Our Top 10 Favourite Kids Crafting Supplies [+ FREE Online Buying Guide]

Posted on Jan 09, 2023

Have you found yourself in a craft store, staring at the rows and rows of (what feels like millions of) supply options and not having a clue where to start or what to buy?

Yup, going craft supply shopping can be very intimidating if you don't know what to buy and what not to buy. When it comes to kids it is also important to buy things that will at least last a season or two.

We had no idea what to buy when we started our club. But crafting with kids on a daily basis over the years has helped us a lot to see and understand which supplies and brands work and which ones just don’t.

The ironic thing is that the BEST crafting projects and experiences come from using a small list of basic supplies. And you’ll see you’ll end up using these supplies over and over again. You don’t need fancy supplies to create something awesome.

Also, if you stock up on these 10 supplies, you can do about 80% of the CCC Academy lesson plans.

To make your shopping experience as stress-free as possible, we’ve created a free Supply Checklist and Buying Guide PDF to help you get started.

Here are our TOP 10 Favourite Kids Crafting Supplies:

1. Recyclable Materials

The best part of creative crafting is that you don’t actually have to BUY all the supplies. You can also COLLECT supplies! Ask friends, family and neighbours to help and start collecting today!

Here is a list of recyclable materials that we often use in our classes:

Toilet rolls
Paper towel rolls
Formula tins and other tins
Paper (old wrapping paper, magazines and any other paper)
Cardboard (delivery and cereal boxes)
Paper straws
Egg cartons
Plastic bottles of all sizes
Milk cartons/ boxes and bottles
Soda cans
Paper cups
Wine corks
Lost socks
Old pool noodles
Bottle caps
Old scraps of fabric

These cool hand puppets were made using recycled milk boxes, egg cartons and cardboard!

2. Paintbrushes

We keep a variety of paintbrush sizes in our studio. We most often use the brushes with round tips.

A good set of paintbrushes can be used by all ages and if you buy proper paintbrushes they will last you years.

3. Giant Tempera Cakes in Trays

These babies work like MAGIC for all ages! They are an absolute MUST HAVE! They are durable, last long and work very well on most material types such as paper, cardboard and fabric.

We are absolutely in love with the fluorescent colours, but be aware they are a bit more pricey than the primary colours and secondary colours.

4. Sharpies

We must have tried about 5 different marker brands before we found the one that lasts. Sharpies!

Sharpies in assorted colours work great for adding detail and black sharpies can put an edge on projects, and make them look rounded off and beautiful.

If you find that Sharpies are too expensive, or do not last long enough for you, don't underestimate the value of a classic ol’ black ballpoint pen. I’m sure you can collect a few from your husband’s “man-drawer”. A lot of creatives use black pens to illustrate and it works like a charm as a design tool.

5. Paper

Nothing special to say here, we all know how awesome paper is. We most often use A4 copy paper, brown paper, coloured paper and lots and lots of A3 thick (+-200gsm) paper for our projects.

We buy the A4 and A3 white paper in large packs as it is more cost effective and you can NEVER have enough.

6. Jumbo Crayons (Tots) and Oil Pastel Crayons (Tweens)

We used to also work with chalk and other types of crayons, but over the years it’s become very clear - oil pastels work the best for ages 4 and up.

The colours look bright and striking on projects and you can buy them in bulk so they last very long.

Even at home, when my toddler looks like he is becoming a bit restless, I whip out my container of Jumbo Crayons and paper and he can keep himself busy for a while.

Crayons are a choking hazard for little ones, so we suggest you buy the jumbo crayons for kids under 4.

7. Hot Glue Gun

Stop reading right here, head over to this link and buy a glue gun. You’ll thank me later!

If you have a glue gun, a world of creative possibilities opens up! My glue gun is my best friend in my studio. It allows us to build and invent and stick things in place, properly! I mean, c’mon, who in this day and age has time to wait for glue to dry? We’ve got places to be and things to create!

Once you start gluing things with a glue gun, you will be hooked, so make sure you invest in a good one. I remember how surprised I was initially of how affordable they actually are.

Here is the one we would recommend:

You can replenish the glue sticks as you run out.

P.S. We only use our glue gun for prep work, we don’t bring it out in class to prevent accidents (burns) from happening.

8. Pipe cleaners

Pipe cleaners are a great asset in the crafting studio for several reasons:

Reason 1: They come in bright colours and look FABULOUS in a glass jar!

Reason 2: Little fingers love feeling the unique texture and bending it around in their hands (hello, fine motor skills!)

Reason 3: They are practical as they can tie things together

Reason 4: They work perfectly to create ‘tentacles’ of all kinds on projects

Here is a quick link to buy your first batch:

9. Duct Tape

We use duct tape all the time for our projects! We use it to stick all kinds of things, and unlike most tape it actually STICKS! My friend's dad fixed his running shorts with duct tape and it even withstands a washing machine. What an amazing product. The more colourful the better!

10. Box Cutter and Cutting Mat

Having a box cutter and self-healing cutting mat makes preparing for crafts so much easier. We work with a lot of cardboard and paper and these two tools cut your prep time down significantly.

Trying to cut cardboard with scissors not only kills your hand, but it will most likely break your scissors. Since the blade of a box cutter is very sharp, we only use it to prepare for classes and then store it away when there are kids in the studio.