We Love Dandelions

"To some the dandelion is a weed;  but not to me, unless it takes its share of space,  for I always miss these little earth stars when they are absent.  They intensify the sunshine shimmering on the lawn, making one smile involuntarily when seeing them.  Moreover, they awaken pleasant memories,  for a child in which dandelions had no part is a defective experience." ~Excerpted from "The Home Acre," by E.P. Roe


We love dandelions here.  C has been picking me little dandelion bouquets each day and marveling at these "earth stars"! The quote above is great..couldn't imagine a childhood without them.  We even made a Dandelion Heart as part of our Land Art collection.

Now most of our dandelions are going to seed, but still they are so exciting to a child. Now we have dandelion "puff ball" bouquets!

What have you been creating with dandelions?

Picture of C last year enjoying the dandelions!

Twisted Paper Sculpture

Today I am over at PreK + Sharing blog.  Find out how we made these Twisted Paper Sculptures.  Let me know what you think. So many great ideas on this collaborative blog.

Our Bird Nest Creation

We made a bird nest.  I have no idea where this came from....but it seemed like a good one.  Even the neighborhood kids wanted to make one too. Really.

To create our bird nest we gathered:

dirt

pine needles

leaves

grass 

flower petals

sticks

We also added:

yarn

poly fill stuffing

water

Then I thought we better add some plastic wrap (or use a bag) underneath everything so we could get the nest out when it dries.

We mixed up all the things and tried to mold them together a bit (truly experimental). Adding more water or dirt as needed.

Fortunately, we had some fairly warm days so we left the nest to dry and harden for a few days and this is our finished nest. What do you think?

What have you and your children made with natural materials?

Super Cool Kites to Make With Kids

These are super cool kites. The great thing is that you don't even need any wind.  All you need are some children that want to run (which are not difficult to find) and they stay up in the air! I found the tutorial for these great kites here at Maya Made. So go there to find out how to make them.

For the kites you need:

Printer paper

kebab sticks 

tape

string/yarn

hole punch

plastic bag for a tail

markers and stickers to decorate

Back of kite

Front of Kite

C and a friend enjoying their kites.  Running or letting the wind catch them.  Fun Fun Fun!

Hope you enjoy these kites as much as we did!

What kinds of kites have you made?

How to Create an Ink Monster

Have you heard of the Daily Monster?  Artist Stefan Bucher began a creative challenge in which he created a monster with ink and markers each day for 100 days.  He still creates monsters long after the challenge and you can view mini video clips of him making his monsters at dailymonster.com website.
We were very inspired to create Monsters like Stefan after viewing the many monsters and video clips.  Be sure to check out his website here.

To Create a Monster You'll Need:

India Ink 

or

Watered Down Black Paint

or 

Black Liquid Watercolor

Straws

brushes

markers

white paper

To begin, make sure to cover your workspace with newspaper.  On white paper put some india ink or watered down tempera paint.  We used black liquid watercolors too. Then take a straw and blow the paint all around.  You can turn your paper as you are doing this.  You can add more paint as you go along. After you do a bunch of these blown ink drawings/paintings let them dry.  

After the paint/ink is dry you can start adding details with markers. We also added white paper circles with glue for the eyes. You can imagine how your ink blown painting will transform into a monster. C and I created quite a few of these monsters as you can see.

A dinosaur? 

Scary Monster!

A bird Monster! 

My flower creature.

My crazy spiral Monster!

Gosh, we had a lot of fun with this and hope you get a chance to make some!

Here is a mini video clip of one of Stefan Buchers' Monster Drawings:

Happy Earth Day and a Giveaway from Artterro Eco Art Kits

Earth Day is coming soon and it is very appropriate that I am having a giveaway from Artterro.  Artterro is a fabulous Eco Friendly company that creates wonderfully Gorgeous Art Kits.  I am giving away a Wonderful Bookmaking Kit to one lucky reader to celebrate Earth Day or any kit of your choice. Check out my Review of their Wool Felt Bug Kit and of their Wire and Bead Kit here. I truly have loved all their kits because they are high quality and are designed to promote open ended art experiences. 

The Bookmaking Kit is simply beautiful....gorgeous handmade paper and beads. All that is needed is glue and scissors to start creating.

I had my daughter select the papers for her book and I sewed them together to create a book of her own.  She enjoyed cutting the handmade papers to collage inside her book.

Here are our finished books with so much more leftover supplies to create more books or fancy greeting cards.

Here is a collage page of C's book.  I gave away the other two books for special keepsake Birthday gifts. Everyone really thought they were so beautiful.

Here is your chance to win the Bookmaking Kit from Artterro or any other kit of your choice!:

Visit Artterro.com and tell me what your favorite kit is in the comment section below.

Make sure to leave your email so I can contact you.

Winner will be selected at Random

Giveaway ends April 26, 2012 at 9pm EST

Open to US residents only

GOOD LUCK

One More thing.....

Artterro needs your help for funding. Go to Kickstarter to help this small, sustainable business in Madison, WI.  Read more about how you can help this AMAZING company here. Check out this video about Artterro for an even better description.  Thanks from Artterro!

23 Recycled Projects For Earth Day

I went through all my archives and I sure do have a lot of upcycled/recycled projects and decided to compile a collection of 23 Recycled Projects For Earth Day.  So here they are.  So many ideas....it blows my mind!  Click on the picture or caption to bring you to the idea. Happy Earth Day!

1. Cut Up Cardboard Box Sculpture

2. Styrofoam Monster Sculptures

3. Recycled Styrofoam Sculptures

4. Recycled Marble Run Fun!

5. Plastic Lid Sun Catcher

6. Tin Can Magnetic Robots

7. Pretend Potions

8. Recycled Bottle Flower Sun Catchers

9.  Egg Carton Ants

10. So Easy Kaleidoscope

11. CD Hovercraft

12. Plastic Bottle Water Wall

13. Matboard Collage

14. Simple Sock Puppets 

15.  Painting In Bottles

16. Magazine Sculptures

17. Newspaper and Tissue Paper Ornaments

18. Egg Carton Paintings

19. Paper Tube Castle Sculpture

20. Paper Bag Self Portrait

21. Paper Bag Puffy Heart

22.  Paper Bag Puppets Inspired By Fandango

23.  Paper Bag Monster Masks

***Be sure to check out my 8 Recycled Projects for Earth Day from last year here.


One of my favorite resources for Earth Day Art from MaryAnn F. Kohl: