Do It Yourself

Is your house overflowing with random pieces of your child’s artwork? Besides throwing it all in the recycle bin, why not create an up-cycle advent calendar? 

Growing up, advent calendars were not a strong tradition in our family. It wasn’t until some family members gave us chocolate advent calendars that I thought about researching this tradition.ar?

Have you ever been in a creative rut or completely afraid to take creative risks when decorating your home?    When I was in fourth grade, (in 1980-something) we didn't have a consistent art teacher. Our regular fourth-grade teacher would let us free paint with our own art materials at our desks. I used to [...]

Today, I’m revisiting one of my favorite artists, Henri Matisse. His simple and colorful paper cut-outs always make me feel cheery and happy. With the holidays fast approaching, I thought it would be fun to show you how to make a kid-made Matisse ornament in 4 simple steps.

There are some days when life feels completely nutty. You know, that week when there’s a Halloween Party at school, trick-or-treating, two days of work, afterschool activities, and throw in a half-day of school in the mix. It was enough to make my head burst! But, the week ended on an up note. I hosted a really fun art playdate for my rambunctious son and his friends.

Spiders, skulls, and brains… oh my! Are you looking for a super cool and fun Halloween project to make with your kids or your classroom? Your kids will squeal when they discover how to make this awesome gelatin brain. This is a perfect STEAM project for kids of all ages.

Do you ever get inspired to make art projects from unconventional items? I found inspiration for this unique DIY ribbon weaving project from my latest excursion to the Dollar Store.

Have you ever received a Mother’s Day gift from your child that you absolutely hated? Remember the moment they came home from school, excited to share their masterpiece?

I’ve always loved the idea of sewing, but I always felt frustrated. As a kid, I tried to use my mom’s nineteen seventy-something sewing machine, but something always broke.

Do you ever have someone enter your life, and you think, “I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy?” This sums up how I feel about my friend Bar, from Art Bar Blog. She is an amazing blogger, art teacher, and graphic designer. Her kids’ art projects are beautifully arranged, colorful, and super fun to make.

What is it with kids and water that draws them together like magnets? Every time I drag my daughter shopping, I always dread when she asks to use the bathroom. This usually means she will spend 20 minutes (of my shopping time) playing with soapy water in some gross public bathroom while I scream “Don’t touch anything!”

The spring fever bomb has officially detonated. Here, in the Midwest, we never know what March can bring. One day a snow storm while the next day is a heat wave. For now, my kids are partying naked on the swing set.

Have you ever tried printmaking with your kids? If you not, it’s a wonderful way for children to create many versions of the same drawing. Printmaking is a process of etching or carving into another material to create a stamp. The stamp is then pressed into a sheet of paper.

Have you ever experimented with polymer clay? In high school, my girlfriends and I would geek out on a Saturday night and make hippie flower bead necklaces.

It’s a brand new year and it’s time to get organized. It’s an amazing feeling to put away all the holiday decorations and focus on cleaning each room of the house. One area that always nags me is how to organize my children’s artwork. It is also the number one complaint I hear from other moms. To make life easier, I’ve compiled 5 simple ways to organize kids’ artwork

Is your house overflowing with random pieces of your child’s artwork? Besides chucking it all in the recycle bin, why not create an up-cycle advent calendar?

When I was an art teacher in the classroom, I would love to combine art projects with literacy. It was a great way to get children to connect their creativity in an interdisciplinary manner. So when Melissa from Mamma Miss, announced a ten day Christmas ornament roundup based on a book, I jumped at the chance to create an easy and sweet project for you.

About three years ago, I wrote this post on my old blog and I thought I would revamp it a bit and share it with you. I created this hip paper weaving project to help my then 3 year old son with his coordination skills. He was in first year Montessori at the time and I knew a project like this was just up his alley. Since it was also around Christmas time, we had a ton of old wrapping paper, and ribbon to recycle. My little secret to making this project a bit more interesting was to add washi tape over each piece of the warp (the vertical lines). Overall, weaving is a great activity for kids to focus on fine motor skills, and gain a basic understanding of how clothes are woven.

Fall is such a beautiful time of year, and I feel so blessed to live in a wooded community where I can enjoy all the lovely changes of the season. With all the various maple trees and oak trees in the Midwest, the month of October is just a visual explosion of amazing colors. From deep reds, to bright yellows, there are so many opportunities to create art from nature. So when my daughter’s Montessori teacher asked me to partner in their autumn classroom art project, I jumped at the chance to volunteer.

Do you ever wonder what to do with all those scraps of artwork your kids make? Half the time they wind up in the recycling bin. (Shh.. I didn’t just say that). It’s impossible to save every scrap of artwork, but an easy way to recycle old artwork and create new artwork is to make a simple kids art journal.

Are you looking for a fun and easy Halloween project to do with your kiddos? Take a look at these super easy and fun “boo” craft sticks that any child can use as a book mark, puppet, or add to any Halloween festivities.

I have this crazy addiction of saving every scrap of fabric, skein of yarn, or piece of paper, because..well, I could probably make something cool out of it. Right? So when I found myself drooling in the Handmade Modern aisle at Target, I couldn’t resist buying a pack of their super mod felt. (If you haven’t been in this aisle, check it out!). I can’t remember how I initially used these felt pieces, but I did wind up saving a whole box of scraps that I couldn’t bare to throw away. So in a fit of creative craziness, I came up with an idea to make patchwork felt purses, using all the felt scraps.

Ever since I was a child, I loved tinkering and creating organized art spaces. I would spend hours color coordinating my crayons in my 1983 Crayola Caddy. Even many moons ago, when I became an elementary school art teacher, I loved labeling all the classroom art materials and creating an organized, accessible space for my students.

Who knew Spirograph designs could be so secretly addictive? As a kid, I remember envying the designs on the box and feeling jealous that I couldn’t attain any sort of coolness with my messy sloppy circles.

Have you wondered how to achieve bright, shiny, and vibrant colored Easter eggs?