Frida Be Mighty Gift Guide: Arts and Crafts

Welcome to the second instalment of the Frida Be Mighty gift guide!

Here is a selection of art and crafts materials that I am sure children would be delighted to receive and will enjoy all year round. It’s not an exhaustive list but I hope it will give you some ideas.

A note before we begin: I’ve tried my hardest to find ethical, homemade, and/or or natural suggestions wherever possible in this guide, but some of my suggestions do include plastic. Please do consider this before buying! 

Infants onwards

Homemade finger paint. You could mix up mouth-safe finger paint with cornflour, water, and food colouring, and gift this in recycled jars. If you don’t fancy making your own, these vegan natural paints look great.

Colour paddles. Even babies can start exploring colour, and these will be used for years to come as the child grows to learn about mixing colours.

These Famous Painting cards are perfect for children of all ages. For babies they can be propped or tacked up at eye height, then used as they get older they can be used to begin discussions about art, for decoration, and to learn about the paintings themselves.

Young toddlers onwards

Eco-friendly, solvent-free glue. Ideal for stress-free pasting fun!

Playdough. Make your own, adding colour, essential oils, dried petals, eco-friendly glitters (see below) or anything else you fancy. If you’re pressed for time, you can buy it from one of the many eco-friendly brands out there.

Playdough tools. Buy a ready-made set like this one or collect your own set of items from around the house or thrift shops to gift with your playdough.

Beeswax block crayons. Stockmar are brilliant quality, and crayon rocks look wonderful for small hands. .

Beeswax stick crayons. Once they can confidently use block or pebble crayons, you can introduce stick crayons.

Woody 3-in-1 pencils. I see these recommended all the time for toddlers onwards. These super chunky pencils can be used on paper, glass, and used with water to make watercolours.

Coloured pencils. The shape of these Lyra pencils is perfect for small hands.

Liquid watercolours. Mix a little up in a jar and use on wet or dry watercolour paper.

Stamp and ink set. Great for developing fine motor skills and hand strength.

Older toddlers and preschoolers onwards

Tin of watercolour paints. This Stockmar set is my favourite, the colours are fantastic and the paints last for ages.

Easel. Great for indoor and outdoor use. I like the IKEA model.

Modelling clay. A wonderful fine motor activity for little fingers, and lots of fun to use alongside your children! This is my favourite brand.

Candle-rolling kit. Perfect for those darker months.

Beads. Great for threading colourful patterns. Just make sure that they are past the “putting things in mouths” stage! This set is wonderful for younger children who are still learning to thread.

Eco-friendly craft glitter. Because crafting with glitter is fun, but so is taking care of the environment. Also available in a set of ten.

School-age children onwards

Eco-friendly glitter face painting set. Brilliant for birthday parties or just dressing up and having fun, whilst still taking care of the environment.

Glow in the dark plasticine. This sounds like a lot of fun!

Skin tones pencils. Perfect for children who are starting to draw figures – these would make a great gift alongside this brilliant book.

Sewing box. This would make a really wonderful “main” gift filled with fabric, sewing materials, and buttons.

Animal painting set. A really special gift of natural Ostheimer animals to paint.

Knitting fork and wool. A wonderful inrtoduction to knitting for young children. I can’t wait to buy Frida one of these when she’s a little older!

Modelling beeswax. Great for more intricate modelling and decorating candles.

Paper craft kits. This lantern kit looks great, as does this flower kit.

Art books

The Anholt’s Artists series is one of my all-time favourites, and perfect for introducing children to art and artists. Each books tells the story of an artist through the lens of a child who they have a relationship to.

Mini Masters board books. These are wonderful for infants onwards, as they are sturdy enough for even the roughest toddlers! Perfect for early art appreciation.

The amazing ‘My First Discoveries’ series has books on Sculpture, Landscapes and Paintings amongst others.

The Katie series is a fun introduction to many artists and styles, following the same format for each book (Katie goes to a gallery and some of the paintings come to life, not in a scary way!).

I hope this post has given you some inspiration for art and craft materials to gift and share with the young children in your life. If you enjoyed this guide, don’t forget to check back later this week where I’ll be sharing some of my favourite toys by category. 

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