Any recommendations for easel?

[veronica]

DD is almost 2 and we are looking for an easel. She is average height and just getting into her crayons. Is there any one easel that beats the rest? Any owners of the Step2 double sided easel. I'm thinking this might be good since DS will be interested at the same time...
Thanks!

[jhrabosk]

We haven't used it yet, but on a recommendation from another mom, I bought the easel at Ikea. For $20, you can't beat the price!

[ellies mom]

I like the Melissa and Doug easel. It is height adjustable so it grows with the kids. It is mostly wood but has plastic paint trays. It has a chalkboard on one side and a dry erase board on the other and it holds a role of paper. It isn't the prettiest but at $50 it is a good bargain. Ellie has been using it for almost two years and it holds up great.

[kitmama]

We have the Ikea easel, and have been happy with it. I also hear a lot of good reviews of the M&D easel.

[new_mommy25]

I really like the M&D easel. Each side is adjustable so I have one on the lowest height for DD and one on the medium height for DS. I got it off Amazon for about $25 shipped so check often for specials.

[doodler]

We have the KidKraft easel ans really like it. We bought it from costco last Fall so they may have it again. It was a great price but I'm afraid I can't remember exactly what it was right now.

Deborah

[2girlsandalab]

>DD is almost 2 and we are looking for an easel. She is
>average height and just getting into her crayons. Is there
>any one easel that beats the rest? Any owners of the Step2
>double sided easel. I'm thinking this might be good since DS
>will be interested at the same time...
>Thanks!

We have kid one from Loew Cornell which makes other art supplies. It was net price of $60 at AC Moore (a craft store) but I had a 1/2 off coupon which is not hard to obtain. the frame is made of wood, maybe a 2yo needs a plastic one? But ours wipes up well.

[giavila]

Another vote for the M&D easel!

[anamika]

Yep, I think it's great value for the price. DD is using it as I type.

[sand82552]

The Land of Nod has a great easel. The one we have is wood, and I can't remember the name of the manufacturer. But two things that frustrate me about it, is that the ledge is not straight, so the paint cups falls all the time, and it cannot collapse without undoing screws and such. So, I would definitely look at all of the features. I have heard lots of great things about the Ikea one too, especially for the price - you can't beat it!

[MarisaSF]

Edited to say that the easel at Costco this year IS made by KidKraft. It says Kidkraft in quite small print on the side of the box, not on the front of the box.

I bought it, but haven't set it up yet. Looked very sturdy in the store. It has a shelf and is height adjustable, two paint cups, a roll of paper, a whiteboard side, a chalkboard side, and a chalk eraser. I got it for $45.98.

I think this is it: http://www.kidkraft.com/catalog/62008-0010.asp

[MMMommy]

$45.98 is a great price. I bought it at my Costco for $59.99 last month, and it seems to be $59.99 in Northern California Costcos. Don't know if I'll be keeping it b/c we have an older plastic one. But it is very cute and solid looking.

[sand82552]

OH wow, I like that Costco one from Kid Kraft.

I just went downstairs to check ours, and it is made by Little Tikes and is wood, I really don't recommend it. I so wish we had something different, but it was a gift and $200 or so I think. I am going to get DH to modify it I think to make it more useful.

[MarisaSF]

They may have just recently marked it down at my Costco. The sign said "Originally $59.99" and then "$45.98*. "I think this is the clearance price as there were only 5 or 6 left. It rang up at $59.99 and I had to show them the tag to get it adjusted.

[chrissyhowie]

We have the Step 2 Creative Art Center with Chair.

http://www.step2.com/images/products/759500_details.jpg

It is big and plastic, but it works really well for our needs. All three of my kids can use it at the same time, although occasionally they fight over who gets to sit in the chair LOL.

It folds fairly flat and is light and easy to carry. Since we live in a relatively small apartment, that was really important since I store it away when we are done with it. There is a chalk board and wipe on board. I only wish one of the boards was magnetized. Then it would be perfect for us!

I've noticed these types of things show up on craigslist quite often, so check there if you have one in your city.

HTH,

[smilla653]

We bought a very classic easel at Lakeshore Learning:
http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/seo/ca|searchResults~~p|EE333~~.jsp

I was worried that the esaels with rolls of paper at the top don't hold the paper truly flat for the child to paint/draw on.

The Lakeshore Easel is extremely sturdy and classic looking. It is nice enough looking that we have it in our dining room.

[kaileysmom]

This is the one we have. I love it! And the Lakeshore Learning one has the magnetic side. I don't know if that's important to you or not, but it was for us, because we have a stainless steel fridge. They had a coupon for I think 15% off when we bought it.

[stonecali]

We have the IKEA one, and the two criticisms I have are:
a) There is only a tray on one side (the whiteboard side). If she is using the chalkboard, it is like musical chairs - she is constantly running to the other side to get new crayons. LOL
b) The roll of paper is underneath and I can't tell you how many times I have come in and my DD has pulled the paper 1/2 out and I have to rewind it.

But, $20 is pretty good. The roll of paper is $7. So, really it is $27.

[MMMommy]

I bought it for $59.99 and really want it at the $45.98 price. It is still $59.99 in the few N. California locations that I've been to this weekend. Sigh. $59.99 seems like a good price for a solid wood easel, but not when I know there is a $45.98 price. I had posted before wondering if anyone knew of easel clips or something to clip paper so that two kids can draw on paper at the same time on this particular easel, since only one child can use the paper roll. Or am I missing something? Can two children somehow use the paper roll at the same time on each side? Will the Ikea paper roll fit it as well? Also, for those that have it or plan on keeping it, do you think there will be issues with having wood trays, versus plastic trays? Are wood trays impossible to clean? It seems like a really good price for a wood easel, and it is very good-looking, but I am wondering if it is more pretty, than functional. I remember Costco having this last fall/Xmas and admiring the look. Any thoughts?

[kijip]

We have had the IKEA one since last Christmas. It is great. I wish there was a tray and both sides but other than that, I have no complaints. I like not cringing when he takes crayon to the white board, because hey it is only $20! :)

****Rocking out while parenting my smart little 4 year old munchkin Toby.
The butter melts out of habit, you know the toast isn't even warm. -Ani DiFranco

[MMMommy]

Has anyone seen the Kidkraft easel at any Northern California Costco(Bay Area/Peninsula) for $45.98? Still hoping to find it at that price, instead of for $59.99, which is what I've still been seeing.

[just_teachin]

If I were you, I'd grab it at $60! I called several of the Costcos near me in north-central IL, and none of them have them in stock. I'm kicking myself for not getting one, as the lowest price I've seen on line is $120.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Heather
Mommy to Corinne, almost three!!
6/7 SAHM, 1/7 Kdg-8th grade music teacher; 7/7 Bargain Huntress
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_sapphire_24m.gif Proudly breastfed for 24 months and 7 days! Corinne has self-weaned!

[MarisaSF]

Sigh. We might have saved $14, but you get to live in the Bay Area. :) I think I'd trade!

I saw easel clips at Lakeshore Learning, but you could use chip clips or something like that maybe.

I haven't tried the IKEA roll, but will when this one runs out. I'm not worried about the wood trays. I'll consider it a small inconvenience.

[TahliasMom]

i was in the Daly City one last weekend and didn't see the easel. I might go to one in Mt. View this weekend as I need to pick up a couple things. If I see it, I'll post.

[MMMommy]

The Mountain View Costco had it when we were there last Saturday. They had a decent number of them that day at the $59.99 price. My guess is that they would still have some as of today.

[MMMommy]

There is a discussion of the Costco Kidkraft 3-In-One Adjustable Easel earlier in this thread. It is now available at Costco.com for $89.99 shipped (versus $59.99 or possibly $45.98 in Costco warehouses). Here is a link of the item with the item number (Item 212008 - you can check your local Costco to see if they have it in stock).

http://tinyurl.com/2caywg

[MarisaSF]

Yeah, grab it now while you can! My friend was at our Costco today and all the easels were gone!