Every year we carve our pumpkins the night before Halloween. I don’t know why we always leave it until the very last moment. I buy the pumpkins weeks before! My guess is that we wait so long because carving is no fun. I mean, picking out the pumpkins is fun. But that’s about it. All the other…
Archives for 2015
A Painted Cake
Last week my daughter turned thirteen. It was a pretty huge deal, as it should be. We had a massive party for her with obstacle courses, shaving cream fights, a dunk tank, and of course some arts and crafts. (With me as her mom this is unavoidable.) My favorite artsy idea of the whole party was…
DIY Dream Catchers Made by Kids
I’m so excited to finally get this post up!! We made these dream catchers during art camp in July and the kids were so into it. They really loved making all of the different elements: taping, wrapping, sewing, beading, painting and pom-pom making. It was a very busy three hours. I was SO proud of everything they…
Cardboard Fairy Wings
Today I’m overjoyed to be over on The Artful Parent, sharing the details about these beautiful cardboard wings made by my five and six-year olds in Art Camp! Jean has one of those blogs that you can spend hours reading. She has the best ideas for creating an artful home, and is the author of…
Pipe Cleaner Wands at the Craft Fair
Last Fall (yes, it takes me this long to post things sometimes) I was invited to set up a table at my children’s early childhood alma mater for their annual craft fair. I thought long and hard about what to do with the kids. I couldn’t do something with paint because most parents don’t want to travel around…
Ribbon Chandelier
I’m so in love with this ribbon chandelier that the kids and I made together in art camp. I’ve been wanting to make one for a year, ever since I saw this one on Pinterest made with fabric strips. A few weeks ago, I was teaching a week of art camp centered around fabric and textiles,…
DIY Marbled Paper
Have you ever tried marbling paper with shaving cream? We’ve done it in art camp many, many times. Yes, it’s messy. But it’s also magical. The kids usually make and make until all the shaving cream is used up. This last time we went through six cans! I think they look like those beautiful Italian marbled…
Bird Finder Binoculars
I love a simple craft that is completely child-led. These bird binoculars were such a hit with the kids during our “BIRDS & BUGS” week at art camp. They loved being able to pick out their own color combinations, wrap yarn and cut tape (two skills that take lots of concentration and make little ones feel…
Pom-Pom Paper Flowers
I’ve always wanted to paint crepe paper to look like flower petals. Have you? I get these ideas in my head sometimes and I just have to try them so that I can make room for more ideas! I made these in June and gave them to a few of my favorite teachers. Through trial and error,…
Paper Mâché Mobile with Kids
In the summers I teach art camp, as you may know if you read my blog. We do lots and lots of very cool things which I photograph to death. The photos get downloaded to my computer, and then I forget about them because life moves fast. I just recently found these photos of a project we did…