Painting Our Way to Organized – #ExpressYourself Craft Project

Now that my rural boys are nearing their tweens, I admit I have lost control of keeping their ever-mounting piles of art supplies and toys organized. It’s no wonder we scramble to find a pencil when needed for homework or constantly lose the little toy guns for their action figures – because these objects are scattered in every direction. Big tubs for toy collection no longer cut it when you are dealing with small items.

So, my goal before our summer activities begin is to get on top of the chaos. I also wanted to get my rural guys involved in the process. Rather than imposing a new method of clean-up, having all of us contribute to the solution helps solidify it as a permanent change.

Earlier this month I found a bunch of neat storage boxes that easily stack, perfect for smaller items. But rather than go willy-nilly by randomly sorting things into boxes with no indicator of what was inside, I thought a fun labeling craft project was in order… which would be a hit with the boys, for sure.

Most of the lids were dark, so markers were not a great option for labeling. Stickers could be, but from experience, they wear off fairly quick. I wanted something more permanent, so paint seemed to be a good medium to choose. Paint that would adhere well onto plastic, that is, and ones that wouldn’t be too messy and would be easy for the boys to use. I was introduced to Painters Paint Markers and they met all my criteria (permanent, streak-free, easy to handle, and multi-surface.) Off to Walmart to get some!

The most difficult part of selecting Painters Paint Markers was determining which colors to choose. So many lovelies to choose from: classic bright colors, pastels, neons, pearlescent, and then some.  There are even single Painters Paint Markers in various colors and tip sizes (for a great new everyday low price of $1.97 each!)

I was tempted to put them all in my cart, but that would likely blow my entire household budget for the week, so I settled on purchasing two packages that covered a great range of colors, the Bright Colors (black, white, blue, red, green) and the Craft Colors (orange, yellow, brown, purple, pink.)

Next step was to engage my rural boys in a little craft time, which was super easy to do as all I had to do was mention the word “paint!” I gathered up a few stencils from my craft room, pencils for tracing, and the Painters Paint Markers: easy-peasy supply list.

My boys instantly took to the idea and loved being able to label their own boxes, putting their unique stamp on things. I was elected to make the crayon, marker, and pencil boxes (boring stuff, I guess- ha ha!)

Using pencils, we traced stencil shapes onto the lids or sides of the boxes, then colored in with the Painters Paint Markers. Other shapes were improvised free-hand. I really loved seeing what my children came up with for personalizing their storage boxes.

The Painters Paint Markers proved to be super simple to handle and the flow of paint was easily controlled. They adhered very well to the plastic surfaces and dried quickly with no streaks, as promised, and no drips! As much as we seemed to use, too, there’s still plenty of paint left in the cartridges, making these a terrific value.

What I liked the best, though, is when they were finished drying, the boys scoured up the items we needed to sort into them and promptly began filling them up. Who knew a craft could be such an effective cleaning tool?

I’m so impressed with these pens that I immediately launched onto a gifting craft route to make custom boxes for family members, like this one for my granddaughter I started:

I also plan to try out the Painters Paint Markers on glass to make some custom vases, terra cotta to jazz up a few planters, and think they will be incredible to use with a few wood craft projects I have planned for this summer. My boys have asked if they can decorate their larger toy boxes and I’m happily agreeing to their request. Hey, no mess involved, creativity sparked, and an organized bedroom… this is an amazing win-win for everyone!

Do you have a paint craft in your future? What helps you keep your child’s toys organized? Share your crafts and ideas in the comments section below… I’m always in the market for inspiration!

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric All thoughts and opinions are my own.