Sunday, November 1, 2015

Crafting & Coloring with Costco!

Costco has lots of items to bring out your inner artist or crafter with crafting kits and coloring books for the whole family.

Spice Box Books makes crafting kits for kids and adults and you can pick them up at Costco for 40% off the retail price! Make friendship bracelets to wear and share with the Best Friend Bracelets kit, or turn a boring rock into a piece of art with the Rock Painting kit.


Build and fly paper airplanes with the Ultimate Flying Paper Planes kit, or add some pizzazz to your art work with the Glitter & Sparkle kit.

Amaze friends & family with the Magic Tricks kit, make adorable fluffy friends with the Yarn Animals Spool Knit kit or try your hand at making clay creatures with the Clay Bots kit.


With the Spice Box Books Art School kits for adults you can learn techniques for beginners and art enthusiasts alike. Each kit includes instructions and art supplies. Learn how to draw portraits, still-life, and landscapes with the Pastels kitLearn how to create your own acrylic masterpiece with the Acrylic Painting kitLearn different styles and techniques to create your own watercolor works of art with the Watercolor Painting kit.

Learn how to utilize different sketching and drawing techniques with different materials with the Drawing* kitRelax and de-stress with the meditative drawing & coloring Zen Art kit. Color beautifully patterned coloring sheets with a variety of included markers & watercolor paints.
*NOTE: Although there are no disclaimers on the box, according to Amazon.com reviews of the Drawing kit the instruction book includes artistic nudity that some may find offensive and not appropriate for children or younger artists. The Spice Box Books website lists this Drawing kit under their Adult Arts & Crafts section insinuating that it is intended for adults, not children.) 

And speaking of coloring, did you happen to catch the article about Coloring for Adults in the October issue of the Costco Connection? The article explains how coloring can have positive affects on your mental health and how coloring is catching on with adults. Several studies have shown the positive benefits of coloring for adults include: reduction in overall stress, reduction in anxiety, general feeling of relaxation and even improved dexterity in the elderly. I loved coloring as a child and as I grew older I found a renewed love of coloring while in high school when a broken ankle required surgery. While laid up in the hospital my mom brought me stained glass art coloring books & markers that helped me to relax and keep my mind off the pain and the monotony of being stuck in the hospital. And today, even as a full blown "adult" I still color several times a week and get together with my cousin for coloring sessions! If you haven't tried coloring as an adult I cannot recommend it enough.

With adults jumping on the coloring bandwagon a plethora of coloring books aimed at adults have hit the market in the past year, and just in time for the holiday season Costco is stocking several coloring books in their warehouses for 40% off the retail price! Check out the widely popular adult coloring books from Johanna Bedford like Secret Garden, Enchanted Forest and Lost Ocean or The Time Garden by Daria Song. (I picked up the time garden for myself and received Secret Garden as a gift!)

Animal Kingdom by Millie Marotta  and Blossom MagicMagic GoldMandala Magic are also great choices!

Costco also carries deluxe double editions of the Creative Haven coloring books including Flower Art, Paisley Patterns, Geometric Designs and Mandalas. (I picked up flower art and geometric designs for myself!)


5 January 2016 Update: Keep an eye out at your Costco for a big display of new Creative Haven Coloring Books like this one:


The Color Me Your Way coloring book series from P.J.C. Smart have large, 16" x 11" oversized coloring pages.

The official Outlander and Game of Thrones coloring books can also be found at Costco for 40% off the retail price!!




For those with some crochet experience you can crochet your favorite Disney Princess, Classic Disney, Frozen, Star Wars, Peanuts, or Wizard of Oz characters with these adorable  Crochet kits. Each kit contains everything you need to create 2 complete projects. The illustrated instructions include patterns to make a total of 12 different projects - however you will need to purchase extra yarn separately if you wish to make ALL 12 patterns. (I couldn't resist picking up the Star Wars kit, and Mom if you are reading this I am going to need a crochet refresher lesson!)




Younger fans of yarn crafts may like the Fashion Angels Darn Yarn Super Set. The kit includes looms, yarn and other supplies needed to make 8 full projects including a hat, gloves and a scarf. This item is also available on costco.com.


The My Friendship Bracelet Maker kit includes a loom and supplies to make a variety of different friendship bracelets following their step-by-step video guide available with their downloadable app. This item is also available on costco.com.


The American Girl Ultimate Crafting Kit includes a 20 page idea book and over 1500 pieces to make your own jewelry for you and your American Girl Doll. 


From the makers of Play-Doh, the DohVinci Mega Color Mixer kit lets you mix your own colors together to create fun, brightly colored, 3D designs with no mess. (From what I can ascertain from the extremely positive Amazon.com reviews of DohVinci products the "doh" seems to be a cross between Play-Doh and puffy paint- but without the mess of puffy paints - and kids seem to love playing with this stuff!) This item is also available on costco.com.

The Giant Art Jar includes supplies and an instructional idea book for over 100 different arts & crafts projects.


For the more advanced artists the 150+ piece Art 101 Emerging Artist Essentials kit includes acrylic, watercolor, & oil paints, various brushes, a learning guide and more all packed in a wooden case.


For those specifically interested in acrylic paints, the Palmers Paints Acrylic Paint Studio is perfect! The 25 piece set comes in its own plastic storage bin with handle.


The Sculpey Oven-Bake Clay Studio kit is great for older artists and adults who wants to play with clay. The 54-piece kit includes a rainbow assortment of clay, and all the tools and intructions you need to make a variety of different clay projects.


The Girl's Book of Adventure and The Boy's Book of Adventure are books that each include 40+ ideas for fun projects, skills and crafts for kids to learn. Together the two books are a great compilation of skills and activities for well rounded kids. But in my humble opinion the girls book on its own seems pretty sexist with activities including learning how to tie a sarong and learning how to cook with honey while the boys book includes learning how to identify insects & birds and how to read a map. I do not have children yet, but if I did I would buy both books and go through all the activities with my sons and daughters together to break down the stereotypes that cooking is a "girl activity" and camping a "boy activity." Costco sells each book for 40% off the cover price.


Costco also carries a variety of other activity books for kids including the Biggest Book of Search & Find (perfect for a few hours of quiet time!) and learn to draw books for kids. The 501 things for the Quick Draw Kid book covers the basics of drawing and cartooning and the Funky Things to Draw book teaches drawing and shading techniques. 

Learn to draw your favorite Disney characters with Disney Art Studio kits! Each kit includes everything you need to learn how to draw and paint your favorite Disney characters from: Frozen, Disney/Pixar movies, Palace Pets from Disney Princesses, and classic Disney characters.



On Costco.com I found the original Spirograph Art Studio for 25% off the retail price! Spirograph is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year and this art studio kit is the perfect way to introduce a new generation to the joys and wonder of this classic creative toy.


Don't forget to check the office supply section of your Costco warehouse (or costco.com) for an assortment of markers, crayons, colored pencils, construction paper, glue sticks and other crafting supplies!




Until next time,
the Costco Connoisseur

#GoingToAllTheCostcos


P.S. - Selections and prices listed above will vary from different Costco locations.

P.P.S. Don't miss out on the latest roadshows and other Costco deals I spot in between blog posts- use the links below to follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and like my new page on Facebook!

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4 comments:

  1. Thank you for showing all these great crafty items at Costco. I am wondering if you know if Costco seems to still be stocking the Johanna Brasford coloring books (Enchanted Forest, Secret Garden, etc)? I have been ill and unable to get to Costco and am hoping that maybe they still have some left? Any info you could provide would be appreciated. Also, the Sculpty clay kit, what part of Costco did you find that in? I live in GA and I am sure that different stores and regions carry different things, but I would be thrilled to see that in my store. Thanks for the blog, so happy to have found you!

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    1. Hi, thanks for your comment. I have seen the Enchanted Forest, Secret Garden and other coloring books by Johanna Brasford at Costco as recently as 2 weeks ago. I also came across a big Creative Haven display with many new coloring books. I hope you find what you're looking for.

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  2. Hi there.....Some or all of the above books,the clay kits,color pencils,pens/markers ,crayons etc are available at Walmart , Tjmax,Marshalls,Homegoods and Ross stores and on Amazon in our area...hope this helps

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