I got a very fun assignment recently: I wrote a round-up of my favorite kids’ art and craft supplies for CRAFT:’s Bazaar section! Each product review also includes a handmade spinoff version like melting your own crayon discs, making an easel from a stepladder, and making a colored-pencil roll-up case (if you’re less of a buyer and more of a DIYer).

I was also excited to include a bonus list of my seven favorite kids’ craft books (past and present) for inspired projects to try with all ages. My all-time favorite is the Childcraft Make and Do volume (I’ve written a bit about how much I adore my childhood copy over here),

and of course I was so proud to put my very own nameplate in the front. Mine is the 1976 edition but I also picked up a 1980s one recently that has all different projects — kind of cool to have both!

So I thought I’d show one of our family favorites in action: the Melissa & Doug 24 crayons set. Pearl loves drawing — loves it. She’s had the set of 10 for awhile but when I handed her the box with all the new colors, she was so excited (another thing I vividly remember from being little, the day I got my first new box of 64 Crayolas was better than Christmas). She took each one out, saying “Wow!” and got started right away, and I ran for the camera!

She has her own sketchpad that we keep in the living room so anytime she wants to draw, things are all set up for her. She’s big on using every color in the box, gripping two crayons in each hand, steadying the pages with her foot, and pulling the paper out of the pad when she’s all done. I love seeing how excited she is about it all — one of my favorite things ever.

When the weather is a little better, it’s going to be finger-painting season. And I can’t wait to get her that easel…

Thank you to Natalie for this fun assignment — I would love to hear more of your favorite kids’ craft supplies to try, too!