The Craft Playground - Blog

Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:25:01 +0700

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future is a book by Daniel H. Pink that gives a lot of support for the arts in education. He makes a case for the need to be creative, inventive, empathetic, meaningful in order to be successful in the future. The purely logical, linear skills will not suffice in a world where computer programs can take the place of jobs while other jobs are shipped overseas. This book elevates the skills of artists, and the skills prioritized by art education, to an essential level, and shows us what some of us knew all along--you have to have art.

Fun Jack-o-lanterns

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:10:08 +0700

Make Your Own Circus

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:07:59 +0700

Here's a video of Alexander Calder performing is "Circus". This has been on display in museums and featured in art history books for decades. Let your kids watch what he has done with some wire, clay and found objects, combining artistic thinking with scientific thinking, craftsmanship and fun!

Save Your Bottle Caps!

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:30:57 +0700

In honor of Earth Day, I wanted to share a really amazing artist who works with recycled materials and with kids to create truly amazing works of art...

Michele Stitzlein is an Ohio artist who makes captivating murals and outdoor installations with plastic bottle caps. When I first discovered her work, I immediately wanted to do a project with my kids based on her technique. But since it would take months to collect enough bottle caps, I thought I'd write about it first. These are like large-scale mosaics made from the caps of juice bottles, water bottles, milk cartons, etc. They are colorful and exciting images of butterflies, flowers, even Van Gogh's Starry Night. And they are made from caps that most people throw away.

Everyone loves an art project that results in a fun, beautiful product that they can't stop looking at. But great art lessons for kids, in my opinion, also involve a few other qualities: 1) the opportunity to be creative and expressive with materials, 2) a new perspective on materials (I never thought bottle caps could be so beautiful!), and 3) connections to artists or other connections to the world around them. Michelle Stitzlein's work gives you all of this.

So, in the interest of art, save your bottle caps! And while you're building up your collection, here is a project for you: Give your child one item that would otherwise be thrown away--a container, a lid, a cookie wrapper--whatever you think might trigger some kind of creative spark. Tell them to think of something they can make with that item. Let them think about it, and make it a fun challenge. If they need some help, give them one additional suggestion. Like "What if you also had some string? Then what could you make with it?" or "What if you painted it?" or "Turn it upside down. Now what could it be?" Let them imagine what it could be. Then give them the materials to make it.

And if they think trash is trash? Show them Michelle's web site. Then tell them to think again.

Supersize it

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:21:50 +0700

There's something to the "supersize" concept. Sometimes, things just seem more exciting when they're super big. So, for a new twist on arts & crafts projects, let's try making them extra large! You might be able to breathe new life into some old favorites or get your kids to think about things in a little bit of a different way.

My daughter and I made these extra large tissue paper flowers. We'd made paper flowers before, so the idea wasn't such a new one. We just needed some decorations for Daddy's birthday, so we decided to make some flowers. But when she saw that I was folding a full sheet of tissue paper in quarters, she became a little more interested. The extra large flowers were so cheerful and fun!

Try these other ideas for working on a large scale...

-Pull a great big piece of paper from a paper roll and tape it up on a wall. Let the kids draw whatever they want. Tell them to think big. What could be big enough to fill that paper? What if something grew to be as big as that paper? What would it look like? Let them come back to it over a few sessions, and see how their drawing grows.

-If you have a blank wall, maybe in the basement or even in the garage, tape up some paper, and make one central subject like a tree. Let the kids decorate around it by cutting and taping leaves, animals, whatever might surround it. Again, this is a great project to keep coming back to again and again. Maybe something that you could work on for weeks and see what happens.

-Remember when you were in school and your teacher roled out some big paper on the floor, told you to lay down on it, then traced around you? This is a great project. Let your kids decorate their paper bodies however they like. You might suggest that they try out different techniques to show different textures on their bodies--like torm paper collage for a fuzzy sweater, strands of yarn for hair, fabric collage for pants, etc. Or you might suggest that they make a collage of their body parts, showing heart, lungs, muscles, etc. Let them interpret what these parts might look like, then take a look at a book and talk about the details. You can also have fun with just blocks of colored paint on these life-size paper people. Check out artist Jonathan Borofsky for some larger-than-life examples.

Valentine Fun, No Pressure

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 18:01:53 +0700

I seem to have gotten behind. I haven't posted any new crafts since the beginning of the year, and I apologize. But I'll also take the opportunity to admit that even people who enjoy doing crafts, who rank arts & crafts projects at the top of the list of things to do with kids, sometimes get busy.

It's not that my kids haven't had a crayon or a pair of scissors in their hands, but it's more like we just don't have an new techniques or snazzy products to show for it. I had all these visions of adorable Valentine's day projects for everyone--friends, classmates, grandparents, teachers. But we've only managed to do a couple of them so far.

So for all of you who are too busy to make elaborate valentines, here are some really simple things you can do. And most of them require very little of your time or materials. Just get the kids started, and encourage them to keep thinking artfully...

1. Cut out a heart shape from a piece of cardstock or cardboard. Feel free to use a cereal box or other recycled cardboard, because it's not going to show when you're finished. Make the heart as big as you can. Now give your kids glitter glue, sequins, buttons, paint, whatever you have in your craft cabinet. Tell them to think about someone they love, and decorate this heart for them. See what happens.

2. Take 5 pieces of computer paper or construction paper. Staple them together at one edge to make a book. Tell your child to illustrate a "Love Book". Ask them to think about people they love and draw or write about them...whatever they can think of. You'll surely have a book worth keeping.

3. Give your child a piece of paper, as big as you have available. Give them crayons or markers or both. Ask them who or what they love. Tell them to draw as much love as they can. Have your child sign and date it. Maybe you'll do this again next year and start a book that will be a record of what made your child think of love each year.

4. Find some red and pink paper. Whole pieces, scraps, even magazine ads, etc. are all fine, keeping with the red & pink theme. Let your child cut shapes from these papers and glue them onto another page to make a collage. Tell them to keep adding more (this will help teach them that projects can sometimes be fun if you keep working on them) until they have a jam-packed red & pink collage. Think about cutting out a small rectangle and letting them write their name or "I Love You" or a short note to their valentine. Glue this piece on the corner of the collage. Now you have a frame-worthy piece of art for a special valentine.

Crafts for the New Year

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:28:01 +0700

Happy New Year, everyone. You've all made resolutions to make more crafts with your kids, right? To be more artistic, help the kids stretch their imaginations, and just spend more quality time with the family, right?

The Craft Playground is here to help you. Ideas and projects for encouraging arts & crafts with kids are here, using simple, low or no cost materials. And the only thing required of you is the willingness to give it a try.

The "Recycled Art" projects section has just been re-organized into a blog format that will enable you to more easily find the projects that suit your needs. They also allow you to make comments on individual crafts. So please feel free to comment, and take a look at other viewers thoughts on the projects.

Have a peaceful and artful new year.

Make it a Merry Christmas

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:47:12 +0700

Happy Holidays, everyone!

I realize that although winter break may seem like a good opportunity to do some art projects with your kids, it's also a time when you have a myriad of things to get done. So you might not have the time or patience to get crafty with your kids. Let me remind you of one of the true benefits of getting your kids interested in arts & crafts: sometimes, they can occupy themselves. Let them have some creative time while you clean, bake, wrap, or whatever it is that you need to do in these last couple of days before the holiday. Here are a few ideas. (You decide what it really age-appropriate for your kids, but the idea is to give them some simple materials and open-ended possibilites.)

--Just drawing: My very favorite activity. Give them some crayons and a big stack of paper. Tell them to think about the holiday, draw winter, draw snow, or something like that. See what they come up with. I bet you'll love it.

--Easy gifts: I had a stack of paper strips about 2" x 11" left over from the holiday cards we made. I gave a bunch to my daughter and suggested that they might make nice bookmarks. She loved the idea and made a few for herself as well as one for every family member we will see during the holidays. She wrote their names on the front ad drew a picture of them on the back. She asked a lot of questions like, "What color eyes does she have?" and "What color shirt do you think she'd like to wear?" It was a nice activity for her, and I can't wait to see her present them to everyone on Christmas.

--Ornaments: Same stack of paper stips, different purpose. My daughter thought of this on her own. She cut the paper into shorter rectangles, made holes all around the edges with a hole punch (which are really relatively safe even for pre-schoolers), drew a design and looped a scrap piece of ribbon through one of the holes. I love having this ornament that is completely her own, not made from some craft kit or recipe (not that craft recipes are all bad!)

--Placecards: If you are having a "kids table" at your holiday gathering, perhaps your kids would like to make the placecards. Let them trace a cookie cutter shape onto paper (star, gingerbread man, or some other festive shape), then cut it out and decorate it. If they're not so scissors-savvy, you can cut it out for them after they've decorated it. Let them make many and use the extras for gift tags, decorations, or ornaments.

I hope this helps. Have a crafty holiday!

5 (Crafty) Uses for a Tissue Box

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:34:38 +0700

Grown-ups can think creatively about recycled materials too. Here are some ideas (with easy craft potential) for re-using tissue boxes.

1. If it's pretty, use it for a gift box. Put a gift inside and stick tissue paper (the gift wrap kind, not the blow-your-nose kind) out of the top. Instant gift box. (If it's not pretty, you can decorate it. See our "New Gift Wrap" under Holiday projects.)

2. Plastic bag dispenser. Of course, you're cutting down on plastic bags by taking your re-usabel bags to the grocery, right? But if you still have some plastic bags around, roll them up, stuff them into an empty tissue box, and you have a plastic bag dispenser. Decorate it for baby's room and now you have a great changing table accessory.

3. Kids' toy storage. Cover them with brightly colored paper and label them. Better yet, let your kids decorate and label them. Put little toys in them, barrettes, matchbox cars, princess jewelry...whatever little things are all over your house. Put them on a shelf. Clutter-free and cost-free fun.

4. Mini trash can. Maybe it's because we do a lot of crafty stuff, but it seems like we always need a trash can nearby. Keep an empty tissue box near your kids' craft supplies for depositing scrap papers (then use those scraps for another project later). Or put it in the car for those snack wrappers that seem to get left in the back seat. Or put it on the nightstand on those sniffly nights for used tissues that might otherwise find their way to the floor. For any of these uses, you can make a fun project by letting your kids decorate it--how about covering it in green paper and makeing a face with the opening as the mouth? Oscar the Grouch trash can.

5. Craft materials receptacle. Keep one handy so you can keep potential craft materials that would otherwise be trash. Consider keeping it near your other recycling container, so you can deposit bottle caps, misplaced buttons, paper clips, or other small stuff that you want to keep for later.

Recycling...nothing to sneeze at.

Homemade holidays

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:06:43 +0700

The sales are in full swing, Santa is as ubiquitous as Starbucks, and houses are lit up like carnivals. There's no denying that the holiday season is here. Now is they time that people start getting a little crazy about gifts--selecting gifts, wrapping gifts, what they want, what they need, and how they can save money and still have it all. Since I've been circling the mommy blogs and craft sites, I've seen numerous requests for DIY ideas and thoughts about how to make the holidays special without spending a fortune. So, I'm here to do my part. Here are some gift ideas that let you show off your thoughtfulness and creativity (and that of your children):

1. A holiday book. Work with your child to make a book for grandparents or other special people. Come up with a theme that your child can write/draw about--something like "What does Peace mean" or "What do the holidays mean" or "Things l like about winter" or "A story about my family". The theme should be open ended enough that your child can get creative and write/draw several pages about it. Set your child up with crayons and computer paper and let them create. Think about doing one or two pages a day until you have enough for a book (let's say 8-10 pages). To make the cover, get two pieces of poster board or card stock the same size as the pages or slightly larger. Let your child write the title or draw on a 5 x 7 piece of paper, and affix this to the cardstock. Hole-punch two holes along the edge of the cover and pages, and string a ribbon through, tying the bow in front. That's a simple and priceless gift.

2. A family scrapbook. Another great way to present memories to a relative, collect some of your child's artwork (I'm sure you've saved some this year). Scan, photocopy, or photograph them so that you have pages all the same size. These will be the pages of your scrapbook. Now, gather together family photos from throughout the year and glue them to the art pages. Talk with your child to come up with captions for the photos and write them, or type them and cut out labels. Bind the book as mentioned above (under Holiday Book) and use another photo for the cover.

3. Paint-your-own pottery. Terracotta pots are very inexpensive, and offer a great opportunity for a low-cost hand-painted gift. See our "Paint your own pottery" project under Recycled Art for the detailed instructions. And give some thought to the saucers (the little trays that go under the pot). You can have your child paint these (or paint them yourself) and give them as jewelry holders, catch-alls, coasters, or pillar candle holders. Or even as a painted plaque that can be hung on the wall. Try using letter stamps and paint to spell "JOY" or some other festive sentiment.

4. Jewels for kids. For kids gifts, glue-on rhinestones from the craft store can make just about anything look as good as real jewels. I saw my daughter's friend squeal in happiness at the sight of a bejeweled necklace my daughter made for her. So if your child is giving gifts to a friend or cousin (and if that friend or cousin is into sparkly stuff), you might want to buy a pack of gems for a few dollars. Try making the simple necklace (see instructions under Recycled Art). Or try adorning an inexpensive headband with some of these gems. Glue them on the top of a baby food jar or a small plain box to make a keepsake box that shines. Glue them onto a longer box to make a pencil case, and add the child's name with permanent marker or sticker letters. Remember, the sparklier the better.

5. Just plain art. For a special relative or friend, a child's painting or drawing can be the most special keepsake. Get an inexpensive frame and mat for your child's drawing and give a masterpiece. (Also see a canvas painting option under Paint & More.)