Tag Archives: homeschool projects

Our Imaginations! Groovy Buttons!

Our Imaginations! Groovy Buttons!
Our Imaginations! Groovy Buttons!
Groovy Buttons

Groovy Buttons in different shapes and sizes

 

Read: Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin.

“Pete the Cat puts on his favorite shirt with four, big, colorful, round, groovy buttons.”

But one by one, the buttons pop off and roll away. He realizes that he doesn’t have any buttons on his favorite shirt:

4 – 1 = 3

3 – 1 = 2

2 – 1 =1

1 – 1 = 0

Pete the Cat’s button less shirt opens up and what does he see? His belly button!

What can you do with your buttons?

Project:

Use buttons to decorate…anything! Use your imagination!

List of things to decorate with buttons:

Journal cover

T-shirt

Sneakers

Picture frame

Sunglasses

Book bag or any kind of bag

Materials:

Glue

Lots of buttons

Needle and thread (if you know how to sew)

 

Alternative Project: Make your own buttons

Materials:

Modeling clay in different colors

Pencil

Make small balls and flatten them. Poke four holes in the center with the pencil. What will you do with your handmade buttons?

 

*copyright Art work by Marion Constantinides 2015

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Summer Camp: A Tale of Three Rubbings

Summer Camp: A Tale of Three Rubbings

Materials:

Thin paper like rice paper or bond paper

Any kind of crayons including Wax crayons

Graphite

Textured surfaces: chain link fences, tombstones, bricks, sidewalks, gratings, certain fabrics

 

  1. Find an interesting raised surface to rub. For the first rubbing, select a surface and rub with either the graphite or one of the wax crayons.
  2. For the second rubbing, rub with a different wax crayon on another surface or on the same surface. The shift the paper up or down or sideways, rubbing the surface with another color or the graphite.
  3. For the third rubbing, select two or three colors and two or three surfaces to rub. Use only one sheet of paper for this. Select a color and rub the first surface with it. Rub the second surface with a second crayon. Rub the third surface with a third color or the graphite.
  4. Do you notice a pattern created with the different colors and surfaces? Insert your best rubbing in a poster frame and hang on the wall of your bedroom.
  5. Alternative Project: Rubbings also make great greeting or note cards. Cut a blank piece of paper in half. Cut the rubbing and paste it to the front of the folded paper.  Cut the rubbing smaller still and you can make gift tags the same way as the greeting card.

 

For more ideas on rubbings:

All-Around-the-House Art and Craft Book by Patricia Z. Wirtenberg

Arts and Crafts Activities Desk Book by Joyce Novis Laskin.

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Summer Camp: Textured Prints

Summer Camp: Textured Prints
Textured Print

Textured Print

  Materials: Printer’s ink, black and two colors Glass surface Brayer Lightweight paper (rice or bond) Cleaner Rags

  1. Squeeze a line of black ink on the flat piece of glass. Roll the brayer over it and back and forth on the glass. Cover the brayer with ink.
  2. Find a very rough surface i.e., woven fabric, a collage of leaves, brick, stone, etc. Place the paper over this surface. Hold it firmly with one hand as you roll the inked brayer back and forth over it.
  3. Ink the brayer again and try another textured surface on a clean sheet of paper.
  4. Clean the glass and brayer thoroughly and wait to dry.
  5. Squeeze ink in the second color on to the glass and roll the brayer over it. Coat the entire brayer with the ink.
  6. Roll that color over a clean sheet of paper on another surface or roll the new color over the first sheet inked in black. Try different combinations of the two colors and black and different surfaces.
  7. Frame the finished textured prints or use them to make notecards.

ALTERNATIVE PROJECT:

Two textured collages,the one superimposed over the second, resulted in the textured print pictured above. The print was first printed in black ink rolled over a collage made of strings arranged in a pattern and glued to a board.  Geometric patterns made from poster board comprised a second collage. After the black ink dried, the print was placed on top of this second collage. Brown ink was rolled over the geometric shapes creating the design.

 

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Summer Camp: Windsock

Summer Camp: Windsock
Windsocks

Windsocks

 

Materials:

One sheet craft foam any color

One bandana any color or design or scrap of fabric (Ribbon is a good substitute)

Ink pen or fabric marker

Additional craft foam in various colors or craft papers in assorted colors

Patterns

Peel ‘n Stick Adhesive tape

Glue

Scissors

Hole punch

  1. Trace and cut patterns provided (below) on to the large craft foam.
  2. Adhere the adhesive tape to the back of the patterns, peel the back off and arrange them on to one side of the craft foam sheets (i.e., use green foam for the leaves, yellow foam for the daisies, etc) or use glue.
  3. Run a line of glue or the adhesive tape down the length of one short edge of the craft foam. Fold down the opposite edge of the craft foam and press to form an oblong windsock.
  4. Cut 1” slits along one edge of the bandanna or fabric and tear to form long strips.
  5. Punch three evenly spaced holes along the edge of the windsock. Insert a strip of fabric or bandanna into each hole. Make a knot to hold the strip in place. Gather the opposite ends of the fabric trips and tie them together into one knot.
  6. Punch evenly spaced holes along the bottom edge of the windsock for the remaining strips of fabric. Or cut small slits and poke the fabric through with the scissors. Place each fabric strip into each hole and knot each to secure in place.

Airports use windsocks to show wind direction and relative wind speed but they are also used for decorative purposes. Windsocks made of paper and silk originated in China and Japan. The ancient Romans used windsocks as military banners.

For more information go to www.ehow.com

 

 

 

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Banner Designs: Fall Banner

Banner Designs: Fall Banner

WHAT IS A BANNER?

A banner is a piece of cloth suspended between two poles and often bearing a design, symbol or slogan. Banners can celebrate the seasons, holidays or bear slogans. The designs in this series of Art Tutorials celebrate summer, spring, winter and fall.

(For the first tutorial, the Fall Banner, scroll down.)

MATERIALS

Here are some basic supplies that you will need on hand for all the banner designs:

Yardstick iron/ironing board (optional) string

Ball point pen or marker scissors tacky glue

Dowel rods Fun Foam pencil/eraser

Poster board felt or fabric squares paper towels

*Unless indicated otherwise, all felt squares should measure 9” x 12” and all sheets of Fun Foam measure 12’ x 18”.

STUFF TO KNOW

How to copy a pattern: Trace a pattern or object by placing tracing paper on its surface and tracing the design with a pencil. Turn the tracing paper over and blacken the reverse side. Then flip the tracing paper original side up again. Lay the tracing paper on the surface you want the design to transfer on to and trace the outline of the design.

Cutting a Square:

Technique #1: Measure with a ruler the desired size of the square. Draw the outline of the square.

Technique #2: Hold the paper flat and bring the top right corner down to the left edge. Then fold the paper so the edges  line up on the left side. Cut off the extra strip of paper and unfold the square.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Holz, Loretta. Mobiles You Can Make. New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Company, 1965

Zubrowski, Bernie. Mobiles: Building and Experimenting with Balancing Toys. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1993.

Constantinides, Marion. Banners! (Unpublished)

 

FALL BANNER

Fall Banner Design

Ages: 5 – 12 years

Time: ½ hour – 1 hour

MATERIALS:

Yellow felt 36” x 36”

Burgundy felt square

Beige or Brown felt square

Orange felt square

Green felt square

1. Measure and trim yellow felt to 14” x 20”. Holding the felt vertically, fold a 1” seam. Iron. Fold a second 1” seam. Iron again. Glue down with tacky glue. Let dry. This is where you will insert the dowel rod.

2. Using the patterns provided, cut one dark red, one green, and one orange leaf from the two large patterns. Do the same for the two small leaf patterns. Arrange on the yellow felt background in a random pattern (as if the leaves are falling from a tree.)

3. Trace and cut two acorns from the beige Fun Foam. Arrange on the banner. Using a black marker or pain, draw a cross hatch pattern at the top of the acorns. Draw vines down the centers of the leaves, too.

4. Glue the pieces with tacky glue.

5. Cut the dowel rod to about 16” – 18”. Insert through the top loop. Cut the string to a length suitable for hanging. Tie a knot at each end of the dowel rod. Your fall banner is ready to hang in your room!

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Banner Designs: Spring is Here!

Banner Designs: Spring is Here!

WHAT IS A BANNER?

A banner is a piece of cloth suspended between two poles and often bearing a design, symbol or slogan. Banners can celebrate the seasons, holidays or bear slogans. The designs in this series of Art Tutorials celebrate summer, spring, winter and fall.

(For the first tutorial, the Spring is Here! Banner, scroll down.)

MATERIALS

Here are some basic supplies that you will need on hand for all the banner designs:

Yardstick

Iron/ironing board (optional)

String

Ball point pen or marker

Scissors

Tacky glue

Dowel rods

Fun Foam

Pencil/eraser

*Unless indicated otherwise, all felt squares should measure 9” x 12” and all sheets of Fun Foam measure 12’ x 18”.

STUFF TO KNOW

How to copy a pattern:

Trace a pattern or object by placing tracing paper on its surface and tracing the design with a pencil. Turn the tracing paper over and blacken the reverse side. Then flip the tracing paper original side up again. Lay the tracing paper on the surface you want the design to transfer on to and trace the outline of the design.

Cutting a Square:

Technique #1: Measure with a ruler the desired size of the square. Draw the outline of the square.

Technique #2: Hold the paper flat and bring the top right corner down to the left edge. Then fold the paper and line up the edges on the left so that they are straight. Cut off the extra strip of paper and unfold the square.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Holz, Loretta. Mobiles You Can Make. New York: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Company, 1965

Zubrowski, Bernie. Mobiles: Building and Experimenting with Balancing Toys. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1993.

Constantinides, Marion. Banners! (Unpublished)

 

SPRING BANNER

Spring Banner Design

Ages: 5 – 12 years

Time: ½ hour – 1 hour

MATERIALS:

White felt 36” x 36”

Green Fun Foam

Pink Fun Foam Pink Fun Foam

Blue Fun Foam

1. Measure and trim white felt to 14” x 20”. Place the piece vertically in front of you. Measure and fold a 1” seam at the top and iron. Fold another 1” seam. Iron and glue the second fold. The dowel rod will go through this loop.

2. Trace and cut the flower shapes using the patterns provided: yellow Fun Foam for one tulip and one daisy; pink for the second tulip and daisy; blue for the three morning glories; pink for the butterfly and green for the stems and leaves. (NOTE: The daisy and the tulip have different leaves.)

3. Cut one small yellow circle for the center of the pink daisy and one small pink circle for the yellow daisy.

4. Glue all the pieces, scattering the shapes randomly to create a cascading effect. Avoid placing two flowers of the same color next to each other.

5. Draw the centers of the morning glories with a black marker. Add antennae to the butterfly and dots in its center.

6. Cut the dowel rod like the other ones, insert, tie the string to the ends of the dowel rod and hang!

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Our Imaginations! Camp for Kids: Nature Collage

Our Imaginations! Camp for Kids: Nature Collage

The craft NATURE COLLAGE was adapted from the project “World of Nature/Spring Mural Collage” found in the Arts and Crafts Activities Desk Book by Joyce Novis Laskin and published by Parker Publishing Company in 1971.

MATERIALS:

White glue or glue stick

cardboard any size

Scissors

Any combination of: poster or acrylic paints, brushes, fabric scraps, newspapers, magazines, photos, pen and ink, crayons, construction paper, tissue paper, brown paper bags, ribbon, buttons, etc.

Objects from nature: leaves, twigs, bark, shells, pebbles, seeds from plants, etc.

1. A collage is a composition or picture made by attaching different found objects and materials to a surface. That surface is often (but not always) flat. Like all forms of art, the first step in making a collage involves thinking. What will the collage be about?

2. Decide the size of the collage. Glue, draw or paint everything on the cardboard so it is important to decide if you want a large or a small collage. Use a large sheet or cut it in half.

3. Next, decide if you want the design to flow across the cardboard (horizontally), from the top to the bottom (vertically) or from corner to corner (diagonally).To create depth, larger objects should stand in front of smaller ones. It is smart to work from the back to the front of the collage so glue the smaller objects first. This gives the person looking at the collage a feeling of depth. “Depth” means that you can see objects in back of the objects that are in front of the scene that you are creating.

4. Collect the materials that you will be using. Different materials make up a collage.  This collage project has one main subject (nature) so collect many objects from and about nature. Photographs, drawings of objects from nature (the sun, butterflies, bees, birds, clouds, etc.) can also be used.

Use cut paper, too. Cut the paper into different shapes suggesting nature (i.e., leaves and flowers) using scissors. This will produce paper edges that are wavy, zigzagged or straight.

Or fold the paper once. Turn the paper on the other side and fold again in the other direction. Tear the paper along the fold. Continue to fold and tear the paper into shapes. This creates ragged paper edges which will look different from the papers cut with scissors.

Glue the papers down and overlap them. The layers of tissue paper will show the color and shape of the paper or board underneath and create pretty designs.

5. Glue the materials to the cardboard. If you are not sure about the design, glue them to a piece of paper like construction paper. Then, decide if the materials can be added to the collage. If you decide that you can, glue the paper with the objects to the cardboard.

6. Frame the collage and hang on your bedroom wall!

VARIATION:

SEASHELLS: Find a couple of seashells. The kinds that are sort of flat are the best for this idea. Choose two or three colors of paint and squeeze some on a palette or piece of wax paper. Brush the paint on one side of the shell. Experiment with the amount of paint. Print the shell on a piece of construction paper by rolling it and pressing. Do this with the other colors and shells, occasionally overlapping some of the shells to create a pattern. To add another dimension to the shells, glue tiny seeds or pebbles on the ends of the printed shells. When the paint is dry, cut the printed shells and glue to the cardboard along with the other objects collected. (See the Summer Camp for Kids: Nature Prints tutorial on this website for more information.)

The collage below includes a drawing of a flower, a sun print of leaves and twigs, a part of a nature print of leaves and rubber stamped leaves. Assorted cut paper was used for the background.

 

Nature Collage

Nature Collage

 

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Our Imaginations! Camp for Kids: Nature Prints

Our Imaginations! Camp for Kids: Nature Prints

The craft NATURE PRINTS was adapted from the project “From the Yard/Nature Prints” found in All-Around-the-House Art and Craft Book by Patricia Z. Wirtenberg and published by Houghton Mifflin Company in1968

Materials:

Leaves, bark, twigs

Printer’s inks or poster or acrylic paints in various colors (cheaper to use)

Drawing pencils (optional)

Rice or bond paper in white or various light colors (works best with poster/acrylic paints)

Brown wrapping paper or construction paper for use with printer’s inks

Brayer (or roller)

Piece of glass

Newspaper

Solvent for cleaning brayer and glass if using printer’s inks unless using water-soluble printer’s inks

  1. Collect fresh leaves from the trees or bushes in your neighborhood or yard. You will need some to experiment with and some for the last print. Other objects such as tree bark (if it’s easy to peel off) and even some twigs will work along with the leaves, too.
  2. Cover your work surface with newspaper. Lay down the glass and brayer on the work surface. Select the paints or inks that you will use. Acrylic or poster paints are less expensive than oil-based printer’s inks and easier to clean up after use.
  3. You can squeeze one color for each leaf or squeeze two or three colors side-by-side on the glass. The leaves in the samples shown used one or two or three colors at one time.
  4. Roll the paint or inks on the glass until the pigment covers the brayer. If you are using more than one color, let the colors run into each other. Roll the brayer over the leaf several times and turning the leaf over, lay it on a piece of paper like rice paper or bond paper. Use your hand to press the leaf so that it prints on the paper. Paper that is not too thick or too thin is the best to use if using acrylic or poster paints. Printer’s inks can use a slightly heavier paper like construction or brown wrapping paper.
  5. Remove the leaf and see how it printed on the paper. Experiment until you have a print that you like. Experiment with other materials from nature combined with the leaves.
  6. To create a mixed media design, color the whites of the leaves or the background paper or outline the printed leaves with colored pencils. See the two samples below.
  7. Frame the print or using old note card stationery, make note cards or poster cards of the printed leaves. They make a thoughtful gift for people who still write notes!
Nature Prints

Nature Prints

 

Nature Prints

Nature Prints

 

Nature Prints

Nature Prints

 

VARIATION:

Make a sun print! Make sure you do this on a sunny day! Choose the objects you will use as the main design of the print. Objects like leaves, twigs, bark, seashells, and pebbles work well. Lay the objects that you choose on photographic, construction or drawing paper on a surface in a sunny location. The longer you leave it there, the deeper an impression your objects will make on the paper. Leave the objects and paper in the sun for four hours minimum. Remove the objects. You now have a sun print! Use the sun print for the nature collage tutorial or frame it and hang the print on your bedroom wall.

 

Sun Print

Sun Print

 

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