Washer Necklaces

Painting a washer with nail polish and turning it into a pendant is a relatively easy and gratifying project even for small fingers. The nail polish on metal creates the look of glossy enamel. Make sure you start with a covered work area since the bottles of polish are not entirely spill proof. I would recommend that the brush be overloaded with polish and allowed to drop onto the washer. If you try to brush it, the polish will not cover well and will tend to mix together resulting in muddy colors. Droplets of color can be added on top of each other. Work in a ventilated area. Thank goodness nail polish is no longer limited to shades of red, pink and orange! Finish off your project with a decorative cord and a bead.

Circular Storybook Wall Calendar

As Christmas quickly approaches I wanted to take a minute to wish anyone dropping by a joyous holiday season. I generally post projects here that are fun to do with children, but here is a project of my own with images of children as the subject matter. As Christmas is a time of wonder and excitement for children, this seemed like an appropriate image to post. The original art for this was done with pastels and the lettering and numbers for the calendar were rather painstakingly done by hand with pastel pencils and pen and ink. The combined illustration and calendar were then laser printed. The calendar is available for purchase here.

Printmaking with Texture

Here's a fun way to introduce children to a simple printmaking project and create a handsome piece of art at the same time. Small sheets of colored tissue paper are placed on top of the different textures pictured. Printing ink is rolled over the tissue using the brayer and capturing the image of the texture. Spray glue attaches the sheets of tissue to a stretched canvas. Voila! Fun and pretty.

My Guest Post on Whip Up

Want to learn about making paper? Read my guest post on Whip Up.
Thanks for the invite Kathreen!

Oodles of Doodles Easter Basket

Template may be purchased HERE. This is a fun little springtime project to make with your child or for your child. I started with a square of board that is used to mount photos, but poster board would work just as well. I divided my square into nine small squares and used markers to doodle the flower pattern. I flipped it over and drew in the yellow stripes, cut out another piece for the handle and also decorated that piece. I cut along the green lines that are indicated in my diagram below and used a bone folder to score along the dashed line. Holes were punched in the small blue circles so that paper fasteners or brads can join the sides and the handle. I used a little white glue to secure the sides. Add a little bunny mask to your basket here.

How to Make Buttons with Polymer Clay

Polymer clay is available is such luscious colors. I chose to blend three different colors to make my buttons.
1. Knead the clay to make it easier to work with.
2. Roll it out with a rolling pin.
3. Use a bottle cap or tube of lipstick to cut out shapes.
4. Press an actual button into the clay as a template to see where the holes should go.
5. Form the holes with a tooth pick.
6. Bake your buttons following the directions on the package.

That's it! Have fun.

Collogrpahs

A collograph is a simple printmaking process that is fun to use with children and is an easy way to make sheets of wrapping paper, cards or a piece of art to hang on the wall. You start by cutting out shapes from different materials. I used a sheet of craft foam, a paper that has the texture of corrugated cardboard and a leftover roll of the material that is used to line drawers in your bathroom. All of the materials should be about the same thickness. After cutting out a variety of shapes I glued them to a sheet of cardboard as if I were making a collage. I rolled printmaking ink onto the surface using a brayer once the glue had dried. It's also possible to use a brush and acrylic paint. In this particular print I overlapped the images and used three different colors to add dimension.

 

I'm starting a newsletter with DIY templates, news from my Etsy shop, and step-by-step photos of some of the techniques for my artwork and illustrations. The newsletter in early June 2018 will include a template for a simple pop-up book to make with children. Sign-ups on the right-hand side of the blog.

Collage Flowers on Canvas

This is a fun project to use up scraps of paper or fabric. For this collage I started with a pre-stretched canvas square. I painted in the sky blue background with acrylic paint. Remember to paint the sides of the canvas to give it a finished look. I collected a variety of printed materials that I found appealing including pages from an atlas, scrap booking paper, and pages from the newspaper. I used a glue stick to assemble the flowers on sheets of white paper. I made copies of the flowers using my printer and then glued the copies with white glue to the canvas. There's no reason that you couldn't glue your original flowers directly on the canvas. I covered the entire surface with Mod Podge and to add some dimension I glued the buttons on top. Burlap, felt and even sheet music are other fun ideas to add interest to the piece.

Cutting shapes with Scratch-Foam

Scratch-Foam, as I have previously posted, is an excellent surface for children (and adults) to use to create a printing plate. Lately, I've had fun cutting the foam into shapes. I simply used a pencil to draw the outline of the fish directly on the foam. After cutting it out I pressed lines onto the fish to add the detail that you see in the picture. I rolled printing ink with a rubber brayer directly onto the surface of the fish. As you can see, the ink does not settle into the lines that I have pressed into the foam and those details remain the color of the paper that you are printing on. I made an accordion folder and decorated with fish prints.

 

I'm starting a newsletter with DIY templates, news from my Etsy shop, and step-by-step photos of some of the techniques for my artwork and illustrations. The newsletter in early June 2018 will include a template for a simple pop-up book to make with children. Sign-ups on the right-hand side of the blog.

"Etching" with Scratch-Foam

Packets of Scratch-Foam can be purchased from art supply stores. It is the same type of material that vegetables are often packed in at the grocery. So if you have something that you can re-use, all the better. I used a pen to draw the image of the house on my sheet of Scratch-Foam, making sure that I pressed hard enough for the pen point to make an actual impression in the foam. With the brayer I rolled water-soluble block printing ink onto my foam plate. I turned the plate over onto a sheet of paper and applied some pressure with the palm of my hand. As you can see the lines that you have pressed into the foam are the color of the paper that you are using. Very different looks can be achieved depending on the combination of the colors of both ink and your paper.

Gyotaku Prints

At one time Japanese fisherman would make prints of their fish so that they could have a record of prized catches. These prints were made by pressing rice paper onto a fish that had been covered in ink. Making fish prints with children is a simple introduction to printmaking. You can use a fresh fish or you can purchase rubber replicas from art supply stores. The poor perch that I have pictured is missing a fin, but you'll get the idea. I've found that tempera paints work well and if you give the child 2 or 3 colors the prints will have a more dimensional quality. In the print pictured I used blue, yellow and some gold paint with sparkles, and printed it on a piece of canvas. You can use rice paper, newsprint or even paper towels.