sharing my supplies with my kids

Last week I posted a tutorial on simple paper covered jars:

Kelly left this comment, “Ashley, here is the thing that inspires me. You are not stingy with your supplies. You put out all of these really “good” supplies for the kiddos to use instead of saving them for yourself. Wow, typing this comment I feel selfish. I bet I am not the only one who struggles with this though. I’d love to hear your thoughts about it in a post sometime if you feel like it.”

I honestly hadn’t really ever sat down and thought about what I do and don’t share with the kids until I read that comment. Then I began to think about it and realized I do have pretty strong feelings about it. So, I thought I’d answer Kelly’s question and post it here today.

I do share a lot of my supplies with my kids, but there are some things I don’t readily share. And when I do share, it isn’t all the time for any reason.

When they are just wanting to make something quick and not really take their time and do their best – they get the cheap supplies. I don’t mind if they just want to casually play with supplies, but I don’t want them to be casual with the supplies that are more costly. Sure, I could only let them create when they are serious and want to do their best, but that is not me. If they want to spend five minutes quickly taping paper together to make a Lego ship sail – I’m fine with that, but it can’t be with my good paper.

When they are serious about their artwork, focusing and taking pride in their creation – they get the good stuff. All art/crafting supplies are not the same. The cheap watercolors are cheap for a reason. The cheap colored pencils are not nearly as vibrant as the more expensive ones. There are some really great supplies on the low cost end, but not every marker is created equally. My kids recognize the difference.

My kitchen table looks like this a lot. It is almost a guarantee if you randomly pop by my house you won’t be able to see the top of the table. It is clear in the morning at breakfast and at night for dinner (and if not we eat outside at the picnic table). It is important to me that I foster creativity in my kids. I don’t expect them to all love crafting or painting or drawing, but I do want then to be problem solvers. When you make something with your hands you have to figure out how to get what is in your head out. Sometimes what you try doesn’t work and you have to start again. Sometimes the outcome isn’t so perfect, but it is functional. It may look like a lot of junk on my table, but to me it is empowering my kids to solve problems, to try again, to think things through, to experiment. It really isn’t about what is made with their hands. It is about what is created in them. So, for that aim, I share my supplies.

Many a times I am making something and one of the kids decides to join me at the table. So sharing what I have is the natural thing to do. While I covered jars to hold flowers, my six year old filled a jar with cut straws and then covered it with my coveted vintage fabric scraps. I hesitated before letting him use my fabric. I thought about offering stuff I didn’t really care too much about, but his eyes lit up at the fabric I was using. If I want him to share, he has to learn it from me.

I have a stack of scrap booking paper and piles of fabric that I don’t readily offer the kids. However, if they are working on something very special and they want to use something of mine that catches their eye – I usually let them. Ugly paper, boring fabric, and dull crayons don’t do much to inspire me to create, so why would I think my kids would be different?

Nine years ago Chris and I moved back to Oklahoma from Hawaii. When we moved back I was 6 weeks pregnant, we had no jobs, no insurance, no home. He got a job selling cars. I got a job at Curves for Women. We got insurance and we got a home. Our budget was TIGHT. I wanted so badly to make our house a home. I wanted to fill it with beauty, but we barely had money for the essentials. I remember walking into a quilting store with my grandma and mom. I looked over and it is quite possible I heard angels sing. I met Amy Butler.

Well, I didn’t really meet her, but I saw her fabric for the first time. It was $8.95 a yard. I had gone into the store with about $20.00 to buy fabric to decorate our new home. I ended up buying two yards of fabric, both from Amy’s line. One was a bright red floral. I made two pillows.

That fabric is still my very favorite. It has long been discontinued. Dear Amy Butler, Please. Please. PLEASE, bring that fabric back out. I only got one yard back then. I’d really like a couple more. Those two pillows are very faded now. They’ve endured a lot of sunlight streaming in, a lot of pillow fights, a lot of kids, a lot of snuggles. They remind me of a time when one yard of fabric was all I could afford. They remind me of how much fun it is to create with ‘the good stuff.’

So, I share my supplies most of the time with my kids because I can. I buy the majority of my supplies when they are on sale. I’m also given a lot of supplies. Nine years ago, I probably would not have shared so willingly with the kids. But I have an abundance now. If they really need my favorite tape for a project, that is fine. I guess at the heart of it is I know my days are numbered and my stuff, well it is just stuff. If I can foster something great in my kids by sharing colorful paper and decorative tape, that just seems easy.