Here are a few of our favorite art room hacks for fellow art teachers who are on a budget or just trying to keep their life organized. Enjoy!

Shop at the Dollar Tree 

This is my number one tip because I seriously could not live without the dollar tree.  When the budget is tight or even when it isn’t, the dollar tree carries a variety of important art room staples and they only cost $1.  Here are a few of our favorite Dollar Tree items and why we love them.

• Utility knives – Not the most durable craft knives, but for 3 for $1 they are perfect for introductory paper cutting lessons, trimming cardboard, cutting stencils, etc.  A class set of 30 is $10 or less as compared to $3-$5 a knife for X-ACTOS.
• Chopping mats – These 11”x14” mats come 2 per pack and are handy to have around when students are cutting anything, unless you are a fan of having your table tops sliced up.  Durable enough to last a couple years with moderate usage and thin enough to cut with the paper cutter, they are a lightweight and economic alternative to self-healing mats.  I cut them in half making them only .25 cents per student!
• Storage bins, cups, soaking tubs, tarps, safety glasses, etc – If you need a container they will probably have the right size and for $1 or less.  I use Dollar Tree tarps to cover tables when we are working with anything messy (pastels, paint, glass, etc).  Only $1 each, they fit my tables perfectly, can be shaken out quickly and used throughout the year while saving me and the kids a lot of time we would otherwise spend sweeping and wiping.

DIY Non-aerosol Spray Paint

I love spray paint, but it is not always the most classroom friendly media for several reasons(odor, cost, ventilation requirements, etc). Previously, when teaching stencils used either spray paint or screen printing.  Being pregnant and not having any windows in my current classroom lead me on a search for an alternative.  I have used spray inks and other pump spray paints available at art supply stores, but they were not cost effective.  After some research and experimentation, I decided on the following solution.

• Travel size pump spray bottle (3-6 oz)
• 1-part Acrylic Craft Paint (the thinner body the better, I use Delta Ceramcoat, heavy or medium body will be harder to mix)
• 1-part Mod Podge
• 8-parts water

Simply fill your bottle and shake until evenly mixed.

We have successfully used this to paint on paper, canvas and fabric.  The array of colors available is far better than traditional spray paints.  You can mix and change colors as often as you want.  I used spray bottles that were 3 for $1 in the Target travel area but any pump spray bottle would work.  I recommend keeping the bottles closes when not in use, shaking before each application and rinsing or wiping the pump nozzle regularly.

Poster Display Rack Portfolio Storage 

For under $200 this rack is perfect for organizing larger portfolios.  Whether students make their own portfolio using 2 poster boards or they purchase one, you can organize this rack to hold the work of up to 10 different classes!  It can be used as 1 tall standing unit or 2 shorter units which could fit under or on top of a table.

Shared tool boxes

We like for students to have the supplies for the day at an arms reach, for this reason we often use table boxed to keep everything organized. You can have boxes with commonly used items such as scissors and Sharpies or customize them with tools specific to the lesson of the day or week.  In my class, I use plastic pencil boxes I bought at Wal-Mart during tax free weekend for .25 cents each but you could use any box or basket.  Number everything in the box and the outside of the box.  Have table groups check in and out the boxes at the start and end of class to ensure they all stay organized and complete throughout the day/week/year.

• 1 box per table or group
• Glue Stick
• Sharpie
• Scissors
• Extra Pencils & Pens
• Erasers
• Project Specific Tools (cutting knives, tape, wire, brushes, etc)

Wal-Mart Floral Wire

This stuff is handy to have around even if you are not making anything floral.  Introducing students to wire can be expensive but at $1.47 for a spool of 270ft, we were able to teach 100 students the basics of wire twisting while creating a mini wire tree for under $10.  The wire is thin enough to bend with your fingers or you can use tools for more intricate work.  We also had the students use wire when teaching contour line drawing, just to add an element of 3D media and make the assignment even more hands-on.  After drawing their contour or bind contour drawings, students traced over the image with the thin floral wire and displayed the finished portraits on top of colored paper.