September 2011

In Search of Life Balance

I have to confess that I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed for the past few weeks. Or maybe months. The feeling comes and goes, but striking the right work/life balance has been tough, and anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to sell you something. If you’re not familiar with my story, I’m a SAHM [...]

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Tin Painting for El Dia de Los Muertos

The Mexican folk art of tin painting is eye candy for little kids, such a fun medium to play with, and it’s perfect for El Dia de Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead, November 1 & 2). I used to lead this activity when I taught art in Los Angeles elementary schools, and I’ve seen [...]

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Experiment: Making Fake Snow

We’ve been making fake snow… We started by pouring a small amount of sodium polyacrylate (or fake snow) into a large tub. This material is non-toxic (although you wouldn’t want to eat it), and you’ll recognize it as the same stuff used to absorb liquid in disposable diapers. I picked up a small bag of [...]

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Painting on Wood Panel

There’s something about how the layers of paint sit on top of the wood that I find so appealing. I had to pick up two wood panels for a baby shower gift and my three year old asked if she could paint on some too. She chose three small panels, one as a housewarming gift [...]

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Leather Stamping

A few weeks ago we learned how to stamp leather. Have you ever tried this? I haven’t done this since summer camp and it was fun to revisit this good ol’ western craft. We happened upon the sweetest Hoedown in a nearby town. As a Los Angeles native, my heart always skips a beat when [...]

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New Outdoor Art Studio

Thumbnail image for New Outdoor Art Studio

Did I ever tell you that our backyard used to be a dirt patch? It would have been perfectly lovely for a team of dogs, but it’s driven me nuts since we first moved in.  I’ve tried all sorts of hacks to make it more appealing. I’m a DIY-hacky kind of girl, after all!. First, [...]

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Pop-up Paper Zoo

I love collaborating with my three-year old, so I was thrilled when she came up with this idea for me to draw animal shapes for her to color in. We don’t have coloring books in our house (aside from a mandala coloring book suggested by Jen at Paint Cut Paste), so maybe this fed some deep [...]

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I heart RAFT

I spent part of Saturday at Resource Area for Teaching (RAFT) in San Jose, CA. Despite my best efforts, I can never get out of this place in under an hour! I was first introduced to RAFT, an enormous warehouse full of all sorts of wonderful upcycled baubles and bits, when I managed the school [...]

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Straw-blown Watercolor Painting

Oh, how I love an art project with unexpected results. We took your usual watercolor painting activity and added some straws to create this loopy, drippy beautiful mess. The fun was in trying to control the flow of paint with the droppers and straws, which was near impossible, but totally worth a try. Materials Watercolor [...]

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