Gingerbread House
Looking for ideas for holiday decorations? I need some for my school’s holiday boutique, so I’m having students draw gingerbread houses and then cut them out. I found that if I instruct them that the...
View ArticleGingerbread Boy
If you want to spur a little more creative thinking with a gingerbread cookie painting project, try asking students to add some clothing. Older students may also add a 3D edge to one side for some...
View ArticleGingerbread House with Form
I saved this Gingerbread House project for my 3rd and 4th graders so they could practice making a house with “form” and not just “shape”. A one-sided house has shape, but this house with two sides has...
View ArticleWinter Townhouse
Here’s an idea for a winter painting, a good old-fashioned townhouse. Try using a cardboard rectangle template just to help students get the basic shape started. The roof and details can be added on...
View ArticleChristmas Ornament Card
I made this Christmas ornament drawing using a set of fine tip markers. If you draw the edges of a shape lightly in pencil, fill in the inside with lines, and then erase the outside pencil, the look...
View ArticleStained Glass Candle
The good and bad news is that oil pastels like to smudge together, especially when black is around. But rather than fight it, why not embrace it in the way that stained glass can kind of look smudgy...
View ArticleWatercolor, Salt and Snowflakes
Here is a really simple way to add texture to a watercolor painting. Just sprinkle salt while it’s still wet and let sit for a few minutes. All kinds of cool shapes will develop from the salt absorbing...
View ArticleNya’s Gingerbread Matchbox House
Here’s an adorable matchbox house made yesterday by Nya, a fifth-grader. I showed students how to draw a simple droopy roof line and some candy windows, but Nya took the idea to whole new level. • View...
View ArticlePaper Chain Tree Card
I call this my “minimalist” tree card. Art stores like Michael’s have lots of pretty scrapbook paper these days; I prefer ones with a small scale print. 1. Cut strips of paper 5″ long by 1/2 ” wide...
View ArticleCutout Christmas Card
There’s nothing like a homemade holiday card. I tried this method to make a quick “quilted” card that didn’t actually call for any sewing. 1. Start with giving each student 3 colored cards that measure...
View ArticleWinter Watercolor Cardinal
Here’s another idea for a holiday art fundraiser. The winter theme satisfies all the parents that prefer seasonal art, and I like that it can easily be done in one class. Just draw, trace in marker,...
View ArticleVisual Art Instructions
My experiment in diagramming art instructions. Maybe visual projects need visual instructions? It would be interesting to truly test different approaches and see which gets the better overall...
View ArticlePom Pom Ball Ornaments
I was inspired by some fabric ornaments I saw at Anthropologie, but Michaels pom poms come in such great colors that I like mine even better. A bonus is that they take just about 30 min. to make. 1....
View ArticleKinder Candle Cards
Making holiday cards with kinders may sound like a fairly simple task, until you factor in all the details. Is it doable with a wide range of abilities? Is it flexible for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa...
View ArticleMatchbox with Mini Pom Poms
My afterschool Matchbox kids did a great job today, as they experimented with adding mini pom poms to their drawings. These two amazing 2nd graders, Rebecca and Violet, made them with both Hanukkah and...
View ArticleSanta Bear in Tempera Paint
This Santa Bear is a great project for those as young as kinder or so. The simple shapes make him so cute, pretty much no matter what. • View and download Bear Tutorial
View ArticleNutcrackers with Fancy Patterns
You wouldn’t believe what a little gold can do for a painting. These nutcrackers looked nice when painted with tempera cake paints last week. But adding some metallic marker details today, along with a...
View ArticleTorn Trees with Shadows
Here’s my version of a winter landscape project with shadows. The torn paper really adds to the organic look of the trees. Paint a 9″ x 12″ sheet of paper with black or brown tempera paint. Dab with a...
View ArticleBleeding Tissue Paper Skies
This was such a fun discovery today. Turns out if you cut blue and purple Pacon Tissue Paper into small squares, and apply them with water to watercolor paper, they leave behind the most amazing swirly...
View ArticleTorn Tissue Poinsettias
Tearing shapes from tissue paper can create some very organic shapes, and end up looking pretty similar to poinsettia leaves. 1. Rectangles of red, green and yellow tissue paper are needed (the craft...
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