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My Best Posts of 2015

December 31, 2015 by Barbara Rucci Leave a Comment

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Art Bar Blog's best posts of 2015, including lots of DIYs and art with children

Happy almost new year!! I’m not going to say it, how I can’t believe that the year is already over, and how time just moves too quickly. Those words are so contrived. Instead, let me just say that 2015 was a pretty great year for me, and I owe it almost ALL to my followers and fans. You guys are the flame in my engine that keeps me going, even on those days where I am just totally spent.

I see your posts on Instagram that are Art Bar inspired, and my heart sings!

I read and answer every comment on my blog, on my Facebook page, and on my IG photos. And each time it brings a smile to my face.

THANK YOU!!!

Because of you guys, I have hit some pretty incredible milestones. As of today, December 31, 2015, these are some of my stats:

INSTAGRAM: 10.5k followers!

FACEBOOK: 25k fans!

MY BLOG: almost 4k subscribers!

In March, on my three-year blogging anniversary, I hit one million page views on my blog. Guess what? In just 8 months, I’m almost at two million page views! Things are growing fast, now. For all of you new bloggers out there, I will tell you that the first three years are the hardest. Just keep plugging away and creating content that is meaningful to you. Make it personal, and make it real. I worked really hard to get to where I am, and now the growth is exponential. It’s a labor of love, but if you stay committed, good things will happen!

Again, I owe it all to YOU!!

I have a really great surprise that I am working on to share with you guys. I hope to be done in March, on my four-year blogging anniversary, and then I will send this thing to all of my subscribers as a gift. SO if you haven’t subscribed yet, do it today!!

Ok, without further ado, here are the twelve most popular posts from 2015 (not in any particular order)…

Art Bar Blog's best posts of 2015, including lots of DIYs and art with children

Watercolor Paper Pinwheels // Branch Weaving

Art Bar Blog's best posts of 2015, including lots of DIYs and art with children

Happy Birthday Banner // Dreamcatchers with Kids

Art Bar Blog's best posts of 2015, including lots of DIYs and art with children

Rolled Paper Sculptures // Matisse: Painting with Scissors

Art Bar Blog's best posts of 2015, including lots of DIYs and art with children

DIY Cardboard Easel // Paper Bag Art Portfolios

Art Bar Blog's best posts of 2015, including lots of DIYs and art with children

Melted Crayon Butterflies // Hearts Paper Chain

Art Bar Blog's best posts of 2015, including lots of DIYs and art with children

Ribbon Chandelier // Shibori with Kids

And now for something I’ve been collecting and working on for many, many months…

maker mamas, inspired by Art Bar Blog

THIS is my favorite collage I’ve ever made!! It’s a collection of 35 images that I captured off of Instagram. These maker mamas were inspired to do an Art Bar project and then tagged me, and I just love them for it. Thank you to everyone who tags me…keep them coming!!!

(Note: Please tag your photos with @artbarblog, not #artbarblog because I won’t be notified of those! And sometimes I even miss the @artbarblog so if you don’t hear from me for a few days, just tag me again, please!)

Row 1: @littleworldsbigadventures making my cardboard animals // @anjinho_mimis.lovables_ made my heart potato prints // @colorfull586 made my wire and bead ornaments // @julialinsteadt made poppies for some O’Keeffe paintings // @mericherryla making my watercolor pinwheels

Row 2: @growingupcreative painting a branch // @katebasti made my ribbon chandelier // @frameartco’s kids drawing their henna hands // @leftbraincraftbrain made some kids weavings // @purpletwig painting a branch

Row 3: @my_happy.place doing some table paintings // @wonder.seekers painted their branch then hung it on the ceiling (clever!) // @thea_snv made my clothespin art holder // @libbyhallwyoming made my cardboard animals // @katiekathrynann made some dreamcatchers

Row 4: @kaciart making some cardboard ice cream cones // @jallaway made some dreamcatchers // @scarletterosefairy doing some table painting // @makersmess made a dreamcatcher // @mrsjessensartroom made some coffee filter poppies

Row 5: @kidsartquest made some Xs and Os // @forevadreami made some border paintings // dreamcatchers from @annekristin_art // and more dreamcatchers from @theworkspaceforchildren // @anjinho_mimis.lovables_ making my puffy stars

Row 6: @mericherryla made my clothespin art holder // @whitneybilodeau made some cardboard ice cream cones // @mericherryla made some paper bag portfolios // @littlevillagehandmade making some kid weavings // @la_petite_ecole_vieux_levis doing some bubble wrap printing

Row 7: @pinkstripeysocks creating some table papers // @travellingbeccalee wrapped a twig and made a mobile // @theworkspaceforchildren made a birthday banner // @libbyhallwyoming made some cardboard ice cream cones // @wfredin made a thanksgiving banner

This walk down memory lane was so awesome. Thank you for coming along. And thank you, again, for being such smart, creative, and dedicated readers. I love you!!

xo, Bar

 

Filed Under: Recycled, Open-ended Crafts for Kids Tagged With: paper, watercolor, DIY, best of 2015

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I have been thinking lately about so many big idea I have been thinking lately about so many big ideas. They seem to be stuck, though, in the cogs of my brain. I need to articulate and connect these ideas together, but I can’t find the right words, or medium. It feels like trudging through thick mud, and then making the choice to set up camp in the muddy place. Maybe this is always what motherhood + living a creative life will be. And I am ok with that, too. Life is mucky, and even though I crave clarity, I am also acutely aware that this is why I also crave art. Music, books, museums, film, gardens… these are the mediums humans turn to when they need to find connection and, if we are lucky, clarity. But I feel more protective of my human-centered ideas these days and less willing to share them in spaces like this where they are open source. I don’t even know what is real sometimes. And how am I contributing to this landscape of creative and intellectual robbery. I think I am headed in a different direction but I don’t know what that is yet. Meanwhile, I am camping in the mud and looking for beauty where I am. 

Some moments new and old, lately…

1. Painting at my easel, age 4 when we lived in England before moving to the US. 
2. I tried making a video of motherhood on mother’s day inspired by this song 🌙 but never finished. 
3. Planting dahlias 🌸
4. Year 2 of my veggie garden. It is not going well. 
5. We diagnosed our garden problem as not enough sun so cut down a tree to give the sun a little path but then the sun moved. Also failing at science 😳
6. When you see your habits in your children ❤️ 
7. My mom’s caretaker gave me a cake and now I am a whole year younger 🙏🏼
8. Thank you James for the treats, mom dreams of traveling to visit your bakery but this was the next best thing 🥐
9. Finding 50 bucks in jeans from 20 years ago 👏🏼 Always check the pockets!
10. The newly graduated makeup artist with her kit off to a job 💋 
11. When the birthday kid isn’t home it’s too sad. must make art. 
12. When I am so dumb and share it on the internet 🙃
13. My heart, my clarity ❤️
14. Another round of silkscreening! Things are happening. 
15. MUA by Ava, and hanging out with the help 😍
16. Reminder.
Happy Earth Day! Can we agree that every day is Happy Earth Day! 

Can we agree that every day is Earth Day? The older I get, the more I change my habits to be kinder to this beautiful planet. Lately, seeing the photos from Artemis II of Earth from space has really moved me to make even more planet-friendly choices. Here are some things we do at home, and of course, we could always be better, but I also think small changes are more doable and sustainable, and if millions of us did just one of these things, it would make a difference.

Ok, here goes! My hope is that someone reads one of these actions and thinks, I can do this! We cannot reverse the melting ice caps, but we can stop further global warming… humans can do this if we work together. It starts small and is community-driven, so share this with friends!

1. Eating less meat, eating more veggies (this is also called eating low on the food chain). A vegetarian or vegan diet is a low-carbon diet. Did you know switching to 2/3 vegan reduces your carbon footprint by 60%? 
2. Grow our own veggies. Save on emissions and packaging, and find joy in gardening.
3. Less food waste. Eat leftovers, clear the fridge.
4. Buy less. Buy local.
5. Repurpose, fix, mend, thrift.
6. Make homemade gifts.
7. Drive less, fly less. (This one is harder, but being conscious of it is really important.)
8. Moderate, steady thermostat settings can save so much energy. Try 67/68 F in the winter and 72/73 in the summer and don’t touch it.
9. No pesticides on our lawn. It may not be pretty, but we have never had a beautiful lawn, and I’m fine with that. We also live on a river so the thought of polluting that water so I can have a perfect lawn is crazy.
10. Using non-toxic cleaning products or making our own from vinegar.
11. This year, we will do “no-mow May” to promote biodiversity, help the soil, and reduce emissions.
12. Vote for candidates who take climate change seriously!

Add some things you are doing in the comments. This is a judgment-free zone, so no preaching! But for real, we all can do a little bit better. 

The blog post about these signs is on artbarblog.com, link in bio!
New blog post! It’s about time I share my favorite New blog post! It’s about time I share my favorite materials that I bring to the library. Read the post for links and tips for how to pair these materials to foster deep engagement. Children have always needed time in childhood to use their hands to make things and play, but now more than ever, the skills they develop through these experiences are imperative for their future well-being and success. I’ve been reading everywhere about children’s “lost skills” in this new ed tech world where screens have replaced so much hands-on learning in the classroom, even as young as preschool 😞 Communication skills, flexible thinking, regulating emotions, building empathy for others, innovating, even core strength and pencil grips are a struggle. Offering time and materials for making things and playing with ideas should not be a challenge; it should be as essential as filling bodies with fresh air and food. Play is how children learn! Anyway, I hope this post will inspire you to collect some things for making and maybe even join our Materials Matter course over on @the.creativityproject so that you, too, can become an expert at cultivating creative thinking through art making!
It’s almost impossible to concentrate or sleep or It’s almost impossible to concentrate or sleep or work or enjoy anything these days. I know joy is resistance, art is resistance, kindness and empathy are resistance, and I try and practice all of these things every day, and also boycotting and shopping local and volunteering and making calls and checking on my neighbors and bartering and keeping our big tree lit for the community. And still, it doesn’t feel like nearly enough. I know we probably all feel this way. And maybe the collective small things really do add up to bigger movements, I don’t know. It’s Sunday and my mom is in the hospital again and I miss my one at college and I had such a bad dream last night. My headspace is not in cheerleader mode which is my usual default. And yet… going through my camera roll to find photos of things I made did actually help today. And I have made a plan for future things to make. When I wake up in the middle of the night, the way I get myself back to sleep is by envisioning this one big installation idea I’ve had for years, it takes place in a forest and involves textiles. So maybe 2026 is the year for me to bring this to life, or begin the process. I think about this quote, and it helps, too: When you make art, you rebel against a world that fears vulnerability. Ok, I’m better. Thank you for listening 🤪❤️

Ps: It weighs on me that Meta should be part of the boycotts. If anyone has any ideas for building community and sharing somehow somewhere else let’s discuss.
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All content on this blog is copyright and owned by Art Bar Blog unless otherise stated. I would be flattered if you wanted to use an image from one of my posts! But please, ask me first. I would also ask that if it involves DIY instructions with a list of supplies that you don't repost any of that stuff because then nobody would have a reason to click back to my original post!

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There are two things that I'm passionate about: Children + Art. As an art teacher, author, graphic designer, and mom to 3 creative thinkers, I get to explore my passions every day! Learn more...

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