Our friends went to Ikea recently and picked up these pens and a big roll of paper from Ikea. The colors are nice, and the thickness is good, especially for making posters (our daughter made a big birthday one for her dad). Not suggesting that they are so great that you need to make a […]
Over the weekend we visited with friends who have a whole art “kit” that they bring out, often after lunch, for anyone to participate in: some gouache paint, brushes, and watercolor paper in both postcard and 5×7 size. Since they have a “no screens on weekends in the country” rule, this becomes an activity that […]
We love the toddler edible art supplies from Wee Can Too,that are completely safe if ingested, as they are made from organic fruit and vegetable powders. They make finger paints, crayons, sculpting dough, and sidewalk chalk. Since we have a 10 year old, we have passed everything but the chalk to the toddlers in my brother’s […]
I first learned about these Blackwing pencils when I started to research pencil sharpeners—but that’s another post! I didn’t know until then that there are many people who are very particular about the quality of their pencil. The Blackwing has its roots in Eberhard Faber—it was introduced in the 1930’s and favored by writers, musicians and […]
A friend of mine sent my boys these beautiful colored pencils from Venice. They are made by Fabriano, the famous Italian art supply company. They are the perfect size and shape–a bit chubby and three-sided, which makes it easy for little hands to do the tripod grip. And look at those colors! I have no […]
First off, I’m so not an artist, and have never been interested in painting. But before we took off on a recent trip, my friend gave me this portable watercolor postcard kit, and I figured we should bring it. I actually never expected to take it out of our suitcase—because even with the best intentions, […]
I picked up one of these flat roundish erasers from a nice art supply store recently for my 7-year-old, who has just gotten into shading. The irregular shape makes it easy to grip and control and the sharp edge gives budding artists the ability control contrast and highlights. It can be frustrating for an artist […]
Our friend Liz brought a bunch of pipe cleaners over for my boys to play with one day. Needless to say, my boys ended up with some of the craziest creations; you really do forget sometimes that the simplest supplies are usually the best. Pipe cleaners come in hundreds of colors and are a buck […]
We’ve had this suede sketchbook for at least four years now, and still use it on every trip. It’s a way for us to note (and sometimes recreate in a sketch) the most interesting things we see during the day. It’s such nice quality, so it also makes for a great gift.
Whenever we go out to a restaurant I always bring along a couple of spiral notebooks from Muji along with some markers to keep the kids occupied. They’re small and lightweight and lay flat on the table while the kids draw. When the pages are filled, the notebooks make nice little albums of their artwork. I […]
For our daughter’s 5th birthday, we took her to an art supply store and helped her stock an artist’s box–the usual watercolors, brushes and pastels, but also some new…
Through camp we (re)discovered lanyards this summer. Thanks to my mother-in-law’s saint-like patience and to a site, Boondoggleman that walks you through every stitch possible, my 7-year-old mastered some really elaborate stitches. You can buy the supplies online as well, at Lanyard Supplies.
