Wonderful Arts & Crafts @ the Wells Branch Library

Snowman pots at WBCL

2012-01-16T07:43:00.000-06:00

This was such a fun project for everyone. I saw a similar one on Michaels site over the holidays but wanted something more involved. We used a small clay pot, quilt batting cut into a strip, Aleens glue, a styrofoam ball for the head and hat, pom poms for earmuffs, metallic stems for headbands, yarn for the scarves, and black styrofoam trays to cut the hat brims. The group got quite creative in decorating the snowmen and one even made it to school for show and tell.

Making birdfeeders for National Bird day @WBCL

2012-01-06T10:07:00.000-06:00

In the past we have made bird feeders from pine cones but they are in short supply and do not require any creativity or crafting skills to create. The birds do like them though. I found this pattern on the internet at Family Fun and decided to try it instead, especially since it uses recyclable materials. We altered it a bit to use up some sticky backed fun foam instead of crafts sticks and decorated with leftover stickers. Our handle is a chenille stem left from the holidays. Everyone got a baggie of seeds to add when they got home. Thanks to to librarian Jeanette Larson for her page of links and coloring pages. http://www.jeanettelarson.com/Resources.htm I especially appreciated the link to the National Geographic site for bird identification: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birding/backyard-bird-identifier/

Painted cookies brings families together @WBCL

2011-12-15T07:44:00.000-06:00

In the rush of the shopping season some of the "old-fashioned" kinds of things like decorating cookies have gotten left behind. But not for the kids and their families that came to the library to paint cookies last night. They did not get to make the cookies but the look of delight on faces of young and grown up at the selection made that a small detail.

I found a recipe for the hard frosting to paint with and used it. The key to getting good color was to use plenty of food coloring so the colors would be vibrant. I stirred with a little plastic spoon but a straw would work. Everyone had their own themes for detailing the cookies and all of them were just perfect. The cookies can be hung at home just like my memories as a kid.
To make the frosting to paint with use the recipe from allrecipes.com/

1 dozen cookies' worth

Ingredients1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
assorted food coloring

DirectionsIn a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup. Divide into separate bowls, and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, or paint them with a brush.

Jewelry making turns into gifts for families

2011-12-09T11:50:00.000-06:00

Beads of all kinds and sizes just beg to be strung into a necklace, bracelet or be made into a pin for ourselves or someone we know. This class let families with kids of all ages work together to create a great gift or two from the beads people have donated to me.
We used thin wire, cording, and metallic chenille stems as bases for the projects. I was lucky to find necklace closures to add to the ends of the wires to make a more "professional" way to finish the necklaces and bracelets. Most of our participants also decorated boxes to hold their gifts complete with ribbon bows. As you can see, the kids also made sure they went home with something to wear themselves. Lots of lucky grandmas and aunts out there this year!

Holiday ornament making draws out the families

2011-12-05T08:51:00.001-06:00

Everyone seemed to have a great time making ornaments Sunday afternoon. Even though it was cold and rainy outside we were snug and busy painting, gluing and adding glitz to the ornaments. It was hard to tell what was most popular as children and their parents moved from table to table to create reindeer from cork or clothes pins, snowmen from plastic snowflakes and white foam balls, decorate gingerbread houses and trees or paint wooden ornaments and plastic suncatchers.

Take a look at the slide show:

Pinecone turkeys a hit

2011-11-11T08:52:00.000-06:00

What could be more fun than creating a turkey from clay, pinecones and feathers? This is a repeat project that never turns out the same but is always fun to make. We use the homemade clay and this time used a bit of funfoam for the beak, comb and used chenille stems for legs. Although turkey feathers are boring brown we didn't have those on hand so our turkeys are much more colorful. The turkey lower right turned into an owl. I think a lot of tables will have interesting decor for Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin painting @WBCL

2011-10-31T08:18:00.000-05:00

It was crisper than we expected but that did not stop the families from turning out for all kinds of activities and the annual pumpkin painting. The library tried something different this year and limited the groups to 20 each hour which was great for the first hour but left a lot of unpainted pumpkins at the end of the day with people unwilling to wait to paint. It was sure less crowded and a lot of fun as you can tell from the pictures.

Play Pumpkin painting

Twisty paper trees @WBCL

2011-10-28T14:22:00.000-05:00

I have tried the paper bag trees before at school and love the look and the adaptability but sometimes they do not stand very well which frustrates the kids. This makes a great 3D project and used up paper that we might throw out otherwise so fits well into the recycled art category too.

For this group we tried something new and it really worked well. We used the brown wrapping paper instead of bags and folded it a couple of times before cutting it into strips. We also used a sheet of black paper as a background to mount the tree onto when finished.

Everyone seemed to have fun twisting and shaping the limbs then adding the bits of tissue paper for leaves. Some had a few fallen leaves, some had a lot, a couple even put them onto the trunk so we could see they were falling but not down.

A flotilla of ships for Columbus Day @WBCL

2011-10-12T08:39:00.003-05:00

What is Columbus Day? What better way to discuss a bit of history than to create all 3 of the ships famous for the voyage to the Americas. We used recycled materials to create the ships using ideas I found on-line as a guide. We used 3 cardboard egg cups, S-shaped styrofoam peanuts, a bit of home made clay, brown paper bags, and BBQ skewers.

The sample was painted but it seemed a better idea to wrap brown paper around the cup to create the "wood" then thread the styrofoam peanuts onto the wood masts and settle them into clay in the base of the cups. Most of the kids added flags to the tops of the masts. One of the kids decided that it was best to keep the 3 boats together by never seperating the cups. Guess they won't get lost that way!

Corn husk scarecrows @WBCL

2011-09-28T08:25:00.001-05:00

Using what is at hand sometimes creates a much better project than I expect and this week's scarecrow was no disappointment to this theory. I had corn husks and small cone coffee filters in the basket to use. We tried something new and used twist ties to secure the ends of the arms and legs and even the neck with great results at all ages. The husks formed the arms and body while the coffee filter made a great surface to draw a face and stuff with a bit of paper for form. we tied them over the top of the body with yarn then added paper shred for "hair" and a straw hat. This scarecrow probably won't scare any crows but they were really cute.

Painting fall leaves @WBCL

2011-09-23T08:16:00.004-05:00

Much more colorful than nature is how our leaf painting project evolved. We used wooden leaf shapes to create our leaves then a pallete of colors to bring on the fall flavor. We tried to keep the leaves seperated a bit so the colors would not run but not everyone is bothered by colors running together. I am not sure what trees our leaves might come from but they are far more colorful than we are seeing locally.

paper hats for Diez & Seis @ WBCL

2011-09-16T12:51:00.001-05:00

What fun! We used heavy colored paper for these hats instead of brown crafts paper as we had it on the shelf from a donation. I cut the squares about 24" on a side and handed them out to everyone. We used a disposable bowl as a form instead of the kids' heads so they could make the crown of the hat. Once the paper is crimped around the bowl just add masking tape or scotch tape to keep it in shape.

We then used markers and crayons to decorate the hats and tried them on. They were offered yarn but it just didn't appeal tonight. Most of them altered the outer edge of the hats--sometimes smaller or fringed.

Shell creations @WBCL arts & crafts

2011-09-02T12:28:00.000-05:00

I love to do an end of the summer project using shells and it is always popular and really creative. This time the group was a bit younger than before but rose to the challenge. I let the group know up front that the glue gun was a parent operated devise for the kids under 9 ( almost the whole group) but the kids and parents should work together to create creatures or frames decorated with shells.

We recieved some 4x6" mats in a donation and put them out along with some red/yellow 5x5" ones left from another project. Almost everyone chose to decorate the frames and really got into it. They did not hesitate to create creatures on their frames thought adding tiny shells and eyes as needed. This is going to be on many 'fridge doors this week.

Using stamps to creat art @WBCL

2011-08-25T12:47:00.003-05:00

Initially I planned to use fruit to make prints in this session. But on rethinking the cost and waste, and the nice supply I had of foam stamps change was in order. Each table was set up with egg carton with 5 colors of tempera paint and a generous handful of small and medium stamps, paint brushes and wet rags.
We used heavy paper and off they went. We painted the stamps using a small brush as it make the stamping with paint neater, especially for younger kids. The quiet in the room as everyone concentrated on the work was notable. Great results too.

Making mache bowls @ WBCL

2011-08-18T12:56:00.000-05:00

This was messy, it was gooey and they bowls turned out well for everyone. In making mache a number of times over the last year, I think we finally have the formula down. I shredded cups of white packing paper and used the blender to pulp it, then drained it and mixed the pulp with a few cups of commercial mache mix and 2 bottles of school glue. It was still a little wetter than we wanted but any dryer and it was hard to work with.

We first put plastic wrap over a small plastic container then damped some tissue paper strips and covered them with the colored mache mix. I gave every table a bowl of colored paper shred to use at the end to decorate the bowl on the outside. We used nylon netting to work with the final shapping so the mache did not stick to everyone's hands. It worked really well. Every project went home with their net so if any slippage occured on the way home it could easily be reshaped. In a few days they will be dry and can be lifted off the plastic container and used for dry items.

Train shirts & face painting @ circus art camp day 3

2011-08-13T17:40:00.000-05:00

Historically trains played a large roll in the life of a circus so I thought it might be fun to paint one on a t-shirt as part of this week's camp. Initially I planned to have everyone stamp on the engine and cars then paint in animals but that seemed a little complicated for this large group. Instead I put on a pattern of the engine and 2 cars then gave them the paints to decorate things as they wanted. The older group used fabric paints and a special glitter for wet paint. They were a little concerned about the lack of wheels on the cars. Quite a few requested their wheels be drawn on as they were not sure they could do 6 circles of the same size. The younger kids just added the wheels and said " they don't have to be perfect, it is my art." Great attitude! The younger group got to use the paint markers with great results. They are easy to draw with so many embellishments appeared. The crayola ones are far superior to the other brand we tried out. We also used small tubes of quick drying fabric paint from Michaels. Again not as good as the so soft brand but many had glitter and got the job done. The kids were pleased.

Not many of the group had ever used face paints or designed their own faces. we first had them sketch out what they wanted on thier face then issued the paints, mirrors, q-tips and set them loose on each other. At first they were a little timid but all of a sudden the faces took shape. they learned how to put the paint on, how to take it off, and a little about painting safety. The results were pretty good. Take a look:

We ended the day making and decorating popcorn boxes which we then filled with popcorn and fresh roasted peanuts. What a fun way to end the day!

Animals & performers @ Circus on Stage art camp day 2

2011-08-13T06:50:00.000-05:00

We started today with a group project using donated and recyclable materials --paper tubes, cardboard boxes, gift wrap, and lots of streamers. We created the cages for the animals in the circus to be made later in the day. I cut large rectangular boxes about 4" high for the tops and bottoms and got gift wrap tubes for the uprights. The kids glued them into the corners then made bars for the cages from streamers and decorated the boxes with the paper. A sign and they were done. Now who gets to take them home?

Our second project was to take coffee cans and a variety of papers, yarns and other bits and create the animals for the cages. We created lions, tigers, elephants, bears, and horses. I heard the horses were getting a bit long in the face (piggish) at one point but in the end all the animals turned out great and were exhibited briefly in their cages.

I was afraid our last project would be a bit challenging but everyone did great creating wire sculptures of the performers and other circus items for their big top. Kathryn lead this one and I think her examples were the biggest creations of all.

I will have slide shows of our entire day ready soon to share.

Clowns and balloons at Circus on Stage art camp day 1

2011-08-13T06:31:00.000-05:00

Did we save the best for last? some of the kids thought so. The clown was a challenging project but everyone went home with one and the oohs and aahs when the clown was assembled were great to hear. We used a 2 1/2" foam ball, a cardboard cone form from OTC, ribbons, fabric, pom poms, wiggle eyes, yarn, and straw hats. First we created the head and put it onto a dowel then assembled and decorated the cone and added a body complete with bright fun foam mits. I am posting step by step directions on the patterns page.

Balloon animals and hats were our second activity of the day and Keighla led all the kids through creating great projects. I blew the balloons up in advance which was a bad thing/ good thing. The balloons lost a bit of air which made them much easier to work with for the younger kids but the creatures were not as firm. We did blow up plenty of the balloons at camp to do a few more.

Our last project was to create a poster about the circus or to draw and color a clown car. There is something special about giving kids large sheets of paper to use and seeing them go to work on the project. We don't seem to have any shy kids using only 1" of the paper. I think we even threw in a few bookmarks for some of the kids that were too fast for the group. Going home tired with lots of stuff to brag on.

Sunbursts, flying fish, Calder sculptures, and Picasso guitars @ 3D art camp day 3

2011-08-06T06:56:00.001-05:00

Sometimes a project is just meant to be! This one looked attractive and had the potential for creativity so I scheduled it. What a great plan. We made the watercolor pieces earlier in the week then assembled our collage/paper sculpture of a sunburst adding paper curls and the results were definitely beyond what I expected. The kids liked doing the project and taught each other to curl paper and helped hold components so they would adhere to the paper.

We moved on to a sculpture in a can AKA Calder that is a lot of fun to do. We used tuna/cat food cans as a base with a styrofoam insert and clay over the top to seal it. We then created the sculpture from crazy straws, chenille stems, pompoms, beads and foam core cutouts.

Another project to complete was our paper lantern flying fish. This one kind of got away from us a little as we worked out the best way for everyone to create the fins and faces but in the end everyone had a fish and a huge smile. It was not as important to the kids that the fins be stiff as it was to the designer. It was a lot more hassle to attach the tissue to the thicker paper than to have fins that were a bit more loose. The loosest tail fin made of 4 pieces of tissue and no base paper actually looked wonderful and attached easily to the frame.

Our last project was a collage based on one of Picasso's guitar collages. We reviewed several that are one display at various museums and the discussion was centered mostly on the lack of color in them. Ours certainly did not lack color. We used a cardboard base and covered it with geometic shapes cut from scrapbook paper. we then added a foamcore chair and covered it with paper and ribbon. Lastly we added a blue denim guitar and embellished it with metallic thread, wire, buttons and other items. They turned out great.!

Watercolors and flying fish @ 3D art camp day 2

2011-08-05T06:33:00.000-05:00

Doing water colors with spray bottles is really a lot more fun but the bottles present their own dilema: what to spray, your paper or your table mate? We used 4 sections of watercolor paper to create the basis for our sunburst collage. The campers wrote something about sunshine on the long one then painted all of them with a combination of yellow, orange and red and set them aside to dry. It was fun to see what happened when the painted areas were resprayed and how the paint ran as the papers were tipped.

The second project was our flying fish. We used a paper lantern as a base and made fins and all the details on the fish from tissue paper and paper crimp. Some are done but most still need a few finishing touches.

Butterflies & paper mache at 3D art camp day 1

2011-08-05T06:22:00.000-05:00

We started this week off with 2 butterfly projects that really turned out well. We had a set of foam butterflies in a kit, a little hard to assemble but in the end a pretty good project. The 2 part butterflies gave us a bit more room to get creative. Students were encouraged to use the books on butterflies as a resource and create the butterflies by drawing, coloring and/or collaging them. Lots of great projects!

Our second project was to make a paper mache bowl from a berry box. This is by far the messiest mache I have ever worked with. We colored it in the mix and had them pat it onto the boxes so they could dry to be decorated on Friday. Lots of ewe..yuck--was heard.

The last project was one of optics using domed glass beads and stickers to examine which color and size magnifies more and if using a spacer alters the image more. They also got to have an old ribbon marble to examine.

Making a sculpture in a can @WBCL

2011-08-04T05:58:00.002-05:00

They really used their imaginations on this one! This project is a take off on one of the Calder sculptures I worked with earlier in the summer. Each participant was given a tuna/cat food can with styrofoam inserted into it, an array of chenille stems, fun foam shapes, pom poms, beads and foam core shapes. It was interesting to see what they created and hear their descriptions. Some were mobile and one was very large--needed a straw to keep the shape of it.

Wild& Wacky Science art camp II day 3

2011-07-30T08:06:00.000-05:00

What a wild day! We had a guest (my husband George) with tools, lots of old electronics, lots of recyclable bottles and other items and kids. What a combination. We have been collecting items for months for this project so the kids could take things apart and see what was inside of them and what made them work then create a roboto with the parts they generated. We are pretty big on safety when we do this and only had need of 2 bandaids as the glove was on the wrong hand. Thanks to Kristin, the kids librarian for lending us the goggles and safety glasses. Kids got the chance to see how some of the tools worked too as most had not seen or used C-clamps or pry bars.

We finished off our day making "cooked" puffy paint art. We made our own self-rising mix and added colors with food coloring then painted cardboard squares and popped them into the microwave. Very interesting to watch them puff up. I found this on an internet search.

Recipe:
Place into little cups: 1 teaspoon flour, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon baking powder

Add 1-2 drops tempra paint or food coloring to each cup and then add 1 1/2 teaspoons water to make a nice smooth paste- like pb. Dab onto surface thickly or spread with Q-tips, wood sticks or stiff paint brushes. Put into microwave for 30 seconds.

Take a longer look at our day:

Wild&Wacky Science art camp day 2

2011-07-29T07:41:00.000-05:00

We started the day using homemade clay and corks to create bugs with chenille stem legs and wings. Some of the kids decided that the corks did not fit with their plans and went on to create bugs of every size and shape. we limited the colors of clay to about 6 but that did not seem to limit the kids at all.

Next we did another splitting color project. We used washable markers and permanent markers on coffee filters to create designs. we then spritzed the filters with water to see which colors spread. The kids then used a dropper and alcohol to see if that would make the other colors spread. A bit of spritzing each other as well but water is probably OK. Our second project was a bit of a flop from an art standpoint--pounded flower prints. The flowers are a bit dry this time of year but the pounding part was a real hit. Some of the group decided that if they stamped on their project that it would squash more of the color from the petals and leaves.
Our final project of the day was a stamping project with a variety of fruits and vegetables and a paint called heavenly hues that gives a bit of a softer effect even on the fabric. They turned out pretty well and the older kids got really creative in how they used them.
Join us for a closer look at our whole day:

Wild&Wacky Science art camp day 1

2011-07-29T07:06:00.000-05:00

We kicked off the week with the messiest project yet...our very colorful lava lamps and glitter globes. The group got to figure out which liquid floated on which and how salt and alka seltzer altered the oil/water mix in the lava lamps. They also got to see what different mixing techniques did to the glitter globes. I am so grateful for all the donated newspapers that made cleanup a snap!
We then made and decorated periscopes from CDs and long white boxes. The group had to assemble the mirror sections and install them so they were at the right angle and parallel with each other. One of the group discovered that placing 2 of the periscopes together works pretty well too.
Our last project was one of splitting light and investigating what materials would do this. We used prisms, various glass jewelery, mirrors, an acrylic award, CDs, and water prisms made from a glass dish and a mirror. The kids discovered they could bounce the rainbows all over the room and direct them where they wanted to.
Take a look at our day below:

Recycled Robotos @ WBCL

2011-07-28T21:42:00.000-05:00

One of the most fun programs to do with recycled materials is this one. We have done this a time or two each year and the results are always amazing and creative. We began with 6 boxes of supplies including drink bottles, kleenex boxes, CDs, wrapping paper tubes, foam pieces and bottle lids of all kinds. The instructions are to browse the materials and create a roboto or alien. Great projects one and all. We are doing a variation on this for art camp on Friday.

Painting T-shirts & more @ Harker Heights Library day 2

2011-07-21T13:07:00.000-05:00

We had fun with this one. We used plain old Haynes t-shirts and inked on a design then set the group loose with a variety of fabric paints and the instructions to add an art phrase and their name. Of course several had to add a LOT more and so it went. I also included a shot of our great name tags here from yesterday.

We always spend some time in formal drawing and were able to pull quite a few books from the library to use as a guide (and introduce the group to them for possible check-out.) We did lots of sea life, monsters and aliens to get ready for the remaining projects. The kids jumped right in and soon were asking for more paper and the books for free draw times.

I like to use materials that are a little less traditional for kids to introduce them to the possibilities in art and metallic paint and dark surfaces fall into that category. I really appreciate my friends who helped out with the paints too. We look at around a dozen slides every day to share our tastes in art and examine them but also to supply concrete examples to use in their own paintings. There are so many good ones in this group but the fish and birds turned out especially well.

Click on the slide show below to share our day.

Painting on BIG paper @ Harker Heights Library art camp day 3

2011-07-21T12:08:00.000-05:00

This project is always a hit as we give kids much larger surfaces than they ususally get to have and tell them to use any of the brushes and tools they have been introduced to on the subject they pick. We have a large selection of brushes compliments of my painting friends and left-overs from other classes. We also had the pouncers, corks and palette knives to use in addition to forks (to make wavy lines.) Again a number of the painings were inspired by the slide show earlier in the day. Hopefully some of these will turn up in their art show.

We capped off the week with one of my favorite projects--food art--and apparently it was a hit with the kids and the staff as it was hard to get them out of the kitchen. There were no left-over rainbow cupcakes either! To do this project all you need is a box of white cake mix, food coloring, and several small bowls. Once mixed we divided the batter into 6 bowls, colored it with the coloring--mixing the orange and purple--and spooned it into the baking cups. After it is baked just frost and add a painted rainbow cookie before eating it.

Thought I'd include a picture of the great staff we had this week to pull this program off. It is always ideal to have lots of help to do the hands-on projects as the kids can get a bit freer in their artwork. Also great when everyone is enjoying being at camp!

Paint & Paper @ Harker Heights Library

2011-07-20T08:38:00.000-05:00

We took the camp on the road this week and what a great group! We started the week with pastels which to most kids are just chalk until they get the good colors and dark paper. We made name tags to get to know each other then launched into the first "painting" project--glue set pastel beach scene. To do this the kids first draw their picture onto white charcoal paper--it works better as it has a bit more tooth--then either dip the pastel pieces into school glue or paint sections with the glue and rub over them with the pastels. This lets them use several colors to do shading and cover any areas that are not totally gluey with a bit of glue to seal it. Not bad at all!

Next we did a bit of science with our painting and used a few tools to help us out. We used black pastel paper and drew the planets and moons either freehand or using patterns or templates to trace circles and ovals. Then the fun began--the students colored the plantets then we helped them add highlight areas for reflected sun. One of the kids did his really softly which turned out especially nice. Another skill we learned was how to clean up the areas that get smuggy and the set the pictures with hair spray (outside.)

Our last project was to create a dimensional picture using palette knives and texture paste. We also got to use finger pouncers which are very popular. I did the background of greenish blue on squares of foam core board before class then lead them through drawing a leaf from the veins out, painting it with a palette knife and adding the veins back with the edge of the knife. We then added stems for the dandelions and used the pouncers to create the fluffy look.

Click on the video below to share our camp day.

Seuss art camp day 3

2011-07-16T07:24:00.000-05:00

This was our messiest day by far but lots of fun too. We started with the Lorax story then made a diorama from a milk carton, straws and feathers, and a wood turning. The kids got to make the Lorax and decorate/color him then make the truffula trees using straws and feathers and mount everything into the box. I was a little concerned that the story and project might be a bit of a stretch for this age group but they were familiar with the story and really got into working with the materials. The kids even made a couple of extra truffula trees for me.

Breaking for a new story between projects has really worked out well. The kids love to be read to and we love reading to them. It sure made set up and change over a breeze. We did oobleck and it is a stunning mess but very fun. We used the cornstarch recipe and except for the sandwich bags being unequal to squishing things went very well. Not many bags went home but we were able to let it drip from our fingers and really get the idea "it is so oobleck." We had the wading pool to wash up in so messy was just fine.

We ended the day with painted feet and feathered hats. Painting each other's feet with shaving cream paint and making a "foot painting" was not for everyone so some didn't get a painting and some only decided at the very end to do this. The hats were a great success--I'll bet Bartholomew could have used a few of ours in his 500!

Take a look at the video slide show at the end of this blog.

Booklist for Seuss it up:
The 500 hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
Horton hears a Who
I can read with my eyes shut
Oh, the places you'll go
The Lorax
One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish
Yertle the turtle, and other stories
And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street
The butter battle book
The cat in the hat comes back!
Did I ever tell you how lucky you are
Dr. Seuss's Sleep book.
Fox in socks
Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!
My many colored days
The shape of me and other stuff
The Sneetches, and other stories
Thidwick, the big-hearted moose

The Foot Book

Seuss art camp day 2

2011-07-15T08:15:00.002-05:00

The second day of Seuss art camp was phenomenally fun. This group is in love with reading and with Seuss and willing to create. We started with stories and a white lunch bag for our "going home" bag. They drew and colored the bags as they chose using books from the book nook. Some wanted to draw more familiar animals like sand crabs and giraffes or aliens but all the bags turned out great.

Take a look at the video slide show at the end.

Then came the Yertle the Turtle project. We molded home made salt clay over an ice breaker box (a wonderful donation) then added legs, a head and a tail. I had floral beads for detailing the backs but when we offered small amounts of pink, orange, purple and light green clay the kids when into hyper create mode. What stunning turtles they made.

A quick break for story rug--Horton hears a who--which seems to be quite a favorite then creating a Horton finger puppet from a tp tube, construction paper, a chenille stem, pompom and a face from the seussville.com website. This turned out pretty good. Some of the kids had a bit of a challenge with the cutting but that is a skill for this age group so we were prepared to help them out. Everyone seems good with the glue sticks and Alene's glue on q-tips.

Our last project of the day was a quick little dinosaur finger puppet that they colored with pencils and cut out. The dinosaurs were a bit noisy with all the roaring!

Making clay sculptures @WBCL

2011-07-13T05:59:00.001-05:00

Clay is always so much fun to work with. It just brings out the imagination in a way not many other art products are able to do. I made up 4 colors of the cooked salt/flour clay and gave each participant 4 balls of clay, an OJ lid and a few toothpicks. We had magnet strips available for those who wanted to create a magnet. Some of the sculptures got far too big to hang but the diversity was fun to see from a giraffe with spots to a volcano to flowers to a dragon head. We got kind of an over run of people past our ticket amount but everyone shared some clay to let the extras work on a project too. The recipe for this clay is on the other page.

Making dragon masks @ art camp day 3

2011-07-11T08:30:00.001-05:00

We started the day making Draco the dragon boats, a Viking boat from sparkly felt and iridescent paper twist. They had to draw their boat, cut it out and mount it on a wooden oval. They got to pick if they made a pin or a magnet. We had looked at some of the Viking longboats in the museum in Oslo, Norway earlier in the week.

This turned out to be even more fun that we planned as the kids creativity and playfulness kicked in. Hardest part of the whole project was folding the edge of the bag. I made some templates for eyes and the mustaches but the group was free to do their bags as they wanted. We viewed a number of Chinese dragons and several New Year's dragon dances at the beginning of the day to give them an idea of what is used in traditional settings. We didn't have a lot of time to practice before the dragon dance at the end of the day but they found plenty of time to try the masks on and dance around with them anyway.

We started with a plain paper grocery bag, had a selection of colored paper and construction paper, tissue streamers, dividers from some kind of grocery item to use for horns, and a few chenille stems. Toward the end of this slide show is the video showing one of the bags in motion.

Painted dragon T's and pencil toppers @ art camp

2011-07-08T09:51:00.000-05:00

This might have been a stretch but it sure turned out great. I got black t-shirts and made a dragon stencil to start the shirts. I used so-soft paint and stamped the body onto everyone's shirt so they would have a big reptilian dragon to start painting. We used a combination of so-soft fabric paints and metallic paints to create the shirts. They were able to use finger pouncers to add dimension and to block in the wings. We even had a few 2 headed dragons and a request for a 7 headed one. (NOT)
We double dipped the stories today with Ms. Hall doing 3 at the beginning of the day and Councellor Keighla doing a couple at the end before their drawing time.
I found a cute dragon on the internet to use--a pencil topper that worked out very well. We sure had fun making them. I'll want to use all my special pencils from now on

Creating an accordion Chinese dragon @WBCL

2011-07-07T07:04:00.000-05:00

This was a great project for almost all ages and got lots of family interaction going. I printed the design on white cardstock paper to give it more body when glued.
First the group colored the dragon head and tail with colored pencils. They could have used markers but we rarely use the pencils so it is a good change. I cut colored cardstock in 1/4s lengthwise to make the accordion body. We then cut out the head and tail. Everyone folded their bodies then glued them to the head and tail pieces to make a 2 sided dragon. Last we taped on sticks front and back so the dragon could dance. Take a look at one in motion:

I found this project on the Crafts Jr site. http://www.craftjr.com/dragon-paper-craft/ Thanks to them for posting it.

Dragon week @ art mini-camp starts with origami, clay sculpting

2011-07-07T06:44:00.001-05:00

We started the day looking at a bit of history about dragons and looked at a Viking boat in an Oslo museum. We also talked a bit about the difference between Chinese dragons and medieval ones. Then on to the projects.

First the origami dragon then one molded in sculpy clay.
It was a complex design for some, easy for others but everyone folded a dragon in the end with a bit of help. The excited faces as the wings and head appeared and squeals of delight replaced the "I can't make it do that" and "it's too hard" comments. We are lucky to have a talented teen to lead the origami part of the camp and keep everyone folding.

To make the sculpy clay dragons we started with aluminum foil to make the base. This gives it a lot less weight to bake and lets the campers focus on the features of the dragon. I got several sparkly blocks which was good and bad. They look wonderful but are very much stiffer. Some of the campers refused to knead the clay when it was stiff and just stuck on the firmer blockier pieces. Not bad effect sometimes but it did not stick as well. There were all kinds of designs created from super cute to a realistic serpent. We used glass beads for eyes so we would not melt them during the baking. Some of the dragons will get a bit of paint on Thursday when the campers paint their T-shirts.

Peacocks, pelicans, and fantasy birds @ fins & feathers art camp day 3

2011-07-03T06:38:00.001-05:00

The title says it all. We did birds today. I got bottle holders from OTC and turned everyone loose with paints and glitter to complete them. The campers were instructed to use very little water so that the colors would not run on the canvas bags. They did a great job on these. Now if I could just remember to get their names on the projects first.

Our second project I found on the internet and will definately do a couple more times with variations. We made finger print peacocks. Kat created the bodies and cut them before class. the campers created the peacock "eyes" by finger painting 3 metallic colors of paint onto paper and cutting them out. They assembled a fan of feathers between the body and a crafts stick, added the "eyes" to the feathers then put on wiggle eyes and beaks. We looked at a number of peacock paintings and pictures at the beginning of the day to prepare.

Our last project was to create a fantasy bird using their imagination and the supplies on the tables. We had styrofoam eggs and balls, chenille stems, pom poms, wiggle eyes, and feathers of various sizes and colors. The project was placed on the end of a pencil and again the variety in the end was great.

Fins & Feathers art mini-camp day 2

2011-07-01T09:33:00.000-05:00

In the end there were sharks circling. The campers finished their hammerhead sharks and many of the younger ones were observed circing the open spaces. We spent most of our time focusing on the undersea aspects with Ms. Hall telling a couple of fish stories then our sharks and berry box aquariums. Both of these were recycled art projects. The sharks use paper towel tubes and metallic tissue paper that was donated.

The styrofoam for the aquarium is a bit of a mess to cut but it works really well for a base in the boxes. These are the 1 lb size that everyone got strawberries in this spring. We used chenille stems and fun foam sheets and shapes to complete the undersea worlds.

Our last project was supposed to be eagles and hawks but we turned into fabulous colorful birds and were happy for it. Take a look at our 2nd day of camp.

Fins & Feathers art camp includes Audubon's flamingo, sharks day 1

2011-07-01T07:47:00.001-05:00

The week started with a 2 part project. First we discussed John Audubon and viewed some of his prints then using the Picturing America print from the library we drew a flamingo standing on a rock onto watercolor paper. The campers then learned to use various watercolor techniques to complete the picture.
The results were remarkably good. Take a look at the video of the day.

Next we began our shark models. We selected the hammerhead as they are found in Texas waters and more interesting to create. The proved to be a challenge with many fins and parts but in the end they were a great project.

One of the elements we stress at camp is resource books available in the library and using time between projects to read them. The campers have created a reading "cave" under the supply table.
Book list for this week
1. All new crafts for Earth day
2. Amazing beaks
3. Beaks
4. The book of North American owls
5. Bright, lively, and loud
6. Face to face with sharks
7. Meet the peacock
8. My first fish
9. Night science for kids: exploring the world after dark
10. Ocean detectives: solving the mysteries of the sea
11. Ostriches and other flightless birds
12. Owl in the office
13. The peacock's pride
14. Seashore
15. What is a bird
16. Writings and drawings
17. Sharks
18. Super simple origami
19. Surprising sharks

Last day of Wild & Wacky science art camp

2011-06-26T18:30:00.000-05:00

What a busy day this turned out to be. We started by studying and creating our own kaliedescopes. We used kits that I got on-line and had great WOW factor. They were fairly simple to assemble and came with enough plastic shapes for refilling the screen or making several. We saved the extra and decorated our robots/aliens/monsters drawings at the end of the day.

Campers learned a bit more about fossils and how archaeological clean the things they find at digs. We tore open our "fossil boxes" and turned the castings upside down to brush off the most of the sand first. The kids then got stiff paint brushes and worked in a group to uncover each of the casts and figure out what had been used to create the fossil imprint. It was a little messy but very interesting to see the shapes appear.

Campers were sneaking over to the table to check on their crystals and see how well they crystallized most of the day. They took their project outside to expose them to the sun then brought them into a dark room to see them glow. I hear there was a lot of excited screeching heard and spinning involved in the viewing.
The kids also got to learn how to do rubbings of leaves and other items. They were exploring which would make the best rubbings--pencils or markers. Not sure which one won.
Hands down, causing the volcanoes to erupt is the much waited for activity. the plaster was dry and the measuring of ingredients began. You'll note the safety glasses and an occasional jump backward. We were lucky to have squirt bottles this year which are easier to get the vinegar into the volcano and get away than pouring it in with the funnel.

Wild & Wacky Science art camp keeps us hopping

2011-06-23T18:43:00.000-05:00

We have been busy with lots of projects that take more than 1 day to complete but that is half the fun of it. We made our volcanoes on Wednesday and started glow-in-the-dark crystals. We used rigid wrap again for the volcanoes layered with newspaper over a drink bottle and plastic cup. They make up this way so much better than using paper mache only. Friday is set for the day to erupt the volcanoes. We spent some of the slide discussion time on Wed. viewing several errupting volcanoes including the most recent one in Chile. This group knows a lot about fossils and minerals but hadn't made crystals. We used a recipe I found by Anne Marie Helmenstine on About.com: http://chemistry.about.com/od/holidayhowtos/a/glowsnowflake.htm Everyone is interested to see how they grow, if they will glow, if they will stick to the can...

We changed to smaller groups Thursday so we could complete the 4 projects. We had Sharon Hall with us again telling a story she created about Pele and her volcano.

We created a fossil box useing sand and various bone, shells, wood and other items then poured plaster over it to make a casting. Tomorrow they get to lift off the casting and brush off the sand.
Another area allowed campers to create sail cars to race. They used kits but had to do all the construction using glue and then decorate the flags. I was told they worked pretty well.
The area where they made tops had to investigate which kind of a flag would help it spin and which would hinder it. Everyone wanted the jewels on their flag which made it perform the worst.
Last was the area to create shrink-it art pieces. We started out with individual cut outs then had half the group make a 1/4 page picture. The campers were amazed at how much the plastic shrank down and had fun watching it bubble and twist before it finished flat.

We are really appreciative for all the donations and help the community and HOTT painting group have given so we have the supplies to allow us to do these projects.

Bottle cap artwork @WBCL

2011-06-23T06:39:00.000-05:00

This turned out to be a fantastic recycled art project! We collected all kinds of bottle caps for months and the large hard cardboard inserts from library shipments then added imagination. Participants were told to draw a large picture with a marker and fill it in with a variety of bottle caps. Most were plastic but a there were also metal caps at each table. The plastic caps stick easily with school glue but the metal ones need hot glue to be sure they will hold. At the end we decorated the whole thing with sequins from our jar of left-overs.
This is a great use for something that our recycling company cannot take. Wonder if they melt? Ah, another project idea.

Finishing up 3D art in motion creates many wonderful projects

2011-06-20T08:47:00.000-05:00

It was a really busy week with lots of interesting things to make and take home. The younger group made their helicopters with a slight modification and what a stunning job they did. We eliminated the legs and just put on the bottom rails to make it more stable and a bit easier. Of course it helps to have 3 assistants so everyone gets plenty of hands-on help.

The older group started with 5 bags of "junk" recyclables and glue guns to stick the pieces together. The variety of creations including those with multiple pieces and moving parts shows great use of imagination. There is a whole scene of a man and a boy walking a dog, a 2 seat swing that really works, all kinds of people and animals, a model of Saturn with rings, a "paddle ball" game that really works, and Rudolf the reindeer complete with okra antlers. We even learned a bit about okra pods. There was quite a bit of teamwork at points in the process as things needed holding or fitting.

We finished the day making little painted jeweled treasure boxes and wind spinners. I can hardly wait for the 2nd 3-D art camp.

Windsocks, pinwheels and whirlybirds @ art camp

2011-06-16T18:26:00.000-05:00

This was a day of challenges and accomplishments. We started with our storyteller Sharon Hall visiting and taking us on a magic carpet ride to set the stage. We moved on to creating our windsocks. The stencils and glitter glue gave us a bit more variety to the designs. All the campers were able to put this one together and make the tissue tails move in the wind.

The older group went on to create an egg carton whilybird that has propellers that really spin. It has a lot of steps but again we pulled it off and lots of OOHs and AAHs were heard.

Both goups made their 2 layer pinwheels too. I saw a lot of spinning with the pinwheel turning on its stick. They were very colorful too.

If you judge the fun level by the noise level then were are having a VERY good time. It is nice to see the kids help each other out in attching parts or knotting strings.

Clay and pinecone fish @WBCL

2011-06-16T06:43:00.000-05:00

Clay is always a popular medium and adding pinecones and beads was just the touch we needed. I used home made salt/flour clay as a base and had everyone make a fish with the details they wanted to include. We next took the individual pieces from pinecones and dipped them into a little white glue and inserted them into the clay to form the scales on the fish. We added glossy green beads for eyes and took them home to dry for a couple of days.
We could have painted them before or after putting on the pinecones but wet clay is unpredictable and can get gooey. Some of the group will paint them when they dry at home. Easy enough for all ages.

3D art camp starts with Calder

2011-06-16T06:33:00.000-05:00

What great projects these turned out to be! When we viewed the slides Calders installations generated a lot of discussion. Kat lead the group with a video presentation and lots of great supplies. We converted hangers and cardboard into our own balanced installations adding beads and corks and imagination. The variations in projects was amazing.

Our second project was to create our own windchimes. Although the kits with the chimes came from OTC, I cut them appart so we could actually make the whole chime with added decorative touches. Kids do not learn how to tie things, it seems. Well, many of them did learn how to thread and tie on this project but our knotting skills were definately used. It was a noisy project as each of the campers jiggled the chimes to check if they would ring--many times.

Big Paper painting caps off 1st week of art camp

2011-06-11T07:03:00.001-05:00

This has been a popular project each time we have attempted it as the large size surface seems to release the artistic urges in nearly everyone. We began the day reviewing artwork from some of the masters- Monet and van Gough as well as a number of current artists from modern to traditional. The group is well divided on what they like and what they do not like. They appreciated colorful but not if the design was something "weird." We were able to get the large newsprint pages and tape them to the walls. Students shared pallets, but drew their own designs and then created them. You can see their painted aprons in these pictures too. Some were very traditional others modern. A few are destined to be Father's day presents.

We completed the day with a couple of shorter projects that incorporated color and textures. We created rainbow cupcakes and cookies by mixing the colors of cupcake batter and layering them into the cups. We then painted the cookies using Karo syrup that we tinted with food coloring. Fun and very messy! Oh, and by the way--we ate the whole project!http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-rainbow-cupcakes/

Lastly we did a dandelion picture. some of the group created the backgounds using several colors on foam brushes. We added texture paste on pallete knives for leaves and stems then used finger pouncer balls to create the flowers. Some of the students got a little wild and pounced everywhere but most are identifiable.

Paint & paper art mini-camp @WBCL

2011-06-09T18:34:00.000-05:00

First art camp of the summer and what a group! These kids love to draw and are really engaged with the projects. We painted aprons on Wednesday and each one is as individual as the kids. It was fun to see them fill out the outlines and put their own spin on what "Color my World" meant. We then spent the rest of the afternoon doing drawings pulled from books in the library collection. Fun part is picking which books they want to check out on Friday.

Thursday we spent most of the day using chalk pastels. These were new to most of the kids but everyone was able to complete the 2 projects. We drew a beach scene then used glue to aid us in painting the pictures on white charcoal paper. The second project I found on-line and really liked the look. I heard lots of comments from the campers about how they liked using the black paper too. We did planets that we drew then colored and shaded with the pastels. Our last project was a 4x4" tile painted in a design of their choosing. There were spider webs, unicorns, butterflies, I love Dad and lots of rainbows and flowers. In between projects if the kids get finished early they can look at the books or do free drawing and draw they have done. They also did a bit of paper folding making cats & dogs and fortune telling blocks. Tomorrow we'll paint giant pictures, bake rainbow cupcakes and finish with a painting using unique techniques and materials. The week really is going fast!

Painting on BIG paper @ WBCL

2011-06-03T12:13:00.000-05:00

This was a popular project last year and even better this year. We mounted large sheets of packing paper on the windows and cabinet doors with tape and put slightly smaller sheets on the tables for the littler kids.

Everyone donned their aprons and drew designs on the papers while we prepared egg cartons of paints for them and let them select their brushes.

What a great variety of designs! The parents and kids kept saying how they liked this project and especially the larger size.

Making pebble mosaics @ WBCL

2011-05-29T11:59:00.002-05:00

I was given a box of 6x6 tiles and some plaster earlier this year. I thought that would be the perfect start for this project. We mixed the plaster with water and a little school glue but it hardened up way to fast. So on to plan 2, just use the glue.
First the participants drew their designs with pencil onto the tiles. Next they started filling areas with glue then adding the colored stones. They did need to be reminded that it was essential to use enough glue to hold the stones--Do Not Stint on the glue. Everyone seemed to have good time and turned out some great designs.

Making cork bugs @WBCL

2011-05-19T05:59:00.001-05:00

What to do with a HUGE donation of wine corks that is both fun and able to be done by many ages of participants? The answer of course is make a bug from the cork. We had both plastic and real cork ones to work with and used both. I pre-drilled the leg holes on all of them and brought 16 penny nails to class to use as punches if needed.

We used colored chenille stems for the legs and to attach the wooden bead head while creating the antenea. Some added wings too.Each leg got a small wooden bead for a foot to give it some stability and counter the weight of the cork body. Some of the participants even created flowers for the bugs to sit on.

Making Mother's Day cards @WBCL

2011-05-11T09:43:00.001-05:00

This activity draws out the creativity of the group as everyone creates a card for the special mom or grandmom or aunt or friend who is a mom. We used half sheets of colored paper as a base and set out scrapbook papers, markers and crayons, and a few other bits of things to use in decorating and constructing the perfect card. Each person seemed to know exactly what their card needed to make it perfect. I found a pile of colored envelopes to use that one of my painting friends gave us for the classes last year--Hallmark, no less. These also got a bit of decorating and quite a few got a message. Bet there were pleased moms on their day.

Paper flowers for Cinco de Mayo @ WBCL

2011-05-11T06:14:00.000-05:00

A few sheets of tissue paper, a bead, an egg carton cup and a chenille stem is all it takes to create these colorful flowers. I made them as a child from colored kleenex but the tissue paper is easier to deal with. We fan-folded the paper and secured it with a stem then began to fluff out the flowers.

Making our own recylce center @WBCL/ recycled creatures

2011-04-21T09:17:00.002-05:00

It is great to be able to use old boxes and containers for some new purpose and in this case as a spot to collect items to sort them for or repurposing. The library has had many large coffee containers and boxes donated to use in the program. They are not ideal for storage for me as I want to be able to see what is in the container but for a sorting location they are great. Everyone decorated their own and put on messages that they thought were important. One of the parents made a mail container for her car with her daughter to get that under control. What a great idea!

For the second second session we made creatures out of materials that were "found." The results are always fun and creative and this time was no different. Some of the creatures are clearly "out of this world!" One of the kids decided that the rag was just perfect to create a horse puppet with the addition of the glue spreading sticks. Clever!

Making and decorating paper eggs @ WBCL

2011-04-16T06:33:00.001-05:00

Plastic eggs have lots of uses but are really difficult to paint on due to the slick surface. The shape makes them a bit harder to stabilize too so I hit on the idea of covering them with tissue paper. I tried out several glues and found stick glue sticks to work best for everyone. We used the slightly heavier paper torn into strips and irregular pieces and covered the entire egg. We gave it a quick dry with a hair dryer then painted our designs. Most were able to complete 2 in the hour. One of the moms made a chick complete with wings and feet. Great creative impulses in our group. Next week we are making a home recycling center.

Painting wildflowers @ WBCL

2011-04-07T08:09:00.000-05:00

With the display of Texas wildflowers a bit meager this year, the group produced a vibrant array of flowers that any hillside would be jealous of!

I did a quick sketch of the flowers and made copies so the activity could be painting instead of drawing. Using paint supplied by members of HOTT we went at it and the results were spectacular. After the flowers were completed the group was encouraged to add bees and butterflies which they did with great enthusiasm. A few even added backgrounds which really change the look of the design. In the spirit of age 8 to 90 a few of the parents took up a brush and did their own paintings.

Springy bumble bee pins @ WBCL

2011-04-03T18:50:00.000-05:00

This is one of those cute crafty painting projects that is able to be done successfully by many age groups. We began by gluing the pin back to the back of a wooden half ball. The group then painted the ball yellow and added a black face and tail area as well as black stripes with a marker. They also painted the little heart wings with cream paint then glued them to the back of the ball.

Rodeo banks from juice bottles

2011-03-28T17:02:00.001-05:00

Juice bottle banks are ever popular because there is so much you can do to make them personal. We used 2 qt size bottles with 16 oz water bottles for the cowboy. First we covered the bottle with school glue then slipped on a lunch sized paper bag and patted it on securely. For the horse we added a mane and tail, for the long horn we added horns. We tried to get ears on to all of them but some are earless. We had large wiggle eyes to use this time but could have drawn on eyes or used felt cuts.

For the cowboy we got creative with our donated materials--paper mache eggs glued into bottle caps make the head secure. The bottle cap is then glued to the bottle cap and a hat added to complete the illusion of a cowboy. We pulled out the fabric bin and everyone dressed them as they wished. We even had jute rope available for the lasso! One of the horses has his rider mounted on his back using an egg cup section to attach him.

Very creative group here each week. This is a fun was for families to work on something together without the frustration of "what do I do next" or the mess.

Kite making @ WBCL

2011-03-16T06:54:00.001-05:00

This is a fun and easy kite and it probably won't really fly. Well, to kids all kites fly and they wanted to prove it at the end of the class. These are more the "run with it" kind of kites but that is what most kids do. This kite requires no cutting, only folding and gluing. I marked it in advance for the class. We did the same kite in the 1st grade the previous day with great results as well. I used legal size card stock for the kite and ribbons of stiff tissue paper for the tail. We did add a thin dowel at the cross point to hold on to. On a couple of the kites we had to make a ribbon handhold as the kids taped down the whole dowel from side to side.

Butterfly masks for Mardi Gras @ WBCL

2011-03-05T13:39:00.000-06:00

Using fun foam is not my favorite from an environmental point of view but there was little to select from in ready to use masks in any form. I was able to get a bonus pack of butterflies and a package of cardboard butterfly masks and create enough for the group to use and not break the bank!

We had lots of Mardi Gras beads and sequins to use, a few jewels, and of course, feathers. Some of the parents were reluctant to use lots of glue but assurances that it takes a lot to hold the beads on won out. We cut the long strands of beads to fit the spaces or the border and went from there. Every one of the masks is unique and were really fun to make.

Creating with woodsies @WBCL

2011-02-28T06:54:00.000-06:00

So what do you do with boxes of small wooden pieces and about a zillion wooden beads? This was the challenge this week for the group at the Wells Branch Community Library and they took it on successfully. Some of the wood pieces were undrilled so we had to make our own connections to string them. In an aha! moment we just hot glued a bead to the top of the pieces and added them where we wanted them.
They made necklaces, bracelets, key chains and just strings of items. Once the creation was complete the unpainted pieces got either a bit of color from markers or some individualization from glitter glue. As usual, this is a real family activity as everyone works together on the projects.
The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated or recyclable materials and imagination into great projects.
You may also want to take a look at the Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. Check the library website for detail.

Finger puppets @ WBCL

2011-02-18T09:45:00.001-06:00

What a great project this was! Initially we were going to make presidential finger puppets to celebrate Presiden'ts day. I had a boxfull of tubes from serger thread that were donated to me last summer and home made clay from the project at school today.

This was a great combination to make these from. After the faces were constructed we added yarn for hair and put a bit of Aleen's tacky glue on the plastic to adhere the clay face to the plastic tube. we then used felt to create clothes and glue them onto the tube.

I ran out of the tubes and we tried out using old medication bottles as a base and they were great for the littler fingers of our last 2 kids. This class is truely a family class and more fun for that. Join us any Wednesday night at 6 pm for a great arts & crafts project.

f you missed the recipe for the clay, I'll share it again so that anyone who wants to make some can do that. I found it on the internet and am in love with it as you can make volumes of great colored clay for pennies!

Thanks to Susan Caplan at Suite101 for this great air dry clay. http://kidscrafts.suite101.com/article.cfm/salt_and_flour_craft_dough_recipes

Cooked Flour Dough

This is another play clay, although this one needs to be cooked.

· 1 cup flour

· 1 tablespoon salad oil

· 1 cup water

· ½ cup salt

· 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

· A few drops of food coloring or tempera paint until deep enough color is achieved

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and use a wooden spoon to stir over medium heat. Stir constantly. The mixture will be soupy for several minutes and then will suddenly stick together and can be stirred into a ball. When the dough thickens, remove the pan from the heat and continue stirring. Turn the hot ball of dough onto a floured surface and knead as it cools.

Making paper dragons to celebrate Chinese New Year

2011-02-07T09:13:00.000-06:00

Brrrrr! it was cold Wednesday night but a few families still turned out for a really fun project. These paper dragons were as fierce as any I've seen with fire coming out of their snouts and a row of very sharp looking teeth.

We used a 6" paper plate, paper towel tube and a white sandwich bag as the base, added shredded paper from the diamond cutter and tissue paper cut into strips for the embellishments.

You may also want to take a look at the Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. Check the library website for detail

Painting Pandas @ WBCL

2011-01-27T10:45:00.000-06:00

This was a quick and easy painting session on using the brushes to create texture, in this case fur. I ran shadow copies of a panda bear on cardstock then gave everyone a stiff natural hair brush. They were to put thick paint on the tip and drag it over the area to make it look like fur. When they finished the white areas we washed their brushes and dried them on a chamois then painted the black areas. The black fur was not as distinct as the white. A couple of the painters made the fur "fluffier" around the edges.
This gave us a chance to talk about panda bears, where we might see one and what they eat. I was able to get bamboo stalks from a neighbor so we could add a stalk or two to embellish the pages. A few even were able to position the stalk so the panda could munch on the leaves!

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated or recyclable materials and imagination into great projects.

You may also want to take a look at the Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. Check the library website for details.

Snowman mini-books @ WBCL

2011-01-20T07:01:00.002-06:00

This was a fun project for all and how creative they were! We started with regular Altoids containers and a long strip of paper. I pre-cut a thick piece of blue felt for the base and gave everyone a selection of felt to make the snowman--white, black, orange--and leftover sequins from the holidays. Each person drew thier snowman then cut out the pieces and decorated them to suit. They added top hats and brooms, neckties and buttons.

On the inside we created a fold-out story book from colored legal size paper. I cut the sheets to the right height but the group had to fit corners and do all the folding to fit the cans. We had leftover funfoam snowmen to use on the book cover. The book pages can be fixed into the bottom of the can with double back tape but most were not ready and like the idea of just keeping the book in the can and writing the story. One of the girls had 4-5 pages done before they left Wednesday night.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated or recyclable materials and imagination into great projects.

You may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. Check the library website for details.

Recycled Egg carton birdfeeders

2011-01-13T09:46:00.001-06:00

This great project is one I did at school with the kindergarten kids and decided to enlarge on it a little for the family arts & crafts group. We do not regularly keep paper egg cartons at the library and my supply was low but a request to the neighborhood wblistserve produced enough for this program and another besides. The project uses a TP roll that is first decorated then cut in about 1" from the bottom to form a base to glue to the lid of the egg carton. We used ribbons as hangers to thread through the holes in both ends of the carton and tied them at the center with another ribbon to use as a longer hanger.
We added a pine cone with peanut butter and sunflower seeds to the end of the tray for the bigger birds.This was a lot of fun and we were able to discuss a little the kinds of birds that might visit. I wish a safe glue would hold the tube to styrofoam as these could be placed out in the weather but I haven't found one I'd like to use at this point.
I have posted a list of food for feeding the birds from a fellow gardener.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated or recyclable materials and imagination into great projects.

You may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. Check the library website for details.

Painting kids and snowmen

2011-01-12T12:26:00.002-06:00

This week in recognition of the cold and the snow in the news we painted a snow scene with a couple of kids building a snowman. The instructions were to leave the snowman white but paint his scarf, arms and hat. It is not always my preference to do "coloring book" painting but this still leaves a lot of room for creativity and some skill in filling in pattern lines. The younger attendees did not think the snowman should be left blank and gave it a generous brush of paint too.

When the painting was completed everyone painted the snowman with elmer's glue and a dose of sparkling glitter to top it off. Nice and easy painting project and a good lead in for the Snowman book project next week.

Painting cookie ornaments

2010-12-26T07:34:00.001-06:00

With a selection of lots of little cookie shapes the group painted their hearts out making an array of cookie ornaments to take home and use. Sugar cookies are an easy pallette for the artist armed with gels and stiff brushes. We put stripes on candy canes, decorated little trees and just let our imaginations run wild. This is such a fun way for the family to do something together.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated or recyclable materials and imagination into great projects.
You may also want to take a look at the new Art &crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. Check the library website for details.

Making jewelry & gift boxes @WBCL

2010-12-09T12:01:00.001-06:00

Just in time for some kind of a holiday we got out all the gift boxes we had and many trays of beads and wood shapes to create jewelry for the participants or friends and family. Members of the HOTT painting group and community members have given me so many beads and wood shapes that this class was just waiting to happen!

The boxes were also donated, just needing the right decoration and a bow or ribbon to give them out. We decided that painting the wood with markers and then using it would best. One of the boys learned to thread beads on elastic to make a bracelet for his little sister. Older kids made gifts for school friends.
There were bracelets, necklaces and clips created. No one went home with less than 2 gifts--some were able to create a few more. The tree boxes and bows were a big hit as you can see.
Last class of 2010 will be painted cookie ornaments/decorations complete with ribbons on December 22nd.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated or recyclable materials and imagination into great projects.

You may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. Check the library website for details.

Snowglobe sceenes @WBCL

2010-12-02T10:30:00.001-06:00

This was a great recycling project with shiney CDs and old plastic snow! started with 1/4 sheets of white cardstock and folded it in 4 sections and folded the bottom up about 1/3" to give a base. Everyone then drew and colored scenes on all of the sections and cut around the tops of each scene. There were snowmen and buildings and people and trees. Lots of great drawings. We then glued the paper together and onto the CD with tacky glue. Lastly we added a 9 oz cup over the whole thing to act as our globe.

My idea was to limit the mess and put the snow through a paper cone into the hole in the CD. Most of the class decided it was easier to put the snow into the cup and put it back onto the CD.
It was fun and did not break like the baby food jar ones. Definately had more creativity with the drawings.
The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated or recyclable materials and imagination into great projects.

You may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. Check the library website for details.

Thanksgiving figures @ WBCL

2010-11-19T07:36:00.000-06:00

Thanks to my painting friends at HOTT for the wooden cut-outs this week. We were given a box of wood cut-outs of pilgrims, turkeys, and "indians" all ready for painting and using to decorate at Thanksgiving. Lots of the adults got into the act this week with nearly as many grown-ups painting as kids. Some decided the lines were not for them and did their own thing. Others added details until they were well pleased with the figure. My favorite was the pilgrim girl with Happy Thanksgiving written on her apron.
We will be doing quite a bit of holiday oriented painting and crafting in the next few weeks and will apparently have a full house every week. This class is for families to do these projects together--keeping the mess at the library and letting them socialize with others.
The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated or recyclable materials and imagination into great projects.

You may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. Check the library website for details.

Pinecone turkeys roost @ WBCL

2010-11-05T15:36:00.000-05:00

What is more fun than using clay and feathers? This group would be hard pressed to find something they like better other than painting. We used 3 colors of home-made clay for the head and added a blob of clay to the back end to mount the feathers for the tail. I had lots of left- over bright colored feathers in addition to the fall pack of brown and orange. As you can see, many turkeys got brightly colored tails. We used little plastic beads for eyes--some had extra detail around them provided by yellow or clay. Some even added feet with the yellow clay--mostly to stabilize the pine cone so it would not flip over.

The Family Arts &; Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated or recyclable materials and imagination into great projects.

You may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. Check the library website for details.

Painted gourds @ WBCL

2010-10-28T10:19:00.001-05:00

First question "what is a gourd?" The answer is a little pumpkin-like ball that we grow and dry to paint on. The concept that these balls had been grown and even had seed in them seemed to impress some of the students. One of the gourds cracked open and had to be patched with brown paper and glue. All in all everyone had fun painting and decorating them and showing them off. A few of the participants got the long necked gourds when the supply of round ones was depleted.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated or recyclable materials and imagination into great projects.

You may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. Check the library website for details.

Spook-tacular Pumpkin painting @ WBCL

2010-10-23T13:00:00.000-05:00

The threat of rain did not deter the crowds who came to claim their pumpkins and make one of a kind creations to set out at home. Families painted together--most got covered in paint as they turned out all kinds of pumpkins. Some were works of art, others were "scarry" or not but within an hour most had their pumpkin ready with cobweb hair, spiders and a variety of self cut shapes to make them "exactly right." We even had glow-in-the-dark paint to add for final effects.

There were acts of heroism as tickets that would not be claimed because of sick children were passed on to others who were unable to get tickets. At the end of the day a mom generously gave her pumpkin to a little girl and her dad who came late so they could do one as there were no more to be had.

This was a totally volunteer staffed event headed by Dianne Koehler who teaches the arts and crafts classes weekly at the library. Thank so much to the wonderful people who turned out to help and to HEB for a cash donation and Heart of Texas Tolers for donating paint and some other materials.

Scarecrows come to life @ WBCL

2010-10-21T09:18:00.000-05:00

It was messy and a bit complicated but the scarecrows that resulted were a real hit! I was given a sack of raffia and a baggie of home made hats by a friend and had corn husks left over from another project to use as the inspiration for these little scarecrows. I also scavenged enough tea dyed fabric for all the faces so they look a bit more aged.

We were able to create a whole field of them to scare off any crow==we never did make the crows though. This was a step by step project and the class was definately up to doing this--even some of the younger kids cut raffia, put the faces on their scarecrow, and dressed them in ponchos or skirts.We kept to using raffia ties on the arms and legs although some resorted to twist ties to secure the ends of the arms.

I am putting the step by step instructions on my website if you didn't make the class and want to make one or more for your fall decor. http://sites.google.com/site/woodenitbewonderful

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated or recyclable materials and imagination into great projects.

You may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the library website for details.

Using one stroke techniques for the holidays

2010-10-19T12:24:00.000-05:00

The adult/teen drawing and painting group stretched a bit this month and learned how to create some fantastic holiday decor using the One Stroke painting method. The library has 4 video DVDs demonstrating this method and I have a number of pattern books in my collection.
We started with the cornucopia with a few simple fruit to complete it. From "oh that looks hard" to "wow, that is really simple" didn't take long. The grapes were especially popular.

We then moved on to a fluffy evergreen wreath with berries. We discussed using it for window decor or Holiday or Christmas cards. As all the wreaths were pretty big so we added a snowman in the middle complete with hat and birds.

We moved off the thick paper and created a wooden door hanger as the last project of the day. By this point the class was a bit tired and ready to go home but not before signing up for the next month's project of a watercolor poinsettia.

The drawing and painting group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library the 3rd Sunday of each month and is taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn imagination into great projects.

You may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the library website for details.

WBCL hosts Columbus ship building night

2010-10-14T09:10:00.003-05:00

First we had a little discussion of who Columbus was and when he sailed his ships to discover America. Then the fun began. Using Styrofoam packing materials saved from various purchases shipped to the library over the last year, I cut the bases and captain's bridge at home to decrease the mess and chances of knife cuts at the class. I haven't cut myself yet but sharp blades and kids do not mix at the ages that attend these sessions.

Everyone also received pre-printed sails to cut out and fix onto the craft stick masts. Most of the boats got a wrapping of brown paper to simulate wood. Some got cannons and other attachments including oars. The last step was to add the Spanish cross to the sails or some other detail. One of them transformed into a pirate ship at this point!

The most fun part of the whole project is that the ships will float and many may make it to the pond or the creeks for a tryout in the next week or so. Watch for them!

Getting ready for Pumpkin painting@wbcl

2010-10-12T15:36:00.001-05:00

Taking a look at the Pumpkin Painting books and other websites always puts me in the mood. I found a few more pictures to love--Cheryl Horan's and ones by Rick Buziewicz and a few by Monica Konechne all on Ask.com and of course my favorite books and Better Housekeeping's website and on and on. Best of all, the DecoArt website has 40 great examples of painted pumpkins using the paint that has been donated to us. How cool is that!

I was able to find spiders, spider web, lots of great colors of paint, lots of yarns, fun foam for ears, eye patches and other add-ons and even a site for stencils although the kids have never needed them before. I am on the look-out for glow in the dark paint to finish the pumpkins with and make them even more fun.

Of course some of them may need a hat or even a bat circling on a wire.

Only 12 more days until painting day.We'll be painting on October 23rd from 10 am until noon at the Wells Branch Community Library. This special event is partially sponsored by our local HEB and the Heart of Texas Tolers who graciously supply paint and other crafts items for our programs.

Drawing Animals brings out the artists @WBCL

2010-10-07T07:14:00.000-05:00

All it took was a sheet of white paper, a pencil and a budding artist to create great drawing of a number of great animal drawings.We used a number of books right off the shelves to direct us and the concept of circles, eggs and triangles being at the heart of drawing. We started with the mouse in Scott Sutton's book The group then moved on drawing dinosaurs and fish.

The group did a great elephant and a cat with a long tail. We finished the night with a shark and a sea monster with scales. Most of the books I used check out to the participants to do extra drawing at home. This is a real bonus to using the books off the shelf to teach the class. k

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated materials and imagination into great projects.

You may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the library website for details.

Pebble Mosaics @ WBCL

2010-09-30T21:55:00.000-05:00

Pebble mosaics or pebble art has been a hit everytime we have tried it. I have been looking for a new glue to hold it all together and think I found one. It was so simple and produced an old-fashioned paste kind of like I used as a kid. I love these cook-it-up-in-the-kitchen items.

We used thick cardboard as our base and drew our designs. Any design was fine as long as the 4 colors of stone I brought would work in their project. We had green, blue, lavender, and red stones to use. The nicest part about using paste is that you can see the lines you have drawn so the design is much easier to complete.
The kids, all the ages of them from parents down to about age 3, slathered on the glue and created dogs, flowers, t T-rex, fish, and even the Titanic.
I found the recipe for the Paper Paste on the web and made it up in about 10 minutes.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated materials and imagination into great projects.

You may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the library website for details.

Watercolor Fall Leaves @WBCL

2010-09-22T06:37:00.001-05:00

This was definately a project that got wows and oohs and aahs! We started with large sheets of heavy watercolor paper (120 lbs) and student tube pigments. Everyone traced around wooden leaves with the direction to have the overlap. Then the fun began.

We used foam brushes to wet the paper which was actually hard for some of the group. They kept wanting to take a paper towel and blot the water back off the page. Once they started adding a bit of color though, everything changed. Showing them how to make the color run by moving the paper and push it around with a brush turned them into Jack Frosts. Finally we used pallete knives to scratch in veins which got more oohs and aahs.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated materials and imagination into great projects.

You may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the library website for details.

Drawing and Painting Pumpkins @ WBCL

2010-09-20T10:58:00.000-05:00

What a fun project and everyone was able to draw a grouping of pumpkins and gourds then paint them and take home a finished project. We used cardboard from shipping boxes as our surface and drew with chalk until we had the composition how we wanted it. Amazing that they we quick and great shapes.

Everyone used acrylic paints and a variety of techniques to complete the paintings. It did take a bit longer to complete but was well worth the effort.

The Drawing and Painting group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every month on the 3rd Sunday and is taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets teens and adults try out their artistic abilities.

You may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the library website for details.

Picture collages @ WBCL

2010-09-17T10:05:00.000-05:00

This really turned out to be fun and more creative than ever before. 3rd time charm, I guess. I precut pictures from travel magazines and cut foam core into 6x7" squares then put out construction and scrapbook paper and some confetti, silk flowers, and fuzzy yarns.

This was a full room crowd again so I think we'll be back to tickets. The creations were great and the number of parents doing a "me too" project was about 100%. It is great to be able to craft and create with the kids and "leave the mess behind."

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donated materials and imagination into great projects.

You may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the library website for details.

Creating sculpey clay magnets @ WBCL

2010-09-09T08:59:00.002-05:00

It is like a treasure hunt to go through the cabinets and drawers for supplies to use in this class. Almost 2 years ago we accumulated a boxful of sculpey clay for summer projects then packed away the remainder for later. Much later!

Using a cute resource book called Make your own Fridge magnets and a free guide from Michael's/Americana on SmoothFoam we again launched our imaginations. Everyone learned how to knead the clay and roll it out using a dowel as a rolling pin.

What a great group of magnets! sure beats the boring ones on my fridge advertising last year's calendar and what day to push the trash out to the curb.

Parents and kids alike got into the act and created bugs, elephants, fish, jewelery, and more.
Using the directions on the clay, we baked them for 15 minutes @ 275 degrees then added self adhesive magnets. For more projects like this check out sculpey.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donations, left-over supplies, and imagination into great projects.

Summer ends with back to back painting sessions @ WBCL

2010-09-02T10:46:00.000-05:00

We used the giant sunflowers on the wall for our guide and drew sunflowers to paint.
We used our fists and fingers for gauging the size of the center and the petals but had to revert to the size of mom's finger for some of the smaller attendees.
As you can see the outcomes are totally different and the others were just as varied. Hate it when the battery dies on the camera when you have fabulous examples to show off!

The next session started off with a quick slide show of the Talavera tiles and other painted and fired Mexican tiles. Each of the participants (including most of the parents) painted on glazed tiles using Liquitex Glossies paints. I offered up all the leftover tiles I had, 4", 2 1/2", sets of 4 2" tiles and let their imaginations and creativity run wild. At the end of the night I had my example and NO tiles left.
Such a great variety of outcomes. Most chose to add magnets to the backs but several will sit on a desk or other surface.

One of the best comments last night was from a parent who has attended with a pre-school child for a couple of years: She did this all by herself and I can really tell how well she does. Kids younger than 7 do attend regularly with parents and really grow in their art over time.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donations and imagination into great projects.

you may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the website for details.

Dogs & Cats from paper bags @ WBCL

2010-08-20T11:37:00.000-05:00

The heat of the summer and the beginning of school didn't slow this group down in their efforts to customize paper bags into a brood of cute puppies and cats.

One of the cats has a long tail that we made stiff with a pipe cleaner. I think these were better than the ones in the book and certainly have a great deal more character.

We used the book "Look What You Can Make With Paper Bags" Judy Burke, ed. for direction.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donations and imagination into great projects.

you may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the website for details.

Wacky Art in Science is way too much fun

2010-08-16T15:10:00.000-05:00

We started the week constructing volcanoes from water bottles, shredded paper, plaster and a great product I found at Michaels called Rigid Wrap. Getting the campers to understand that the paper needed to be fluffed not packed took some doing but soon everyone had their volcanoes forming well. We plastered any holes with the leftover grout from the mosaics and let all of the dry.

We finished the first day drawing the designs on our T-shirts. The imagination they showed was impressive. We used permanent sharpies for the designs which are line drawings. Later we'll flood them with rubbing alcohol to make the watercolor type shirts.

The second day we created shapes from colored pipe cleaners then put them into a borax solution to make crystals. All day long the kids went to the window sill to see if their crystals were making. Some of the kids put too much borax into the jars and caused it to precipitate instead of make crystals. The jars had to be reheated for the kids to get their crystals. What a great project this was. It only takes 5 TBS of Borax to 2 Cups of water and 24 hours.

There was such a lot of excitement to see which volcanoes would erupt best. It takes 1/2 cup water, 1 TBS baking soda, 3 drop of dish washing soap, and a couple of drops of food color in the bottles to start the project. We measured 1/2 Cup vinegar and held a funnel over the top of the bottle and quickly poured in the vinegar. Red and yellow foam spewed out and shot up to the accompaniment of squeals and screams from all the kids. They decided that the wide mouth ones did not shoot as high as the narrow mouth ones.

We did a section on "what makes it work" taking some electronic items apart with screwdrivers and chisels the using some of the components to make robots and other creations.

Our last project - making ice cream - was not very successful. It was already over 100 degrees when we went out to roll the cans. we were able to get the ice cream to the consistency of milk shakes but no more frozen. We drank them anyway.

The Arts mini-camp is held at the Wells Branch Community Library and taught by Dianne Koehler.

Sand painting @ WBCL

2010-08-11T15:07:00.002-05:00

It was a full house as it has been most of the summer and the creativity was flowing. Everyone got a sheet of blue paper and 6 colors of tempera paint. We added sand to the paint to thicken it and then painted with the crafts sticks using them to create the textured detail that the sand can provide.

As you can see the variety of designs was superb and of course several of the parents were asking for paper too so they could paint along with their kids. We get a wide range of ages participating so it is sometimes tough to have projects for all ages but this on was not hard at all.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donations and imagination into great projects.

you may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the website for details.

More mosaics 2 at mini-art camp in Wells Branch

2010-08-07T13:20:00.001-05:00

These are the rest of the project we did this week for the small group at my place. We had fun creating our T-shirts then creating the Talevera tiles and discussing the types of mosaics in the library books I brought.

One of the most uniques projects was our metallic eggs. We looked at the website for the American Society of Mosaic Artists and examined the egg on the site then created our own from a plastic egg and a little base. we used metallic tissue, sequins, metallic ribbon and special jewel glue to do these.

The Arts mini-camp is held in Wells Branch and taught by Dianne Koehler.

More Mosaics at art mini-camp

2010-08-07T13:09:00.000-05:00

What a great time we had this week! We met at my place this time and successfully created more than 8 projects. The masks and banners went very smoothly with lots of new ideas for the banners including dragons and more detailed drawings than the 1st time. The kids also learned how to play "telephone" and a couple of other "quiet" games.

Our large tiles were mostly a "crazy quilt" type but we did create a dragonfly, a phoenix and butterfly too. It was fun to sort through the types of materials from broken dishes, glasses, and mirrors to colored rocks and glass beads.

The Arts mini-camp is held in Wells Branch and taught by Dianne Koehler.

Making castles @ WBCL

2010-08-07T12:47:00.000-05:00

One of our best recycled projects yet if smiles and creativity are any measure. We converted tissue boxes, cardboard egg cups, OJ cans, large tape rolls, and tp tubes into some pretty fantastic creations. We cut the draw-bridges on the front before class which several of the kids made operational using ribbon or cord on the corners. We added flags from toothpicks and ribbon. A few of the castles even sport extra battlements. Several of the kids grabbed up extra papertowel tubes to make swords to defend their castles at the park. One of the kids made tiny people out of wire.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donations and imagination into great projects.

you may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the website for details.

Puppet Mini-camp - Day 3

2010-07-29T22:08:00.000-05:00

The creativity just never stopped. we even gave an encore performance for a mom who was late after we finished the first show. We completed the paper bag puppets and created a few more to fill the gaps in our show scheduled for the end of the day, then we added an extra show to our slate created by a group of the campers and led by Kate Lee. We managed enough puppets to do 4 "shows" 2 longer ones by XX, the original rainforest bird one, and the old favorite 3 little pigs.

Our second set of puppets today were sock puppets. I was able to get cast off socks from friends and my husband to give a good selection of colors to choose from. Cats and unicorns, dragons and horses, lambs and some unnamed creations appeared. The detail the kids put into the puppets was amazing from forked tongues on the dragons or snakes to fangs to pink inner ears, to feathered birds to the wings on the dragon. It was really hard to get them to quit adding so we could do the show!

The Arts mini-camp is held at the Wells Branch Community Library and taught by Dianne Koehler.

Making glizy bags @ WBCL's Arts & Crafts

2010-07-29T07:25:00.001-05:00

What a crowd!! I hear the tickets ran out by 5:30--sorry about that. This was a more popular project than even I anticipated.

With glittery sequins, little jewels, strands of beads and just plain imagination over 30 kids and their families decorated woven bags to carry their things.

We tried out a new glue that I found specifically for jewels and glitter with hopes that it will really hold. A couple of the boys found buttons they likes and got out the needles and thread and sewed them down.

I think the pictures really say it all.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donations and imagination into great projects.

you may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the website for details.

Puppet mini-camp day 2

2010-07-29T07:08:00.001-05:00

It was another busy day for the campers making new puppets and learning about shadow puppets and puppet shows from Bill Woodburn from Random Acts Puppets. Bill actually performed 2 stories and gave us some information about puppet boxes in history and the kinds of shows he does. The campers got to handle some of his puppets and ask lots of questions. As he began Rapunzel, campers slipped to their boxes and got out their Rapunzel's to act along with the story. Every where I looked puppets were creeping out into the audience!

We tried a new finger puppet using a rubber dish glove to make rain forest birds. A bit of fun foam for beaks, a handful of feathers, googly eyes and fun foam hearts for faces and we had an instant puppet.

Our last project of the day was making puppets from paper bags using one of the books from the library "Look What you can make with paper bags" as our guide. We'll finish them the last day and use some of them in our puppet show as the finale. One of the students has created the entire 3 pigs story to perform complete with props. Others are chatting up their mermaids and other people all the time. It is really hard to leave any of the puppets in the boxes for long. I heard plans of "play dates with my friends to use my puppets." How is that for art that shares?

The Arts mini-camp is held at the Wells Branch Community Library and taught by Dianne Koehler.

Puppet Mini-camp Day 1

2010-07-28T09:16:00.000-05:00

Goodness this was fun! The mess got a bit out of hand at times but the originality and creativity it engenerded was well worth it. I thought I'd have to encourage interactive play when the kids got some of the puppets done but immediately the puppets started talking to each other and interacting. I made a demonstration small theater over the weekend which some of the kids used before they created their own personal stages out of shoe boxes complete with scenery and a few props. The kids had me cutting slits in the tops and bottoms so the puppets could be inserted to perform.

We used plastic spoons, mini records and wooden disks as the basis of the stick puppets. The campers were then able to add hair, pompoms, google eyes, and different fabrics, ribbons and foams to customize the puppets. Some of the donated yarn was gold and glitzy and became manes. Several Rapunzels appeared as very long braided yarn was located in the bags. I saw a snake and a tiger as well as a wolf at one of the tables. A mom who showed up a bit early was mobbed by all the kids showing off their puppets and what they could do with them.

Our last puppet activity was making finger puppets out of stretchy gloves and other donated gloves. Some of the kids wanted to use the whole glove and make a grouping of the puppets, most went with single fingers but used all the fingers on the glove. We'll finish this up Wednesday and add rubber gloves and test tubes as bases to use.

The Arts mini-camp is held at the Wells Branch Community Library and taught by Dianne Koehler.

What we made with shells@the Wells Branch Library

2010-07-22T15:50:00.001-05:00

We used one of my favorite crafts books last night Look what I did with a shell. The room was full, we ran out of tickets but those who got in really got into it. We had a large box of shells from the discount stores and donations to pick from and create butterflies, unicorns, and lots of other critters that I am not sure exist. A few of the kids branched out creating necklaces, bracelets, and what looked to me like an entire undersea village. I had a supply of short wood straws that we put to use as legs and stabilizers of one type or another. We incorporated bottle caps as bases so the shells that open up don't fall over.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donations and imagination into great projects.

you may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the website for details.

Mosaics mini-art camp day 3 @ WBCL

2010-07-16T07:16:00.000-05:00

What a busy and fun day! The campers really got into the art discussion today as we looked at Talavera tiles and tile murals. Lots of opinions on design and color use.

They completed their flag/banners with a lot of extra design elements (if only I had time to take a few more photos!) We added sequins and other glitzy stuff to embellish the designs.

The kids drew their own designs on the 2"x2"tiles then painted them with Glossies paints in the traditional bright colors. Some went back to the books on Mexico and Mosaics that I checked out for ideas, others used the ideas from the video tour and their imagination. We finished the tiles by attaching them to felt backing or magnets.

Our last project was a bit of a stretch for the younger kids but they all got the frames for the stained glass done and some of the colored tissue attached. The "Oh WOW" moment was as each was completed, we held them in the sunny window to watch the light stream through. Thanks to my rrfreecycle friends for supplying the iridescent tissue to make the clear panes.

The Arts mini-camp is held at the Wells Branch Community Library and taught by Dianne Koehler.

Making mosaic tiles and T's @ art camp

2010-07-15T07:42:00.000-05:00

The kids have been really working hard to master the art of mosaics. The did not have to break their own tiles but they drew their own designs then chose the tile pieces to complete them. We looked at a lot of different types of mosaics and designs including those in quite a number of books from the library to get our ideas. Some just came from imagination as I never saw a 2 headed dragon anywhere. Spreading the tile glue was a bit of a challenge--the kids did not like using the plastic gloves and soon had their fingers into the stuff with better results. We used small ceramics, broken pottery, broken mirrors, beads and colored river gravel to get just the right look.

The T-shirts turned out great and are a bit different that the usual "paint a t-shirt" type of project. It was hard to get some of the kids to stamp the design on but once they got into it the results were great!

We are finishing up a banner/flag with thoughts of medieval tapestries that should be great to hang out, going back to Mexican art for a Talavera tile and creating a "stained glass" window from tissue paper to finish camp.

The Arts mini-camp is held at the Wells Branch Community Library and taught by Dianne Koehler.

Making creations from egg cartons @ WBCL

2010-07-15T07:18:00.004-05:00

What a fun project this turned out to be! The library gets so many egg cartons donated that we are always looking for more things to do with them than use them for paint pots. We got a great book to use as the basis for this project: Look what you can make with egg cartons, edited by Betsy Ochester.

Creativity and imagination combined with the wealth of supplies on hand really produced results and such a variety. Very popular was the helicopter with a moving propeller. We have my volunteer to thank for helping the kids make it work and spin. Quite a number of creature treasure boxes, as did chicks in baskets, all kinds of critters and an alligator on the beach complete with palm tree. One lucky grandma is getting a bouquet of flowers in a custom vase.

The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donations and imagination into great projects. We are pleased to have our new orange aprons from our local Home Depot to wear.

you may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check the website for details.

Mosaics @ Mini-art camp feature Aztecs, T-shirts

2010-07-14T06:35:00.000-05:00

Mosaic camp got off with a bang! We spent the lunch period looking at the history of mosaics including ones and the ones from La Maison Picassiette where he covered his entire house and garden in mosaics. We also looked at Aztec masks of a variety of materials and talked about thier use. The library has a large selection of books on mosaics that are available to the campers to view this week too.

Each group made a t-shirt (pictures coming) of an animal stamped using tiles cut from foam meat trays. We used regular acrylic paints for this project with good results. The turtle group even got to embelish theirs with metallics.

The groups then created Aztec masks using plastic masks I sprayed with flat black paint and fun foam squares to create the designs. Lastly we added a couple of feathers to the top of some of the masks. They were so popular that most of the campers wore them home!

Our last project was creating a bead mosaic on a small flowerpot or crystal light container. This was a bit chalenging as the round surface does not hold heavy beads well but hot glue (cool melt) to the rescue and the designs were coming out very well.

You will see us in the bright orange aprons donated by our local Home Depot for the art camps.

The Arts mini-camp is held at the Wells Branch Community Library and taught by Dianne Koehler.