REDUSE*REUSE*RECYCLE... Bottle Lids Wall Art {DIY}

So to end our EARTH MONTH celebration, one 1st-grade class helped me make this bright & colorful artwork to hang on their school wall.  And what's amazing is that they were able to help collect "trash" to create it for almost nothing! Here's a smaller lid art version for those that do not want to cover half of your wall with lids.

This big ol' pretzel jar was filled up with lids at least 2 times...

Yep, lots of lids that the kids and I repurposed. We had fun glueing (heavy duty glue from the hardware store) every lid you can think of - onto a painted, masonite board with a frame for hanging. 

This took almost no time to make and create and every child was able to participate and create a few circle designs... gotta love it.

I knew my hoarding/repurposing would come in handy!

REDUSE*REUSE*RECYCLE 

Crocus Colors at night

When the CROCUS flowers pop out of the ground, I know it's Spring, yay! I took these photos a few weeks ago when the sun had gone down and it was getting a little chilly out. The colors are so bright and full of light. My little 2 1/2 year-old started picking them-so we put them in a flower press. I love her little chubby arms.

I hope to collect more flowers this Summer to press and dry.

Have a wonderful weekend!

REDUSE*REUSE*RECYCLE ... Can you guess what we're doing with these for EARTH MONTH?

Sneak peak at next week's art project materials! All of the 1st-graders are adding to my collection of lids to make it doubly(is that a word?) colorful. Should be easy and well worth saving all of these bottle lids for a school art project for EARTH MONTH!

Post your guess of what you think we're creating...

REDUSE*REUSE*RECYCLE = TP CASTLE

I just had to share the TP castle, which first was a pirate ship with canons. Great example of children's imagination with cardboard, eh? At first I wasn't sure why my son wanted us to save all of the TP rolls, but here's what he came up with. He loves it, it is his pride and joy when people visit his room. He even brought it for show-and-tell.

Just goes to show, you can make anything out of nothing...

Great Job!

REDUSE*REUSE*RECYCLE

REPURPOSE!

REDUSE*REUSE*RECYCLE= Make a T-shirt Hula Hoop Rug

EARTH DAY is TODAY!

These hula hoop rugs are so cool. I've seen them all over the place on the internet. I just had to make one, you know, since I have a ton of shirts that I never wear but I couldn't throw them away (since I'm kind of a mini hoarder). Grandma D. and I set to work, it helps if you have another person. Thanks Grandma! I love this tutorial over at Craftster. 

Tip: If you make one, just remember not to pull tight.

Isn't it perfect for his room?

REDUSE*REUSE*RECYCLE

REPURPOSE!

*Reduce *Reuse *Recycle = sweater mittens!

EARTH MONTH =  REPURPOSE AND REUSE:

I'm not sure how many of us have an old sweater that we just can't get rid of, so repurpose it, cut it up, and let it go...

My daughter had this sweater that her auntie gave to her and it was too small and had holes (it was way over due for the garbage), but she would not let go (she's a mini-me hoarder)...

So, we REPURPOSED her sweater into cute mittens! 

You don't even need a tutorial for this baby, super easy:

Turn inside out. Use the bottom of sleeves, neckline, or bottom of sweater for mittens.

Pin both layers of sweater together. Trace your hands with a permanent marker. Cut. Sew (zig zag).

Her favorite sweater mittens with her favorite PJ's... Happy Girl!

REDUSE*REUSE*RECYCLE

REPURPOSE!

REDUSE*REUSE*RECYCLE -Repurposed Paint Sticks= Snowflakes or Flowers!

This is "Earth Month" and I have a few repurposed art projects that I would love to share!

Even though Spring is here, I know it will snow at least one more time before the sun really shows up for good. We still have snow on the mountains too. This repurposed art project is from my son's creative first grade teacher, Mrs. L. There were sparkly snowflakes hanging from the ceiling in blue, yellow and white during the Wintery season. They would make excellent flowers for Spring art too!

Ingredients:

paint stirring sticks

glue

paint

glitter

hanging string

Super cute, super easy, eh?

REDUSE*REUSE*RECYCLE

Just in time for Mother's Day! Children's art cards for sale {Batik Painting on Canvas}

KIDS HAVE WONDERFUL & CREATIVE IMAGINATIONS! These artworks are one-of-a-kind created by my 6 year-old and 9 year-old originally made to hang on their wall.

So here they are! My kids wanted to earn extra money and hey, since they have a mom that can help out a little, their art cards are available to everyone. 

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The cards are blank inside and can be used for gifts for thank you cards, birthdays and any occasion!

Go to this posting to see how they painted their glue batik on canvas Simple Batiking on Canvas.

Go here to see how you can purchase a package at My Etsy Online Shop or contact me directly at candiceashment@gmail.com.

Go to my shop and purchase a package for your children's teachers or for Mother's Day!

All proceeds go to my kids. Promise.

Acrylic on Tissue Paper (not achooo! paper) DIY wall art {tutorial}

We started this kid art project with our amazing friends who live in Tabiona, UT.  We  made a smaller version of what I did with the first-graders, here is the post A Swarm of Sea Creatures! Tissue Paper & Paint {tutorial}. We had so much fun, most of us anyway, my son didn't want to start his until we returned home.  

I'm completely obsessed with tissue paper art right now. So you will be seeing another tissue project, but who knows when I'll be able to post it! It's family-inspired and will be featured in the next issue of the fabulous Sandbucket family magazine coming out in April!

I have good news! BABY #4 finally decided to arrived into the world March 13th, 2013! HE is a joy in our family and we are adjusting to the new addition. Our kids love him! 

Tissue Paper Art Tutorial

Materials Needed:

• pencil & erasure
• black permanent marker
• white tissue paper (gift paper)
• acrylic paint & brushes
• pre-stretched and gessoed canvas
• Mod Podge

• I had the kids pick a theme or setting and go from there...

• Draw with pencil first on the tissue paper (tip: pencil very lightly so the paper won't rip if you want to erase) and then trace with permanent marker.

• Paint your drawings (tip #1: paint lightly, so you can see the black outline. tip #2: don't let your paint be so thick that it makes the paper rip. Make sure the tissue paper is not sticking underneath to surface as it is drying.)

 

2 DIFFERENT WAYS WE PREPARED & PAINTED OUR CANVAS:

You Can Choose!

• 1- After you have painted your "shapes or drawings" on paper, it is easier to figure out your background on your canvas. The top canvas is acrylic painted directly onto canvas. 

• 2- This canvas' surface & sides has been adhered (Mod Podge) with a layer of tissue paper first and now he is painting his background onto the tissue/canvas (gives it more texture).

  

• Cut out the paintings from the tissue paper. You can cut along the black lines tight, or around the outside, leaving a "cloud" (You can see the finished artwork later in this post to see what I mean...) of tissue paper. (tip: touch up artwork with permanent marker before you start to adhere) 

• Time to arrange their masterpiece before adhering to the canvas. 

• I used a brush and applied a thin layer of Mod Podge to the canvas' surface first for each individually painted object, and then placed the object on top. (tip: let the paper lay/float itself down and then lightly spread out with your brush)
• If you look closely, you can see that the tissue paper might by wrinkly in some areas. That's okay! Spread out as much as you can and then leave it alone to dry.
• When objects are dry, add a thin layer of Mod Podge to seal and protect artwork. Add another layer if desired. 

They turned out so beautiful and bright...

(10 years old)

(7 years old)

 Creating as a family!  (9, 11, & 13 years old)

What a wonderful Spring art project! I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. Look for my next tissue paper art project with our family...

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I will try to post as much as I can with a new baby, but his time is the most important right now.

Kid Art- Dr. Seuss inspired Acrylic Glue Batik Painting

My son drew with pencil on this scrap of canvas almost a year ago (6 yrs. old). As some of you know I've been "nesting" (for a year, or maybe just always) for our 4th baby (due Mar. 10th, eek!) and trying to get "things" out of the way. I've been having problems with our internet, so it's been hard posting lately too.

We finally got around to finishing this batik painting (Go to my Simple Glue Batiking on Canvas {tutorial}). He said it reminded him of Dr. Seuss' books. I would agree! I think Dr. Seuss has more influence with his wonderful nonsense drawings and ideas more than we all realize! So we saved it for Dr. Seuss week. 

Isn't this whimsy?

This is after the glue has been washed off. Now I need to figure out how to frame it... hmmm...

This is before the glue has been washed off. Obviously it's a lot brighter in color but there isn't a lot of detail from his drawing underneath. That's why I love using the glue batiking method! 

Simple!

Yo Yo Yo Dr.Seuss!

Glue Batik Tutorial Here

Celebrating Dr. Seuss

Next week we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss throughout the week at our school and nationwide. They have really fun activities at our school for the kids.

In December for all the 1st grade, the teachers put on a super fun Whoville Christmas! It was so cute! They asked me to paint a backdrop for the 80+ kids, teachers, and principal. I would love to post the teachers' photos, but I didn't ask them. So here are my kids...

My little 1st-grader!

She's not old enough to be in 1st grade, but she wanted a picture like her big brother!

The teachers chose a page from How the Grinch Stole Christmas! for me to paint.  Of course I  love the story that it teaches children and adults about the Christmas spirit and life.

We'll see what we come up with next week!

Sneak Peek: Acrylic on Tissue

My family had a very fun weekend visit with a very cool family... and of course we had to make an art project with the kiddos!

With this art project, they used white tissue paper, pencils, permanent markers and paint. The kids picked their own theme.  Let's see what they came up with... later next week!

Beavers, owls, deers, trees... Oh my!

Tune in later next week...