Tutorial: Egg Carton Flower Wreath

Spring has arrived and flowers are starting to bloom. Over at St. Christopher's, teachers are posting all sorts of lovely work with the theme of all things spring! I wanted to make a cheap but colorful wreath for my door. So I grabbed some egg cartons, scissors, watercolors and glue and you can too! Here's a super quick tutorial for you all (I'm sure kiddos could do this too)

You will need:
Paper Egg Cartons
Scissors
Watercolors (any kind works)
Paintbrush
Hot Glue (craft glue might work as well
Cardboard

Cut between the egg carton spots and create flower shapes: Some of mine are a bit abstract, some long and some short. Remember this is a playful wreath. Once cut, paint with watercolors. The carton will soak up a lot of the water and color in the first layer, so I did a light first coat of mostly water and then went over it with a lot more of the hue. Remember, it will dry a bit lighter!

While your flowers dry, cut a circle from the cardboard to whatever size you want your wreath to be. Cut a center circle to create your desired width.

Once the flowers are completely dry, hot glue them onto the cardboard form. Optional: hot glue a ribbon on the back for hanging your wreath.

And there you have it...your wreath is done! Hang and enjoy! Super simple but super cheery. Spring: here I come!

Tutorial: Origami Sphere

 

I have been making these origami balls ever since my elementary art teacher taught me in 4th grade. That's right, 4th grade! I have no clue how I have remembered this for all these years but I'm certainly glad I did. I recently taught my 5th graders how to make these and many made some at home!  Since then, I have gotten quite a few requests on how to make them. So here is my attempt at showing you how through pictures. If you have any questions just shoot me an email or comment on this post and I will try and help you out! 

Tips: 

 -I suggest using 6in by 6in paper (traditional origami size) for the first time round because the smaller it is the harder. 

 -Try making them all different sizes and hanging them! It would make for a gorgeous arrangement for a party or event! 

-Make the edges nice a crisp by using the back of your thumbnail, and bone folder or even a popsicle stick to create a crisp fold.

Click for full post.

Make Your Own Brushes Tutorial

Texture...I absolutely love it!  I love introducing it in my students' paint and collage projects it tends to help them grasp implied texture quite well.  Now, I do have some textured stamps for my kids to use but why not have some brushes too!  Here's a super easy way to make some fun brushes for kids to explore texture and paint with!
You will need:  Tape (electrical or something waterproof is best)
                          Broken brush handles (Popsicle sticks works well too)
                          Pipe-cleaners, foam or anything that would make an awesome brush!
                          Scissors
First brush is made with foam.  All I did was cut fringe, wrapped it around the brush handle and then taped.  It's as easy as that! With the red one I just folded the foam in half first. 
This one was made by bending a pipe-cleaner into a flower shape. My Preschoolers loved this one a lot! I made a slew of different brushes.  My favorite is the deconstructed flower centers.  Simply take a silk flower apart but reassemble the stem with the plastic center.  I will say some turned out better than others so experiment and make some exciting art! Below is some paper my second graders made for their Eric Carle project.  I think he would be proud, so many beautiful papers and textures!