Paper plates are a fantastic art material. I mean, there are literally hundreds of crafts on Pinterest that use paper plates! I think the possibilities are endless, they really are. I especially love what my friend Leslie from Pink Stripey Socks does with paper plates. I think she needs to write a book! And we’ve…
DIY
Stenciled Backpacks by Kids
My art campers made these! I love this process, and I love the way they turned out. We used the scrape painting technique that we are really addicted to, and added some freezer paper stencils. It was basically a big experiment, and it worked! Mostly. Well, there were a few lessons learned that I will share…
Watercolor Valentine Hearts
It occurred to me today, as my daughter was painting hearts, that I should share with you the way we’ve been painting hearts for years. I even dug up an old photo of my other daughter from 6 years ago and she is painting hearts the same way. It’s not anything all that revelatory, but I…
Recycled Wrap from Kraft Paper
Ok, so I realize that my situation is unique as an art teacher, and that not everyone covers their tables before an art project. But I really wanted to share this idea so that maybe you will be inspired by the beauty of the mess that is leftover after an art project is completed. Maybe next time…
Homemade Rainbow Soap with Kids
This past summer in art camp we tried something totally different and new: soap making! I researched heavily, relying on the trial and error of other bloggers. I loved the goat milk soaps made by the kids at Purple Twig – especially with their use of flowers and herbs – but ultimately I decided to…
Little Advent Boxes
At the risk of sounding cliché, how can it almost be December already? Or for that matter, how can we be in the 11th month of 2015 at this very moment? One theory of time moving at warp speed is because my house is now filled with teens and tweens. Days beginning with alarm clocks — and clothing freak-outs,…
Homemade No-Sew Puppet Theatre
This might be one of my all-time favorite collaborations my campers have ever done. I just love this puppet theatre – how gorgeous is that fabric? I know I’m not supposed to say that art is beautiful, and I don’t say that around my students, but to you I can say this. I mean, they…
16 DIY Pretty Pumpkins without Carving
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…
Shibori Dying Technique with Kids
Shibori is a Japanese tie-dying technique. There are an infinite number of ways one can bind, stitch, fold, twist, or compress cloth for shibori, and each way results in very different patterns. We delved into shibori at art camp in July and it was epic!! I had eight kids that week, ages 5-7, and each of them took…
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,…
