As an art-aholic, I knew I wanted to flood my daughter's early years with creative opportunities. I still love the smell of Crayola crayons and the childhood memories associated with them. But I quickly realized that I needed to find some other kid-friendly art-making materials too. Let me show you some of the arty things we keep around our house.

This isn't a complete list, because we also make sure to have lots of colored pencils, markers, stickers, and paper! But those things are a little easier to find, even at Target. Instead I want to share some of the items I've discovered along the way that enrich my daughter's art projects and random 7:00 am creative moods!

• Begin Again On the Go Art Set - This on the go set is perfect for any trip in the car, and holds everything you need for mess-free creating with lots of pockets.
• Reeves Watercolor Tin, 12 colors - Reeves creates quality watercolors, and the classic tin is a perfect starter set. We use ours regularly, and I love that it's a low-mess way to paint for younger kids.
• Yasutomo Pearlescent Watercolor Set This is on my wishlist, who wouldn't want pearlescent watercolors?
• Lime Sparkle Lap Tray I found our lap desk for even cheaper at the local craft store, but wherever you go, these are great for kids who want to create beyond the dining room table.
• Non-Spill Paint Cups We use our no-spill cups for holding watercolor water, but they also work well for tempera and acrylic too.
• Neocolor Watersoluble Crayons Exploring what you can make with water soluble crayons is such a fun project - I've heard they work well as face paints too.
• Pentel Oil Pastels Pastels are messier than crayons, but the vivid colors and rich palettes are so beautiful, it's worth mixing it up and trying these out too.

(Images: As credited above.)