How to find FREE Art Supplies to Make Sketchbooks with your Kids

Art supplies can be expensive, they can also be FREE. If you take the time to look around, you might be surprised at how many supplies you already have.

Creating within constraints is a creative practice, as it forces you to solve a problem with what you have around you. Making you and your kids look at things in a new way.

I’ve been working to create sketchbooks, with things that I already have. And while I may have a bigger stash of items, I’d still like to challenge you to think about what you can create with what you already have.

Materials for these books:

• Book Binding Screws 
• Heavy weight paper for the cover
• paper for the inside pages
• hole punch

Things to look for around your house:

• For my covers, I had a great book from Mohawk paper that I took apart and used. As you look around your house, things like card boxes work well. Think cereal, cracker, or rice boxes. Postcards or other things that you get in the mail that are on heavy paper, work well.
• For the pages, I used paper that I saved over the years that was printed on one side and blank on the other. You can use computer paper, construction paper, or any variety of paper that you find lying around your house.

Where to look for FREE Materials:

If you don’t have a lot of paper around your house, here are some places to check for supplies that they often throw away, but that you and your kids will love.

• Is there a local frame shop? They have often have scrap matte board that works well as cover material.
• Check with your local Staples print shop, and see if they have scrap paper that you can have. Think about when there is an error in a print job.
• Local print shops. They’ll often have scraps of paper that can be great for your projects, but of no use to them.