Random Reuse: At the Art Desk

My little guy loves the art desk his favorite baby-sitter handed down to him (in practically perfect condition, I might add. She wouldn't let me pay her for it, either. I still offer her money for it from time to time.).  He just sits at it for long stretches of time, painting, drawing, gluing, cutting, and coloring.  It's awesome. Anyway, in my efforts to keep the area somewhat neat and organized, I have a couple random reuses for anyone with little artists in their life.

Reuse #1: The Plastic Palette
What budding artist doesn't love painting? My artist's medium of choice:  finger paints.  I used to use paper plates as his paint palettes, but then I realized a washed plastic lid works just as well. I find that 16 oz. containers (like for sour cream or cottage cheese) work particularly well.  When your child is finished, you can either just throw the lid away or wash and reuse.  Sometimes, I don't even wash it; I just add more paint on top of the dried paint from before.  Much better than wasting a paper plate.

Reuse #2: The Watercolor Cup

Yogurt cups are one of the best containers to reuse - I use them for all sorts of things.  Yogurt cups have become a staple at the art desk because they're perfect for watercolors. If the cup gets too stained from all the paint, I just throw it out. Most of the time, though, I wash and reuse them. {Sidenote: have you tried Chobani Greek yogurt? My favorite flavor is pineapple. Delish.}

Reuse #3: The Egg Carton Organizer

My son loves to play with glue. Whether it's gluing googly eyes on painted rocks or making a collage out of fluffy pompoms and beads, he can be entertained for quite a while with a bottle of glue. However, all these beads, sequins, googly eyes, pompoms, feathers, pipe cleaners, and bits of fabric can add up a big mess. So, to keep all of his little do-dads in one place, I reuse an egg carton. It works perfectly as an organizer -- not only does it prevent my house being covered in these miscellaneous items, but it's also convenient for him to have it at the ready.  Definitely a win-win situation. Now it looks like I just need to stock up on some new supplies for his egg cartons...