Organizing Art Supplies

Organizing Art Supplies is important so your child can get creative whenever they feel inspired.

M is five years old and she is a girl who has always loved to draw, color, and create.  She’s the type of kid that begs to keep egg cartons, clothing tags, and ribbons off packages because, “I could make something with that!”

Right above her art table (purchased at Ikea), we hung THIS rod at a toddler-friendly height.  I bought some cheap plastic cups (also at Ikea for about a dollar a piece) and filled them with her essentials: markers, glue, crayons, and scissors.

Some projects are big and messy and DO require going outside, but for the most part, we utilize her art table for most projects.  We bought THIS one from Ikea and painted the table top with chalkboard paint.  Now it can double in purpose and she loves to draw in chalk, too!

As soon as Mr. G became mobile, the hanging cups had to go.  They were FAR too accessible to a little guy who enjoys eating marker lids and squeezing glue bottles.

So, I picked up this utensil caddy at Target and filled it with the same materials.  If G is sleeping, she’ll carry it down to her table.  If he’s up, she’ll carry it up to the counter or her bedroom to draw and create!

We do have several boxes of art supplies, such as small plastic boxes (I get all of mine at The Container Store) of stamps, stickers, or glitter glue tubes.  We house them behind doors in our Expedit in the family room.

We also keep art sets and coloring books behind doors so that they’re a) safely tucked away from the one year old’s hands and b) easily accessible for M to see what she has available.

This is our Expedit that is in the family room.  Design-wise, it’s probably not the cutest thing ever but for a growing family, it’s awesome!  Those doors on top hide the art supplies we talked about and also our Wii and X-Box.  The boxes and baskets hold toys and figures.  M knows that this is the go-to place for her to find all her art supplies.

I keep these canisters stocked and ready and in our dining room buffet.  When she’s working on homework, they’re quick to grab just what we need.  I use the canisters from Ikea or The Container Store.

Kiddos aren’t the only ones that have art supplies, right?!  I have baskets in our dining room (hidden behind sliding doors; I live in the house of much storage!) that hold everything from puffy paint to wood pieces, to hot glue sticks.  The key?  Baskets, baskets, baskets.  These particular ones are from Big Lots.

How do you keep YOUR tot’s art supplies organized?