These handy art and craft hacks will make your life (and your craft projects) so much easier, cleaner and faster!
Ok, so if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s being inefficient. If there’s a faster, better way to do something, I will figure it out. My family really just loves when I share these things with them (no, they actually don’t, ha!). I also really love to watch life hacks videos. Some of them are ridiculous but some of them really help!
But when it comes to craft projects, there are some handy craft hacks that I came across and wanted to share with you. And I would LOVE if you have any of your own, that you let me know so I can add them to the list. Let’s craft efficiently! (Ok, that’s like the world’s lamest motto, but you know what I mean).
Art and Craft Hacks
- Keep a magnetic pin wand in your craft room, use it to pick up sewing pins, staples, or anything else small and metal that you might spill!
- Clean up glitter with a sticky tape lint roller! (This also works for other tiny spilled things like seed beads or itty bitty paper scraps)
- Put scotch tape over half the opening of glitter containers so it doesn’t come out as fast.
- Put glitter into salt shakers.
- Keep unscented baby wipes with your craft supplies and use them right away on any spills or stickiness, they work much better than paper towels.
- Store paintbrushes or paint rollers in an airtight plastic baggie in the fridge and use them again later.
- Put kids’ paint in squeezable condiment bottles or clean empty hand soap pumps for easier dispensing.
- If your kid has a hard time peeling off stickers, peel off all the negative white space for them leaving just the stickers behind on the sticker sheet, that makes it much easier.
- Use a shower caddy or lazy susan (with sides) to store art supplies so you can easily find what you need.
- Use kids’ artwork as wrapping paper, that way it’s used and appreciated but it’s also out of your house.
- Erase watercolor mistakes with a magic eraser.
- Store acrylic paints upside down in a bin so you can see the colors and so if the paint is at the top ready to use when you are.
- Use a paper towel holder to stack rolls of ribbon or washi tape
- Use glitter glue instead of loose glitter
- Use a pool noodle bent into a circle and secured with duct tape for an easy and cheap wreath form.
- Make your own stamp pad with a bottle of ink, a sponge and an airtight container.
- Smooth vinyl or fold paper with the edge of an old credit card or loyalty card.
- If you don’t have a foam brush, tape a square of kitchen sponge to a popsicle stick and use for painting or stamping.
- Use a nail file instead of sandpaper to sand details and tiny spots in your projects.
- Use binder clips, chip clips or clothespins to hold small things together while they dry.
- Use nail clippers to clip embroidery thread or yarn, they’re easier and safer to keep in your project bag.
- Keep hot glue sticks in the freezer to prevent strings (note: haven’t verified this one myself yet, let me know if you try it!)
- Store paintbrushes, pipe cleaners etc. in Pringles cans. Tennis ball cans would work too!
- Use a large yogurt container for craft painting, you can fill it with water to rinse brushes and use the lid as a paint palette! Just rinse and re-use!
- For kids, store each type of art supply in its own shoebox side lidded bin. We have one for markers, one for stickers, one for painting, one for play-doh etc. so my kids can get out just what they need and easily clean up themselves.
- To save money on fabric for sewing projects, consider shopping for or re-using things like shower curtains, duvet covers, sheets or tablecloths, if you get them on sale, they’re often cheaper than fabric by the yard!
- Wrap fabric around rectangles of cardboard and store it vertically like books, it’s much easier to see and keep organized.
- Use paper plates for paint palettes and toss them when you’re finished. Other paint palette options? Muffin tin, ice cube tray, cupcake liners, paper cups.
- Use clear contact paper instead of expensive transfer tape to transfer your Circut or Silhouette vinyl designs (pssst! They usually sell it at the dollar store!)
- Use an over-the-door shoe organizer to store…well, anything! All those pockets are super handy for anything from skeins of yarn to scissors to cans of spray paint.
- Store letter sized paper in vertical magazine file holders, they’re usually cheap and they look nice on a shelf.
Ok, so now you have to tell me if you have any craft hacks that I didn’t think of here. What do you do to make your craft projects, easier, better and/or less messy??
If you liked this, you may also like some of my other posts…
- 30+ Best Valentine’s Day Knitting Patterns - February 6, 2025
- Valentine Heart Wreath Knitting Pattern - February 5, 2025
- Julehjerte Knit Woven Heart Knitting Pattern - February 4, 2025
Leave a Reply