Do you do much craft at home? How do you control the mess? Or do you just let them go and worry about it later?
- We put a great big plastic drop sheet down on the floors and they go for it. 99% of the time they keep the mess there and we just roll it up and put them in the bath. Stress free for us and the kids. Cindy
- We do craft outside. We have an outdoor set with an umbrella so once all the craft is done, a quick hose and all the mess is gone. The plus side with being outside is if the craft needs to dry we just hang it on the line. Anita
- I’ll be honest – I HATE doing art at home lol! If we do it, it’s always outside on a table I can hose off – there’s always a mess! Abbie
- We have timber floors so I just let my daughter go. Mess is how they learn and grow. It’s easy to clean up after. Kirsty
- Love craft with my boys. Building my business on making craft engaging, entertaining and educational for all families. Andrea
- I found the plastic drop sheets get sticky under bare feet (my boy paints in just a nappy as he paints himself too) and split and rip too easy. Kirsty
- Let the run wild and worry about the mess later. Childhood is supposed to be messy, that’s what makes it fun. Carmen
- Worry about it later. Let them explore and create without worrying about the mess. Use materials that are easy to clean and wash off the kids. Katie
- Haha if it’s outside make a mess if its inside try to keep them mess in one spot. Mr 3 dropped a whole container of glitter on my mum’s carpet. But he was happy to vacuum it up. Kim
- We do craft daily. Sometimes something simple other days more complicated and messier things. The more we do it, the better I get at controlling the mess. Jasmine
- Invest in a roll of cardboard from bunnings. I just roll that out in my family room and let him paint happily. Me almost 2 drops paint and brushes but I just let the cardboard dry too and roll it back up. Then when the section we’ve used gets beyond useable I just cut that off (recycle it) and roll out more off the roll. Kirsty
- Old clothes/no clothes and a big drop sheet. WATER BASED PAINT. Seriously, that is the most important thing. Hot days are good for messy crafts because you can just get the hose out if needed. Not all crafting has to be messy. A glue stick and paper cut outs are good. I’m a nanny and just last week spent a night with a butterfly punch and various colours of cardboard/scrapping paper and then my girls glued them all onto a piece of cardboard, and then I went over them with glitter paint. Fabulous fun and not too messy. Allie
- I let them go for it, then they help clean up after. Belinda
- Mess mess mess, we use a plastic drop sheet inside and a hose outside lol Carole
- I am totally OCD with cleaning but have decided I don’t want to bring up my child being scared to have fun and make a mess. Having said that, I also want to teach her that cleaning up after herself is expected too. Jen
- I love doing craft stuff with my 4 & 3 year old, we have days of all sorts, painting, cutting, sticking, making, kids love exploring. I include the kids in the clean up process, whether it be a dustpan & shovel or a few baby wipes to clear the paints, they have a ball. And I love Pinterest for all the amazing ideas. Jenny
- My hubby hates art and craft stuff so we do it when he’s not here… And outside!!! Bree
- Our girl’s cubby house is there arts and crafts area, that way they can have endless hours of fun without me going crazy about the mess. Joanna
- My kids love painting, we set up outside and the mess is so easy to clean up and if it gets on them, straight in the bath, for drawing or gluing they can on the floor boards, my girls are 6 & 4 though so they are pretty good now but when they were babies it was the same, they got to learn some how to keep mess in the one spot. Leah
- I have an 11 month old and I usually do painting and craft outside on the grass mostly and just have her in a nappy or a old t-shirt that way doesn’t matter how messy it gets. Kristy
- Lots of drawing and painting in my house…painting outside then hosed off before heading inside, drawing is done in high chair. Hayley
- I bought some table cloth plastic from spotlight. You can get it cut to the size you need. It is easy to wipe down or shake off. A clean creative exercise my two year old came up with was drawing on the glass sliding doors with a cake of soap. I came across her singing and drawing away and it was so easy to clean she can go for it anytime. Rachel
- Miss 3 asks to do craft daily. We do painting outside and wear a smock. We do most of the rest of our craft inside. Glue paper sequins foam shapes cardboard etc I just sweep vacuum the tiles after we finish. Pam
- I let it go till I can’t handle the mess anymore then I frantically clean it all up haha. Becca
- Im still trying to figure that one out. Andrea
