My kids have all seemed to enjoy art, in one form or another, and I love the creativity that is fostered when a child creates something totally their own.  Learning various crafting techniques and art skills has always had great appeal for our family.  You would be hard pressed not to find bits of fabric, string, yarn, construction paper, drawing paper, watercolor paper, paper, pencils, markers, chalk, scissors, tape, felt, glue, buttons, pins, raffia, clay, paint, etc. in boxes and bins around my house.  I love being able to just turn the kids loose to dream up something fantastic and then excitedly come to share it with me, when they’re done.

Art kits that are fun, have educational value and produce end results you and your kids will want to use and/or display. Fantastic products!

I’m a little picky about the products we use for these activities, though.  I think it’s a good idea to start from scratch and create with the raw materials we have available.  Some are purchased new, some are gifted, some are picked up for pennies at garage sales and thrift stores.  I love transforming something old into something new and useful.  It saves money and makes good use of our resources.  I don’t purchase craft kits very often, but occasionally, I am pleasantly surprised to find pre-made craft kits that not only do a good job of teaching a skill, but make room for, and even encourage, the child’s creativity.

Our needle felting kit contained 4 squares of 100% wool felt and rolls of wool roving in a wide assortment of colors. It also included complete instructions and three needle felting needles. As with all Artterro kits, the box it is packaged in, is designed so that it can later double as a display frame for the artwork created with the kit.

I was treated with just such a pleasant surprise, when I reviewed Artterro’s Paint with Wool: Needle Felting Kit.  Unlike craft kits that have asked my kids to assemble a cookie-cutter, pre-defined project that will be exactly like every other created by someone using that kit, Artterro provided clear instructions for learning a skill and then provided materials to allow my student to design her own creations from what she learned. I will be spending the money, this fall, to add a few more of their kits to our homeschool art line-up, after enjoying the high-quality materials and latitude for personal creativity in the fun kit we were fortunate enough to review.

Needle felting is one craft I have been so curious about, in recent years, but just never had the time to research and figure out how to do it.  So naturally, when I was given the opportunity to review the needle felting kit from Arrterro, I jumped at the chance.  The instructions were simple, clear and easy to understand and our ten-year-old mastered the technique in only minutes.  The kit comes with enough supplies to create at least four different projects: four natural 100% wool felt canvases, 13 colors of roving wool, felting needles, ideas and instructions.  This was a project that both my daughter, and I, were able to learn and enjoy.  That’s a hallmark of the Artterro line – that their projects are fun and simple for all ages, kids to adults.  Our particular kit says that it is for ages 8 and up, and I think that’s a good call, as they will be working with a sharp needle to do the felting.

Two of the projects my daughter, and one of her friends, designed on their own and completed, using the instructions from the kit. Along with all the obvious educational value of using Artterro kits, they also lend themselves nicely to opening a history study of the art form and artists who employed it. There are many potential uses for these kits in a homeschool unit study or to supplement a specific lesson.

I hope you will check out all the different kits available for you and your kids at Artterro.  They are fantastic for learning new skills, expanding creativity and imagination, fine tuning small motor skills and eye-hand coordination.  The projects are items that you and your kids will be proud to display when they’re finished, instead of just ending up in the wastebasket.  The kits and the projects you make from them would be excellent as gifts, too.  Be sure to check out their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter, too!  With back-to-school just around the corner, you don’t want to miss any news or great deals on these fun and education-worthy art kits.

One lucky Busy-at-Home reader will be able to share the fun and creativity of Artterro with their own family.  The mandatory entry is the comment on this post that is detailed in the first option in the Rafflecopter form, below.  Click the DO IT button to read the instructions and then create your answer for a comment, below.  Once you hit Enter, all the optional additional entries will be opened for you.  Good luck!

I received the Artterro Paint with Wool Kit in order to test it in my own home and to collect information for this review.  No monetary compensation was received and a positive review was not required.  As with all Busy-at-Home reviews, the views and opinions expressed are wholly my own and based on my personal experience with the product.  Busy-at-Home administers the giveaway, selecting the winner in a random drawing.  The prize is provided and shipped by Artterro.