The fun continues at Today’s Mama, where I am showing you how to make door hangers with friend’s initials or other cute phrases on them. Stop on by!

Come visit me at Today’s Mama where I am counting down 10 Christmas gifts to make with your kids. Today we are doing jams and jellies in jars that you paint with your kids. Simple, easy, and really yummy.  I made Apricot Jalapeno for friends this year. The girls loved painting away and I love how they turned out! Take a look then make your own.

http://utah.todaysmama.com/2010/12/02/jams-and-jellies-in-handpainted-jars/

I love these because they have such a pretty, delicate look and it is a super easy project. The great thing is that you can do something like mine in about 30-40 minutes or spend a lot of time and have a frame-able piece of art by filling in the whole picture.

materials:

eggshells from colored eggs*

white school glue

heavy cardstock (Tag or mat board is ideal; a dark color tends to look better.)

toothpicks

pencil

*If you don’t have shells from Easter eggs, make an omelet for breakfast and rinse the shells. You can put them into a few small bowls and just barely cover with water. Add  several drops of food coloring and let it sit for a minute or two. Drain on paper towels and you are good to go.

directions:

1. Sketch a simple design or picture on the board.

2. Using a toothpick, spread glue onto a small section of the picture.

3. Arrange the eggshells to fill in the area. Keep it simple, or use variations in the hue and intensity of the color to create shading. It also looks great to use similar tones in an area. (ie. oranges, and yellows or blues and purples together.)

4. If desired, embellish with glitter, paint or even sequins, buttons, ribbons and such… whatever works with the design.

Megan’s house with fluffy clouds and trees.

Emily wanted to add paint. (Actually, we spent about 20 min. on the mosaics, then the girls moved on to all paint.) This is her “tower, with Jasmine and rain clouds/drops in the sky and mud on the ground…” with the original flower in the center. That girl comes up with quite the story for each picture. She cracks me up!  As you can tell, the patience that mosaics tend to take really show in the outcome. The girls (3 and 5) thought this was fun. An older artist will actually make something that looks cool. (This isn’t the first time I have wished I had a 10 year old around! :D)

I can’t tell you how many recipes I’ve tried for play dough; but I think I’ve finally settled on a favorite. This one is quick and cheap, with common pantry ingredients. It also has a fantastic texture–just like “Playdoh”.

materials

• 3 1/2-4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 tablespoon cream of tarter (found with the spices on the baking isle)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons oil
• 2 cups of water
• food coloring (optional)
• cherry, strawberry, vanilla, or lemon extract (optional)

directions

1. Heat water to boiling in a medium saucepan. If you want one color of dough, add the food coloring now. This makes it very easy to color. If you want multiple colors, you can work the food coloring into the finished dough.

2. Measure a generous 3 1/2 cups flour into a medium-large mixing bowl (one that holds at least 8 cups.) Reserve extra to add if the dough is too sticky. Mix in the salt and cream of tartar. I have to admit that I love the way this feels, so I always use my hands. Salt and flour just have an interesting texture together. Is that weird?

3. Once the water is boiling, whisk in the oil. Remove from heat and add extract. I like this because it makes the playdough-and your hands-smell good. It can smell too good and be tempting for your child to eat, but this dough is fully edible–just not tasty. I prefer lemon because it smells clean. My girls haven’t ever been interested in eating it, but leave it out if you are concerned at all.

4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the water mixture in. Stir with a spoon until flour is incorporated, then turn it onto the counter or a cutting board and knead until smooth.

5. Now play!

We were always excited to head over to Woodburn, OR for Oktoberfest when I lived at home. Although beer certainly is the centerpiece of the festival, there is a lot to see and eat at these carnivals. Oktoberfest is arguably the largest festival in the world, hosting well over 6 million people in the actual fair in  Munich last year. It was first held to honor the newly married Crown Prince Ludwig I and Therese of Bavaria in 1810. Celebrations run from late September to the first Sunday of October and chances are there is a festival being held in a city or town near you. However, if you’d like to celebrate at home, I suggest having a german inspired dinner, possibly trying out a traditional game of skittles, and making these Edelweiss hats to wear for the party.

edelweiss hats

materials:

large piece of felt or construction paper; trimmed to 12×18-inches (traditionally green)

white and yellow felt or construction paper for flower

*For paper, use a hole punch to make 6 circles or do one larger circle. You can also use 6 yellow pompoms or beads for the center.

feather

glue (glue stick for paper, craft or hot glue for felt)

directions:

1. Fold the sheet of felt or paper in half. (It should now measure 9×12.)
2. Fold both top corners in towards the middle evenly, leaving 2-3 inch border along the bottom. If you are using felt, you will need to tack the corners down with a bead of glue.
3. Fold the bottom up on both sides each to their own side.  This forms the brim.

4. Cut out an edelwiess flower. (Here’s the pattern I used:) If you are using paper, use a hole punch to make 5 yellow circles and glue all together.

5. Make a small puddle of glue on one side of the hat and lay the bigger flower down to make the base, then put the smaller on top. Next add a puddle in the center of the flower and arrange the circles to form a center.

6. Then tuck (and glue if necessary) the feather behind the flower and feiern!

So, I noticed that I haven’t posted a project since-well-Easter. Hmmm, what can I throw out there that would be helpful during these long hot summer afternoons. (Since swimming isn’t an art project.) These little dolls are a project from my book that are great for filling an afternoon with industrious fun. It kept my little “test group” busy for almost 4 hours. 🙂

Materials:

Popsicle sticks

Yarn (for hair and clothes)

Beads (for eyes)

Small pompoms

Small flowers

(Basically anything in your art box you want to throw out there.)

Scissors

Glue (We used Aleene’s, but Elmer’s would work, it’s just very slow drying. Hot glue is the best option, it just presents other safety issues.)

Directions:

1. Cut about half way up the center of a popsicle stick. (This is a little tricky; it was fine for my 7 year old nieces, but younger kids would need help.) Gently pull the two halves apart a little.

2. Cut an 8 inch piece of skin colored yarn for the head. Glue one end of the yarn to the stick and wrap it several times around the stick so that it makes a head shape. Tuck the end in or glue.

3. Glue on beads for eyes (you could also cut little bits of yarn and glue them on.)

4. To make the hair, wrap yarn several times around your hand (or something else that is about 2xs as long as you want the hair to be.)

5. Slip off and loosely tie a piece of yarn around the middle of the coiled yarn (hair) and glue to the head. (You may need to hold it down for a bit while it dries.) Cut through the loops at the bottom and trim up as desired.

6. Wrap the body in the color you want for the shirt. (Do this the same as the head, only wrap around once or twice.) When you get to the legs, go completely down one, tie off or glue then start at the top of the other. (You will want to secure the beginning with a bead of glue like you did for the head.)

7. Now embellish: I cut the edge of a sequin to make the mouth, you could also use yarn. We used pompoms for feet and for the body of one dress (the rest of which is a pink feather) and the small flowers were also very popular.

You can make them life-like or, like Weston, you can get a little crazy with it! The kids liked this so much that they quickly progressed to making beds for the dolls, then cell phones, the a couple of just funny designs. They loved this and it can easily fill up an afternoon or more.

Well, it is Picasso’s 125th birthday and he certainly deserves a little celebration. He is widely acknowledged as the most influential artist of the 20th century. I am an avid fan …not necessarily because I love all of Picasso’s work-I actually don’t-but because all of it incites an emotional response. Pieces like “Petite Fluers” evokes a sunny, childlike smile. “Guernica” (probably my favorite) is heart-wrenching and epic. However, when I see a reproduction of “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” I feel uncomfortable, even a little revolted. I am sure Mr. Picasso would have been delighted to hear it! Good or bad, it is a strong response that most artists are driving for.

I think it is amazing to see how varied and prolific Picasso was. His father was an artist and teacher and saw his potential at a young age. He went through several periods that are distinct and unique and is credited for starting the Cubist movement. Which was had a huge impact on modern art. You can read an in-depth biography and see works from each period at Artchive. Another great site which will link you other sites where you can view Picasso’s works is Artcyclopedia as well as Artsy.

When I was teaching art classes, I combined learning about art history with practicing actual technique. At first, I was unsure as to whether the kids would like it or find it boring. I was quickly surprised to see that they loved it and clamored for information about influential artists. I would love to share some of the activities we did. Let me know if you like this and want more. Here is a project that you can do with your kids to experiment with Picasso’s style:

Make your own Cubist Paintings

Materials:

White paper

Cardstock or construction paper

Scissors

Crayons or other media

For inspiration take a look at House in a Garden and Portrait of Maya with a Doll and Three Musicians.
1. Set up a still life by arranging a few items from around the house on your kitchen table. Anything will work: fruit, dishes, bottles of various things, look for a bunch of different shapes. Or you can draw a few pictures of yourselves or eachother.

Tips:

Use a variety of colors, make one realistic and one crazy and wild. (Try blue hair, green skin, purple eyes.)

Do your pictures from different angles. For example, draw one sitting in front and one to the side.

Use whatever medium your child likes, crayons work great for this because they produce such bold colors.

2. Draw at least 2 pictures of your subject.

3. Cut the pictures up. You can cut it into different shapes, or cut out individual items or features (eyes, legs, flowers, etc.)

4. Arrange the peices of your pictures on a piece of cardstock. Try a few different configurations.

5. Glue down the final choices. You might get a few pictures from your pieces; you could diplay them together as a series.