Please tell ME how you store "art" supplies!

[kcampbell]

Ok-I have read the kitchen play food storage thread and am now wondering what everyone does to store art stuff. I am not really sure I want my 4 and 2.5 year old DDs to be able to access these things on their own (like markers, paint, googley eyes, pom poms, glue etc etc.) Wonderfu SIL gave the girls tons and tons of every kind of art supply imagineable for Christmas and now I need to figure out how and where to put it all. Any thoughts or pics of what you have done?

[brittone2]

We have an antique oak cabinet thing...it has three shelves behind 2 closing doors (so space for like 6 baskets, 2 per shelf). I keep most of our stuff in there and then there are also two drawers above the double doors w/ the shelves.

It is next to my kitchen table. That way we can use the top as sort of a sideboard, but it is conveniently located for doing art projects in the kitchen. The latch on the doors was tricky enough for my DD when I needed it to be. You could childproof it if needed.

We have an upstairs art area in our office. I have a big armoire (used to house our TV equipment). In it I have tons of dishpans with our different homeschooling stuff broken down by topic. I also keep some art supplies in there that I l ike out of reach. You could accomplish the same thing w/ some sort of container for the messier art stuff by keeping it on a high shelf or similar. We have one of these on our little work table in the office:
http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/StaplesProductDisplay?storeId=10001&jspStoreDir=Staples&productId=130525&cmSearchKeyword=apprentice&fromUrl=home&cmArea=SEARCH&catalogId=10051&langId=-1

Learned about it here of course ;) It is HUGE though, so know that in advance (you can find them in store at Staples). That's where I keep the stuff I'm okay with them accessing freely.

[hillview]

We are basic but have a steralite container in a closet with everything. Inside it is a smaller container with lid for crayons/markers. I could see adding a smaller just crayons container when DS #2 starts to want to use (DS #1 does either).
/hillary

[hellokitty]

We are going to get french doors put up in our living room and use it as a study (which it currently already is, except we have an ugly looking evenflo babygate going across the entrance to block out the kids). In there, I am using my youngest son's dresser/changing table (it's actually just a very simple 3 drawer dresser from ikea, I basically threw a changing pad on top and used it as a changing table too) to store all of my craft supplies. I am the type of person who wants things tucked out of site and I definitely don't want my kids to have access to that kind of stuff whenever they want it.

[salsah]

wow, i was just thinking of posting the same question. i'm thinking of using the toy bins/shelf (http://www.target.com/Whitmor-Kids%E2%80%99-12-Bin-Organizer-Primary/dp/B000LRBNK8/qid=1231372201/ref=br_1_1/190-8694845-8918054?ie=UTF8&node=13988031&frombrowse=1&rh=&page=1) but i'll put casters on the bottom so that i can store it in a closet and the wheel it out to the kitchen table when the kids want.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Everything that is regularly used is in a plastic Craftsman toolbox that my ILs bought. I love it! We can store it under his art table. Art supplies that aren't used often or that need an adult are stored in big (like under the bed sized) storage bins.

Beth

[o_mom]

We have two IKEA IVAR units - one narrow, one wide, both 20" deep. The wide one has the cabinet at the bottom that I put totlocks on so they can't get in it. Stuff that is not going to be a huge messy deal if they get it out is in tubs on the shelves and I have a rolling cart with 6 drawers for paper. I also got one of the rolling covered bins from IKEA that I put cardboard scraps in.

[kayte]

We are lucky enough to have a dedicated art studio in our home. It used to be mine, now it's ours. DD (who will be 3 the day before Inauguration Day!) has a small table and chairs, next to the window. It has a low window sill which is perfect height to hold cute colored buckets- filled with crayons, markers, water color paints and waterbrushes, stickers, scissors and glue(with tap-n-glue tops). I have picked up the cans throughout the year at Target dollar section- they seem to have a different palette every season. I made a fabric paper organizer (holds the large and smaller construction paper and a tablet of watercolor paper) that hangs on the wall behind her table next to the hook for her smock. She also has a small shelving unit (found at a thrift shop)with baskets for paper scraps, stamps, etc... We also have small subset of duplicate cans of most art supplies on the inside of the pantry door(Elfa system from Container Store), so if the mood strikes DD while we are in the kitchen or the close family room, she can work there too. Our tempra paints are only in the kitchen- same shelves. Her playdough is on the same pantry door organizer and her dough tools are in a low kitchen drawer.

She has had access to all of her supplies, all of the time, for over a year now. I really advocate access after reading Young at Art and Please Touch by Susan Striker (both recommended to me here) as well as my research into Reggio Emilia education methodology.

Despite having a studio we don't have room for a conventional easel mostly because now we have a giant light table in the center of the room. It was soooo hard for me to resist the deal on the m&D one right before the holidays. It did prompt me to do a little research and I found this tabletop one

http://americaneasel.com/childstabletopeasel.aspx

which will fold flat and can be stored in the cabinet designed for cookie sheets in the kitchen.