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These ideas to make craft supplies portable were inspired by keeping kids creative on the go in the summer, but they’re great ideas for adults as well.
We all seem to leave the house more often, for trips short and long, when the weather is good, but if you have crafty kids you know it’s always a good idea to have some crayons and paper at the ready for waits at restaurants, doctor’s offices and anywhere else you might happen to be.
It’s always nice to have this stuff contained in some way, but that’s particularly important in the summer, when crayons can make a big melty mess in the bottom of your purse. Here are a few really easy ways to store some art supplies in your bag using stuff you probably already have in your house.
Sandwich Box Caddy
A few school birthday parties ago my daughter got a sandwich box as part of the goodie bag. It’s never had a sandwich in it, but it is a handy, lightweight and sturdy way to carry around some paper and crayons.
If you don’t already have a sandwich box to use for this purpose, you can buy them in the dollar section at Target or at the dollar store. Add some cheap little notebooks or scratch paper and a box of crayons. Or, if you have no crayon boxes, secure a few crayons with a ponytail holder, then you’ll always have one of those handy, too.
Make Craft Supplies Portable with a Baby Wipe Box
Once I saw an idea for making a portable coloring surface with an old DVD case. I was going to make one of my own, but when I tried to cut the part that holds the DVD out of my case, I cracked the edge.
I thought there had to be an easier way, and there is: a travel wipes case.
Somebody actually left this in my house a year or so ago; I never had one when my kid was in diapers.
I cut some pieces of a cardboard box to fit in each of the sides, then cut scrapbook paper to cover. One piece needs paper on both sides, while the other just needs one.
In addition, I made the pocket by stacking two little pieces of cardboard to give it some depth. I used permanent scrapbook adhesive to stick the pieces together and then to stick them to another little piece of cardboard to be the pocket. And I cut a piece of scrapbook paper for that, too.
You can use regular glue for all of this, but it’s immensely easier if you use spray adhesive to put the paper on the cardboard pieces. I also used it to glue the piece for the pencils into the case.
Then I adhered the pocket to that piece with more of the permanent tape.
You can glue the other cardboard piece to the other side of the case if you want to, but I wanted this coloring surface to be removable. I cut some plain printer paper down to size and added a tiny clip at the top to hold the paper.Then just slide colored pencils or crayons in the pocket and you’re ready to go.
Felt Crayon Caddy
This last one is one I made for my daughter last year. It’s just a couple pieces of felt cut into a heart shape, with spaces for crayons on one side and a place for a little handmade notebook on the other side. You can find instructions for both the caddy and the books.
How do you carry around crayons and paper for your kids to make craft supplies portable? I’d love to hear your ideas!
