drawers. I like drawers for this sort of stuff. easier to get out, easier to sort, easier to store. Open draaer, stash stuff, close drawer. Get those Sterilite 3-drawer sets (or an Iris-brand cart w/ the shallow drawers, if you want), and put in dividers. iris makes a nice one for this that I use in my Sunday School classroom--it has two shallow drawers on top and a deeper on one the bottom; I got it at Office Depot. I put the scissors, glue sticks, etc., in the upper drawers, and the paint and playdough in the bottom deep drawer. I used those "score and snap" drawer dividers from the Container Store (actually got mine at Target, though) to divide the drawers so stuff doesn't slide around everywhere. At home I have those little drawer organizing containers from Rubbermaid, which work almost as well, but not quite. For markers, the secret is to have a drawer that's EXACTLY as wide (well, OK, an extra inch is OK, but NO MORE) as the marker is TALL. Then, the markers can't end up at an angle. I was lucky to find a little skinny 3-drawer set exactly wide enough, but I can't find them anymore. Though maybe the small Sterilite ones would work. And Rubbermaid makes a small one--not sure if it's skinny around side-to-side If all else fails, put some sort of divider inside a larger drawer, to keep the markers from sliding end-to-end, and ending up tipped at an angle. I just cut cardboard into strips and taped in place w/ packing tape in one of my drawers. I do find that I keep too much. Right now I've used drawers and other containers to fill a shelf intheir room, but most of it just never gets used. I need to weed out. I have actually thrown away, in the past, and entire shoebox full of crayons. Here is a link that might be useful: Sterilite's three-drawer chests--other companies make similar ones

I think kids' art looks really cute on the walls of their rooms. I have used the art clips from PBK in DS#1's room so that he can easily change out his work. I have also framed some things (very simple gallery type frames). I think rather than transfering an outline on to canvas, you should just let him go for it. If you really want a fish/sea life theme, you can guide him in that direction. And, if you would like to see certain colors included (ie. pastels vs. brights, etc.) then simply make those colors "available". Part (most) of the beauty of children's artwork is that it expresses how THEY see the world. It's wonderful to capture their pure imagination before they learn to do everything the "right way"! My 9-year-old DS still has a fingerpainting above his bed -which is simply his name in bright red paint - which he did at school when he was three. I mounted it on white foam board. It's lumpy and perfect! Have fun, Lucy

Thank you all very much! You guys do fuel my creativity! This last time I came up w/ the idea to section the wall off using black chalk (my mom supplies the kids w/ copious amounts of chalk in lots of different colors). It made the work sooooo much faster and easier! Deedee - no worries w/ the green chest! The only reason that it is only half finished is because I haven't bought the clear glaze yet to age it. I love how bright it is but I was surprised (and a bit disappointed) when the white showed through. I knew that as as soon as I put a brown glaze on it would not be right so I am mixing a custom glaze in deep green to age it w/. Mtnrdredux - I confess to having an entire Irish Gang and the wearing O' the Kilt is a proudly held tradition by the men. Peony4 - That's funny about hiding the chalk from the kids & your dinner party! I had a terrible time trying to get my kids to stop writing on the walls. Finally I resorted to making them begin scrubbing the walls themselves when I caught them. One day I found DS2 writing on a freshly painted white wall w/ orange marker. I promptly got out the bucket and scrub brush and gave to him. Before I even had a chance to get back to my desk he declared "I'm done!". I grabbed the marker and saw that it was a washable marker. In a fury I grabbed a black industrial sharpie and scribbled on the wall and yelled "Now scrub this!". As soon as I came to my senses we all had a great laugh and it's now a favorite family story to recount "Remember the time mom flipped and wrote all over the walls?!". After that I decided to out think them and did the blackboard wall for them and said 'Have at it!'. I can only imagine what will end up on it during the teenaged yrs. One of the things that I like to do is have the kids draw on it for the Thanksgiving dinner that we host. I love to see what they come up w/. The first year was Pilgrims, Indians, turkeys, spaceships and lasers. Lots of things on fire. It's always quite the conversation starter every year. kswl - I'm telling you - I must have looked like quite a sight running down the street to my van w/ that chandelier in my hands dropping crystals as I went shouting "I'll be right back! I promise!" over my shoulder. I left my kids standing in their yard to let them know I was serious about coming back. I erased my Christmas art yesterday morning to do this. It does tend to hang around for awhile!!!!!

There are drawing pads that draw with light https://lightdrawingpad.com/products/light-drawing-pad-fun-and-developing-toy?variant=30308965843024&utm_medium But I took Bumble to be talking about this kind of light mat -- a thinner version of what used to be a light box (LEDS make that possible) used for tracing. Tracing can be a learning tool or a crutch that prevents them from learning -- all depends on how it is used and what is wanted. https:/amazon.com/Portable-LITENERGY-Artcraft-Sketching-Animation/dp/B07F147VF6/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=light+mat&qid=1573911176&sr=8-8 An upright version -- good for painters or drawers who will use an easel https://amazon.com/Diamond-Painting-Adjustable-Brightness-Detachable/dp/B07RWD3S5Q If she is really interested in learning to draw, I would look at some books that teach drawing and pencils and sketch books or pads to go with them. There are books for animals, people, flowers and general ones like this. They will help her see shapes and figure out how to break down the things she wants to draw into something that seems easier and build on that. . https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Book-Kids-Things-Activities/dp/0997799374 Another option would be to give her a subscription to Bluprint and let her take classes and watch videos there. They are running a special on the annual membership for the holidays. One plus to Blueprint is that she could get bored with drawing and try some painting -- or crocheting or knitting or embroidery or sewing.... It's all covered by the same membership (her mom could even take a class when she's not watching) and they offer a lot of discounts on materials. https://www.mybluprint.com/p/gift-bluprint Copic markers are ones a lot of illustrators use, but I wouldn't buy them for a beginner. There are sets like this one on Amazon for knockoff brands that get good ratings. I'd start there. They are alcohol inks -- like Sharpies, so rather permanent and will dry out if left uncapped. Make sure she's ready to handle them and understands that these are for coloring the designs she draws with pencil -- at least for now. If she gets into the Copic level, they have sketch versions and paint versions. https://amazon.com/Caliart-Permanent-Highlighters-Illustration-Underlining/dp/B073TWPHQN If she works on drawing skills, she can take that into anything else she might like to try. If drawing doesn't hold her interest, there are a lot of crafting options she can move into. You can search Google, Amazon and Pinterest for 9-10 year old art ideas and see if there is something else that looks like her to you. But building skills at this age will be a real plus if she has the desire to learn and the patience for it. Hope that helps.