Traveling with kids can be very difficult and stressful, we all know this to be true.  I am all about finding ways to make my life easier when traveling with the little ones. Lately my kids have been into drawing and coloring and I know this is not unusual for kids their age.  I began the hunt for an art desk that would work well for long car rides.  That means I needed something that they could easily hold in their car seats, and would hold all their supplies and not fall where they could not reach.

We turned to magnets and Velcro for this project. For the base we purchased cookie sheets.  Okay, I won’t lie to you, I bought myself the new cookie sheets and donated my old ones to the kids and their traveling art desks.  I gave each sheet a nice fresh coat of spray paint just to make things fun, and well frankly, cuter.  My old cookie sheets had seen better days.  Now, because my cookie sheets were metal, they were prime candidates for magnets.  I got some heavy duty ones that can really hold for this.  Two just to hold on paper.  Then I bought a bunch of small magnets that I could cut to size. Then being the über crafter that I am, I hot glued a small magnet to each and every single one of their crayons.  Now the crayons will stay put and not roll away off of their desks.  Saving me many brain cells and from not having to hunt down lost crayons.

If your cookie sheet isn’t metal that is where the Velcro comes in.  Using the same concept attach Velcro to each crayon.  You can attach binder clips with hot glue to hold the paper tight as well.  The best part about this project is how creative you can get with the initial paint job.  Stripes, polka dots, and monograms all add a nice personal touch.

-Stephanie Wright