10 of My Kids’ Favorite Craft Supplies

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We have always done a lot of crafting at our house. We do plenty of crafting where I lead the kids through a certain project or we otherwise work together, but we also keep a lot of supplies on hand that the kids are free to create with on their own. They’re getting older, so they’re using more and more of my craft supplies, but there are a lot of things we’ve loved for a long time. I’ve been talking to my kids and thinking about what we would put in a kids’ craft kit, so here are some of our favorites that we would definitely include…

1. Model Magic

For my clay-loving kids, I loooooove Model Magic. I use it for my own crafts as well, so I have plenty of personal experience with it. We’ve used plenty of Sculpey as well, but that involves the oven and baking and just generally feels like more of an ordeal for everyday projects. For most of the little sculptures the kids want to make, Model Magic works perfectly. They like that it’s soft and easy to mold; I like that it’s lightweight and air dries. It comes in a few different colors, but you can also paint it once it’s dry. (I first did that in the 8th grade for a project.)

2. Glitter Glue

As much as I love glitter and sparkle, I don’t love the mess that comes with loose glitter. Especially loose glitter in kids’ hands. Glitter glue is a great way to get that sparkle while keeping it contained. Especially if you use glue pens so it’s easy to control the flow. There are even washable varieties! Of course glue can still be messy, but I’ll take a little glue mess over having glitter all over the place any day.

3. Twistable colored pencils and crayons

Whoever came up with this idea is a genius. I was reminded last week when I watched my youngest practicing writing with a completely unsharpened pencil just how convenient twistable pencils are. As a bonus, you won’t find little bits of crayon wrappers littering your house! They’re also fantastic for traveling with because you don’t need to mess with a sharpener on the road.

4. Mr. Sketch markers

I love anything Mr. Sketch. Using a Mr. Sketch marker immediately takes me back to my childhood. Not surprisingly, my kids love them too. What’s not to love? The smells are fantastic, and they cover your paper very well. Earlier this year we used them to color a poster on the wall, and it sure smelled good while we were doing it! The markers do come in a washable variety, which is a nice bonus with kids.

I also just have to add that my own personal favorite thing to color with is a set of gel crayons like these.

5. Pipe Cleaners

Kids can turn pipe cleaners into just about anything. In fact, I have quite the collection of pipe cleaner creations that includes everything from jewelry to some pretty elaborate sculptures. For little ones I like to fold over the ends of the pipe cleaners, since they can be a little sharp for my liking. But my kids haven’t seemed to mind. Of course there are plenty of uses for pipe cleaners in grown-up crafting as well. I’ve used them for a wreath project, and most recently I used them for crystal-growing.

6. Giant roll of paper

When I was a kid, my dad would occasionally bring home a giant roll of paper, and I had so much fun with it. I could cut off as much as I wanted and draw huge, elaborate scenes on it. My kids are fortunate to have a roll of their own that they can use whenever they want. One of the first things we did when the pandemic hit was hang up a couple of massive pieces of paper, and the boys went to town. Hours and hours of entertainment, all from a roll of paper and some markers! 

7. Paper punches

Something we’ve collected over time is paper punches in fun shapes. Nowadays I use my Silhouette Cameo to cut out any shape we could possibly want, but there are times when a low tech option is the better option. For example, we’ve done some craft projects that involve cutting a bunch of little birds, butterflies, or leaves out of something other than a perfectly flat piece of paper or cardstock. Painted watercolor paper, for example. I’m not sure the Cameo would be able to handle that. Also, my kids can manage the paper punches without any help from me. You can find all sorts of shapes at the craft stores, like these stars, flowers, and hearts. So much fun!

8. Felt sheets

Felt is a wonderful fabric for a very wide variety of projects. It comes in all sorts of colors and patterns and textures these days. You can even get it with adhesive on the back. You can buy it off the bolt at the fabric store for large projects, but I love to have a collection of 9”x12” pieces that anyone in my family can use. It doesn’t fray, which is a major plus. In my opinion it’s a great fabric to learn to sew with. You can use a needle that isn’t super sharp, so it’s good for littler ones. And because it doesn’t fray, you don’t have to turn the fabric right side out. My son made a whole series of plush fruits out of felt a few years ago, and it was a good beginner sewing project.

9. TAPE!

Kids love tape. One of the things we would pack for airplane trips when the kids were little was a roll of masking tape. They could tear off pieces and stick them wherever without doing any damage. We still keep masking tape on hand for crafting and play purposes. We have rolls of thin masking tape that we’ve made roads and parking lots out of for Hot Wheels. We also have lots and lots of washi tape that we use for art and craft projects. We even have many rolls of duct tape that we’ve used for crafts. Not only can it be used to tape cardboard boxes together, you can actually make some really impressive things out of duct tape (like tote bags!). Duct tape is definitely better for older kids, but it’s a lot of fun.

10. Canary cardboard cutter

While not for really little kids, this is a new favorite of ours. I don’t even know where I first heard of the CANARY cardboard cutter, but I am forever grateful for it. I have two boys who LOVE boxes and making things out of them. Watching them cut corrugated cardboard with scissors is both terrifying and painful, and I’m certainly not about to hand over a box cutter or Exacto knife. So the CANARY cutter is amazing. I recently watched my older son cut a circle out of cardboard like it was nothing. I’m not going to say it’s impossible to get hurt with this thing, but it’s not sharp like, say, a kitchen knife. You know your kid best and whether or not they could handle it.

These are just a few of our favorites! The great thing about kids is that they can find be creative with just about anything. Give them a few tools and they’re off and running. I hope that the kids in your life (and you!) enjoy these as much as we have.