Today on Art Bar Monday over at Small for Big, how to make these beautiful and simple necklaces from ordinary washers you can find at the hardware store. You won’t believe how professional they look! It’s a great summer project to do with your older kids.
Happy Monday!
xo Bar
Today is an exciting day for me. I am officially a contributor on Small for Big, a very cool blog founded by Mari Richards (who also happens to be an accomplished toy designer). I am so happy to be able to share art projects with her readers! I will be a guest on Small for Big twice a month… we are calling it “Art Bar Monday”! Today I am sharing this fun and simple art project that you can make for someone you love. And since you love so many people, I’ll show you how you can use these stencils on just about anything. (Father’s day is coming up on June 16th, by the way.)
For the full tutorial on how to do the pencil eraser stamping, hop on over to Small for Big. I made a video of the process as well, but let’s just say…. life did imitate art, and things didn’t quite go as planned. If you are interested in seeing 40 minutes of work condensed to 4 minutes (along with some insightful life lessons + one major mistake), then click here and check it out.
Here is my trusty assistant with our contraption made from twill tape, a shoe lace and an egg carton. Yup. We’re thinking of getting a patent.
Have a happy Monday!
xo Bar
There is nothing fancy or original about these brooches, but they are just so darn happy (and simple)! We give these to grandparents, babysitters and aunts quite a bit. If you have kids ages five and up and you haven’t invested in some perler beads yet, then today would be a good day to start. They can spend hours with these little beads. It is a fantastic project for small motor skills, and for recognizing and creating patterns (I love when art meets math).
Supplies needed:
Parchment paper
Iron
Directions are included, but it’s very simple: Arrange the beads on the pegboard, cover with parchment, iron for a few seconds, let cool, add pin. Voilà!
My kids are really into the glow-in-the-dark beads these days. They really do glow! These beads have helped us through many a rainy/snowy/lazy summer day. I hope your kids will enjoy them as much as mine!
This project is super easy with beautiful results! Hop on over to You Are My Fave for my full post with instructions.
Happy Tuesday!
My mind is racing these days. How could it not? It’s THE HOLIDAYS, which in theory are supposed to be warm and cozy and a time to give and share with family. Don’t get me wrong, I was actually one of those kids growing up who forced her parents to buy a big tree when they just wanted a mini with less mess. And I would decorate the life out of that sucker with as much handmade goodness as I could fit. I have always loved Christmas. But it’s just not simple anymore. Gifts to buy, gifts to make, when to fit in Christmas with all of the different relatives, what food to cook, recitals, teacher conferences. What am I forgetting? Christmas cards, stocking stuffers, decorate the house. I have not yet perfected ‘planning ahead’, so late nights are my December standard.
What this means is that I have to channel my inner child. The one who just wants everyone to be happy, and who can’t wait to share stuff she’s made. I can do it! And not only that – you can, too!
You might think it’s crazy to make your own wrapping paper during this time of stress (there, I said it). But for me, I still have at least one child who would spend all day making these papers, so it’s actually not any work for me at all. And I get to wrap all of the teacher gifts with this beautiful art, which always makes them smile.
Here’s how to do it: Buy a roll of white paper. Put out sharpies, watercolor, markers, rubber stamps…whatever you have around. Clear the dining room table, and create! Circles, stripes, flowers, patterns…it’s that simple. The bubble wrap printing is a little more involved, I wrote about that here. Perhaps save that for another time.
Here is a link for the cute teacher gift tags.
May the force be with you…and keep smiling, it really does help the mood. ♡
I came across this Fingerprint book by Marion Deuchars and it sparked something in me. I loved making fingerprint animals when I was a growing up! I can’t believe I haven’t tried this with my kids. I am definitely adding this book to my Amazon cart for Christmas, I’m so excited.
I decided to do a little research to find the best drawing books that ignite creativity in the little ones. As you can imagine, there are many books on drawing out there. I wanted to keep the list short and pick just the ones that I thought would instantly excite the kids, with very few directions and good graphics.
I could not make a list of drawing books without including award winner Ed Emberly. I would spend hours as a kid learning how to draw from his books. I still have one of them on my shelf! Granted, it’s not the open-ended art experience that I promote in our house. But the kids do LOVE it, and it keeps them busy. Also, there comes a time in their young lives when they realize that they can’t draw something perfectly. This usually happens around the age of 7 or 8. I found that my girls would start to draw lots of hearts, peace signs and rainbows. I can’t tell you how much this drives me crazy. So taking out Ed Emberly can actually free them up and remind them that drawing is fun and that they should try new things. This book is also great for the reluctant artist. (Ages 4 and up.)
Fotoplay by Mj Bronstein is an art activity book that blends realism and fantasy. It’s rare to find a book like this that uses photos as prompts to spark the imagination. It’s smart and funny and gets kids to think outside of the lines. Great for road trips or vacation days. (Ages 5 and up.)
642 Things To Draw is the perfect inspirational sketchbook. With its collection of offbeat and clever drawing prompts, this book is perfect for that child or teen who loves to draw. Inside this simple book are blank pages with just a prompt at the top: A rolling pin, a robot, a pickle, a water tower, a hammock, a wasp, a safety pin, a kiss. I am getting this for all three of my kids (and will secretly fill some pages myself!). (Ages 4 and up)
I will keep searching for more great art books and share them with you again!
Ed Emberly Photos via Trula Kids.
When my 12-year old found this wooden plate in one of my craft drawers, she immediately wanted to use it for something. I’d like to think she was excited about a new project, but it’s more likely she was thrilled to have found a single something. One of anything is special…it means her brother and sister wouldn’t have one, too!
We decided to glue on some washi tape clothespins and make a photo holder for her room. Here’s how we got it done:
SUPPLIES
1 wooden craft plate (ours was 10″)
10 clothespins (more or less)
wood glue
tempera paint for the stencil
First, she used watercolors to paint some stripes. On unfinished wood, watercolor acts as a stain and it dries in a minute. Then she got out a “G” stencil for her first name. Next she used a paintbrush to fill in the stencil. She removed the paper stencil and sprinkled some glitter on the letter while it was still wet. I helped her attach the clothespins with glue and weighed it down to dry (overnight) with a plate. I wasn’t sure how to attach the plate to the wall, but I didn’t need to worry because my daughter took care of it. She stuck it next to her bed with sticky velcro! Yes, she did. I guess that it’s there for life.
This would be a fun project to do at a birthday party! The clothespins can be stained with watercolor, too, instead of washi tape. Perfect for ages 8 and up.
The instagram photos were printed by printstagram.
This is a very fun and quite simple art idea for the whole family. All my kids got involved — my 6-yr old stayed with it for hours! We printed on a long roll of paper (our intention was to make wrapping paper), but you can also just use sheets and hang them up as art!
Supplies:
bubble wrap
coffee can (or any container that is sturdy)
duct tape
watercolors
paintbrushes
2 sponge
water
Cut a piece of bubble wrap and fold it over the top of the can (with the lid on). Use duct tape to secure it so it’s tight. Mix a color and paint it on the bubble wrap. Try not to push too hard — you want to paint the bubbles, but not the crevices in between. Paint fast before the paint dries, then turn it over onto the paper and press down.
It may take a few stamps to get it right, but the beauty of this project is that even if you are too heavy-handed, or the opposite — it’s printmaking and it’s supposed to be imperfect!
I am a big believer in never going for perfection. Point out to your kids how beautiful each stamp is — no two are alike (just like snowflakes).
We wrapped teacher gifts with the paper. I will share more of our wrapping papers in my next post!
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