Building a creative art station for kids is so much fun. The kids spend hours there designing and creating masterpieces. Our art station would just get covered with papers in the past and never used and then they would start doing art projects on the floor. I had to start over and find something that would work for them. We moved a few months ago and this setup has worked so well for us.
I was pretty happy when I found this bookshelf for free a couple months ago. I hauled it in and even though I really wanted to paint it first, I also wanted a more functional art space so pink it is. I stock the top shelf with coloring books and art books the kids can use for inspiration and new ideas. Some days, they use them a ton, other days they just use their creative minds. Some days for homeschool, I introduce a famous artist to the kids and we work on a painting that he/she has done. The Usborne Complete Book of Art Ideas may be their favorite. It is a great way for me to just leave a new art idea out for them and let them explore.
The middle shelf is full of different types of papers. Printer paper, construction paper, watercolor paper, cardboard and more. There are also various different writing utensils. Pens, pencils, colored pencils, crayons, markers, oil pastels, watercolors, acrylic paint, tempera paint, bingo dobbers, wax crayons and more. I change up what I have on the shelf periodically. I add in more fun things to go with the holidays or seasons. Keeping it updated and fresh keeps the kids excited and makes their art projects more fun.
The bottom shelf has different scissors, glue sticks, glue bottles, glitter glue, stickers, art stamps, stencils and more. I keep a basket with various things to use – craft sticks, yarn, hold punches, pom-pom balls, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, art aprons, paint brushes and whatever other random art things we have or find.
The kids’ favorite part is having a place to hang their artwork when it’s finished. The cutest part is that Henry – who is four-years-old – asked me one day to build him a thing to hang his pictures on. So I am working on that – I will share it as soon as it’s finished.
That is how we built an awesome creative art station the kids love to spend time at. If there is an art medium that the kids recently learned about, I try to add in those supplies and encourage them to experiment with it. Hours of fun every day and the table is the perfect size for all of the kids.
