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Art Supplies

Art supplies are a source of wonder! What can be created with the simplest of materials and the freedom to explore is unlimited. What will your young reader create?

Basic Craft Supplies

Keep these basic craft supplies in a spot so that they can be easily reached whenever imaginations start!

  • Smock/Art Apron
  • Construction paper in all colors (Use construction paper to make Origami Dogs)
  • Brown butcher paper - Big Red Barn with Butcher Paper Play Mat
  • Scissors
  • Glue sticks
  • Craft glue
  • Hole punch - My Very Own Book
  • Stapler - use to make Hot Air Balloon Craft or Rattle and Shake Skeletons
  • Colored Pencils
  • Paint - Some of our favorite painting activities: Olivia's Jackson Pollock Painting, Caterpillar Fruit Stamps, and Miss Bindergarten's Class Self Portrait, Big Squiggle Art
  • Crayons - Crayon Resist
  • Water Colors - Explore Ink, Colored Pencil, and Watercolor Art with Kids
  • Paintbrushes
  • Yarn in various colors - Wooly Sheep Craft
  • Felt (Use felt to make Shape and Feel McDuff)
  • Glitter - Glitter Snail Trails
  • Buttons - A Button Treasure Box
  • Sidewalk chalk (or Make Your Own!)
  • Foam
  • Brass brads 

Whenever crafting, protect your workspace with newspaper, and your crafter’s clothes with an art smock or old t-shirt.

 

Homemade Art Supplies

  • Blueberry Paint
  • Chengdu Art with Cereal Box Stencils
  • Chocolate Playdough
  • Glitter Snail Trails
  • Homemade Bubble Solution, plus Bubble Blower Ideas
  • Homemade Model Magic and Pumpkin Creations
  • Homemade Pumpkin Pie Play Dough
  • Homemade Sidewalk Chalk
  • L is for Lemon: Lemon Juice Invisible Ink
  • Milk Paint Paintings
  • Mouse Paint Brushes

 

Recyclables

Those yogurt cups and egg cartons in your recycling bin are just waiting to be transformed into a bug or dragon, house or car, or whatever strikes you crafter’s fancy. Create a spot with your craft supplies to keep some of these items. Many of our crafts use the following items.

  • Yogurt cups
  • Egg cartons
  • Milk jugs
  • Paper towel tubes
  • Cereal boxes 
  • A variety of magazines and catalogues (for cutting out pictures)
  • Plastic cups
  • Butter tubs (work well for paints and other sticky mixtures)

Some of our favorite projects using recyclables:

  • Cereal Box Nature Tote
  • Pop Art Jamberries
  • Folk Art Wind Sculpture
  • Use old magazines and catalogues to make the Magnificent Hats collage
  • "Box Cars" or Train Sculptures
  • Styrofoam Boats
  • The Most Magnificent Thing
  • Milk Carton Bird Feeder

Welcome to Off the Shelf! Here you will find beloved picture books that have come to life through open-ended art activities, recipes designed to get kids cooking, and so much more!
We hope to not only inspire children’s love of reading but also spark their imaginations, nurture their creativity, and show them that the whole world can be a place to explore. Besides all that, they will have fun! And it all begins with a book.
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Gardening Books and Activities

  • The Carrot Seed
    The Carrot Seed
    by Ruth Krauss illustrated by Crockett Johnson Dear Friends, Although The Carrot Seed was originally published in 1945, the allure of playing in the dirt is still the same for kids today as it was then. The fascination of growing things, of exploring leaves and sticks, discovering what's under a...
  • A Tree is Nice
    A Tree is Nice
    Dear Friends, Trees are the perfect childhood friends. How many summer days are spent playing in the shade of a tree? Or fall afternoons spent tramping in the the fallen leaves? In imaginative play, tree can be almost anything, from houses to spaceships, as well as base in a game...
  • My Garden
    My Garden
    by Kevin Henkes A garden that doesn’t grow weeds but instead has jelly bean bushes, chocolate rabbits, tomatoes as big as beach balls, and never-ending flowers are just a few of the wonders of our little gardener in Kevin Henkes beautiful, imaginative My Garden . Illustrated with ink and watercolor...

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