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…
Teen Crafts
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…
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…
Branch Weaving
I’ve been wanting to weave on a branch for years. That might sound strange to an ordinary person, but for this textile design geek it’s a perfectly normal dream! Since my windows of making-alone-time are far and few between, I didn’t spend a whole lot of time finding the perfect branch. I literally took this…
Melted Crayon Butterflies
My girls and I tried something new over the weekend. They are twelve and fifteen, and it takes a lot of convincing for them to sit at the table and make art these days. But when they saw there was an iron involved, they did not hesitate, ha! This project was so fun. They did it…
Washi Tape Leaves
Recently, we went on vacation to a beautiful Caribbean island for a family reunion. We ate, slept, hiked, visited beaches, laughed with family, took a million photos, made some t-shirts, and just had the time of our lives. I brought with me a bag of washi tape (as most people do) because I thought it would…
Paper Mâché with Kids // Ice Cream Sundaes
There is always a very strong reaction from the kids when we do paper mâché. Some kids love it — i mean really love it — and others do not want to get that oozy stuff on their hands. But all of them say “ewww!!” the whole time they are working! It’s quite funny actually, how…
Watercolor Paper Pinwheels
I am in love with this new technique. As I was playing around with making these beautiful pinwheels, I was trying to think of a way to make the craft a little bit more enticing for my tween and teen. And then it hit me: make them out of watercolor paper, and let my girls…
Styrofoam Printing with Kids
Printmaking is a fine art that involves making a “master plate” which you then can use to make multiple images. There are so many ways to print, it’s almost endless! Potato and veggie printing, linoleum printing, mono prints, raised foam printing, bubble wrap printing, yarn printing… basically any object you can find can be used…
