding food colouring for vibrant shades. For a modelling alternative to shop-bought clay, combine flour, salt, water, and a splash of vegetable oil to make a pliable dough. The process of making the materials is an activity in itself.
Repurposing Packaging and Post
Before you take the recycling out, pause and consider the creative potential within. Cardboard is an incredibly versatile and free material. Cereal boxes can be turned into masks or buildings for a model village, while larger delivery boxes are the foundation for magnificent forts, cars, and robots. The humble toilet roll tube has been a staple of children’s crafting for generations for good reason; they can become anything from a pair of binoculars to a family of quirky characters. Old newspapers and magazines are essential for papier-mâché projects or can be used to make collages. Even plastic bottle tops and metal jar lids can find a new life as wheels, buttons, or decorative jewels on a cardboard crown.
Fabric and Fashion Scraps
The laundry basket and sewing box can also yield fantastic crafting components. An odd sock is the classic starting point for a simple hand puppet, ready to be brought to life with some button eyes and woolly hair. Old t-shirts or worn-out tea towels can be cut into strips and used for weaving on a cardboard loom or for making rag-style decorations. A collection of spare buttons is invaluable for adding detail to collages, creating eyes for characters, or making patterns on a piece of card. Any scraps of wool or string can be used for threading, wrapping, and creating textured lines in a picture.
Unusual Tools and Textures
Beyond the materials themselves, consider what can be used to apply paint or create interesting effects. Cotton wool balls are perfect for dabbing paint to create soft, fluffy clouds or the fleece of a sheep. Cotton buds are excellent for making dot paintings or for adding fine details. A scrunched-up piece of aluminium foil dipped in paint produces a wonderful mottled texture when printed on paper. An old toothbrush can be used to flick paint onto a surface for a splatter effect, a particularly fun activity for a large sheet of paper outdoors. Even kitchen sponges can be cut into shapes for easy printing.
From the Garden and Beyond
Stepping outside opens up another world of free, natural materials. A collection of twigs and small sticks can be glued together to make rustic photo frames, assembled into miniature sculptures, or even used as unique paintbrushes. Fallen leaves and flower petals in different shapes and colours are brilliant for creating collages or doing leaf rubbings with a crayon. Smooth, flat pebbles and stones are perfect little canvases. Once washed and dried, they can be painted with faces, animals, or patterns to become story stones, decorative paperweights, or pocket-sized companions. When gathering natural items, it is a good opportunity to teach children about respecting the environment by only taking what is plentiful.
Fun Over Expense
Engaging in creative activities does not need to be an expensive endeavour. By looking at everyday items with an artist’s eye, you can provide endless opportunities for fun and invention. For children, the value lies not in the cost of the materials, but in the shared experience of making something new from the ordinary.
