OK Ladies, I need to build a craft station for my kids, and I need to know where the cheapest place is to buy such things? I'm a big fan of Lakeshore learning, but I need cheap. Specifically, I want to build up actual craft supplies (wiggly eyes, craft sticks, etc.) and painting supplies (water colors, paper, etc).
go online to Orientaltrading .com
very cheap and they get here w/in 3 days usually.
I keep an eye out for things for my grandson at the sales...his Mama has a set of stackable plastic drawers in his playroom and she has things separated by different categories...and she just pops whatever I find into the right drawer. If she doesn't use it this week or this month...it will be used eventually. The day after a holiday ( valentines day, thanksgiving etc) go scout the local stores ( I work at a grocery store and find TONS of stuff there!!) for things that have just been marked down,
The local Dollar Store is a great source for things too. The stackable drawers ( look at the things that college students get to increase the storage in their dorms) are great for separating and storing things.
dollar tree, family dollar, big lots. if you get the sunday paper there's usually a michael's ad with coupons, you can only use one a week, so the build up would be slow, but totally worth the savings.
You may also want to look online at www.teacherdirect.com and/or http://store.schoolspecialtyonline.net/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpSct... . (The second link was what I was redirected to after typing classroomdirect.com in my address bar.) I have gotten many things for my classrooms in the past and the prices were better than a lot of places.
Dollar type store is good for this type of thing, I have even found some good stuff at thrift stores too. Don't forget Michaels if there is one in your area but use the 40% off coupon from your Sunday paper if you can.
