February 16, 2010

Creating a Crafting Space – Part III – Make an Art Supply Turntable

Gotta love organized art supplies. That’s probably the art teacher in me, right? My kids pull out art supplies multiple times a day. Markers, crayons, scissors, glue – the cleanup for this is overwhelming if you don’t have a system that works for kids. Initially I looked around and tried to buy a caddy or container that would work. Everyhing was either too expensive for me to justify or plastic-y and wouldn’t look good just sitting out. I started thinking about would make a good art caddy for kids. It had to have all the components accessible, be sturdy, and it should be cute. So I set out to make my definition of a perfect art caddy for kids – my goal was to make it for about $10 and I came in at about $12. Pretty good, right? Here’s what you need:  
  • wood lazy susan (unpainted) –  I bought mine at IKEA, but I just saw a slightly smaller one at Target the other day
  • glazed flower pots or aluminum flower pots (I used 6 smaller pots around the outside and one larger one in the middle) – they were on sale for 25 cents each at IKEA when I made this
  • scrapbooking paper – I used coordinating prints
  • craft paint – I like Apple Barrel brand
  • Mod Podge (to seal and protect)
  • glue gun
  • pencil (to trace paper) 
  • scissors
Here’s your step by step how-to:

  1. Paint the lazy susan – let dry overnight – you’ll probably need 2-3 coats.
  2. Cut circles to go under the flower pots (I turned the pot upside down and traced around the “lip” of the pot for a perfectly proportioned circle to go under the pot).
  3. Spread some Mod Podge under the circles and place where you want them on your painted lazy susan.
  4. Paint 2-3 coats of Mod Podge over the entire surface and underneath the lazy susan – this protects the surface and will keep the paper nicely attached to the lazy susan for years and years to come. Let dry overnight.
  5. Using superglue or a glue gun to attach the flower pots to the circles.
  6. Fill with art supplies and start creating!

This is fairly simple to make – the hardest part was letting everything dry in between coats. Now my kids are able to choose their art medium by simply turning the art wheel instead of climbing on top of the table. How do you organize art and craft supplies?

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Cleaning With Kids, Craft Room, Make It, solutions