Today I am going to share with you a fun building kit. It involves some crafting, math, art and more and I always love when you can make learning fun. Mind-Blowing Paper Puzzles by Haruki Nakamura does just that.
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Math, Art, Crafting and More in a Box!
Word for 2021--What inspires you?
Do you pick a word for each year? I started a few years ago. In 2019 my word was flourish, and Hazel picked believe. I spent the year trying to encourage her to believe in herself. In 2020 my word was connect. I hoped to connect with more people as well as God in more meaningful ways. I feel I did connect but not as I expected to due to Covid. As I reflected on words I thought about gratitude and then picked inspire. Hazel is choosing between strength and confidence. I love that she chose those two on her own! It shows so much growth for her this year. (Her new school is such a blessing!) What will your focus for 2021 be? Need some help? I made this word find with over 60 word of the year choices. What are the first four words you see? Do they have meaning for you?
DIY Wall Art (Inspired by Wall Art at Michael's) -- Crafty Sunday
It is Sunday again. Where did this week go? It is amazing how fast time is flying by even though we are mostly staying home. Last week I was looking at Michael's on-line (and then in the store) for a frame for my paint-by-number family portrait that I shared a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately it is a weird size so I have to do something custom. But I was checking out the home décor. I found so much inspiration. Even though much of it was on clearance most was not at my local store and I hate paying for shipping if I don't have to plus I looked at some of them and said I can make something similar with what I have at home. I have a Pinterest board where I pin my inspiration in case you want to see some of the other wall art I loved. I saw two similar blue and white inspirational ones and thought I could make something like them. I am not a talented enough painter but have a supply of beautiful craft papers from Paper Source from my time of working there. They occasionally go on sale and I would buy them on sale. Here are my inspirations.
Outside Personal Paint Party
Hazel had her last day of school this week. To do something special I thought we would do a paint party. It was beautiful out this week. So we decided to try one of the Muse Paintbar's Muse-to-Go paintings. Hazel's favorite in the beginning was Dolphin Delight. It is offered as a free video so that is the one we decided to do. (You can find it under Kids and click the free video button.) We had nice big canvases in our craft supplies as well as the brushes and paints. We took our plastic patio table and covered it with an old tablecloth and put it on the grass in case we spilled. Then we got jars of water, our brushes for each of us, the five basic colors of acrylic paint (red, blue, yellow, black and white), two small paper plates for each of us and paper towels. We used plate stands for our "easels". We set my computer up on a chair next to the table to play the video. If you do not have the supplies in your craft storage they do sell sets of those as well.
Japanese Arts, Crafts and their Makers
This month is Asian Pacific Heritage Month and to celebrate it we are looking at Japan all month long for Multicultural Mondays. Last week we started with two picture books including one on the creation myth in Japan. Today we are going to look at the crafts and craftsmen/women of Japan as well as a round-up of Japanese-inspired crafts and artists. To begin this post I am sharing a new book that is being released tomorrow (May 12, 2020). It is Craftland Japan by Uwe Röttgen and Katharina Zetti.
Fun with Watercolor Resist -- Covid-19 Art Activity
One of my goals is to get back to doing some crafts and nonreview posts. With all the stay at home orders and trying to flatten the curve it seems like the perfect time to do these kind of posts. We are all staying at our home. Many times a day the three of us are on our separate technology (my laptop, Steve's desktop or work laptop and Hazel's iPad) or on separate phone calls. I have been working on bringing some organization to my craft room with the hope of being able to actually use it for our crafts rather than just for storage. I am also really getting rid of craft supplies that we know we won't use. Hazel has outgrown so many that we never got to. I also have been making face masks. I donated about 40 of them to local hospitals. Now I'm making them for family and friends. I keep adjusting my pattern. Let me know if you would like me to share with you what I am doing. I know there are so many tutorials out there I wasn't going to unless someone asks. I have combined several things I have seen and have worked out what I think works the best. I am also sewing buttons on 2-inch and 3-inch pieces of ribbons for the healthcare workers. Apparently some of them are having issues with the elastics bothering their ears since they have to wear them so long now. It is an easy thing to make and a great way to give back. Have you found ways to give back and support the people going to work to support us? I would love to hear them.
Hazel has one hour a day of lessons with her teacher and classmates using Google Classroom. Then she has her work to do and turn in. Her art teacher assigns a new project every week as well. The one due this week was to make two different watercolor resists. I thought it would be fun to do my own while she was doing hers and fun to share with you as an activity you can do with your kids. The teacher sent the kids videos of the two techniques and they had to make under the sea paintings using the techniques. To make all of them you need crayons and watercolors with a jar of water and various brushes as well as preferably watercolor paper (however printer paper will work). One of mine I also used salt.
Lunar New Year
The Chinese New Year or lunar new year starts on Saturday. Did you know there are other countries that celebrate the lunar new year besides China? Other Asian countries celebrate it like Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and others. Since I have shared so much about the Chinese New Year in the past I thought I would share books that share the culture of China and Korea this year. For both countries I have books that share about the lunar new year as well as other books to learn about the culture and way of life.
Art Books for Kids
Today we are going to look at books that teach kids about art and artists. The books range for ages 4 to young adult. We will go in order of age. The first is Dancing Through Fields of Color: The Story of Helen Frankenthaler by Elizabeth Brown and illustrations by Aimee Sicuro. It is recommended for ages 4 to 8.
DIY Spring Art Decor Crafty Weekends Craft & Link Party
We have had a hard week and a half or so. Last weekend Hazel had the stomach bug and a high fever. I managed not to catch it from her but then Thursday I got it while we were out at our last trip to the Boston American Girl Store (it closes on the 20th). I am finally starting to feel like I may be back to normal tonight. However on Tuesday or Wednesday I did manage to run some errands and found the sweetest spring wall decor at Joann Fabrics. However I didn't want to spend the money on them and thought it would be fun to make our own. I happened to find some smaller framed Valentine wall art in the clearance section and some scrapbook paper on clearance as well. Then I got some wooden circles at Walmart. Hazel and I decided to use our words for 2019. I painted the circles with chalkboard paint because I had some. We picked out our background paper and glued them in. I wrote our words on them in pink paint marker. Then glued the circles into the frames. Next we decided to decorate them.
Books for the Arts
Looking for some educational books for kids? Today we look at a bit of the arts--grammar, poetry, art, crafts, history. Our first book is Origami and Haiku: Inspired by Japanese Artwork illustrated by the Trustees of the British Museum.
Picture Book Extravaganza
Are you ready for the holidays? I know there is a saying that says one gift they can wear, one toy gift and one book gift. The next couple of weeks I am focusing on books and trying to clear off my recommendation shelves. Today I am starting with the picture books. There are books in this grouping for the very young to the older lovers of picture books. I am going to share them by age group as best as I can, so if you are looking for picture books for older kids, scroll down. Are you ready for our picture book extravaganza?
Books Involving Color and Art
I love art and want Hazel to love art. My love for art came from having an amazing elementary school art teacher. In fifth grade the special field trip was to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In order to go you had to pass a test on art and artists as well as complete a packet of projects and more. I am always looking for ways to bring art into our lives and I love doing it with books. Plus of course taking her to museums, but this is not always possible, so books at home definitely help. Today I am going to share five books that involve art or color. Some are about color and some are about art and others are based on art. All of them help you have conversations with kids about color and art. We will start with the two about color. The first is Pink Is for Boys by Robb Pearlman and illustrated by Eda Kaban. This book is coming out in June!
Artists from Around the World
I recently read an article about how multiple art-focused field trips raised the scores of standardized tests. At a time when so many school districts are cutting the arts it is important to see the whole picture. Today I am going to share some books about artists from different countries around the world. We will start with Japan and Yayoi Kusama. The first book is Yayoi Kusama: From Here to Infinity by Sarah Suzuki and illustrated by Ellen Weinstein.
Sharing Saturday 17-29
On Sunday night we also host Crafty Weekends for all your crafts (done by any age), patterns, and craft product reviews! It is the perfect place to share your creative side!! And for all of your cultural posts come share them at the monthly Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop.
Light Box Arts Creations -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party
Confession time, I am not a very good drawer. When I try to draw or paint I am never happy with my work. However I am excellent at using computers to create fun artwork. I am also a great cutter and paster. So when Light Box Arts asked if I would like to try out their new Design Yours feature on their site, I jumped at the opportunity.
Light Box Arts offers pre-designed light boxes as well. There are many different categories like Attitude, Vacation, Inspirational, Kids, and more. These are fun and beautiful, but I was excited to make something personal. I thought a personal light box would be perfect to celebrate our 11 year anniversary this summer. I got to work. I Googled for some ideas for anniversary quotes and found "Once upon a time I became yours and you became mine and we will stay together through both the tears and the laughter because that is what they call happily ever after." I loved it and wanted to add it to our wedding picture.
Books for the Imagination for Different Ages
Today I am going to share some fun books that bring out the imagination in the reader and require some imagination to really understand. There is even one about letting one's imagination go wild. These books are various ages and we will look at them from the youngest to the oldest. The first book is a wordless book by Alison Jay called Bee & Me.
A Look At Mexican Art -- Hispanic Heritage Month
Art Lesson -- Back to School Series
My favorite class in school was art. I think it was because it was the place I got to create and my elementary school art teacher was amazing!! He taught the sixth grade to wood carve every year. He bought wood for the students with his own money because it was his passion. In fifth grade there was a quiz and project that had to get done to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts. It was an amazing trip and it really made sure I knew a bit about the famous artists and art history!! I have discovered others did not have such a great art experience. One time my sister and I were walking down Newbury Street in Boston and overheard some women talking about the artist who cut off his ear and they didn't know his name (Vincent van Gogh). My sister commented to me about how strange that seemed. Of course we both had that great art teacher, so to us it was common knowledge. Well today I am providing you with some resources to teach your little ones about art. The first is An Artist's Alphabet by Norman Messinger.
The Colors of Asia -- A Relaxing Friday Adult Coloring Book Review
After yesterday I need a relaxing Friday and definitely need the anti-stress of coloring!! Let's just say whatever could go wrong basically did and it kept going wrong. Ugh!! But today is another day. So today I am going to share with you The Colors of Asia published by Tuttle Publishing.
Isabella of Castile and our Exploration of Spain -- Global Learning for Kids
This month the Global Learning for Kids group focused on Spain. We have already looked at Spain with Around the World in 12 Dishes: flan and gazpacho. That exploration included stories, crafts and cooking. We have also spent some time exploring Pablo Picasso since Hazel loves his work. Even more exciting was that her art was hanging at a local museum this month and her class's art was their Picasso-inspired self portraits. Here is Hazel's.
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