Tuesday, September 7

Our New Art Cupboard


This little cupboard was found at a yard sale recently. After cleaning it and painting it all of our art materials were moved in. Here's an up close of our art cupboard:



On the top are some of the metal (Montessori) insets. They are used for tracing and help a child prepare the hand for writing since the different shapes have the same curves and lines found in and used for writing letters of the alphabet. They are not traditionally found in art areas and are not considered art materials, however, my daughter does prefer them used this way and so I put them with our art supplies.



Also in the cupboard, (moving left to right) we have glue materials- glue stick and liquid glue with a small bowl and small brush. Cutting shapes- paper folded in half with half a shape drawn on one side. Cutting paper strips used for my (almost 3 year old) daughter. And on the far right is the basket holding scissors, a large and a small paper punch.




A tray of paper sits on the left with the art mats under it. Art mats are used for putting under play dough, glue work, painting or coloring. The art mats are actually plastic food cutting mats. They are inexpensive and clean up easily with a damp sponge. Next to that is the crayon caddy which holds the drawing utensils.



The bottom level (upper left) holds large and small beads for necklaces as well as sewing materials. The upper right are animals stencils and rubbing plates. The bottom left is a tool box filled with our play dough materials like rolling pin, cookie cutters and wooden utensils. The bottom right is painting materials used for our weekly watercolor painting day and a paint set for painting at other times with a jar for rinsing and a paint brush.

I still need to add a basket of paper scraps for cutting and glue work. So, that's what is in our art cupboard. What are your children's favorites?

11 comments:

pink and green mama MaryLea said...

Beautiful cupboard and wonderful supplies! We have a garage sale cupboard as well but I never got around to painting it -- I tell myself it's "charming" but I really will have to paint it one of these days!

I can't recommend a roll of brown contractor's paper enough from the hardware store if you ever get a chance to buy/store some. It's WONDERFUL as table protection while crafting/creating and it makes great painting paper as well! It's becoming one of my new favorite materials.

We've (my 3 yr. old & 7 yr. old) been making tons of leaf rubbings the past few days with our crayon rocks - I could totally see your three year old enjoying a small basket of fresh leaves added to the cupboard or art table for exactly this purpose! : )

Happy Crafting!!

Jess said...

Oh gorgeous!! I need to do something like this for our art space - but we have such limited area Ill need to be very creative.

Thanks for the inspiration.

We are about to restart our toddler art group this Friday so its extra reason to get organised!

(:

Unknown said...

Great post. Thanks for showing that. It's always helpful to see the way others organize.

Sippy Cup Central Mom said...

Your shelf is just lovely! We do a lot with left over paper bags from the grocery store. I would cut them into large pieces to use.
Thanks, Karen
Sippy Cup Central Mom

Paul and Ines said...

What a beautiful cabinet! I just have a shelf....i bet your girls love it!

Amy said...

Some great ideas and comments thanks! We definitely need paper on a roll and the leaves will be great too. I remember having so much fun with paper bags when I was younger- we always made them into costumes.

Christie - Childhood 101 said...

What a gorgeous cupboard. I really enjoyed seeing what you have stocked your art supply area with as I have just begun to properly organise ours. Thanks for sharing.

Miri said...

Hi Amy! Sorry for not commenting lately, although I didn't stop learning from your posts. I have just recently given birth to our daughter...:)
I will be very grateful if you share from your wisdom regarding your approach to your youngest daughter's interest in her older sister materials. How do you react to that? If she tries to cut, for instance, something else than the paper strips..? Thank you!

Amy said...

Congratulations on your growing family. I saw your blog photos and they all look so sweet. About your question, I try to provide an easier version for an activity if I can (for my youngest daughter) however, that is not always the case and sometimes she does want to try the other version. There is the question, which I'm not sure I know the "right" answer to: Do I help her do it or Do I let her try and stay out of it (presuming it is something that is safe for her to do) I tend to observe and step aside. Sometimes she surprises me and does it- not perfectly- but she does it. Other times she seems to lose interest when she struggles and knows she can't do it independently. Sometimes she will ask for help and then I will help her but not do it for her. I then also invite her to try the other version.

Miri said...

Thank you! I can definitely agree with your approach.
I have been wondering a lot regarding implementing Montessori while homeschooling two children. I know we have a lot of time until then, and yet. I have so many questions. My main worry is just that - what should be my respond to the youngest, which will be 3 years younger, if she gets interested in her brother's materials. especially when she is a toddler. Perhaps you'd like to post about your experiences with your youngest...?

Lukas said...

Thank you for wrriting this