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- Nov 18, 2016
- 5 min read
Ready, set, craft! I never thought I would say something like this, but crafting can be fun! I still don't really enjoy crafting for craftiness' sake, but I've really learned to love it when I have a purpose or a goal in mind. It's really amazing to watch something grow from an idea and to be a part of its creation process. Anyway, enough talk. Let's get started! First, there are some fundamental items that you will need in your craft pantry in order to make these crafts. I tried to get the bulk of them here. I try to find whatever is cheapest and still effective. I've made a few suggestions, but I definitely haven't tried everything, so please feel free to experiment, modify, manipulate, and improve upon anything I suggest here. These are just seeds for your own garden. :)
Craft Felt
This, I feel, is the basis of almost half of my crafts. Most of my craft drawer is filled with felt scraps. You can make almost anything with it! I make puppets, felt stories, shape games, dress up dolls, and a ton of other things with it. It's also really cheap, so I don't feel bad buying a bunch of it, and it's always nice to have on hand.
I buy both the regular felt and the kind with adhesive on the back. The adhesive is a bit more expensive, so I don't use it as much. However, it has been extremely useful. I used it to make a felt board on the back of my white board. I just put a bunch of the sheets together, and now, i can just flip the board around if I'm switching from magnets to felt.
Craft Foam
Here is where the second half of my crafts come from. (I'll tell you where the third half comes from later... ;) ) Craft foam is awesome! I bought it at first to cover some boxes, and since then, I have used it for a ton of things. It makes great backing for homemade puzzles, masks, shapes, letters, etc. It comes in a few different sizes. If you buy the biggest size, you don't have to do as much patch work, but the smaller sizes are handy, too. I've done most of my crafts with the standard 8 1/2 x 11 in. I would also recommend getting the adhesive craft foam. It is more expensive, but you don't need as much. It's not only a good way to back things, but it's also a great way to make crafts with even very young children.
Construction Paper
I actually haven't used construction paper much to make visuals and everything, but it is fun to have colored paper around for the kids. I use it enough that it's good to have a stock somewhere.
Ribbon
In case you can't tell, these are different colors and widths of ribbon. I just got a big bag from a garage sale of tangled ribbon, so I wrapped them all around an empty toilet paper holder. It seems to work pretty well. I've used this in a couple projects. Ribbon is also a good thing to have around for decorations and the like.
Scissors
Scissors are definitely a must-have. Everything I make has some sort of cutting involved. These are just the free pair from Harbor Freight, and they have worked pretty well. However, if you are really serious about doing these projects, I would invest in a higher quality set. Wescott is usually a good brand. These have a tendency to make my hand cramp after a while and get dull kinda quick. If you're going to do a lot of cutting, it's worth it to spend $5-$10 on good scissors.
Razor Blade
It's probably a good idea to also have some sort of razor blade around. There are some projects that are relatively heinous to try with scissors. This is just a cheap retractable one that is segmented so you can break off the top as it gets dull. It's lasted through all of my projects so far and works really well.
Ruler
This has been great to have not just for the measurements, but for the straight edge. Mine is a little long. I asked my husband to get me one, and he came home with a yard stick... It's a little excessive, but it still works. :) I think a shorter 12" or 18" would be fine, though.
Lamination
I love having this around. I print a lot of little pictures out to have the kids organize or race to pick up, and they only last half a day unless I laminate them. This works well for all of the little things.
Velcro Stickers
These have actually been really useful. I use them mostly for things like my weekly puppets and charts for the kids. Velcro is an easy way for even my 2-year-olds to hang things up by themselves.
Hot Glue Gun
I'm starting to love hot glue. It doesn't do incredible on felt, but it's awesome with the craft foam. It cools down really fast, and sticks really well. It's also relatively cheap, which is always a plus. The only complaint I really have about hot glue is the fact that I've never seen a gun that stands up on that ridiculous nub they call a stand, especially with a stiff cord coming right out of the bottom. All-in-all, hot glue is pretty awesome, but if you can find a gun that will stand up without magic chants and voodoo dances, all the better.
Fabric Glue
I'm really starting to appreciate having this glue around. It doesn't melt the felt like hot glue, and it bonds fabric really well. It also bonds paper to fabric, which has been pretty useful, too. It's a little more expensive, but one bottle can last a while, and I've found it to be worth it.
I haven't tried too many brands, but Fabri-Tac seems to work the best so far. One that I would avoid is Fabric Fusion. It just soaked into the felt and didn't work at all. If you get a good one, though, it saves a lot of time and looks great!
So that's mostly it! If you have these, you should be able to do most of the things I've done. It also helps to have pens, a printer, and some sort of writing program on your computer (I pretty much use Microsoft Word for everything I do).
I'm way excited to get started! I have a ton of projects in mind that have been fun to make and that have really worked well with the kids. Whether you are a mother, a teacher, or a care-taker, I hope that you will find something that will help you bring joy to your kids as you teach them. As always, experiment, play with it, and have fun!
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