Project: Paper Chains

Seemingly simple art projects usually have myriad possibilities to be explored. Paper chains are one of those.
I really only thought of these as a holiday decoration, but after doing this project with a class of kindergartners, my mind has been broadened. Give a 5-year-old free rein and you'll realize there are tons of different ideas to try!





Materials:

-Scissors
-Colored paper cut in strips
-Tape
-Markers




The more colors the better! Also, cut the strips into various widths--you don't want them all to be the same size. (I'll explain why in a moment)

First of all, the basic chain link:

I used scotch tape instead of glue, because it's so much easier and faster. You don't have the mess or need to wait for the glue to dry.

So, you can make a basic paper chain to hang on the wall or string across the room for festive decoration. My boyfriend also suggested a good use that I hadn't heard of before: You create a chain with a certain number of links to count down to a special day. Each day you cut off a link (kind of like an advent calendar, but not just for Christmas). I took that idea to heart and made a chain to count down to my boyfriend's birthday...that's not until October. Needless to say it's a HUGE chain that's strung up all over his room. :)

You could try your hand at wearable paper chains:

 Necklaces! Simply a closed loop of chains.

Bracelets and rings! (variation for boys: superhero wrist bands) 

This is why I suggested cutting thinner paper strips. It'd be a good time to pull out the markers too. Obviously, I didn't measure these bracelets to be reused, since I wouldn't be able to get them off without ripping them. Just make sure your kids can slide their jewelry on and off easily if they want to wear it again. 

And you don't have to stick to a single paper loop. Your kids can try creating more complex bracelets. And they can be fun noise makers--add a bunch of links and shake. It creates a fun "shooka shooka" noise.
(And, yes, I know from trying it out myself)

Crowns, hats and masks!
This is just three wide paper strips taped together. Masks work the same way.

The ideas are really quite endless. Let the imagination run wild and you can come up with some pretty cool stuff.

If your kids make one of my projects, please send me a picture. I'd love to post it here on the blog to inspire others' creativity! E-mail me at elisabeth.preble@gmail.com

Project: Pop-up Cards

I learned how to make pop-up cards when I was very young and have enjoyed creating them ever since. It's such an easy thing to make with so many different variations to try. Pop-up cards are a great project for kids of all age ranges and skill levels. You can make a simple design, using just markers...or you can go all out and throw in feathers and glitter and tissue paper!

Materials:

-Cardstock paper (you want something that will hold its shape and not bend too easy)

-Scissors

-Markers, crayons, etc.

Other suggestions:

-yarn

-tissue paper

-glitter

-whatever else you can think of! 

Once you get the hang of making these, it's really fun to try all sorts of different materials.

To start off, fold your paper into cards. Next, I suggest drawing lightly with a pencil or making a dotted line to plot out where you want to cut. It's really easy to cut too far, and then you're making cards with holes in them (which is another project entirely). I suggest starting with a basic triangle shape, because you can create many different pictures with that as your base. 

Once you've drawn out what shape you want to create, carefully cut along your lines. Then, open the card and push the shape out. It should look something like this once you're done:

Now, you've got a lot of possibilities in front of you. Flip the card one way, and you can create a bouquet of flowers:

All I did for this was tape a piece of tissue paper to the triangle. Then, I drew some flowers, cut them out, and taped them to the back of the triangle as well. (It's easier if you draw and color the flowers first, then cut them out. Just add some extra length to the stems so they pop out enough. And tape is a lot better than glue for this, because it's easier to adjust and get things to stay put right away.)

Flip the card the other way, and you have a crown or hat on someone's head:

You could try something a little more abstract and flamboyant:

I just taped the two feathers to the back of the shape like with the flowers above. 

Once you get the basics down, you can try more complicated ideas. Turn the card on its side and you have a whole new pop-up:

I cut out another piece of cardstock and taped it to the base. Just remember to check that your card can fold up correctly when you add other pieces. 

After you master simple shapes, you can move on and try your hand at other outlines:

Hearts are always fun ones to try, and work for a variety of occasions. 

So, you can go as simple or complex as you want to. It's a very easy and fun way to let someone know you're thinking about them. 

Project: Scribble Collage

I really like making collages, it's my favorite easy art project. And there are so many variations that you can try. This for those of you especially who don't think you can draw. Everyone can scribble. I like to scribble, it's fun:

I actually draw during church....

....it helps me pay attention. Really. 

I'll scribble like crazy (sometimes closing my eyes or drawing with my left hand) and then go back and color it in. Recently I was looking at my doodles and wondered what it would look like if I cut them out and made a collage. Here's the first result:

Now how did I do that? I'll show you, it's really easy!

The fatter the marker tips the better. 

First of all, here's the materials you'll need:


-Colored paper (card stock is good, it's easier to cut out)
-Markers
-Scissors
-Tape or glue
-11in x 17in piece of paper (I used black because it's more striking) 
-Colored pencils (if you want to color in your scribbles)





Once you've got your supplies assembled, go crazy and scribble! Hold the marker in your left hand, close your eyes, look away, this is not the time for a fussy drawing. Be loose and go fast, like a little kid. You can also color the scribbles in with pencils to create more variety. You'll wind up with pages like this:

Scribble scribble scribble!

Next, cut out all your doodles. You could try those scrap booking scissors that create decorative edges. Or you can cut your scribbles into smaller pieces. You'll wind up with a big pile to create with:

Now, pull out that big piece of paper and play around with creating a nice composition. Try some different arrangements like I did before you decide to glue or tape the pieces down:

It kinda looks like a face

I played with the light settings on my camera to make it glow like this.

It's a shining abstract butterfly!

Project: Compare and Contrast

Hefty 2-Ply

Veiled Lady

Take a moment to look at these two images.

Seem pretty different at first glance, don't they? What if I told you these two pieces actually have a lot in common? Don't believe me do you? You're probably thinking, "Elisabeth, what on earth does a trash bag have to do with one of the most beloved sculptures at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts? The one is a beautiful marble carving, and the other is literally full of garbage." 

Appearances can be deceiving: that trash bag is actually carved out of marble too, and is currently on display at the Walker as part of the Lifelike exhibit. They may have been created almost 100 years apart, but both of these sculptures have similar techniques and ideas behind them. I didn't even realize this until a friend of mine pointed it out to me. In both works, the artists are showing off their skill by fooling your eye. They're both pushing the limits of the medium, making your brain think it's another material. The Veiled Lady looks like her head covering might flutter in the slightest breeze; Hefty 2-Ply seems as if it's about to fall over or burst at the seams. They're both very much products of their day, created out of the trends and fads of their respective time periods.

And yet these two pieces are also quite different as well. The Veiled Lady was created around 1860 by an Italian sculptor, Raffaelo Monti, known for his delicately carved work. The Veiled Lady seems like she might float away on a strong breeze. Monti's sculpture is romantic and alluring, showcasing the beauty of a woman with a veil over her face and flowers in her hair. His work is part of the Romanticism movement. 

In 1979, the Walker commissioned the American artist Jud Nelson to create a piece for their permanent collection. He decided to recreate a garbage bag filled with trash and spent the next two years carving it out of marble. Nelson is known for making hyper realistic sculptures of mundane things. He makes people see every day objects in a new light. I think his work relates to the ideas in the Pop Art movement.

At first, these two sculptures might not seem like they have anything in common, being created almost a century apart and as part of different art movements. And yet there are many ways in which they relate to each other, not just because they're made from the same material, but also by playing with viewers' perception of what's real.

Okay, so what I just did is known as Compare and Contrast. It's one of the most basic and commonly assigned essays any art student has to write. I did a very pared down version for you, but it's basically the same format whether someone is writing one page or ten pages:

Introduce the two pieces. 

Say what's different about them. 

Now how are they similar? (or vice versa) 

Conclusion. 

Each of those sentences could be a paragraph or a page, it's really based on how much detail you want/need to go into. And you don't have to get fancy or do a lot of research either. I looked up both of these sculptures starting with Google, then moved on to their respective museum websites. I could have gotten pretty much the same information by partaking in tours at the Walker and Minneapolis Art Institute as well. 

The reason I classified this post under the Project heading is because it's easy to replicate and is just as important to art education as creating work. Doing this exercise helps refine thinking and observation skills. It's also helpful for students to reflect on what they know by not just repeating facts. I always found in school that something stuck better when I wrote or talked about it rather than simply studying for a test. 

And this assignment can be adjusted for any grade level and doesn't have to be about ART per say. A kindergartner can say what the similarities and differences are between oranges and apples. Elementary students can paste images on a poster and write a list. Junior and senior high students can do research and write essays of varying depth. From personal experience, college students write 12 page term papers utilizing this same basic idea. 

Your kids could pick two comic book or video game characters, images from an art history textbook, clothing by two different fashion designers, pieces on display in a museum, etc. I think you get the idea. In a nutshell, it's what two things have in common and what they don't and providing some proof to back it up. 

Project: Simple wire sculpture

Here's a very simple project that leaves room for a lot of creativity across a wide range of skill levels. Create a sculpture using simple craft supplies: buttons, beads, feathers and pipe cleaners.

Picture from The Artful Parent

Project: Book binding

For the creative kid who wants to try their hand at something new, I discovered this two part tutorial that walks you through binding your own book. There are pictures and in-depth instructions every step of the way.
Part 1 lays out all the materials and prep work, showing you how to sew the pages together. Part 2 tells you how to add the cover and complete the process.
You do have to download the file to see the text (just click "Download Image" just to the right).

Project: How to make a plush toy

Here's a how-to that walks you through making a simple plush toy out of craft felt. The Basic Plush Toy Tutorial is perfect for beginners (that's who the author says it's aimed at). It's an easy template for your kids to get creative with and add more elements to.

Project: How to make a fleece hat

Here in Minnesota at this time of year, it's important to be properly covered when you go out in the cold. I came across a very simple how-to for making an easy polar fleece hat. The Fleece Hat Tutorial walks you through the process step-by-step, with a bunch of accompanying pictures. The author used a solid colored fabric to make it easier to see what she did, but I would go for a fun pattern myself.

Something like this!

Project: Paper beads

I came across two in-depth how-to's today for creating beads out of paper. The author of both tutorials, going by the name Crimefish on Deviantart, is an extremely talented artist. Her highly detailed pencil drawings are amazing to behold.

I would suggest this project for older kids, as it requires fine motor skills, lots of scissor usage and using nail polish as a varnish. My sisters and I greatly enjoyed making paper beads when we were kids. The way we made them was with one long triangle shape of paper. We just used glue and no varnish, which is why our beads probably fell apart so easily.

In the first, Paper Picture Bead Tutorial, you cut out colored paper to decorate beads made from printer paper.
The second, Paper Bead Bracelet Tutorial, shows you how to make colorful charms from magazine pages, and how to make a bracelet with the beads.

If your kids love making these, there are innumerable variations out there, just Google "Paper beads." You can also have a stockpile of beads to pull out when your kids are bored or want to do a fun activity with friends. We just kept our extras in an old plastic ice cream bucket. 

Project: Pasta Sculptures

You can do so much more with pasta than just gluing macaroni to construction paper. This project is a good example of a little prep work that yields some creative fun.

The Chocolate Muffin Tree (love the name!) has a lot of fun ideas (not just about art) from a creative mom of a preschooler. 

Happy Valentine's Day

To you, my readers! Thank you for spurring me on to keep being creative!

I made this with a class of kindergartners today. 

What a great way to celebrate Valentine's Day! 

If you're wondering, it's crayons and watercolor paints on cardstock paper. The holes, made with a paper punch, were for threading yarn through (which I didn't have time to do as I was helping smaller hands figure that out). The cool thing about crayons, they're what's known as a "resist." Watercolor paints won't stick to them. So you draw with the crayons first, then paint over the picture and the paint stays off your drawing. You can make some pretty cool effects with that. I was just playing around and showing the kids different things to try.
The drips on the upper left are also fun to create. You glob some very wet paint down and then blow really hard to get it to spread out.
There's nothing better than handmade Valentines.

Resources: Dough recipes

MaryAnn Kohl posted some recipes for various kinds of modeling dough (some edible!) from her book, Mudworks. Here's the link to four recipes you can try out, from Goop to Play Clay to Bakers Clay to Pretzel Dough. I'm a big fan of art you can eat, so I want to try my hand at the Pretzel Dough - it sounds tasty! :)

Artist: Ben Heine

I've seen Ben Heine's work before in the past, but have just now discovered the name behind the fun pictures. He makes deceptively simple images that are full of whimsy and play.

Pencil vs. Camera #30 by Ben Heine

Over on DeviantArt, there's a nice write up about him along with a great interview that spurred this blog. You can browse through the Pencil vs. Camera series (which is my favorite), the Digital Circlism series (a play on Pointillism), and more.

Pencil vs. Camera #59 by Ben Heine

In the Pencil vs. Camera series, Heine takes a picture of a real place, then creates a drawing that overlays part of the scene that plays with your perception of what you're seeing. This would be a really fun project for your kids to try their hands at as well!

Project: Design a Book Cover

This post from my employer inspired me today. Have your kids design a cover for their favorite book. (Or if they're into video games, have them come up with a poster that would advertise their favorite game.) What image would say the most about the story? Is there a specific color that shares the mood of what's written inside? Looking at the covers in the post I shared, you see that simple designs can be more powerful than ones that have a lot of clutter in them.

I'd love to see what you come up with! You can always e-mail me pictures of what you create: elisabeth.preble@gmail.com

Project: Christmas tree

'Tis the season....of holiday crafts! It's an excuse to pull out all the glitter and jewels and make something pretty. I just did this project today with a group of kindergartners and they had a blast bedazzling their trees. 

I don't know if you can see, but there was some....unconventional materials used. One little boy decked out his tree with googly eyes. 

Materials:

-Cardstock or some other heavy duty paper

-Markers

-Glitter glue (easier to use and less mess than regular glitter)

-Glue

-Jewels, buttons, pom poms, feathers

I printed out a tree shape, cut it out and used it like a stencil so I could make multiples. Here's the template I used:

I liked having the tree in outline, because then I could color it in and make a pattern. I suggest coloring the tree first, then gluing stuff onto it. 

After coloring the tree, drawing ornaments, adding buttons and jewels was my favorite part: glitter! I like glitter glue in bottles, because it's waaaaay easier to control and there's less mess. For my tree, I made wavy lines then patted it down with my finger. Make sure you let it dry completely before hanging it on the refrigerator. Nothing worse than a masterpiece falling apart on display. 

Ta-da!

10 uses for pipe cleaners

I love pipe cleaners! They're so versatile and can be used in many ways. Here's a top ten list, just off the top of my head, of different uses for those fuzzy, bendy things.

1. Jewelry! Pipe cleaners can be turned into rings, necklaces, pins. No glue needed (except if you want to put a clip on the the back).

2. Creatures! Like balloon animals, but without the threat of them popping or deflating. From simple outlines to complex creations with googly eyes added for more personality, let your imagination run wild.

3. Flowers! From a simple little bloom to a whole bouquet, you can create flowers that will never need water or wilt.

4. Christmas ornaments! "Tis the season" as I write this so it seems appropriate.You can make a candy cane by simply twisting red and white pipe cleaners together, as this example shows.

5. Personalized napkin rings! At my house, every person has their own napkin holder (not made from pipe cleaners though). If you've never tried that, your kids can try their hand at making their own.

6. Pencil topper! Your kids will never lose their pencils again, because they won't want to lose these.

7. Hair pieces (or fascinators, as our British friends call them). Maybe not quite as over the top as this picture, but your kids could make a crown or something like that.

8. Decorations! You can make a quirky centerpiece for your table or fireplace mantle.Instead of paper chains, you can substitute pipe cleaners (which again means no glue!).

9. Gift wrapping! Instead of ribbon or string, try accenting your gifts with pipe cleaners instead. It's easier for little hands to create a bow with that material too.

10. Shoelaces! Your young kids might like this--they could match the color to their outfit. Use the cushy plush pipe cleaners for this.

Do you have any other suggestions to try? Any fun ideas I didn't think of?