Currated by robedellarobi.
Treasury tool supported by the dog house
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Though the Weather Outside is Frightful
Posted Saturday, February 23, 2013
This was what my road looked like last week after 3 feet of snow fell in Connecticut. I love the way the trees look in their winter white, but it's getting a little old. The snow, that is. It's pretty at first, but now a week later, melting and refreezing, dirt thrown from the snowblower, the picture postcard charm is gone.
If I can't look outside for signs of spring, I'll try inside instead. In my studio, I pulled out 50 yards of pastel and floral prints that I bought in the Garment District in New York, last year. Why I haven't done anything with them yet, I can't imagine. But I was very glad to have their cheery prints flung over my table. I am going to sew up a spring.
If you can't wait for April showers or May flowers either right, now is a great time to check out these Etsykids Shops on Etsy. Here are a few signs of early spring, delivered right to your door.
Leilas Flower Garden has everything you need to grow a garden on a bedroom wall. You don't even need dirt or a shovel. Never mind my daughter's room, I want these for my studio right now.
Crochet Village sells every pattern you could need to whip up your own bit of warm whimsy. The flamingos make me want to book my Florida plane tickets, right now!
Art Project:: Bubble Wrap Fall Tree
Posted Saturday, November 03, 2012
Article submitted by RaisingGreenKids, blog - RaisingGreenRichmondKids
What you'll need:
paper - heavier stock paper works best
cut squares of bubble wrap. mine were about 4x4
paints-yellow,red,orange,brown
brown markers or crayons
Directions:
If you child is older they can draw their own tree trunk, if they are younger draw it for them.
Put a thin layer of each color of paint on a left over lid or reusable bowl or plate.
Show your child how to take the square of bubble wrap into their hand and dip it into the paint, then dab up and down on the paper in different spots above the tree trunk.
Use different colors to create a fun Fall picture. Enjoy!
Be Safe!
Posted Monday, October 29, 2012
Sending out wishes of safety to all our team members, fans and customers in the Eastern United States as they brace for Hurricane Sandy.
Sensory Activity:: Baby Lotion Body Paint
Posted Saturday, September 22, 2012
One rainy day my sister came for a visit and while looking for something to do, we came across this recipe for baby lotion body paint! Since I still have 4 bottles of baby lotion from my baby shower (3 years ago) I though it was the perfect paint to make!
Artwork Overload
Posted Tuesday, June 19, 2012
By Cori of Peace,
Baby! Batiks
Kids are prolific artists, and they want every creation hung in your home gallery, whether that’s the fridge, a wall, bulletin board, or, in our house, a door. Every so often I have to take my son’s art down and sort through it – mostly to make way for new art!
Not sure what to do with the creations you take down? Here are some ideas.
Save It
I save the projects I have fond memories of making or artwork that is particularly special or marked some kind of “first”: The first time he drew something I recognized, the first time he wrote letters, the first time he drew a face, etc. I keep these in a folder that is already stuffed full – and he doesn’t start kindergarten until 2013! Time to sort through that folder, I think …
Share It
Grandparents, aunts, and uncles love kid artwork, and chances are their fridges are empty. Share your little one’s creativity by sending artwork to them.
Repurpose It
There are a ton of ways to use your child’s artwork to make other pieces of art. Here are a few of my favorites (found, of course, on Pinterest!).
How do you handle the artwork overload at your house?
Kids are prolific artists, and they want every creation hung in your home gallery, whether that’s the fridge, a wall, bulletin board, or, in our house, a door. Every so often I have to take my son’s art down and sort through it – mostly to make way for new art!
Not sure what to do with the creations you take down? Here are some ideas.
Save It
I save the projects I have fond memories of making or artwork that is particularly special or marked some kind of “first”: The first time he drew something I recognized, the first time he wrote letters, the first time he drew a face, etc. I keep these in a folder that is already stuffed full – and he doesn’t start kindergarten until 2013! Time to sort through that folder, I think …
Share It
Grandparents, aunts, and uncles love kid artwork, and chances are their fridges are empty. Share your little one’s creativity by sending artwork to them.
Repurpose It
There are a ton of ways to use your child’s artwork to make other pieces of art. Here are a few of my favorites (found, of course, on Pinterest!).
- Paint Cut Paste shared a great weaving project that would work great for those abstract pieces your kids have made!
- Another great use for abstract art and early scribbles is to cut it into shapes (or use a punch) and mount it on canvas, as seen at Squash Bottom Babies.
- I love this idea from Prudent Baby to use your kids’ artwork, tiles, and Mod Podge to make fun trivets or coasters. Great gift idea!
- Or, cut the artwork into squares and piece it back together as a mosaic. More frameable art!
- I’m a scrapbooker, so a couple of years ago, I took some of my son’s finger paintings and used them as a background for a scrapbook page about his artistic efforts.
How do you handle the artwork overload at your house?
Happy Father's Day
Posted Sunday, June 17, 2012
Daddy's use to be little once too! Here are some fun finds for the future daddy's in your life.
Under the Sea Craft Projects
Posted Wednesday, May 23, 2012
By Cori of Peace, Baby! BatiksFinding Nemo is all the rage at my house these days, temporarily bumping Lightning McQueen from most-favored-toy status. We’ve borrowed ocean books from the library, visited aquariums, and pretended we were Nemo and his friends.
So, when I started planning the monthly arts and crafts activity for my MOMS Club, I scoured my Kid Stuff Pinterest board for simple projects related to ocean creatures. I settled on two painting projects: paper bowl jellyfish and paper plate fish.
The jellyfish were inspired by this project from First Palette and this one from Creekside Learning. I told the kids we were making octopuses; as we moved along with the craft, they informed me the octopuses looked more like jellyfish. I went back and looked at the original ideas, and of course, they were right!
We started our jellyfish by painting the bottom of paper bowls. Some kids painted the whole thing; others, like my son, just painted the base of the bowl. I glued googly eyes onto each one. We used tape to attach streamers around the bowl for tentacles.
The fish were inspired by these beautiful paper plate tropical fish from Crafts by Amanda. For the fish, give each kid two paper plates. Have them paint one to be the fish body and help them draw fins on the other plate (or draw them for little guys), and paint those shapes.
When everything is dry, cut out the fins and tape or glue them into place. Draw an eye or attach a googly eye. Too cute!
Here are some other fishy crafts we’ve tried or want to try:
Paper plate octopus, via Artsy Craftsy Mom
Egg carton fish, via Crafty-Crafted. Ours are still a work in progress; we need to add stripes, fins, and eyes.
Squishy fish aquariums, from Teach Preschool (one of my favorite blogs!). We used light blue hair gel and added food coloring to make the gel bluer.
Mural, Mural on the Wall ...
Posted Wednesday, April 25, 2012
From Cindy of CooperCreations.
Here are a few things to think about when deciding on a mural...
When having a mural painted in your child’s room, the first thing you should consider is how long you want to keep the mural. That will help determine your theme. Most people like to paint their nursery theme and then repaint when they transition their child into a big kid bed. If that is the case then your theme can be very specific to your bedding which will give you a very custom feel. A great thing about painting a mural is that it can match your décor exactly. You don’t have to settle for something that is “close enough”. When it comes to nurseries, if you know that you will be repainting in a two or three years then take this time to make the nursery your own sanctuary – heaven knows you will spend a lot of time in there. The nursery stage is a good time to decorate with characters. If you always loved Peter Rabbit as a child now is your chance to paint it before your child has their own likes and dislikes. Some people opt not to paint their nurseries the traditional pink and blue because they know there will be a lot of that stereotypical color down the line. Lavender or lime are fresh alternatives.
If you are on the other side of things and you know that you want your mural to last through a big bed transition or from big kid room to tween-dom, then you want to go with a more general theme. For nurseries, you can not go wrong with flowers for a girl’s room or a nature theme for a boy’s. Be sure to note where in the nursery you may be placing the big kid bed so that you keep the room balanced even after transition. If you don’t plan to re-paint, then stay away from too much of one color or characters that they will outgrow. Some themes that last a long time in older children’s rooms are butterflies, flowers, space and sports. Use a bold accent wall and repaint that one wall every now and again to spruce things up.
Placement of the mural is also very important. I always tell people to position the bulk of the mural the first place your eye goes to when you walk in the room. This anchors the room and gives you a nice full feeling without painting every wall. Use small coordinating murals to fill space that would be too awkward to place furniture or hanging pictures. For example, paint a baseball bat leaning behind a door or a butterfly above a light switch. Another place that is always a big hit for a mural is above a changing table. Not only are babies fascinated with that area while being changed, but it is also a safer way to decorate than hanging something they can grab. Place your mural at eye level and wrap it around the room if you don’t have a lot of things to hang. This will fill the space for you and will alleviate having to find misc things to hang just because the space is there. On the other hand, if you have a lot of hanging items, then incorporate them into the mural. Paint a frog jumping from picture to picture or a butterfly resting on a frame. Avoid positioning murals at the bottom of your wall in a play room. Most toys get pushed up against the wall which ends up covering your mural. I know a lot of people love picket fences but unfortunately most rooms are not conducive for it. The best place to paint a picket fence mural is to find an awkward place in the room - a wall that cannot be utilized works well. Flower that area up with a little fence and a tall blossoming tree.
A popular alternative to painted murals these days are the vinyl stick ons. These work well in small areas or accents but to get that wow factor, only a mural will do the trick. With a hand painted mural, you can match your décor exactly and target a specific need in the room. The stick ons work well as accents or later additions to a childs room. If your son is into Buzz Lightyear, stick the character on his muraled space wall, then next year when he outgrows Buzz take him off and add a realistic looking astronaut. Just remember, less is best with stick ons.
Whether your budget is $100 or $1000 a mural is always a perfect addition to your child’s room. It is amazing how much life the smallest painting adds to your room.
You can find Cindy and her CooperCreations online at facebook and Etsy:
When having a mural painted in your child’s room, the first thing you should consider is how long you want to keep the mural. That will help determine your theme. Most people like to paint their nursery theme and then repaint when they transition their child into a big kid bed. If that is the case then your theme can be very specific to your bedding which will give you a very custom feel. A great thing about painting a mural is that it can match your décor exactly. You don’t have to settle for something that is “close enough”. When it comes to nurseries, if you know that you will be repainting in a two or three years then take this time to make the nursery your own sanctuary – heaven knows you will spend a lot of time in there. The nursery stage is a good time to decorate with characters. If you always loved Peter Rabbit as a child now is your chance to paint it before your child has their own likes and dislikes. Some people opt not to paint their nurseries the traditional pink and blue because they know there will be a lot of that stereotypical color down the line. Lavender or lime are fresh alternatives.
If you are on the other side of things and you know that you want your mural to last through a big bed transition or from big kid room to tween-dom, then you want to go with a more general theme. For nurseries, you can not go wrong with flowers for a girl’s room or a nature theme for a boy’s. Be sure to note where in the nursery you may be placing the big kid bed so that you keep the room balanced even after transition. If you don’t plan to re-paint, then stay away from too much of one color or characters that they will outgrow. Some themes that last a long time in older children’s rooms are butterflies, flowers, space and sports. Use a bold accent wall and repaint that one wall every now and again to spruce things up.
A popular alternative to painted murals these days are the vinyl stick ons. These work well in small areas or accents but to get that wow factor, only a mural will do the trick. With a hand painted mural, you can match your décor exactly and target a specific need in the room. The stick ons work well as accents or later additions to a childs room. If your son is into Buzz Lightyear, stick the character on his muraled space wall, then next year when he outgrows Buzz take him off and add a realistic looking astronaut. Just remember, less is best with stick ons.
Whether your budget is $100 or $1000 a mural is always a perfect addition to your child’s room. It is amazing how much life the smallest painting adds to your room.
Ice Cube Painting
Posted Tuesday, April 24, 2012
By Cori of Peace,
Baby! Batiks
My son really likes to paint, so I’m always looking for different methods of painting. I don’t always want to get into the messiness of finger painting – especially indoors -- and water colors aren’t always as much fun as the bright colors of poster paint.
I saw ice painting demonstrated one day while we were watching Sprout, and I was intrigued. I modified our activity a bit from the directions posted online, using watercolor paper instead of paper towels and cardstock. I like the heaviness of watercolor paper; it can take a lot of paint!
The night before you want to paint, prepare your ice cubes. Put a little poster paint in the bottom of the cubes of an ice cube tray. Fill with water and mix well. Add half of a craft stick to make a handle. Pop into the freezer and let them set overnight. We’ve had success with solid colors as well as glitter paints.
When you’re ready to paint, take the ice cube tray out of the freezer and let them sit for a few minutes before trying to get them out of the tray.
Pull the cubes out, give each kid a piece of watercolor paper, and let them go! First, the kids rubbed the cubes on the paper.
When they were fresh from the freezer the colors were lighter.
Then, as the cubes thawed, the color went on thicker and darker.
Then, the boys discovered pieces of the ice cubes fell off if you hit them on the paper or pressed them like a stamp. By the end, we had soaking wet, colorful pieces of art!
Variation: In honor of Earth day, I made green, blue, white, and silver glitter (just for fun!) paint cubes and cut our watercolor paper into circles.
My son discovered it was fun to paint his hand and then stamp it onto the paper.
My son told me his painting shows Earth right after it was formed. (He’s a bit of a space and planet nut.) Mine shows Earth later in its developmen, or so he tells me. J
My son really likes to paint, so I’m always looking for different methods of painting. I don’t always want to get into the messiness of finger painting – especially indoors -- and water colors aren’t always as much fun as the bright colors of poster paint.
I saw ice painting demonstrated one day while we were watching Sprout, and I was intrigued. I modified our activity a bit from the directions posted online, using watercolor paper instead of paper towels and cardstock. I like the heaviness of watercolor paper; it can take a lot of paint!
The night before you want to paint, prepare your ice cubes. Put a little poster paint in the bottom of the cubes of an ice cube tray. Fill with water and mix well. Add half of a craft stick to make a handle. Pop into the freezer and let them set overnight. We’ve had success with solid colors as well as glitter paints.
When you’re ready to paint, take the ice cube tray out of the freezer and let them sit for a few minutes before trying to get them out of the tray.
Pull the cubes out, give each kid a piece of watercolor paper, and let them go! First, the kids rubbed the cubes on the paper.
When they were fresh from the freezer the colors were lighter.
Then, as the cubes thawed, the color went on thicker and darker.
Then, the boys discovered pieces of the ice cubes fell off if you hit them on the paper or pressed them like a stamp. By the end, we had soaking wet, colorful pieces of art!
Variation: In honor of Earth day, I made green, blue, white, and silver glitter (just for fun!) paint cubes and cut our watercolor paper into circles.
My son discovered it was fun to paint his hand and then stamp it onto the paper.
My son told me his painting shows Earth right after it was formed. (He’s a bit of a space and planet nut.) Mine shows Earth later in its developmen, or so he tells me. J
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
