Making arts and crafts is an activity that spans ages. Loved by preschool children and octogenarians alike, everyone can find enjoyment in creating something imaginative and beautiful. There are many benefits to arts and crafts, such as developing fine motor skills and improving dexterity in children. This can also be an advantage for older adults.
Creating art also encourages self expression and enables people to share their emotions through artistic mediums. It is also a way to control output and can help boost self esteem when someone sees the quality of work they have created.
There are so many types of arts and crafts that it is difficult to narrow down what kind of craft supplies you will need. It all depends on what you want to do as well as what your skill level is. For young children that are just learning how to hold a pencil or crayon, it’s best to start out with large pieces of paper that have simple drawings on them that they can color or trace. Crayons are a great medium for little hands to hold and learn to work across the page without fear of them making a mess.
As kids get older, you can add in colored pencils, sketching pencils, sketch books, paints and collage paper. Give kids the opportunity to explore different mediums to see what they like working with best. Kids will want to go from medium to medium to play around with the different textures, colors, sizes and more.
Crafts for adults can include any type of supplies, such as paints, colored pencils or markers, mosaic tiles, feathers, clay — the list goes on. When you’re starting out with a new craft supply, try it out in small amounts until you get the hang of how to use it and create with it. This reduces waste and increases confidence in your abilities.