How to Spend More Time Crafting with Your Kids and Less on Craft Supplies

Crafts will Bring You Together

Given the amount of time adults spend at jobs, kids spend in school, and we all spend online, learning how to craft is a great way to unwind while using your hands. Who better to craft with than your kids? Kids have big imaginations and see limitless possibilities in all ideas.  Here are our tips on how you can spend more time with your kids with crafts without overspending on supplies!

 

Make Your Own Slime

You can easily make your own gooey slime at home with household or cheap items and shoot videos of it squishing around. Believe it or not, posting slime videos on social media is super popular with pre-teens right now. And everyone knows that the coolest kids make their own slime! Instead of buying your kid slime for their videos, why not help them make their own slime. It is affordable fun, not to mention so #trendy and helps get kids excited about science.  

Craft a Nebula in a Jar

Speaking of science, here is a wonderful crafting opportunity to teach your kids about nebulas in space. According to Wikipedia, they are “interstellar clouds of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized gases.” While showing them how to make a beautiful purple and blue nebula in a jar with simple and cheap items like paint, glitter, and cotton balls, you can explain what scientists have discovered about them. Nothing helps a young mind learn about what would normally seem like a far-off concept than being able to create and hold their own model in their hands.

Tie-Dye Spin Art Project

Have an old salad spinner sitting around? If not, you can usually find one in your local thrift store or for sale online for a low price. With a salad spinner, coffee filters, and washable paint you can teach your kids to make tie-dyed art. The salad spinner is not only fun for them to watch spin around, but it produces beautiful combinations of colors. This is a very affordable way to bond with your kids over crafts.  

Browse for Craft Projects Online

If you don’t have a nearby craft store or prefer browsing online, Pinterest and Etsy are great ways to obtain kids craft ideas. Both have limitless craft opportunities. Pinterest is your best bet for finding existing craft ideas with instructions. While Etsy is more of a purchasing spot for already crafted items, looking there will give you an idea of the monetary value of the items you can teach your kids to make. Plus, it’s fun to see what other artisans have made on Etsy and Google how to make those things yourself. Perhaps you and your kid will open an Etsy store where you sell your own crafts. You could let your kids keep some of the money from the items you sell. Consider teaching them about saving money by opening a bank account to collect the money from their sales.

To browse inspiration and shop the tools and items you need check out companies online like Interweave.  They have projects you can do with the kids and teach them to pass down to their children like knitting and crocheting. They even have patterns to create gorgeous beaded jewelry that are great for handmade gifts for others. This might be a good option to give the kids some ideas on gifts for mom on Mother’s Day?

The Family that Crafts Together Stays Together

As you can see, crafting and every element surrounding it is not only a great way to spend more time with your kids, but also a great way to teach them about money and budgeting. Whenever you teach a child that they can make something themselves for less than buying it, you are teaching them a valuable skill. Kids crafts are the best!