Last summer in art camp, I introduced my students to artist Clare Youngs who lives and works in the UK. She trained as a graphic designer and now makes beautiful “handicraft objects,” as she calls them. I’m in love with her cardboard animals so we did a little artist study and made some of our…
teen crafts
Ojo de Dios / God’s Eye
Wow, summer of 2020 is almost over! It’s been… interesting. Thankfully we have old-school crafts like these God’s Eyes to keep us distracted from current events. I wrote a post about “Ojo de Dios” exactly 8 years ago when I first started my blog. I decided to update my old post instead of adding a…
Summer Art Camp Guides for At Home
I’m so excited to announce the launch of a new business, a new website, and THREE new summer camp guides!! First, the business. As you know, my friend and colleague, Shannon from Hatch, and I collaborated in the Spring on 7 (seven!) weeks of learning-at-home guides. We decided to turn it into a new business,…
Cardboard Bird Sculptures
Ah, my old friend cardboard is back with a new but familiar look! Today I want to share these amazing cardboard bird sculptures that my art campers made. I got the idea for these from the IG account @marymakingart, and we were also inspired by the artist Clare Youngs, who is an incredibly talented cardboard animal artist…
Paper Pinwheel Photo Backdrop
I made this paper pinwheel photo backdrop for my friend’s 50th birthday party in May and I’ve been meaning to share it with you for months! I’ve been addicted to making pinwheels for years and years, and I really believe that they add happiness and joy to ANY occasion. I made this in pink because…
Make Frida Kahlo Felt Flower Crowns
Last summer we made Frida Kahlo felt flower crowns in art camp, and I love the way they turned out! These crowns can be made for the dress-up box, or for a Halloween costume. So colorful and comfortable to wear, my art campers wore them all week. This is a DIY that has step-by-step instructions,…
Printmaking with Cardboard
Printmaking with cardboard introduces children to the magic of “pulling prints” and creating mirror images. Also called collagraphy, it’s a basic a method of printmaking where collage material is glued onto a board to create a relief surface. As with any form of printing, kids stay engaged because they are producing images which is unlike any…
Plastic Jar Lanterns with Kids
My dear friend runs a coffee shop, so I asked her if she had any big containers I could recycle into something cool for my art class. When she dropped off some giant mayonnaise jars, my mind immediately thought LANTERNS! After a little soaking and slicing, the base for these plastic jar lanterns were ready…
Patterned Cardboard Animals with Templates
By now you all know that I am a lover of cardboard (as professed in my latest book, Cardboard Creations), and am always thinking of new ways to re-use my collection of recycled boxes. These patterned cardboard animals were really fun to make both for me and my kids! They sit on our mantle currently…
Cinco de Mayo Garland from Coffee Filters
If you’ve never used coffee filters for crafts before, now would be the time to start! These colorful and super festive “Papel Picado” garlands for Cinco de Mayo were made by 8 & 9-year olds and would be the perfect craft for teens. And of course, grown-ups. I loved making them! It felt like a Spring version…
