help with getting creative with toddler!

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I wasn't sure whether to post in this section or in behaviour/development so done both! I am not naturally a very creative person but would like to become more creative and also to encourage my daughter (age 2 and a half. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and not good with mess really so its all a bit traumatic to think about getting paint out - need to bite bullet but looking for inspiration and tips on what will keep dd amused for longest - I imagine the amount of time preparing for the activity and clearing up will be in inverse proportion to the time she sticks at the thing itself!

Wallpaper on the floor. Poster paints. Or the paints that you can get with sponge on the end. Glitter and glue go down well.

My dd loves pencils and a colouring book

Potato printing - cheap and fairly quick to prepare - don't worry about a fancy pattern, the oval of a cut potato is fun to print, or a square or triangle if you feel like it.
I keep a container for coloured paper offcuts - I chop up coloured envelopes, odd bits of wrapping paper, sweet papers etc. When small person wants to stick you can just give them a bottom thing to stick to - piece of paper, empty food packet etc, and a pile of bits ready to stick on. Most of the 2yr olds I have minded can wield a glue stick for a while, and is this is a low effort activity I don't mind if it only lasts a few minutes.
Magic painting goes down well too. Draw simple outline on white paper with wax candle, then wash over with very thin waterbased paint - picture appears by magic.
One of the most absorbing craft activiteis I have ever done was providing large empty cardboard box, dressing child in very old clothes, and letting them paint the entire box however they like - a garden and a dry day useful here - although I use an old shower curtain to protect my floor or table - cheap and covers a lot. I love been creative with children, I am crap at art, but they generally know what I have drawn. Hope you have fun

ELC have loads of crafty stuff reduced at the mo !

Agree making stuf out of cardboard boxes was always a hit with my DS. Made a train once big enough to sit in & it was played with until it fell to bits ! Dreadful having to tidy round it every day!

Why not buy an activity pack? That way you get easy arts and crafts because everything is there! There are some good ones out there. Try a company called Stickybobs as they do them specifically for under 3s

If the weather ever decides to get any warmer then you cannot go wrong with a pot of water and a paintbrush outside in the garden on a dry day - the little ones I look after love it and will "paint" anything in sight for ages. Guarunteed no indoors mess!

On the rare occasions I let dd (21 months) paint, I imprison her in her high chair (one of those that comes right up to the table) put on a wipe clean apron with arms and use paints with the sponge bit on the end. The mess is minimal really.

I also do PandaG's 'box of stuff to stick' which dd loves, i might have to try the potato printing idea as well.

Dd also loves salt dough, really easy to make not too messy and keeps in the fridge for ages.

Homebase (and probably other DIY type places) sell a roll of polythene called dust sheet. It's only a couple of quid and covers loads. When you're ready to tidy up, it all just rolls up and goes straight into the bin! I would second the idea of sticking. My niece loves glitter glue and will sit for ages with that sticking down bits of funky foam and feathers. EWLC are great for bits and bobs. Remember the messier they are, the more fun they've had!

Thank you to everyone for all the really helpful ideas - feeling very inspired now and as its the weekend I may get a chance to go to the shops and sort out a "crafty" plan for next week!

I have a 'craft cloth' - an old tablecloth which I get out and put over the kitchen table. It is covered with old paint and glue etc, I occassionally wash it but more often than not just shake it outside. It is very good for catching glitter - better than anything plastic or paper.

If you are at all worried about mess AVOID GLITTER! It gets everywhere and is a pita. Tbh I would do painting first, its cheap and easy, just give her a couple of colours to start with and a few brushes and stampers. The bottles of acrylic paint from ELC (£1 each) are very good, buy a palette too and put a blob in of each colour.

If you have the room, a kids easel is great although we have never bothered.

Take a deep breath and enjoy!

You can always have a nice warm bath standing read to plop her straight into after - I used to do this and it stopped me stressign about painty hands and hair!

should read 'standing ready'

I am quite an arty crafty person but my 4 yr old DD Amelia has Down Syndrome so her concentration levels are rather low. It does effect the choices I give her unfortunately, as I just don't have the time to spend getting activities set up and then only spend 5 minutes actually doing them.

We have really enjoyed doing "Magic Maize" from ELC. No mess, just cover the table, pop an apron on Amelia and off you go. Just a small amount of water in a pot with a sponge, so no spillages.

Cutting and sticking is a good activity too. Use a glue like pritt stick, doesn't stitch as well as other glues, but TBH it's more of the experience you are after than a work of art isn't it! Use scraps of coloured paper, odd pieces of wool or material rather than glitters that get everywhere.

cheap paper plates are the best thing to have a stock of! You can use them for putting teh paint on (then bin them) you can paint them, make faces with them, stick stuff on them etc etc
If you really hate mess (and tbh, if you cover teh table with newspaper it really is OK) then Crayola do mess free paints - it's a clear gel that they can "paint" on the special paper with their fingers and the colours magically appear. No mess!

I go through old magazines and catalogues and cut out pictures I think the children might like to stick onto paper. I also keep corks, lids and other bits for them to stick. Very cheap and not too messy! (also lentils, rice, broken spaghetti - buy some cheap paper plates for her to stick these on)

And don't forget playdough, it's very easy to make at home.