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Inside Out Design

This is a fun, one-day project for kids that teaches about positive and negative space and is good for spatial awareness. I taught this to my 1st graders and most of them understood the concepts and some of them needed help. First, positive space is the shape you cut out of the paper. Negative space is the shape left behind. You will need one sheet of background paper 8.5″ x 11″ and a color rectangle of paper that is half … Read more…

Cardboard Shape Art Project

Cardboard Shape Art Project

Happy New Year! I hope you all have had a relaxing and restful holidays and are ready for the new year. Today I have some cardboard shape pictures to share with you that my 2nd graders created. We first looked at the artist Marcus Oakley and his cardboard shape pictures for inspiration. Students could create an abstract picture or a picture that represented something. We used pre-cut shapes as well as shapes the students cut on their own. Thinner cardboard … Read more…

Birds Activity for Kids Free Printable Downloads

Hi! The winner of the Createures game is Karen Riehle. Congrats! I love GIVEAWAYS. Another one will be coming soon in the next couple of weeks! (Amazon Affiliate links have been used at no cost to you.) Candlewick Press sent me a review copy of the book Birds by Carme Lemniscates, along with a few free activity downloads to share with you. See the bottom of this blog post for the bird activity printable downloads. Birds is a thoughtful, poetic homage … Read more…

Spooky Haunted House Art Project for Kids

Spooky Haunted House Art Project for Kids

I got the idea for this spooky haunted house picture from this picture I found online. For the background, we did a marker ink printing process using washable markers on plastic ziploc bags. I learned this technique from Lauralee Chambers who does it using tin foil. You simply color with washable markers on a plastic bag, spray with water and then press your paper on the bag and rub the back. I love the mysterious effect it has on these … Read more…

3 Back to School Ideas

During the first week of school, you want to be teaching routines and expectations for your art class. I always like to ease into the school year with some simple, yet creative projects to get to know my students. I am going to share with you three fun Back-to-School ideas that you can try in your art classroom. 1. Creative Backpack My students used the template created by Hey Art Mama to make these creative backpacks. (I do not receive … Read more…

Decoupaged Stool and Romero Britto Inspired Hearts Canvas

My students and I recently made two colorful artworks for our school fundraiser. We painted a stool with acrylic paints. I had kids from grades K-3 come up two or three at a time to take turns painting the sections. After the base layer was dry, we used magazine cutout words to decoupage the stool. Black sharpies were also used to outline and accent the edges. Students in grades K-3 helped with this project and I had some older kids … Read more…

Notre Dame Cathedral Art Projects- Stained Glass Windows

After the devastating fire this week at the Notre Dame cathedral, I put some of my previously planned lessons on hold. We are making a bulletin board in tribute of the Notre Dame cathedral. One of my classes is making some stunning and highly detailed pen drawings of parts of the cathedral and the gargoyles. Watercolor washes will be added to the background. I am super impressed with how these are coming along, but none are finished to show you … Read more…