Tag Archives: arts and crafts for kids

Haring Eggs

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Blogging breaks are inevitable, but eggs always have a way of bringing me back. This year, they are inspired by the wonderful imagery found in Keith Haring’s work, which he cleverly used to draw attention to important issues of the day. The Haring Kids website is filled with lesson plans and ideas if you’re looking for ways to introduce his work to children, and to get them inspired for this project.

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Filed under eggs, Keith Haring

A Planet For Bowie

My favourite Starman died on January 10th, and being a huge fan, it left me feeling rather sad. He was an extraordinary, innovative talent, driven by a healthy dose of curiosity and foresight, ensuring he was always ahead of the game, with an eye to the future. He left his unique mark on music, art, and fashion, and shared with us his fascination for space and planets, which he made reference to throughout his career.

If your children are young, it’s quite likely David Bowie is not on their radar, so consider this a great way to explore the solar system and its wonderful planets… while you play Starman or Space Oddity in the background! For those who loved Bowie’s work, why not make him a glow-in-the-dark planet to go along with the lightening-bolt Bowie-asterism, as a tribute to him.

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Filed under space

Painted Leaves

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I finally finished raking what seemed like a never ending supply of leaves, and managed to save a few for some crafts. I’m hoping you did too.

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Filed under Art and Nature, leaves

Painted Acorns

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Acorns, those lovely little oak tree droppings, can easily be found this time of year. Head outside with your little ones, and have them fill their pockets with these treasures, so they can come home and paint them. 

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Filed under Art and Nature

Halloween Bone Necklace

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I recently unpacked our Halloween decorations and came across this old chicken bone necklace, which had been left unpainted. I decided it was time to give it a second life and brought out the acrylics.

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Filed under Halloween

Monster Door Stops

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I vanished once again, this time to Italy. And despite a pretty intense heat wave, it was amazing. One of our many stops included Sacro Bosco, also known as Parco dei Mostri (Park of Monsters). Now how could a name like that not inspire a project. This sculpture filled garden was conceived of in the 16th century by Pier Francesco Orsini in honour of his deceased wife, Giulia Farnese, and designed by Pirro Ligorio, with the sculptures by Simone Moschino. It was a wonderful and surreal environment to visit. So with only a short time until Halloween, I say bring on the monsters.

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Filed under rock painting

Picasso Pots

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Picasso’s asymmetrical faces are nothing short of fabulous. They’re used here to decorate pots which kids can then use to explore the wonderful world of plants. 

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Filed under Art and Nature, Artists, Pablo Picasso

Miniature Food Picnic

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Miniaturized things always look so adorable, and I’m clearly not the only one who thinks so. When it comes to food, Pinterest is filled with fabulous tutorials and ideas for making gourmet delights. My daughter made the mini picnic offerings above and did her mama proud by including, what I considered, the perfect student meal while living in France. Only thing missing is a bottle of red wine. 

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Filed under food art, plasticine, polymer clay

Doodling

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Doodling’s a beautiful thing. Whether you’re thoroughly engaged in it, or absentmindedly filling the corner of a paper, it’s a wonderful activity to get lost in. As I filled my divided page with patterns, I started thinking about a particular style of doodling referred to as Zentangle®. Examples are everywhere. Thousands of images are on Pinterest alone. And while they can be quite beautiful, I was curious as to why they were considered distinct from other doodles, to the extent of having their own trademarked name, and a pending patent application. I started nosing around and discovered it’s definitely a controversial issue. 

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Plasticine Art

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When my children were younger, they so enjoyed the delightful plasticine pictures which filled Barbara Reid’s books. There were no words, only images which inspired all sorts of stories on their end, and gave their imaginations a great workout. This project involves having kids make their own plasticine art, which will provide them with plenty of fun and creative opportunities.

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Filed under plasticine