Holiday Gift Guide - Arts/Crafts Kits & Supplies

I love to have things that can occupy my children that do not involve any type of a screen. Certainly, they get outside to play, but I like to have indoor activities too. One thing that we enjoy doing inside is arts and crafts projects.

I love to have both structured kits that are designed to make a specific project and assorted craft supplies to make whatever suits their fancy. Since I think that kids learn best when they can both observe and participate, I like to embody creativity myself in the form of cake decorating, creating memory boards and making things like Tinkerbell Shoes.

Here are some ideas I have for gifts for Art and Crafts:

Crayons, Paint, Scissors, Glue, Paper, etc. - For basic art projects, a good collection of school supplies can be a great starting point. I like to stock up when the back to school sales are on. Then, you can take this collection of random items and add to it to create a 'kit' of supplies.

Pipe cleaners, PomPoms, Sparkles, Glitter, Tissue Paper, Scrapbook paper and embellishments, etc. - Wander down the craft row and you will find a collection of miscellaneous things that with the addition of some creativity quickly turns into a fun-filled afternoon of crafting.

Stencils - Sometimes, the help that stencils can provide in creating a project is a great boost, especially for younger kids that are not as adept at drawing or coming up with ideas. A card is quickly made filled with flowers and hearts and more.

Learn to Draw Books - A simple to follow learn to draw book can help a child feel more confident in their ability to draw - even freestyle. There are books for all levels - from complete a drawing to recreating familiar characters.

Creativity for Kids kits - They offer such a wide array of projects and price ranges. Many of their products hearken back to my childhood - like Shrinky Dinks and Pot Holder Looms. They have kits for boys and kits for girls. Kits for the young and the old (in fact, most say they are for kids from a certain age to 99). They offer crafts that the kids can make for themselves (jewelry, bags, headbands) and gifts to give (pot holders, garden stones).

Latch hook, Needlework, Cross-Stitch, Crocheting/Knitting, etc - Whether a book or a kit, introducing the child to these activities can help them fill many hours and encourage fine motor skill development. I remember spending hours as a child, much with my cousin, creating latch hook rugs, some of which became wall hangings and others pillows. I know that (when I had time), I loved to do cross-stitch - I even cross-stitched the gifts for the parents at our wedding - a verse from a card that I recreated in a cross stitch and that we framed with a picture of us with the parents. I can remember doing cross-stitch guest bath towels and baby bibs, to give as gifts, too.

Classes - Why not give your aspiring artist/crafter a gift of enrollment in a class. Locally, there is both community education, courses at Joann or Michaels, Kids College and other groups that offer classes on different topics. There are card making classes and watercolor and photography and many more.

Not sure what the young crafter in your life might need or like, a gift card to Joann or Michaels Stores is a good option - let them choose their craft or supplies.

Drawing Pad iPad App

My son likes to draw and to color. I think he has a little bit of my dad's side of the family in him. There are a number of artistic people in my family. He does a pretty good job, when he doesn't allow himself to get frustrated and give up. I feel that the more that he colors and draws and plays, the more relaxed he will be and the better that he will do.

As such, I try to find things for him to encourage him to create. We have a few varieties of stencils that can be used for both pictures and lettering. I have gotten him graph paper to help him with the different learn to draw books/kits - so he doesn't have to sketch a grid. He has an art kit that has a number of colors and variety of materials - crayons, markers, paints, oils and more. We have coloring books and blank paper tablets.

When I was asked to check out the Drawing Pad App for the iPad, I knew that it was something that would be enjoyed by him (and my daughter too). Drawing Pad is "a mobile art studio designed exclusively for tablets". It comes with a variety of materials to create art with: "photo-realistic crayons, markers, paint brushes, colored pencils, stickers, roller pens and more!"

There is a "drawer" at the bottom that holds all the tools. Select the tool you want and it takes you to another drawer that has all the colors (or varieties - in the case of things like stickers and roller pens). Simply drag the contents to the left or right to see all the color choices. You can also change your paper colors and even include photos from your iTunes account. The eraser options range from small to big and even includes a "crumple" the paper option which starts you over with a blank sheet.

Once your art is complete, you can save it, share it and print it. There are even quick buttons to take you to Facebook and Twitter to share the masterpiece. You can save to your iPhoto Library and to your Drawing Pad Album.

When I asked my son to create a drawing that used a number of tools, this is what he sent me:

Based on this, I think that he likes the stickers and the roller pens the best. Here is what he has to say: "I like how you can pick what color background . I like that there are markers and colored pencils in so many colors. I like how you can save pages."

You can learn more about the Drawing Pad App and purchase it here.


No compensation was received for this post. A free copy of the Drawing Pad App was provided for the purposes of this review. All opinions expressed are mine or that of my family.

Toys 'R Us Deals! - 7/23

A few weeks back, I had received a Toys 'R Us circular that had a $10/$50 coupon attached. I had set it aside, hoping that I might get up to the nearest Toys 'R Us before the coupon expired. As I was cleaning up the counter yesterday, I came across it and saw that it was expiring today. After flipping through the circular and their weekly ad, I decided that when we were out today to go to a birthday party, that I would try to stop by.

I went under the assumption that my total after sales needed to be $50, but after the way that everything rang up, I'm thinking that I could have possibly done a before sale total.

This might look like a Crayola ad, it's not, there just were some great deals from Crayola that I could use.

1 - Crayola Masterworks Art Set 200 pc (reg $34.99, on sale for $24.99)
3 - Crayola Dry Erase Crayons (reg $3.99 each, on sale B1G2)
3 - Crayola Dry Erase Markers (reg $3.99 each, on sale B1G2)
3 - Crayola Doodle Pads (reg $4.29 each, on sale B1G2)
1 - Crayola Dry Erase Crayons and Dual Board (reg $9.99, on sale for $6.99)
1 - Crayola 18ct Kids Paint (reg $5.09, not on sale, but to appease my youngest assistant shopper)
1 - TailBall Outdoor Game (reg ??, on clearance for $7.98)

-$10 $10/$50 coupon from circular

Total $47.84, saved $49.94. The art set is a birthday gift for my niece, who loves to do crafts (shh, don't tell her). The Dry Erase markers are a school supply that we need every year, so I figured that with the B1G2 sale, I would just set the others aside for next year. The Dry Erase Dual Board and Dry Erase Crayons seem like a good diversion to bring along on our vacation - we have many hours in which to provide entertainment. Plus, I just think that the Dry Erase Crayons are an interesting concept. The TailBall game is an attempt to offer my kids one other backyard diversion - so that I don't have to hear that there is nothing to do.

The one thing that we had hoped to get, but didn't was Crayola 48ct Crayons. As my son said, how can they offer 8, 16, 24, and 96 but not have 48 count? Oh well, hopefully someone has them on deal so that we can pick them up for my son's school supply list.

I feel pretty good about everything that I got and really, a savings of over 50% (the $47.84 was only $44.92 before tax) is pretty good.

This post shared at Super Savings Saturday.

Free Night of Theater

You can head over to Free Night of Theater 2009 to find out what shows are being offered in your area and details on how to get two free tickets to local shows. There are participating theaters in over 120 communities nationwide.

In my area, many of the shows are weeknight shows, but there is one Friday evening and one Sunday afternoon. You can get two tickets per reservation. If you are looking to bring the family, you might want to contact the website or the theater to find out if you can request tickets in the same area across multiple reservations. Otherwise, it might be that you can go to the show, but you sit separately.

The event is brought to you by Theatre Communications Group. They are the national organization for the not-for-profit American theater. They developed this program to attract new audiences and raise public awareness about live theater. It appears that this is the fourth year for the program and that it has grown each year.

The tickets will become available on, or around, October 1st in participating areas. Check for your community, in my area the tickets are available starting October 3rd. The shows themselves are supposed to start October 15th. Some in my area are playing as late as November.

Free Theater Tickets

You can head over to Free Night of Theater 2008 to find out what shows are being offered in your area and details on how to get two free tickets to local shows. There are participating theaters in over 120 communities nationwide. Be sure to check the locations page, there are some communities that are not participating on the national page.

In my area, the shows are all weeknight shows. You can get two tickets per reservation. If you are looking to bring the family, you might want to contact the website or the theater to find out if you can request tickets in the same area across multiple reservations. Otherwise, it might be that you can go to the show, but you sit separately.

The event is brought to you by Theatre Communications Group. They are the national organization for the not-for-profit American theater. They developed this program to attract new audiences and raise public awareness about live theater. It appears that this is the third year for the program and that it has grown each year.