January 2012

Organizing Art Supplies: Pantry Labels

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I know you probably come here for projects to work on with your kids, and I have loads of ideas for you, but I got a burst of energy from a “pantry organization” search on Pinterest (see, poking around online is not a waste of your time!), and got busy sorting my pantry. Very busy. [...]

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Chalkboard Painted Canvas

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“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Pablo Picasso Chalkboards…I love them. You? The texture, the dust, and contrast are oh-so-appealing. When I started to see them disappear from classrooms in favor of dry erase boards, I was a little bit shocked. Dry erase boards are wonderful too, but they’ll [...]

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Why We Would Be Lost Without Tape

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Are you a “Tape House?” We love tape in our house, and it gets used for just about everything: taping up wax paper sandwich bags, taping labels to things, taping art table creations together, taping up marble runs, taping up whimsical installations. A roll of clear tape is a fixture on the art table and [...]

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Organizing Art Supplies: Day Two

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This is the second edition of a new series where I’m sharing my messy spaces and process of organizing as I strive to build a more beautiful, accesible, and relaxing space for living and creating (here’s the first post). My friend and professional organizer, Jillian, is spearheading this project — it helps to have company — and [...]

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10 Steps for Easy Indoor Easel Painting

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Some of us are totally comfortable setting up the easel and letting our kids have a go, but I know others who want to hide under a freshly laundered sheet at the thought of setting up what’s essentially a painting extravaganza. And you may be surprised to learn that I can easily fall into both camps! [...]

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What MaryAnn F. Kohl Can Teach Us About Fostering Literacy Through Art

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Today I’m excited to be joined by the ever-inspiring children’s art book author, MaryAnn F. Kohl. MaryAnn’s books helped me prepare lessons in my teaching days and have since become dog-eared favorites in my life as a parent. I now own eight of her books and constantly turn to them for ideas. Because MaryAnn is [...]

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Self-serve Valentines for Kids

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I’m working on a project with the San Francisco Children’s Creativity Museum, and one of the ideas we’re playing with is to create a buffet-style selection of materials for children to choose from in our DIY art zone. I’ll share some of our activities with you soon, but in the meantime I thought you might [...]

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Join the Next Creative Challenge

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One year ago I started this series of Creative Challenges with a toilet paper/loo roll challenge. The series began on a small scale and has grown along with my blog to include a generous sponser [Kiwi Crate] and a host of talented bloggers and non-blogging friends who focus on process-oriented projects with their children or [...]

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Toddler Art: Glue Dots and Buttons

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“Art is skill, that is the first meaning of the word.” - Eric Gill Since she was 15 months old, gluing small objects to paper has been one of Baby Rainbow’s favorite activities (second to climbing into a big bin of cloud dough…sigh). We’ve also done this with sequins, feathers, and pom-poms, but I find that she [...]

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