11 June 2012

Keep a Grown-Up Busy Box


When our children were small they loved Play School. Actually they still occasionally watch it with their young cousins and enjoy the nostalgic memories that come flooding back.  While they were watching a Play School video (yes, VHS - we dragged them out of storage) last week the subject of a busy box came up.

We always had a busy box, tucked under the coffee table. The kids new it had lots of interesting and exciting goodies in it, just waiting to be turned into cubby houses and puppets and farm animals and robots and doll clothes and kites and the list goes on. Busy Box creations were limited only by their imaginations.

I still have a busy box, only my version is a grown up one.

It's the place I store art and craft materials, ready to be made into a get well card or a hand towel for a gift or pot markers for the garden or a thousand other projects. It's not really a box either, it's huge chest of drawers that sit in our entrance hall.

In my grown-up busy box you'll find embroidery threads, aida cloth and even weave linen, embroidery hoops, fat quarters, glitter glue, stickers, pom poms, pipe cleaners, cardstock, fancy scissors, sequins and glitter, feathers, fine wire, silk flowers, reels of ribbon in different widths, curling ribbons, stamps and stamp pads, glass beads, glue guns and glue sticks, rulers, pretty brads and a folder full of patterns and instruction sheets I've collected over the years.

When I get the urge to be a little creative I go to the drawers for inspiration and the materials I need. Keeping a supply of materials on hand, all bought on sale, from clearance racks or garage sales, means I can spend time crafting without it costing a fortune.

If you love crafting you probably all ready have your own version of a busy box. But do you cull it regularly?

At the beginning of each school year I go through my busy box. Anything that hasn't been opened and that I don't have a definite project in mind for, is packed up and taken to a friend who teaches art and craft at a local primary school. Her budget is tight and she often supplements the supplies from her own pocket, so all donations are gratefully received.

2 comments:

  1. Sharon Shields-DavidsonMonday, June 11, 2012

    What a great idea

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks! This is a lovely and inspiring idea.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment...I just love hearing from you!

Just a couple of things:

Please don't use your comments to advertise your business or goods for sale, any such comments will be removed.

And please include your name, ANONYMOUS POSTS WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED AND WILL BE RECORDED AS SPAM.