Make A Craft Kit for Kids (+ Free Printables)

Arts + crafts and childhood. You can’t have one without the other. And you can’t have one without all the materials and mess. Of course, we think exploring art is more about the process than the final product and that paint splatters, glitter trails, and construction paper scraps are all part of the fun…but it would be great if we had one convenient place to organize the supplies. Enter the craft kit for kids.

The craft kit is a smart way to keep all your children’s art supplies together in one accessible space that doesn’t take over your kitchen, living room, or playroom. The kid-sized container fits perfectly in bookshelf cubbies or tucked away in a cabinet for easy clean up. Because everything you need is in one box, you also can slip it in your car’s backseat or bring it on a plane to provide hours of entertainment for creativity on the go.

To create a craft kit for your child, all you’ll need is a carrying case (a tin, old lunch box, shoe box, or other storage solution); art supplies and materials found around the house and in nature; and access to clip art or freehand illustrations that you’ve created based on a theme that excites your child.

Honest Sarah made a Mermaid Kit for a friend’s daughter (these also make great customized birthday presents) by creating a picture of a mermaid based on one she found on the Internet from This Mama Makes Stuff (check out this blog for other great crafts, upcycling tutorials, and printables). Then she had it printed on multiple sheets of cardstock, later cut to size to fit within the BPA-free plastic carrying case. Along with the blank illustrations, she included different sized fabric swatches, felt, and paper, natural glue, stickers, shells, feathers, pom-pons, ribbon, foil, yarn, thread, and a few adhesive rhinestones (all birthday girls love sparkles). She then created an example mermaid to inspire imagination and labeled it with a cute message about the magic of both the mythical creatures and children’s minds to innovate and create.

Because she created this as a birthday present, Honest Sarah purchased new supplies. But art materials don’t have to be fancy pencils, markers, or paint. You can create a craft kit with materials from around the house, such as cardboard egg cartons, foil, wrapping paper, ribbons, dried leaves, and more. It’s a great way inspire your children to recycle and reuse. If you do want to invest in art supplies, make sure they’re non-toxic. This is especially important because little kids—if they’re anything like our children—explore with their mouths or end up with a lot of product on their skin. Glob and Clementine are favorite brands of ours that are safe for toddler use.

Even better, this project can easily be tailored to suit your child’s age and interests by substituting the mermaid with illustrations of fire trucks, dogs, insects, planets, ice cream cones…or our Honest robots and princesses.

To help get your craft kit started, enjoy these free printables.

And show us what your kids create…Comment below, Instagram or Tweet a photo using #HonestArt or post on our Facebook page!