Beginner Craft Kit Gift Idea

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My girls love to make things and be creative. As we were thinking about Christmas gifts this year we decided that we really wanted to focus on gifts that would allow our kids to be creative and develop their own talents, rather than just more toys to add to the toys we already have.

My oldest daughter loves to craft. She is a very creative kid and always wants to make things. A while ago I was cleaning  up in my craft room and reorganizing a little and she was helping me. She had ideas about everything! Where I should put things and how they should organized, projects I could make with different craft supplies I had, which things I should keep and which I should give to her.

As I listened to her ideas I decided that she needed a crafty space of her own. A place where she could sit and draw and make whatever she wanted. A place where she could have her own supplies so she wouldn't get into mine. A place she could decorate and organize however she wanted.

So we decided that for her Christmas present she would get a corner in my craft room with her own little desk area and a few supplies to get her started. I got a bunch of stuff from Consumer Crafts and I wanted to show you some of the ideas I had for putting together a beginner craft kit.

If you use this idea as a gift for a little crafter in your life you may want to adapt it a little based on the age and abilities of the person you are putting it together for. To be honest, most of it would make a great beginning craft kit for an adult too. Even if you only want to use part of it, maybe you know someone who would like to do more painting and wood crafting, you could just put together a few things from that category. There are lots of options and so many ways you could put something like this together. This is what I came up with.

Here is a look at some of the stuff I got, how I put it together, and why I chose what I chose. (Also links to where you can buy it)

As I was thinking of which supplies to get I considered the types of crafts she likes to do. One of her favorite things is painting and wood crafts so I started there.

Paints and Wood Crafts

First I wanted to get her some paints, I didn't really want to have to choose a bunch of different colors so I found a sampler pack that had all of the colors she needed to get started. With 16 colors of acrylic craft paint this was perfect for her. 

Next I knew I needed to get some paintbrushes so I got a a big pack of assorted brushes so she would have lots to choose from. I chose this pack because it has several foam brushes and I think she will use those a lot, but she will like having some finer brushes as well. I also got an inexpensive plastic palette. I love that she can wash and reuse it over and over again. 

One of the things I wanted to do was give her some projects she could get started on right away. Supplies are no fun if you have nothing to make with them so I also ordered a few simple wood shapes that she could paint. I chose a couple small frames, a wood plaque, and a cute little llama cut out that I know she will love. 

Basic Craft Materials

I also thought about some basic materials she would want to use as she creates. 

As I chose which materials to order I considered her age as well as colors and styles I thought she would like. 

I ordered a big stack of colorful felt. Felt is one of those materials that is great for both beginner and experienced crafters; adults and kids. 

I knew she would want some fabric because I have fabric and she really wants to do more sewing. She is still learning so any sewing projects she makes will probably be with my help, but I still thought she would enjoy having a little bit of fabric of her own. I chose a few fat quarters in colors and prints I thought she would like. 

Next I chose some pretty paper packs for her. Paper is a great basic for crafters of any age or experience level. Also, you can get it in pretty much any color and print. 

Last I chose a couple packs of foam sheets in a variety of colors. This is probably more of a kid craft material, not necessarily one I use often, but I thought it would be good for her. 

I thought these materials gave her a good starting point to be able to create just about anything she wanted. 

Basic Crafting Tools and Supplies

After choosing some basic materials I also needed some other basics, a few crafting tools, and other supplies to get her started. 

Scissors are obviously a necessity so I made sure to grab a pair of those. You may even want a couple, one for paper and one for fabric, but I just started her off with one.

Next I wanted to get her a few adhesives, whether for paper crafting, or gluing fabric and felt, I wanted to make sure she had a few options. I picked up a low temp glue gun, that is one of the things that I think really depends on the age of the person you are shopping for. She has used mine before, with supervision, but if it were one of my younger girls I would have left this off. I also picked up a double sided tape roller and a couple of glue sticks, these will be perfect for paper crafts.

Kind of going along with the glue, I also wanted to get her some decorative washi tape. To be honest, I have never been much a washi tape user, but any time I have gotten washi tape for something she loves to use it. Plus it is super kid friendly, so this was a must on my list of supplies. 

I also wanted to pick out a few random supplies I thought she might like to use to make things. Things like a big bag of beads, googly eyes, and pom poms. Other things you could add to this category would be buttons, chenille stems, or craft sticks. If you already have a lot of these supplies you could even just pull some from your own stash and put them in cute containers.

She has also shown a interest in embroidery so I picked up a few supplies for that, including needles, small hoops, and a big pack of embroidery floss. Plus the colorful embroidery floss can also be used to make friendship bracelets or for stringing beads. 

Papercrafting Supplies

Kind of like I did with the wood crafts I also kind of wanted her to have a few simple papercrafts that she could make right away. I thought one of the easiest things would be to get a pack of blank cards that she could decorate. 

I found a pack of 10 pastel cards that I thought would coordinate perfectly with the paper packs I had chosen for her. 

I also picked up a pack of alphabet stickers. I thought she would like being able to spell out different words or phrases on her cards with stickers. There are tons of colors and styles to choose from, I chose a black dot style. You could also include other stickers in different shapes. The washi tape can also be a fun way for her to decorate the cards. 

Embroidery Kit

Like I mentioned above, my daughter has been really interested in embroidery so I thought it would be fun to put together a little kit with the supplies I got for her. All you need to do is cut a small piece of muslin or other fabric a little bigger than the hoop, draw a simple line design directly on the fabric, add needles and embroidery floss in the necessary colors, any you have a perfect little embroidery starter kit.

Organize and Personalize

The last thing I wanted to do was give her a little bit of a start to organizing her supplies. I also thought that while I was at it I would personalize it a little bit. I picked up a few small jars and little containers that could hold some of the smaller supplies, as well as a larger plastic box that could hold some of the bigger things. 

While I was putting things in containers I thought I might as well cut out some vinyl on my Cricut to add a pit of personalization. I labeled some of the containers, as well as the big box. 

Another thing that would be fun is to add some larger storage, drawers or a cart of some kind. Something like this rolling cart would be fun and the little jars and containers would fit inside perfectly to keep things organized, plus it comes in several different colors. If you wanted a more closed option these rainbow drawers would also work really well. 

It was really fun to put all of this stuff together and I am excited to be able to gift it. I think it will be a lot of fun, well used, and give my daughter the opportunity to create and develop her talents. I feel like a gift that does that is the best kind of gift.