Art set recommendations for 5YO DD

neneromanova

I'm thinking of things to get DD for her 5th birthday (got til end of march to decide)

She got an Innotab 2 for Christmas so I was thinking of an art set as she drew me a picture the other day and I never realised how good she was.

That's where I need your help. I've got around £50 for it (can be more if it's worth it) but I don't know what to get or where to look.

Please help

kingfisherblue

There are lots of sets with pens and pencils. Crayola are a good brand and you can buy from Argos, Smyths, etc.

If you are thinking more along the lines of crafts, try Crafty Crocodiles. A pack of multi use pens would be good, as they can be used to decorate porcelain, wood, etc. CC have vases, clocks, mini drawer units, sun catchers, and plenty of other items. The multi use pens that I use with Rainbows and Brownies are Giotto.

With £50, you could make up a great kit of all sorts of craft items, add a colouring set, and a plastic drawer unit to keep everything in.

lika_86

Bit of a sad state of affairs that your five year old has a tablet but not a whole loads of crayons/felt tips/paints/glitter glue etc.

You don't need a fancy 'art set' (she's five, not off to art school), just go to Staples/WH Smith/Tesco and buy a whole load of fun drawing and craft stuff - paper/pens/felt shapes - whatever looks good.

neneromanova

lika_86 wrote: »

Bit of a sad state of affairs that your five year old has a tablet but not a whole loads of crayons/felt tips/paints/glitter glue etc.

You don't need a fancy 'art set' (she's five, not off to art school), just go to Staples/WH Smith/Tesco and buy a whole load of fun drawing and craft stuff - paper/pens/felt shapes - whatever looks good.

Excuse me, Don't judge me by what I have written in my first post. She actually has an Ice cream tub full of crayons, pencils, pens, which DD2 also has access to but thought it might be nice for her to have a nice set just for her to look after and use (she's a very mature 5 year old where as DD2 is a monster of destruction)

The reason I said I never knew she could draw as well as she had was because everytime she's sat down to draw with me it's always been scribbles.

lika_86

And what would you like me to judge you on instead? Other than the information you've posted? I just don't see the relevance of mentioning the tablet she got for Christmas when that has no relationship with your question which was about art set recommendations.

freyanneke_2

My 5 year olds started with a artist notebook, a good set of watercolour pencils and a waterbrush. Crayons and chalk can also be a lot of fun and can be picked at The Works for under a fiver for quite a big set. Some musea or art schools have kids sessions, maybe something for your DD?

Maxjessdru

WH Smith art materials are very good quality and reasonably priced. Watercolour pencils are a good idea as you can draw with them but also use them wet (paint clean water over the top or draw into wet paper). Oil pastels are also good fun as you can hatch the colours together as well as scraping back through layers to show the underneath colours. If you are looking at paints, some of the cheaper ones are ok but I would suggest buying better quality brushes because they really do make a difference. I know she's only 5 but the other thing to suggest would be painting by numbers if she's a "tidy" painter and can follow the lines and numbers. I started doing these very young and thoroughly enjoyed them.

stiltwalker

I was a little bit older than your daughter but I remember being 7 and getting 'proper artist stuff' as a birthday or Christmas present and being so proud of it and also so impressed that my parents thought I was worth getting real stuff for - some of the drawings I did in those sketch books were some of the very best stuff I ever did as I hadto try so hard to 'live up to it' so maybe go to an art shop and get some proper pencils and sketch books rather than crayola kiddie versions. You can get 'proper' grown up ones for a similar price or not much more than the kiddie versions and I know I certainly appreciated the difference.

neneromanova

Thanks stiltwalker. I was looking at the more "professional" ones than crayola as She likes being a "big girl" and got crayola crayons when she was 1 1/2 - 2 (can't remember but was young).

I'll have a look in our local art shop and try WH Smiths as well. I've seen some nice ones on Argos too but don't know what their quality is like.

Thanks for your help people

minimoneysaver

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Derwent-Academy-Wooden-Box-Art/dp/B002VDNS76/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359156717&sr=8-1

This art set is fantastic quality and if she looks after it, it'll last her years. The Derwent pencils are perfect for a school child. x

minimoneysaver

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reeves-8490410-Watercolour-Art-Chest/dp/B000Y1204Y/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1359156846&sr=8-10

This one is a bit more comprehensive and also a good make for a school child.