At our house we love to make crafts and have fun with various sorts of art projects. If you buy everything for your crafts at Joann's or Ben Franklin or wherever this can get pretty expensive but if you recycle and reuse stuff and buy paints, glue and supplies like that on sale then crafting can be pretty cheap. Around here I like to save stuff especially for crafting. Here are some of the things that I save (to a point, if you never use them and just save a bunch your house will soon be over run with clutter.)
- Toilet paper tubes
- Empty containers. (I actually save most of these for freezing garden produce in but if the kids need it for a craft project then it is available)
- Fabric scraps.
- Scrap paper , especially colored paper.
- Styrofoam trays.
- Egg cartons (though actually most of these go back to my parents to get more eggs in them.)
- Boxes of all sizes. The kids make a ton of projects using cereal, cracker and other boxes of that weight as it is far easier to cut than thick cardboard.
- Old Socks and tights.
- Twist ties.
- Bits of yarn.
- Tissue paper from presents.
- And much more. If it looks crafty then we stick it in our craft box.
Here is Aaron with one of his creations.
This is a doll family that Jonathan made last year. (With some help from me.)
Here is a book I would like to recommend if your kids like being creative and you don't want to spend a ton of money. The Book is "Eco Art, Earth-friendly Art and Craft Experiences for 3-9 year olds." We have checked this book out from the Library several times and really enjoyed it. Not only are there are a lot of neat crafts which a pretty much all from recycled items there are also quite a few recipes for paints, glue and stuff like that. I encourage you to check it out!
For more Frugal Friday tips visit Biblical Womanhood.
