Stocking a Child's Rainy Day Arts & Crafts Activity Box

A few weeks ago I went out to my local craft supply store to purchase a whole bunch of crafting supplies that would be appropriate for a 4 year old child. My little grand daughter is finally at the age that she wants to sit down and make a variety of arts & crafts projects with me and I needed to stock up on supplies.

Here is a checklist of the basic arts & craft supplies that I purchased. I feel that all of these supplies are appropriate for preschooler's and should be in their craft supplies box. Just by having all of these supplies on hand, you can make a wide variety of craft projects...many of which are listed here on my blog in the Kid's Crafts category.

Your Shopping Checklist

1 Medium-Sized Plastic Storage Box
Construction Paper
Safety Scissors for Kids
Felt Sheets (we selected 10 different colors)
All-Purpose Craft Glue (dries clear)
Water Paints with Paint Brush
1 Pack of Magnets
Wooden Craft Sticks (look like popsicle sticks)
4 Packs of Plastic Beads
3 Bottles of Glitter Glue
Large Box of Crayons
1 Pack of Markers (wash-off style)
4 Packs of Stickers (on clearance for .50 cents a pack)
1 Pack of Printed Scrapbooking Paper (on clearance for $2.00 for 30 sheets)
1 Pack of Colored Gel Pens (clearance for $1.00)
1 Ink Pad
4 Small Rubber Stamps (2 flowers, 1 heart and a frog - clearance .50 cents each)
1 Pack of Pipe Cleaners (various colors in one pack)
1 Pack of 20 Plastic Buttons (for crafting)
8 Sheets of Crafting Foam (in primary colors - 4 sheets for $1.00)
1 Pack of Wiggle Eyes (8 sets of eyes for $1.00)
1 Bunch of Small-Sized Artificial Flowers (on clearance for .50 cents)
3 Rolls of Ribbon (.50 cents a roll)

There were a few other things that I also picked up for her arts & crafts activity box, but the list above is the majority of it. I spent under $50.00 and wanted to have all of these supplies on-hand so that I can keep her busy this summer, especially on those rainy days when she gets bored.


Just by having all of those supplies in the activity box, you can make dozens and dozens of projects! You can add to that box all kinds of things that you have laying around your house like - additional buttons, plastic bottle caps from soda bottles, fabric scraps, clean popsicle sticks, left-over computer printer paper, baby food jars, empty coffee cans, plastic containers, tissue paper, left-over gift wrap scraps and all kinds of other items!

The next time your kids get bored and need something to do...you will be prepared and ready to go! Enjoy!

Craft Project: Natural Mood Lighting - Olive Oil Citrus Candles

I was asked to share this very cute craft project with all of my readers today and I think it's absolutely darling and so simple to make! You could use these olive oil citrus candles outdoors when you are entertaining, indoors during a romantic evening for two or make several of them and use at a family get-together...like a romantic wedding reception.

Natural Mood Lighting With Indie Lee
Clementines are for Lovers: Natural Citrus Candle- Sans Wax

Why burn toxic synthetic materials, or exorbitantly priced soy and bees wax, when the perfect citrus mood-lighting is sitting in your compost? Indie Lee, founder of the all-natural skincare line, Indie Lee & Co, shares one of her at-home secrets for an all-natural clementine candle - no wax necessary!

What You Need:

· 1 Clementine
· Olive Oil

How to Make It:

1. Cut clementine in half.
2. Carefully peel skin off as a whole.
3. Twist the inside into a wick.
4. Fill with a bit of olive oil.
5. Light and enjoy!

*Indie Tip: Cut a small design in the top half of the peel to make a creative candle lid!

About Indie Lee
Indie Lee is a natural ingredients advocate, who has devoted her life to educating consumers on the dangerous contaminants that consume our lives. Following her recovery from a life-threatening brain tumor, likely caused by environmental toxins in food products and cleaning and skin care products, Indie left her corporate suits and lifestyle behind to re-dedicate her life to educating consumers on the hidden dangers of chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products. She took it upon herself to provide a healthy, non-toxic alternative. From this notion, Indie Lee & Co. was born.

Indie Lee & Co. was founded on the principle that women everywhere deserve to have access to a luxurious, all-natural alternative to the artificial, chemically-laden products on the market today. The line is specially formulated to meet the growing demand of health-conscious consumers who long for toxin-free and effective skincare products. Each of the six cross-functional collections provide a natural alternative to common skin conditions such as rosacea, blemishes and dry skin.

Gossipy Neighbors

Thanks for the guest post by Jo Levy

My neighbors are the biggest gossipers. When Sherry down the street got pregnant (she’s not married) they were the first ones to tell me about it and when the principal of my son’s school got fired they knew about it before the newspapers did, somehow!

I always worry about what they’ve observed about me that they’re telling everyone else so I try to keep my nose down and not gossip about anyone else to them in case they tell them I’ve been talking about them. They sometimes have really good helpful information, though, like when they told me about the new consignment store set to come in at the mall. And they knew about ambit energy for Ben Franklin Residents before it was ever announced on the state’s utilities website and that saved my husband and I a bundle of money on our electric bill.

But at the end of the day I know I can’t trust them at all so I try not to tell them anything too personal about me so they won’t know anything that they can use against me. They’re good women at heart but they don’t work or anything so I know they’re just bored at the end of the day.

My son plays with one of their sons regularly so I’m definitely considered “part of the group” I think, but here in Texas you have to be careful about which group you’re in! My mom was one of these women when I was younger, I remember, and now that I’m older I’m striving to be a little more civilized than all that. It’s easier said than done though and it’s hard not to get swept up in all the gossip. It’s an interesting way to spend a morning but I don’t think it’s the best use of my time when I’ve got bills to pay and calendars to look at and soccer games to attend, you know what I mean!

Trash to Treasure Craft Project - Wooden Scrapbooking Paper Organizer

The Photo Above is how it looked when I purchased it. Ewwww!

Last month we went to the Flea Market and while I was there I spotted this really ugly, puke green office paper organizer. It kind of looks like it came from a 1970's office and was used for holding mail or paper. Not really sure which! It was in terrible shape and was painted an ugly puke green color. It had a ton of nicks and scratches too!

The asking price was $10.00 but I asked the man if he would take $3.00 and it was sold! I brought that thing home and got to work on it. I knew it would make the perfect wooden wall shelf to hold all of my 8 1/2" by 11" sheets of scrapbooking paper.

We are still remodeling my sewing & craft room and I know this will look fabulous in there once we are done.

The first thing I did was wipe it down...it was filthy dirty! Once it was dry, I took a palm sander around all four of it's sides. I couldn't get the palm sander into each of the cubby holes so I ignored those during the sanding process.

Once it was done being sanded, I took a spray can of white primer and sprayed the entire thing with two cuts of primer. I left it dry for 24 hours. Once it was dry, I painted the entire thing with white matte indoor paint. Once try, I sprayed it with an acrylic sealer. I left the sealer dry for 24 hours and it was done!

The Photo above shows the new and improved scrapbooking paper organizer! Yay!

As soon as my craft/sewing room is finished, this will be hung up onto the wall near my scrapbooking table. Now all of my smaller scrapbooking papers will be organized by color hue and perhaps size. Each cubby hole will hold an entire 8 1/2" by 11" sheet. Yay!!!

I need to hit the Flea Market again next week and look for some more things that I can transfer into useful things in my craft & sewing room. Enjoy!