Most kids enjoy crafts, but stocking up on craft kits and art materials can be quite costly. But with a bit of imagination you can use things you probably already have at home to create things for your children. Here are three suggestions to inspire you to create your own kids craft ideas.

Making robots is a craft which will appeal to children of all ages and no cost to you anything. It will probably require some forward planning as to make the robot you will need to collect toilet rolls, cereal packets, tin foil and any other documents you can possibly think of that would make a good robot.

Creating a robot can be designed with the ability of the child. For example, you may need to help a toddler tape toilet rolls to a box to make its body then let them glue on buttons for eyes and the controls. Older children can probably manage with little or no help.

If you have poster paint, get your children to paint their robot creation afterwards. You will probably need to mix a little PVA glue in with the paint to get it to stick properly and avoid flaking. Create a Story Book or Diary for this you will need a drawing pad, notebook or you can create your own by stapling or sewing lots of sheets of paper together. Just tailor this kids craft idea to suit whatever materials are available to you.

Once you have the basis of your book, get your child to create a story in it. This can be written, photos or a combination of the two. Alternatively, they can use the book to document an event (such as their birthday), what they did in the school holidays, or write about their hobbies or their families.

Instead of drawing pictures they could take photos and print them out to stick in the book. For example, if they are writing a book about their family, they could take photos of their parents, siblings or pets. Or if they have made up a story about knights, dragons and castles they could set up the different scenes using Lego and take a photo of each scene.

Obviously, it is not a good idea to let your child use your £400 SLR camera for this. If you trust them, let them use your digital camera. Preferably, let them use their own children’s camera or borrow one for the weekend from someone who does have one. The Vtech Kidizoom is best for toddlers and the Lego digital camera is more suitable for older children.

Make Masks is a great free kids craft idea, which is only limited by your child’s imagination! They can be used for role playing games afterwards. A great material to use for this activity is fun foam if you have it (or you can purchase it from many supermarkets for around £1). But for an entirely free craft project, make the masks from the back of an old cereal box or paper. Ideas for topics include superheroes, favourite story book characters or animals.

If your children particularly interested in art based activities – and you have the storage space – that’s a good idea to have a basket or box dedicated to storing old boxes, plastic tubs and odds and ends to allow them to create their own craft projects whenever inspiration strikes.

With arts and crafts for kids, age is always going to be an important consideration for several reasons. One is safety. Some arts and crafts for kids have tiny parts, such as the beads in jewelry making kits, which simply are too hazardous to trust with younger children who may try to swallow them. Always read the label carefully to find out the age range for any arts and crafts for kids before buying them. The second reason is ability. Small children may not have the physical ability to do some types of arts and crafts for kids. For example, if you want a child to start making stained glass window ornaments this requires attention to detail that many young children don’t possess. Pick something the child can do and enjoy easily instead.

As parents or child care providers, we all know that arts and crafts for kids have a tendency to get messy. Glitter can get all over everything and can keep sparkling there for a lifetime. Clay products can end up getting ground into carpeting. Crayons and paints can inadvertently end up on the walls, the floors, and the tables. There’s a whole list of possible mess scenarios with arts and crafts for kids. However, you can minimize these risks by choosing arts and crafts for kids that have the least potential for mess, such as lacing cards and sketchbooks, and taking steps to prevent those messes.

The best arts and crafts for kids are the ones which will offer the most possibilities for creative expression for children. Coloring books are fine but just adding color to an already created picture is a bit limiting in the imagination department. Instead, give children some colored pencils and a sketchbook and let them loose to indulge their creativity. At first, they may be a bit unsure of what to draw but eventually their hands will start moving and a masterpiece will be born before you know it.

When you’re choosing arts and crafts for kids, you want to think about all of the possibilities. Some parents spend hundreds of dollars on huge easels and creativity stations that take up tons of room in the house, plus when the child goes to grandma’s or comes with you on a trip the fun and creativity have to stay at home. Those pricey choices aren’t necessarily the best ones. Lacing cards, tins of colored pencils, sketchbooks, and similar items are easy to put away on an existing bookshelf or dresser drawer and they can go anywhere with the child. They are definitely better choices as arts and crafts for kids.