It's happened to the best of us, we get excited over a new craft and wind up with too much fabric or bits and buttons. Instead of squirreling away your resources only to donate them 10 years later, why not give them a good home now? Here are 5 places to do just that.
1. Before & After School Programs: Although most art programs have a built in budget, many before and after school day care programs run on a slightly tighter ship. They'll be able to make something from nothing and put anything you have to good use!
2. Church Groups: Many church groups help take care of kids several nights out of the week. Their budgets are almost non-existent and many establishments serve as afterschool hangouts for kids before parents get home. They're always looking for supplies to make great projects.
3. Half Way Homes or Foster Families: Many shelters or homes for families trying to make it back on their feet are run by mostly volunteers with very little money to spend. Often children will spend their nights there while parents are working two or three jobs and crafting supplies will be well loved and forever cherished.
4. City Recreation Centers: Your local gym or rec center often have an area designated for arts and crafts. They'd likely love a back stock of coffee cans or egg cartons from which they could make something substantial to keep the children's attention.
5. Libraries: Many libraries can have a children's craft time in addition to your basic story telling. Quite often they'll color or make cut outs of beloved book characters, so keep them in mind when it comes to glue, scissors, construction paper and more!
Do you have another great place to add to our list? Let us know in the comments below!
Related: Nothing to Give to Charity? Then Donate Blood
(Image: Flickr member prettyinprint licensed for use under Creative Commons)
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Flatwa...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
Don't forget museums! Your local small museum would likely be very excited to take craft supplies for children's programs.
Please consider your local hospital! I work at a hospital, and both children and adults can benefit from the distraction, sense of accomplishment, and ability to express themselves that come from crafting. Contact the volunteer services department or, if the hospital has one, the Child Life department.
Until 10/1/2010, check out Iraqi Bundles of Love. It is a way to send your excess sewing/knitting supplies, fabric, and yarn to women in need in Iraq. They have great difficulty obtaining these items. Run by a member of the US military who was deployed there. Check out his blog for more info:
http://ibol.wordpress.com/
Try a senior center or eldery assistant living place or nurisng home. Many of these have craft programs.
Extra yarn and fabric can be turned into blankets and donated to an animal shelter or rescue. Hugs For Homeless Animal's Snuggle Project accepts homemade blanket donations (knitted, sewn, crocheted, etc). Small fabric scraps can be easily made into pillow-shaped cat toys and donated to a shelter or rescue.
CHILDCARE!! Centers, homes, nannies....
As a former art teacher, I can tell you that I *never* turned away donations of craft supplies. My budget was often quite pathetic - a dollar per child for the entire school year. Many schools don't even get that much.
If you look hard you can find grateful homes for very unconventional supplies too - I had bags and bags of teeny tiny pinecones left over from decorating my wedding. I couldn't just throw them away after all the hours I spent gathering the things in the woods! Finally my mom solved the dilemma by packing them in boxes with a bunch of cheap glue and glitter we bought and then took the whole thing over to the Battered Womans shelter the week before Christmas. We got so many teary thanks afterwards because it meant so much to all the women and children there to get to make their own ornaments and have a tiny pretty bit of happiness to replace all the lost ornaments and bits of christmas that they had to leave behind.
Soo I guess the moral is - if you can afford it, don't be afraid to throw in $5 worth of extra supplies to make sure people can really use and enjoy the extra supplies you can give away! :)
You can also call your local girl scout council and see if they have a need. A lot of them have outreach programs for girls who don't have a lot of money, and subsequently, not a lot of crafty supplies.