This year Children’s Art Week is running from 29th June to 19th July. Despite its name it runs for three weeks not one and is dedicated to encouraging children to get involved with art in different ways. This involvement can take many forms in many different places, at home, in schools, online and in art galleries and museums. It is an opportunity for children to try different art techniques they may not have tried before as well as learning more about local, national or internationally known artists and the benefits that art can have on people
If you want to join in and have some arty fun with your children then now is the time to grab the paints and get creative and if you are unsure where to start then there are loads of resources online full of ideas. You can even find lots of free printables and mess free craft ideas too!
Talking of which here are four fab (relatively) mess free craft sets that will keep your child entertained for hours, encourage their creativity and teach them new skills along the way.
The Amazing Flower Kit
The Amazing Flower kit by The Happy Puzzle Company is a wonderful set that will really help children work on their fine motor skills as they create an array of flowers using different pieces of foam. The set includes everything your little one needs to make 48 multi-coloured foam flowers as well as an instruction manual on how to make them and lots of interesting facts about the various flowers they are creating.
Is there anything better than some educational fun? Especially when the kids don’t realise it’s educational as they’re too busy having fun!
This set requires no additional craft pieces and is completely mess free, so much so these flowers can be made anywhere as long as there is enough space, there is no need to worry about glue, glitter or anything else.
Waxi Doodles
Waxi Doodles is another fabulous craft set that is also completely mess free. The idea with this set is that your child uses the waxi doodles to create models or decorate other objects. It comes with 150 of the waxi doodles in a variety of colours and you simply press them together, or to any other surface, and they will stick in place, the possibilities are endless. However, if your child struggles with their imagination then worry not as the set also includes an activity board and a booklet full of ideas to get them started.
Zoinks Aqua Gelz
This Zoinks aqua gelz set is perfect for those that want to focus on an under the sea craft theme or who want to try something a little bit different. It is easy to use and lots of fun but does require some patience as the gel sets. The set comes with 9 different coloured gels including 2 glitter and one glow in the dark as well as 6 different moulds of various sea creatures plus a unicorn. It is relatively mess free but does require a table that I would cover just in case of water or gel spillage and leaves your child with a piece of art they can actually play with once finished. It is aimed at over 5’s but I think younger ones would love this too as long as they have some support.
Blopens
Blopens are a favourite in this house, the boys loved them when they were little and now Layla enjoys them too. There are numerous sets available some aimed more at girls, some boys, and some more gender neutral, although of course your child can opt for which ever set spikes their interest. This particular artist’s studio set comes with 12 different reusable stencils featuring things like castles, unicorns and fairies. It also comes with 12 Blopens in various colours, 1 glue pen, 1 packet of sequins and 1 glitter tube to allow your child to be even more creative with their art and add a final bit of sparkle to their pictures.
The Blopen sets are very easy to use and again they are relatively mess free as if used correctly the ink should only land on their paper but I would suggest covering your table just in case.
I hope these mess free craft sets have given you some inspiration for Children’s Art Week and beyond and they you and your little ones have fun getting creative.