Materials

While many art materials are available at stationery shops, and places like the warehouse and Kmart, some take a little bit of knowledge to find. I’ve made a (not complete) list here to assist.

West Auckland Resource Centre is a volunteer-run service that collects material destined for the tip and sorts and stores it for use at home, kindy or school. It is open Wednesdays and Saturdays, and you can take whatever you need for a $10 donation. There is cardboard, paper, boxes, craft and collage materials, and lots of fabric. 

Pipettes  Pure Nature They also stock equipment and ingredients for making bath bombs, soap, candles etc.

Vegetable Dye powder FAS brand is available at Warehouse stationary.

Butterfly pea tea powder Mistyday Plant Potions

Butterfly pea tea flowers Wah Lees

Gordon Harris sells artist grade products for delivery and from their Newmarket Store

Takapuna Art Supplies is similar

National Art Supplies (NAS) have a very wide variety of products for order and delivery. They are well priced and good quality, you need to email for prices.

Modern Teaching Aids Ships from Australia 

Office Max takes orders for delivery, they are not always priced well though. 

Air Dried Clay recipe:

Get the ingredients from a bulk food place for a cheaper option than the supermarket. This makes enough to ¾ fill a 2L ice cream tub.

2 cups Baking Soda

1 cup Cornflour

1 ¼ cups Water

Place in a pot and stir over medium heat until it starts to thicken and come to look like mashed potato. Let it cool slightly in the pot, then turn out and carefully knead to make it smooth. It can be used right away, or stored for a few days in a damp cloth or plastic wrap. I pop it in an icecream container and tuck a piece of baking paper over it. 

It takes about a day for your creations to dry, and they can then be painted. You can also add paint or dye into the soft clay while shaping it, and it will still dry out.