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Our Favorite Art Supplies Worth Gifting

November 20, 2017 Rachel Nevergall
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There are two things I feel you can never have too much of: books and art supplies. Truthfully if you gave me long enough, I'm sure I could give a few more. But when it comes to specifically child related supplies, these two I make plenty of room for in my home.

This is why I would always say when in doubt of what to gift, gift a book or art supplies. They are always educational. Always entertaining. And often, span the ages, development, and interests. 

The other reason art supplies are so fantastic is they are a consumable, and I don't mean the way you ate glue and play-doh as a kid. Art supplies can be utilized and then in time, they are used up, making room for more art supplies. That remote control unicorn she might have on her Christmas list? Not so much. (NO ONE BUY HER THAT REMOTE CONROL UNICORN. THE ELVES CALLED AND SAID THEY ARE OUT OF STOCK.)

I also think it is a gift that you never have to worry about being a duplicate of something already on their toy shelf. Art supplies can be tucked into restaurant busy bags, desks in their room, in the car for on the go. There are endless places to keep art supplies even if they already have something similar. 

Finally, buying art supplies for others just might inspire you to pick up the habit more often yourself. This is the best type of consumer influence. 

I am listing some of my favorite art supplies by category. While I get many of my craft supplies from Amazon, Target is another great place to look. Also, of course, the big box craft stores which often have sales or those 40% off coupons you can use for the pricier items. 

Have fun! Gift Creatively this year!

Paper

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Construction Paper

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Large Paper Roll

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Small Blank Books

Watercolor Paper

This may seem like a silly gift but paper is important. Stacks of multiple construction paper provide endless project options. Big rolls of paper are fun to roll out along the table or the floor (you can even ask print stores for their end of rolls and they will sometimes give it you for free.) Small sketchbooks are perfect for on the go. But also most importantly, do not shy away from professional quality paper products. Good watercolor paper makes a world of difference. I know it seems ridiculous for those kids that mix the colors so much that it turns black or that drop one dot and call it art. Yet somehow, when painting on true watercolor paper, the colors look richer, the brush glides more smoothly, and the two year old art magically looks professional. I also turn these watercolor paper projects into cards, bookmarks, framed prints around the house (stay tuned for another gifting post for another day.)

Also, an easel is an excellent investment. An upright easel is better for eye hand coordination and fine motor development. The larger ones from Ikea are fantastic but even small table easel works great. 

Tools

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Colored Pencils

Crayons

Scented Gel Pens

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Watercolors

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Washable Paint and Paint Cups

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Liquid Watercolor and Palette

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Gel Crayons

These are some essential tools for all your crafting needs. Simple, quality, and produce great results no matter the user. 

Some brands I tend to prefer are Faber-Castell, Kid Made Modern, and Crayola, which may be cheaper but still produces some wonderful supplies. 

When thinking about gifting art supplies, try to think of products with a slight twist like the confetti crayons or scented pens. If you want to start somewhere different, might I suggest the liquid watercolors or the gel crayons. Both are products that are likely new to your little artist. And they both provide such rich beautiful creations. The liquid watercolor may seem like a silly investment but a little goes a long way and the colors are so much more beautiful. And the gel crayons are wonderful for little hands to learn how to grasp. 

Collage

Low Temp Glue Gun

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Mod Podge

Glue Stick

Glue Stick

Washi Tape

Washi Tape

Craft Collage Bundle

Craft Collage Bundle

What makes creativity fun is having the random little do-dads on hand to inspire just the right project. I like crafting to feel open ended, more process than product. But some children think better in 3-D. The tactile experience of crafting with glue and stickers and tape and various types of random things is a fantastic sensory learning experience. 

A very fun gift to give is some glue and a collage kit. You can buy kits already pulled together or source it yourself from the craft aisle. Glue sticks and mod podge work the best for collage work (personally, I really can't stand white glue. It never comes out of the bottles and when it does, you always seem to have to much or not enough.) But also after a visit to our local children's museum, I am learning that a glue gun with a low-temp setting can be easily used by a preschooler or older, with a little supervision of course. And 3-D projects created with glue guns are much more satisfying than waiting around for the darn white glue to dry (if ever.)

I hope this gives you enough ideas to let this be a very creative Christmas, or any gifting season. Stay tuned later in the week for How your kids can use some of these supplies to make gifts for others. 

In Christmas, GIfts
← Reflections on the Story: My Word of 2017Advent Book Calendar // Second Edition →
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Hi there! I'm Rachel.

I believe each morning is a fresh start and I believe hot coffee is step one. 

It is here that I celebrate each day as an opportunity to seek the creative inside both our children and ourselves so that we can all       raise and shine. 

Learn More
If I showed you the sweet picture of the hairstyle I gave her for crazy hair meets Valentine’s day, would you also believe me that I don’t remember when she last bathed?

If I shared the fun crafty Valentine we made for his class would you also believe me that my house looks like a fraternity house at the end of a raging party?

If I show the darling babe all snuggled up under my chin that makes my heart burst with unspeakable joy, would you also believe me when I say parenting three is the hardest thing I have yet done in my parenting life?

Sometimes in these little squares, I have so much fear that I might post something that makes someone’s heart shrink a little bit with guilt or inadequacy. I worry you will think I am something you are not and that will make you feel smaller than you deserve to be, when in fact I struggle too. So much.

But then, if I keep quiet, not only am I not allowing myself to show you exactly who I am, how I like to love on my people, and what just makes me happy, I am thus not leaving space for you to do so as well.

If these things brings you joy, too, hurray. If something else does, I celebrate you. And if you aren’t in a space of joy, I’m sitting her with you too. And sending you ❤️. Never alone.

This has been my struggle for years. I saw self care as (by my)self care. And it seems it only got harder and harder to care for myself as I fought to be alone.

And so I’m trying something new. I’m learning to find the peace I need in my day right along side them.

So I move WITH them in tow. I read to THEM, as long as it something of MY choosing. I pick up a paint brush too when they paint.

And hopefully all this togetherness is teaching them what matters to me and my day too.

Shared on the blog today how I practice my *What Feels Right* list from yesterday when I can’t be alone.

What’s your go to care strategy when your little ones tag along? I test as a Highly Sensitive Person. 🙋🏻‍♀️Anyone else?

I like to think of myself as a noticer. From the way the snow sounds when it hits the ground to his sweet sigh as he nestles into sleep in my arms. I feel it all. And I mean ALL.

This can be a beautiful way to look at life, but it can also be EXHAUSTING.

But I decided to start using this skill for the better. I started to pay close attention to my day to notice patterns of when I feel off and when I feel right.

My list is not revolutionary. It is nothing you don’t already know to be true. But sometimes we need to really acknowledge the simple ways we can manage our days to feel joy, to feel peace, to just feel right.

Sharing my list of What Feels Right on the blog today to maybe inspire you to pay attention to your own list.✨Now your turn...What Feels Right to you? Yes his sweatshirt is on backwards. Yes this happens on the regular. It’s become his signature look. But the important thing is he got himself dressed and no one had to use their angry voice!

I am quite excited to introduce a new series on the blog today called ☀️Raise your Mom Game☀️ It’s a way to share the great ideas learned from regular, cool, smart moms (and dads) like us. I believe parents are super heroes with powers to battle the everyday parenting struggles. And they are willing and happy to share these with fellow superhero parents so we can all win.

It’s not about the quick fix, because none of us are broken. We just sometimes need a fresh perspective to tackle familiar challenges in parenting, another play in the playbook, tool in the toolbox, option in the portfolio. Am I giving you enough metaphors here?

Today, I go first with my big frustration in getting kids dressed. I feature two great ideas for both of my kids from fellow parents @kelseywilliams and @ladderica. And I filmed one in the stories so go check it out. After you read the post, of course 😉. And remember, this is a village. So please share with me how you are Raising your Mom Game. And what helps you Shine.☀️ “...I make so many beginnings there never will be an end.” Louisa May Alcott

She opened up 6 crisp white books, completely blank, exactly as she asked them to be, for writing down her own stories. Obviously I was thrilled to grant this Christmas wish. It wasn’t 5 minutes later that I turned around to find her set up at the dining room table, pen in hand, words flowing to the book. “Now you realize these are special, right. You can’t throw them away and start over if it isn’t just as you want it to be.” “I know.” Barely glancing up. Back to work.  Her confidence and self assurance just taunting me.

She has no trouble diving in. She doesn’t worry about where the ending is taking her. She doesn’t hesitate and doubt herself along the way.

She just BEGINS.

It is with this same resolve that I choose to take with me throughout this new year. To not hesitate with my step one. And to not be afraid to be new at something.

Last year I explored being enough. And with that I determined, there is also enough time, space, energy to take more step ones.

To BEGIN.

Introducing my 2019 word of the year ✨BEGIN✨ on the blog today.

A month in and I already love where this word is taking me. My skin is still soft from the humidity of Texas, and my heart, and stomach, are full in the way only a winter escape can bring. But it feels right to be home. It feels right to see snow softly falling in February. And to be all piled up together as a family again. ❤️❤️❤️ You know that welcoming feeling you get when you go home to mom and dads?

They make you your favorite meals. You take comfort in the familiar space. You just feel so warm and loved and cared for.

We got that welcomed feeling when we made it back to our old home in Austin town this weekend.

We had all our favorite meals, barbecue, tacos, queso, more tacos. Memories flooded us around every corner, date nights, family adventures, milestones crossed. And most importantly, we got to feel loved by “family,” or rather the friends that became family when you needed it most.

This is how it should be when you make a place a home, no matter how short the time was in your life. It should make itself a little home in your heart and always open its arms wide to you when you come back.

So glad we will always have Austin.

And tacos. 🌮 Confession time... I sometimes daydream about being a mom of just one baby.

Not that I don’t love each and every one of my kids more than my heart can even find words for, because obvi I don’t even need to clarify that for you.

It’s just that this multiple and different needs thing all at once is very very hard on my brain capacity. And also my heart.

I sometimes dream of a world where I get to have each of my babies one day at a time. And then we all come together for one big epic fun filled Sunday as a family of five. Wouldn’t that be fun??!! But then I see the oldest reading a book to the middle. Or the middle tickled with himself at how he can make the baby giggle. Or there’s the epic family snuggle sessions in the king size bed before someone, all of them, demand breakfast. And then I remember we are right where we need to be and who we need to be with.

But also sometimes it’s super fun to just be with one. We snuck away together with our baby to a place that still has a piece of our heart, Texas. And while I miss the other two, it feels like a gift to enjoy that stage where it’s just you and me and a baby makes three. I can hardly remember him that tiny, but I’ll never forget when she started reading to them. 📚 Reading creates strong memories, doesn’t it. “For some it’s a physical place in which I remember reading. The beach, the hammock, the couch under a blanket. For others, it’s a place in time. A difficult pregnancy. A foggy newborn stage. A challenging stage of parenting. And for some, it’s a moment that I realize is one of a momentous milestone. Like seeing her read a book for the first time. Or reading our first chapter book series together.” Eighteen Memorable Book Moments in 2018 on the blog today. The answer to snow-mo and other FOMO related cases (see last post if you are confused 😊) ?? Be a noticer.

As promised, I shared about my process of creating a Reverse Bucket List on the blog today.

You don’t need a fancy planner, a complicated system, or even a lot of time. You just need a photo storage system of your choice, a few questions I list in the post, and a couple of minutes to do some thinking.

It’s my own way of doing goals and reflection. But I would love to see what you learn too. So I’m creating a hashtag!! Tell me how it works for you with #raiseandshineandnotice 🥳
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away”
— Pablo Picasso
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