How do you store your arts and crafts?

[buzzy bee]

As you may have guessed I'm having a bit of a new year tidy-up!

Just wondering how you all store your arts and crafts stuff... do you keep it all together / separate / out of reach etc.

I have littlies and over 8s so I want to keep it out of littlies reach but so that over 8s can see what there is.

At the moment I have a box full of magazines for cutting up, then another box for paints and another box for everything else - stickers, different paper, sequins, glitter, goggle eyes, pompoms, everything basically!!

Thanks! :thumbsup:

[flowerpots]

i have trofast unit and keep the things i dont want the littlies to get at in a higher box, thay are all labelled so the biggies still know whats inside. :thumbsup:

[sweets]

i only have littlies, and i know we are supposed to let them have free access but im sorry no way in my house!!!:eek: :laughing:

i have one of those 5 drawer plastic things ,you can get them from cheap shops for about £10. its kept upstairs in the back bedroom. i have it all organised so that i can just bring a whole drawer down depending wether we want paints or sticking etc.

crayons, paper and playdough are kept in baskets on top of my fridge freezer so are easier to access and are more of an everyday thing.

[sarah707]

I have lots of those little clear plastic boxes you get with Chinese takeaways - I got them from the £1 shop (5 for £1).

I put different resources in each and stack them in a big basket.

It works well because I get down the basket and we look for what we want :D

[miffy]

I have lots of those little clear plastic boxes you get with Chinese takeaways - I got them from the £1 shop (5 for £1).


I use these too!

I also have a plastic 5 drawer cabinet with craft stuff/card/paper in that the children can access themselves plus pots with crayons, felt tip pens, pencils in.

And a wall cupboard in the utility stuffed with craft things!

Miffy xx

[Playmate]

I have 2 single ikea wardrodes ( nice birch wood :) ) they have large clear plastic drawers (about 7 in each) each one is filled to bursting with craft stuff :panic: within the drawers I also use takeaway containers for little bits.

[miffy]

I have 2 single ikea wardrodes ( nice birch wood :) ) they have large clear plastic drawers (about 7 in each) each one is filled to bursting with craft stuff :panic: within the drawers I also use takeaway containers for little bits.

I like that idea - sadly nowhere to put them! :(

Miffy xx

[mamasheshe]

i've just sorted my cupboard out most of it stays in there while we're not using its in boxes with what's in the box written on the front eg
playdoh and cutters, paints brushes rollers, i have a box with little boxes of googlies eyes, feathers, sequins, glitters, a big boxes of stuff to be cut out old magazines,Christmas card, wrapping paper sweet wrappers

but what i want to know is how does everyone store there board games and puzzles i seem to have boxes of these that i alternate out into two wicker baskets that are assessable to the kids.

[mrs_scottydog]

I've just ordered some trolleys with 3 drawers in them from Homebase. At the moment I've just got everything in a disorganised cardboard box and a plastic box. I've also been saving Philadelphia pots and margarine tubs which will be useful for separating different materials. Will see how the trolley works in a few days. Hx

[Playmate]

I like that idea - sadly nowhere to put them! :(

Miffy xx

I'm quite lucky I do have quite a big a hallway, however there are times when I do wish it wasn't there!:rolleyes:

[PixiePetal]

I have a pine toy cupboard in my dining room - where we do most crafts (or kitchen which is next to it) It holds 6 plastic toy boxes but I only use 2 shelves for crafts so 4 big boxes.

1 for paint/glue
1 for playdough
1 for paper/card etc
1 for bits and bobs - must get some plastic takeaway boxes!

then there's just enough room to put a smaller box in between 2 big ones for pens/crayons

needs a sort out after all the Christmas crafts :rolleyes:

[buzzy bee]

Thanks for all the replies, some fab ideas - I'll definitely get myself some takeaway tubs!

I will be organised one day :laughing:

[Beetlejuice]

i have trofast unit and keep the things i dont want the littlies to get at in a higher box, thay are all labelled so the biggies still know whats inside. :thumbsup:

Exactly the same. Things like scissors, craft punches etc I have in trofast in my understairs cupboard too which has a catch that only the older children can reach to open - and they know not to go in there without my supervision. I have 27 trofast boxes full of craft :o I'm a little bit addicted lol

[Angela234]

I have a narrow 4 clear drawer trolley in lounge with;

crayonns,pencils,felts calculaters, rulers,rubbers, stampers in top drawer

lots of different paper, notebooks, envelopes, bank slips in 2nd drawer

lots of Stencils, aqua draw sets in 3rd drawer

colouring books activity books in 4th drawer

lots of Scissors, and different tapes and glue sticks in kitchen drawer

paints and glue kept under kitchen sink

I have a wide 4 drawer trolley in our spare bedroom where i keep craft bits which i bring a selection down.

[sandy64]

i have paints in welsh dresser, other arts/crafts,playdoh in bottom 2 cupboards in filing cabinet, a large box of crafts,fabric etc on top shelf in playroom. really need a sort out again i keep buying lol so need to stop and use what ive got.:)

[Kes]

I have safe (ish) stuff in cupboard with child locks so little ones can't get in.

Stuff upstairs for special craft that I don't want them touching.

3 of the round mini pop up baskets from ikea can't remember what there called are on the wall behind the living room door. These have crayons in the bottom one which the little ones can reach, colouring pencils in the middle one and the felt tips in the top one which the older kids only can get to.

[Helcatt]

I have one of the cheap plastic drawer sets and in the drawers, I use the takeaway boxes. fwe are doing a theme, I bring out one of the drawers and we select a number of little boxes from that

I store this under my stairs, but I need to work out a better way as only I have access and I would like it if the older ones could help themselves - within reason

HX

[mamasheshe]

forgot to say i have a little shelf at child level with crayons chalks felt tips and safety scissors glue sticks this is great as i can remove whats age appropriate

[manjay]

A huge amount of my craft stuff is on my shelves in the kitchen and is easily accessible by all. Some on higher shelves obviously. I have hundreds of "really useful" boxes which I store everything in. they come in loads of different sizes and are fairly easy to open by the children. I have tiny ones for things like sequins and googly eyes up to really big ones where I store board games and jigsaws. I also have a storage carousel on my small table which holds pens, pencils, crayons, scissors etc.

Oh then I have loads of Tesco trays in the garage with loads more in:rolleyes:

[PixiePetal]

Just had a lovely Indian takeaway with DH - so that's 6 boxes saved :thumbsup: :laughing:

[sweets]

Just had a lovely Indian takeaway with DH - so that's 6 boxes saved :thumbsup: :laughing:

tax deductable then????? :laughing:

[PixiePetal]

tax deductable then????? :laughing:

Oooh! didn't think of that - 6 plastic tubs £25, with free takeaway :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

[Chimps Childminding]

Oooh! didn't think of that - 6 plastic tubs £25, with free takeaway :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

:laughing: :laughing: I was hopeing to re-stock mine with the indian takeaway we had on new years eve - but it came in foil containers :angry:

Will have to stick to Chinese for one thing it is much easier to get the tubs clean - the indian ones always seem to be orange :angry:

[Vickster]

There are some small 4 drawer storage units in Morrissons at the moment £5 I think.

Mine are in the dresser, my 18 month old, 4 year old and two 5 year olds know where they are. I also put some different things in a cat litter tray and pop that on the table for the after school children to use, if they ask for other things then I get them for them (glitter is hidden). Mine needs replenishing a bit though, but I have lots of left over wrapping paper so will be mostly doing collage tomorrow after school!

[The Juggler]

:laughing: :laughing: I was hopeing to re-stock mine with the indian takeaway we had on new years eve - but it came in foil containers :angry:

Will have to stick to Chinese for one thing it is much easier to get the tubs clean - the indian ones always seem to be orange :angry:

our pound shop sells packs of 10 of the plastic ones:D mind you bit hit or miss. over last 6 years have had 3 sets. first two fine, last lot none of the lids fitted:laughing: :laughing: but you can't really take them back to the pound shop can you:(

I use them for storing cheese and opened ham etc.

[Chimps Childminding]

our pound shop sells packs of 10 of the plastic ones:D mind you bit hit or miss. over last 6 years have had 3 sets. first two fine, last lot none of the lids fitted:laughing: :laughing: but you can't really take them back to the pound shop can you:(

I use them for storing cheese and opened ham etc.

Thanks for that, will keep my eyes open :thumbsup:

[butterfly]

I use a mixture of baskets and chinese boxes to store all our stuff. Most of it is stored in the 'no children allowed' cupboard but I have a few boxes up on the kitchen window sill which the older children can access.

I'd really like to have an access when they want store of art and craft but have 2 problems - where to put it and an aversion to letting them have art and craft stuff out all over the place!

I bought aqua draws and those magnetic boards so they can mark make whenever they want without making a mess.

[HomefromHome]

on top of books on the bookshelf, under the sofa, under the bed, a dedicated bookshelf and a 3 drawer plastic trolley!
now before you all think i've lost it (well i have really i suppose!) i have some very large sheets of paper - under the sofa/bed/on top of big books on the book shelf is the best wasy to store it - it's flat and out of sight! so out of sight i forget it's there sometimes (it's like xmas all over again when i re-find things!!) :D

[babs]

i have paper, crayons,felts,pencils,stencils,colouring books and stickers , chalks and blackboards, white board and pens out all the time so children have free access to theses as long as they are kept in the play room..

things kept in high cupboard are scissors,paints,glue, glitter etc. and takeaway plastic boxes do come in handy for storage as well as making good paint trays......

[pinks]

I think Trofast storage or 4 tier storage works well for storing arts & crafts, For stuff that you do not want kids or little ones to touch,you can store them in big transparent boxes as back up in utility or store room and label them to fill your resources back in trofast or 4 tier storage.

[uf353432]

I have a wine rack which houses 9 screw top transparent plastic jars, each jar has a different craft material inside. They are on a low shelf so that when they are not being used for crafting the very young children use them as sensory jars. They are ever changing because when we use up the contents I fill them with something else from my storage box in the outbuilding.

I have a little ikea 6 draw chest which houses pens, pencils, scissors, glue, tape in each draw - each draw has a photo of the contents and sits next to a basket of paper (plain, coloured and patterned) Again this just sits on a trofast unit and all children have free access to the contents. If one of the younger children selects it i'll be ready to support the activity.

All these bits are just part of my continuous provision.

I also have a trofast unit with lots of additional craft materials in my outbuilding and sometimes I just leave invitations to play on the table and see what happens.

[singingcactus]

I store a lot of my stuff in a veg rack on the half landing. The upstairs is only registered for older kids so only the older kids have free access to it all. They just open up the kitchen table, get what they want and crack on. The little kids have a magnadoodle things, and aqua doodle etc they have free access to. They also have chalks and brushes and stuff all over the backyard they can use when they want. Only one of my three young ones are really into drawing though so don't get used much.

My jigsaws and games are fastened with an elastic band and stacked on their ends like books on a book shelf (works way better than stacking one atop another). The kids pull out what they want, play and the put away before school/home. The little kids jigsaws and games, I store a few at a time in the book sling part of a toy storage system.

This is how it is working for my current kids....will probably change it all in a month or two as they develop and change.

[ziggy]

I have a large built in cupboard in the dining room. Top two shelves hold boxed games, puzzles etc which I rotate into playroom but children dont have free access to these (sorry if thats wrong)

Bottom part of cupboard holds arts/crafts bits. Like others i use chinese plastic tubs, empty butter tubs etc. In there i have glue, paint, glitter, paper, crayons, felt pens etc etc etc. All containers are labelled.

Again children dont have free access to any of this. Older ones know what is in there and will ask for what they want. When little ones are here i just put out a selection and they can choose from what is on table

It would be madness to let little ones just help themselves lol. Over the week i have two 3yr olds, two 18month olds and a 13month old. Luckily we dont have Ofsted here as i cant imagine the chaos if they were allowed in that cupboard :eek::eek::eek: