Artcuterie Party

An Artcuterie Party is basically a craft party where everyone brings a board or tray filled with different art supplies. You could have a board filled with markers, another with colorful paper scraps, one with paint, and another with googly eyes and pom-poms.

Then you gather everything together in the middle of the table so the kids can pick and choose what they want to use. I love the idea of making this a group playdate where each mom signs up to bring a particular type of supply board. That way, nobody has to provide everything!

The boards don't have to be fancy. You can use trays, muffin tins, divided containers, or even recycled plastic egg cartons. The idea isn't to go out and buy a bunch of new craft supplies. It's to get creative with what you already have.

Before buying anything, I would start by looking through your craft supplies.

You might be surprised by how many things you already have that would work perfectly for an Artcuterie board. When I started putting together my own boards, I used wooden trays, a muffin tin, and an empty plastic egg carton.

The egg carton was especially handy for separating little embellishments like googly eyes, ribbon scraps, and stickers.

One little tip from the food science major in me: If you're going to reuse egg cartons for crafts, I'd choose plastic ones because they're much easier to wash and clean. I love that cardboard egg cartons are compostable, but I'd save those for your plants instead of this craft!

I've put together some Amazon Idea Lists for these boards to give you a little inspiration.

You absolutely don't need to buy anything on the lists. In fact, I'd encourage you to look through your own craft supplies first! The lists are simply there to help you come up with ideas. And if you need to pick up a few things, I've included some options for that too.

This is where you gather all your adhesives.

Think washable school glue, glue sticks, sparkly glue, washi tape, and other things kids can use to stick their creations together. I included several different types of glue and tape on my own board, including Mod Podge and tacky glue.

For younger kids, I'd stick with washable, age-appropriate options and save the stronger adhesives for supervised projects.

[Explore Stick & Glue Board Ideas on Amazon]

Gather your crayons, colored pencils, and anything else the kids can use for coloring.

I used a wooden tray to organize my colored pencils, crayons, and markers. It's a simple board, but it's also one that most families can probably put together without buying anything.

This is where all those sparkly supplies can go! Think glitter glue, sequins, shiny paper, metallic markers, and anything that adds a little sparkle.

If you're hosting indoors, you might want to skip loose glitter unless you're feeling especially adventurous!

[Explore Glitter & Shine Board Ideas on Amazon]

Gather your paints, brushes, sponges, and other painting supplies.

For my own board, I pulled together watercolor paints, acrylic craft paints, brushes, and a watercolor paper book. You could make this board as simple or elaborate as you want, depending on the ages of the kids and the type of project you're planning. Just make sure the paints are appropriate for your group and protect your workspace.

[Explore Paint Board Ideas on Amazon]

This might be one of the most fun boards to put together!

Gather googly eyes, pom-poms, stickers, little decorations, and all those random embellishments you've collected.

I used a muffin tin to separate some of my smaller supplies.

It's also a great way to use up little scraps of ribbon and other odds and ends.

Keep small pieces away from children who might put them in their mouths.

[Explore Embellishment Board Ideas on Amazon]

This is a great opportunity to use up leftover paper. You could include construction paper, cardstock, patterned scrapbook paper, watercolor paper, and smaller scraps.

I also gathered some fabric and textured materials for one of my boards. You don't necessarily need full sheets of everything!

[Explore Paper Board Ideas on Amazon]

Gather yarn, string, ribbon, and other materials kids can use for threading, wrapping, or decorating. I added some twine and colorful pipe cleaners to my supplies.

Depending on the ages of your kids, you could also include large beads or simple lacing materials.

[Explore Thread & Sew Board Ideas on Amazon]

If you have different kinds of markers, gather them together! Washable markers, metallic markers, colorful markers, and specialty markers could all have their own spot.

I love that this can be as simple as taking the markers you already have and arranging them on a tray.

[Explore Marker Board Ideas on Amazon]

This board could include kid-safe scissors, decorative paper punches, stencils, and other tools for creating shapes.

I gathered some of my stencils, scissors, and washi tape on a wooden tray.

Just make sure the tools are appropriate for the ages of the kids participating.

[Explore Punch & Cut Board Ideas on Amazon]

This board is perfect for all those interesting scraps and textures. Think felt, fabric scraps, feathers, leaves, textured paper, and other materials that kids might enjoy incorporating into their projects.

Smooth rocks for decorating are also a lot of fun for kids to decorate! My Amazon list has ideas but you can find a lot of these things in nature and I suggest you use what’s already on God’s great earth before purchasing plastic or bulk items!

[Explore Nature & Texture Board Ideas on Amazon]

One of the easiest ways to organize everything would be through your mom group chat. You could decide ahead of time who's bringing which board so you don't end up with five trays of markers and no glue!

Someone could bring the paper supplies, someone else could bring paint, and another mom could gather the embellishments.

You can also decide whether you're going to have a specific craft project or just let the kids create whatever they want.

The person providing the craft idea doesn't necessarily have to be the host. Maybe one mom has a great idea for a project, another has the supplies, and someone else has a good place to get together. This can be something everyone contributes to without making it complicated.

Personally, I'm not an overly artistic person. I like having a picture or an example of what I'm trying to make! I love the idea of painting, but if you just hand me a blank piece of paper and tell me to paint something, I'm probably going to sit there wondering where to start.

That's actually why I'm excited to try guided watercolor projects, like the one I'm getting from Breathly. I like the idea of having something to follow while still getting to enjoy the creative part of painting.

And I think the same thing applies to an Artcuterie Party. You could have someone bring an inspiration picture, a finished example, or printable templates for everyone to use.

But here's where it gets fun. Instead of giving every child the exact same supplies, you spread all your Artcuterie boards across the table and let them choose. Some kids might follow the example closely, while others will take the idea and turn it into something completely different. The goal is to give kids who need a little direction somewhere to start without limiting the kids who are full of their own creative ideas.

It a Creative Free-for-All

I also understand that some kids are just full of artistic ideas and inspiration. You don't necessarily need to give them a specific project. Sometimes you can simply spread out the supplies and let the kids decide what they want to make.

I want this to be something that's fun for kids, not an overly structured activity where everyone has to follow the directions perfectly. Of course, if you're planning a homeschool art project day, you might want more structure so you can focus on a particular technique or lesson. But for a regular playdate, I'd keep things pretty simple.

I love getting together with other moms for playdates. It's such a good opportunity to bond, catch up, and spend time together. But have you ever tried having an actual conversation with another mom at the playground?

The kids are going a million different directions, and you're constantly stopping to see where someone went! That's one of the reasons I like the idea of an Artcuterie Party. Instead of everyone running in different directions, the kids are gathered around one activity. They have something creative to focus on, and hopefully, the moms have an opportunity to talk for a little bit too. Even if the kids are only focused on their projects for 20 minutes, that's 20 minutes of creative time and a chance for everyone to be together.

I especially love this idea for winter playdates when we're looking for fun things to do indoors.

Another thing I like about this idea is that you can set it up just about anywhere. You could gather everyone around your kitchen table, spread protective craft paper across the floor, or take the whole party outside. A picnic table or folding table would work too.

Just choose a space where everyone can reach the supplies and you don't have to worry too much about making a mess. If you're working with younger kids, washable supplies are probably your best friend! The goal is to make this easy enough that you'd actually want to do it again.

While I originally thought about this as a fun playdate activity, I think it could work just as well for adults. Imagine getting together with a group of friends to make wreaths, paint, or work on another seasonal craft.

Everyone could bring different materials to share.

You could even organize the boards around a particular project, like Christmas wreath making or spring decorations. I love the idea that the basic party setup stays the same, but the crafts can change throughout the year.

Once you've put together your basic Artcuterie boards, you can use the same idea for all sorts of seasonal activities. In the fall, you could make paper pumpkins or other autumn crafts. At Christmas, kids could decorate cardboard gingerbread houses, make paper wreaths, or create little reindeer. During the winter, you could make snowflakes or other indoor crafts.

And when the weather gets warmer, you could take everything outside for a spring or summer craft playdate. You don't have to reinvent the whole party every time.

Just change the inspiration project and use whatever supplies you have available.

I think one of my favorite things about this whole idea is that it doesn't have to be perfect. You don't need beautiful matching trays, brand-new craft supplies, or an elaborate project.

You can gather the things you already have, invite a few moms over, and let the kids create something together. Some kids will want to follow the example exactly, while others will come up with something completely different.

Hopefully, the kids get to enjoy being creative, the moms get a little time to connect, and everyone goes home with something they made.

So the next time you're looking at all those leftover craft supplies and wondering what to do with them, maybe it's time to plan an Artcuterie Party!