Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts

January 13, 2016

Foxglove Flowers Quilled Wall Display

foxgloves flower quilling
In winter when we don't see much colour in the garden, I like to remember the beautiful and unique flowers. I think projects like this quilled Foxglove flowers make beautiful art work when it is mounted on canvas and displayed on the wall.

December 17, 2015

Learn to Draw with You Can Draw Simple Techniques for Realistic Drawings

You Can Draw Simple Techniques for Realistic Drawings by Leonardo Pereznieto is a book that teaches drawing techniques of 18 accessible, in-depth projects for those who enjoy art. I like learning from the step-by-step tutorials in this book, as it teaches how to draw different surfaces and texture that look realistic. Some of the drawings include gemstones, metal, flowers, water, and glass.

December 10, 2015

Metallic Tape Marker Holder

I love using tape for crafts because we can easily transform anything that is plain and simple to something spectacular. I love this glittery new metallic tape. There are so many ways we can use this tape from decorating gifts to personalizing, or using for home décor. 

November 28, 2015

Win Your Own Kits to Give as Handmade Gifts for the Holidays

It is always special when the gifts we get especially from our children are handmade. This shows how much effort, love, and care they put into making it. My children and I got a chance to use and play with awesome Klutz Kits that provide fun activities for everyone over 8. Since 1977 Klutz creates activity kits that come with all the materials and instructions we need to make fabulous crafts. I think these kits are wonderful for both children and adults alike who enjoy doing crafts or learning how to do crafts. The end products of what we make using the material and inspiration from these kits can be given as gifts to loved ones.

November 23, 2015

Suteki Stencil Art

My children and I checked out the Suteki Stencils that are available at Toys"R"Us stores. Suteki Stencils allow children to create their own layered stencil pop art.

November 18, 2015

Holiday Crafting with Washi Tape

As the holiday season and winter approaches, I get excited about doing crafts! I got a chance to check out Amy Anderson's Washi Tape Crafts: 110 Ways to Decorate Just About Anything book. This is a fabulous book for savvy crafters and non-crafters alike. I love that the book comes with ten rolls of tape (18 feet each) custom-designed patterns made especially for this book so we can get started on the 110 projects that are in this book! 

November 12, 2015

Crayola Sparks Creativity Win Your Own Package

Crayola has a great assortment of creative toys and gift ideas that are focused on inspiring children and unleashing their creativity. I like how Crayola products give colourful wings to the invisible things that grow in the hearts and minds of our children.

Crayola Cling Creator, Thread Wrapper and Color Wonder Mess Free Light-Up Stamper

We love creative products from Crayola because it inspires us! Crayola Cling Creator is an award winning product that lets us create our own colourful cling in a variety of fun shapes that are perfect to decorate windows, mirror, or locker without worrying about cling residue or stains on surfaces.

October 23, 2015

Hand-Lettering for Everyone

I recently wrote about the importance of handwriting, which is slowly disappearing in this tech driven world. Since penmenship is no longer taught in schools, I think as parents we need to find ways to encourage our children to see the benefits of handwriting by creating opportunities for them and getting the correct resources and inspiration.

September 24, 2015

Art of Handwriting and Creative Lettering

Penmanship is in peril. In today’s electronics-driven world, the emphasis on handwriting is not a priority, especially for school-aged children. Despite the allure of electronics, experts agree handwriting is critical to a child’s education and development. "Handwriting plays a role in helping children build confidence, creativity, and critical thinking skills," says Pam Allyn, a literacy advocate, education expert and author and founder of LitWorld, a global organization that advocates for children’s rights as readers, writers and learners. "Writing is an important vehicle for communication because it distinguishes us and promotes individuality. The evidence shows that writing helps kids become better readers, improves school performance and helps develop idea composition, expression, and fine-motor skills."

August 16, 2015

Still Life Painting

One of our favourite hobbies is to paint and draw. I really enjoyed checking out the Still life Painting Studio kit with my children. This kit comes with five tubes of Gouache Paints and a book that explains a few techniques to capture the beauty of everyday objects. It is a wonderful way to introduce Still life painting to children. 

August 5, 2015

Denim Basket: Sewn and Fabric Painted

When school's out, it's perfect time for craft camp! Children and parents will enjoy the creative 40 projects in the Craft Camp book published by Lark. The projects include simple beading, sewing, felting, bookmaking and so much more. The book has ideas on how we can create colourful piñatas, eco-friendly mobiles, upcycled necklaces, hats, T-shirts, and many more projects. Children from 6 to 12 will find inspiring ideas in this book. We like the inspiring photographs that were useful when we were trying the projects. I would have preferred if there were more illustrations to accompany the written steps to make it clearer.

July 16, 2015

Engaging Craft Books

While at home for the summer holidays, it is fun to engage our children with crafts. My children and I checked out three new creative books that have lots of ideas on how we can use things from around our home.

July 10, 2015

Decorative Vase Using DecoArt Glass Paint Marker

I love using DecoArt Glass Paint Markers. With some imagination these smooth flowing, quality fine-tip markers can be used for a variety of things. It is easy to use the markers to personalize gifts,  decorate, and create unique pieces of art. The markers have a glossy finish and it is available in 14 vibrant colours. I tried the Black, Fuchsia, Brown, Green, Gold, Silver, and Turquoise. It is simple to use the markers, all we have to do is shake it up, remove the cap, and initially press down on the tip for the ink to flow to the tip before decorating.

June 1, 2015

Embroidery using the Doodle Stitching Transfer Pack

Using colourful thread to embellish clothing, household items, and art is lots of fun. As a child and teenager, I enjoyed learning the basic embroidery techniques. I think it is a fun way to add unique touches to our belongings such as pillowcases and napkins.

May 27, 2015

Coloring is Not Just for Kids! Grown-Ups Get Out Your Crayon

Like Play-Doh, ball pits, and hopscotch, coloring is an activity we tend to associate with children, but it can be an incredibly beneficial activity for adults. Four new activity books from Skyhorse Publishing will allow parents to join their children during playtime. This will allow us to temporarily put aside our worries and reignite our imagination.

April 18, 2015

Making Stickers with Washi Tape

We made our own stickers using Washi Tape. It is simple to make these stickers, and cut out any shape you wish and paste it. We tried a few simple shapes using scissors, if you have a puncher or design cutters you can try using that as well.

Enjoy the Sunshine with these Outdoor Crayola Products

crayola outdoor yard art
Crayola has a great assortment of outdoor products to get children's creative juices flowing in the great outdoors. My children love drawing and colouring on the sidewalk with these bright and bold sidewalk chalk. They love the assortment of the new special effects chalks such as neon, sparkle, and tie-dye.

April 5, 2015

Express Yourself By Winning Scotch Expressions Prize Pack

Scotch Brand’s Expressions Tapes are a fun, affordable tool to help add bright and glam colours to our home, and event décor. Expressions Tapes offer us creative, and easy ways to decorate our home whether it is used to create DIY centrepieces for a party, to add colour to glasses or planters, to do crafting with our children, or to update plain walls with a splash of colour. These Spring Planters are an awesome idea from Scotch to add some creative fun in our home. To make these, you will need... 

March 21, 2015

Using Washi Tape as Frames

We recently painted our children's room, and to personalize the space we wanted to display art work that my children did on the wall. I used Washi tape to frame around the canvas. This way we can remove and switch the painting as we want and update the wall display without a hassle.