D. I. Y. Kids

5th Grade Blog: Favorite Activity

2011-02-08T16:42:00.000-08:00

My favorite activity is when I go to TEC. It is very fun and now we are working on our question boards which if you touch one wire on a question and one on the correct answer, a lightbulb lights up!

Our new book is coming out!

2007-05-06T07:14:00.000-07:00

We've moved this blog to www.DIYKids.org in celebration of the publication of our new book, which will be available in October 2007.

Pamphlet Stitch

2007-03-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

For Colonial Day at school, we learned the pamphlet stitch, an easy book-binding technique.

1. Make three holes in a short stack of folded paper using a nail and hammer.
2. Thread a needle through the middle hole, working from the inside of the folded paper to the outside of the cover. Leave an inch hanging for tying at the end.
3. Loop back to the inside from the front through the bottom hole.
4. Make a big stitch from the bottom hole to the top hole along the inside fold. 5. Bring the thread back up through the middle; tie; cut.
5. Decorate!

DIY Word Searches

2007-02-20T21:59:00.000-08:00

A mandatory word search brought sighs of boredom. But when I suggested that the kids make their own grid on line, they got excited. Followed up by an episode of TOP DESIGN featuring children's rooms, the puzzle-generator added to another great Tuesday night at home.

Fuzzy Penguin

2007-02-11T13:38:00.000-08:00

These adorable penguins are based on a basic design created by Ruby, age 8. In essence, each penguin is fat little pillow with features like wings, feet, and beak sewn or glued on. They're easy to make; build a nest-full!

Ruby's brother Jay, age 12, likes the design, too, and he created these instructions so everyone can follow along. (The only difference between Ruby's design and Jay's is that Ruby attaches the wings with hot glue, and Jay sews them into the seam that makes the penguin's body.) We photographed the penguins in a real snow storm. The little birds loved it!

Building the Brand, Trader Joe's style

2007-02-03T14:02:00.000-08:00

Last summer, Hannah entered a drawing contest at our local Trader Joe's supermarket. This weekend, the store called to notify Hannah that she was a winner. TJs in-house artist Ashley Fenderson had transformed Hannah's drawing into a cool shelf label. Hannah got to slip the new graphic into its slot on the salsa shelf. She left the store with a ten-dollar gift card and a million-dollar smile.

We posted Hannah's original drawing this summer; look for it in our July archive.

Photo card becomes composition book

2007-01-21T13:27:00.000-08:00

A holiday photo card can be "returned" in the form of a decorated notebook that features the tiny squares of pictured joy. Happy New Year to you too!

Botanical Zine Box

2007-01-21T10:42:00.000-08:00

A simple pencil drawing of a geranium becomes a botanical illustration when you add the Latin names in Photoshop. Personalize with colored type, and use it for a zine box. And a t-shirt. And a notebook. And a card.

Poof! A veritable window box of special birthday gifts.

Geranium by Hannah, age 10.

Fortune Teller Paper Dolls

2007-01-13T14:19:00.000-08:00

Make a paper "fortune teller" or "cootie catcher." Add eyes and mouth with marker. Use yarn for pony-tails.

Designed by Hannah and Ronnie, age 10.

Sushi Napkins

2006-12-23T15:23:00.000-08:00

For a holiday sushi party, the kids decorated cloth napkins. We tore out squares of artist's canvas and then drew on them with fabric markers.

Sweater update

2006-12-03T15:23:00.000-08:00

Update an old sweater by adding colored stitching with yarn and a big plastic embroidery needle.

Altered totes

2006-11-19T17:58:00.000-08:00

For a smaller birthday party, we got half-price white vinyl totebags from Target. We decorated them using camoflauge tape in different colors (from identi-tape.com,). We drew words and icons with black, silver and blue Sharpie pens. We added newspaper scraps using Mod-Podge (one layer under the scraps to affix; one layer above to seal).

We think the look is hip, fun, and urban (for a group of Orange County girls!).

Designed by Hannah and friends, age 10.

Straw puppets

2006-11-05T07:02:00.000-08:00

Draw a character or family of characters. (Ours are star creatures.) Cut out and add drinking straws and you have puppets.

Designed by Hannah, age 9.

Board book photo album

2006-10-28T12:29:00.000-07:00

Use a large board book, ideally with a theme related to your trip or topic. Glue in photos and scraps. You can print out type on the computer, or use colored tape, office dots, and Sharpie pen for a more direct look.

Designed by Hannah, age 9.

Hotel slippers

2006-10-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the slippers in resort hotel rooms can't be reused for other guests? Why not make them into souvenirs of your amazing vacation? Sharpie pens are remarkably water-resistant (you may get some bleeding and blurring). Decorate the inner sole as well as the shoe; made for adults, these big slippers will frame your little feet.

Shoe decorated by Hannah, age 9.

Fun with binders

2006-10-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

Binders are great for storing your art, photos, and writing. You can also use them to start a club: choose a name, a logo, a mission. Add pockets and notebooks. Each member can make her own. Recyle for another project when your club stops meeting.

Binder designed by Hannah, age 9.

Nice drawing, great shirt

2006-10-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

We used this fashion drawing for a series of t-shirt, some personalized for birthdays and others kept pure (like this one).

Drawing by Ronnie, age 10.

Silk Banners

2006-10-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

We bought inexpensive white silk scarves from Dharma Trading Company. We painted bold, simple flowers in water color (the paint spreads quickly on the thin silk.) Once the banners were dry, we added lines in black Sharpie to bring forward the images, which had dissolved into the silk.

Design by Hannah, age 9.

Pomegranate Placecards

2006-09-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

A simple line drawing in Sharpie, filled in with watercolor, and then scanned, forms the heart of a nice place card.

Painting by Hannah, age 9.

More character design

2006-09-22T06:01:00.000-07:00

Make cool characters using body parts as bodies. These "kissy-lips" creatures (plus one nose) were designed by Eliot, age 6. Those are robot kissy lips on the bottom row. We think they'd make slightly icky Valentine's cards.

Decoupage binder

2006-09-16T16:02:00.000-07:00

Want your binder to stand out? Use decoupage glue ("Modpodge" works well) to add scraps of colored paper and clip art drawings. Cover again with another layer of glue to help everything lie flat and last longer.

Cat binder designed by Hannah, age 9.

Map shirts

2006-09-16T08:12:00.000-07:00

To make these shirts, we took a map of Asia and tore it into a funky shape (kind of like another map). We scanned it into Photoshop, added the words "one world," and then printed it onto iron-transfer paper. Don't forget to "flip" the image, since you have to iron it on in reverse.

Design by Orr, age 10, and Hannah, age 9.

Skinny scarf

2006-09-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

Skinny scarves are made out of a single crocheted chain. The fun comes in tying contrasting cross pieces at regular (or irregular!) intervals, and wearing more than one scarf at once. Works best with thick, lump-bumpy yarns with lots of texture, knobs, and fuzz. Great for new crocheters -- and also for the warm California climate!

Designed by Hannah, age 9.

Hilary Lang's Wee Things

2006-09-04T06:36:00.000-07:00

Visit artist Hilary Lang, who has beautiful toys for kids, and free patterns for making her adorable yet modern play things. She's planning a "make-a-long" book, a storybook that will include directions at the end for making the creatures and objects featured in the book. What an amazing idea!

Back to School Notebooks

2006-09-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

Black and white composition notebooks are 3-for-a-dollar at the local office warehouse. Keep some in stock for fast and easy craft and writing projects. Use stickers, special papers, coins and buttons to collage your cover. You can even cut a fancy border around the edges.

Book design: Hannah, age 9.

Simple Tube Skirt

2006-09-03T05:12:00.000-07:00

This basic skirt design is easy to make—you don’t even need a pattern. The design possibilities are endless as you put together strips, stripes, and layers of fabric. Start with a sketch while looking at fabrics and trims you have on hand. This skirt can be made with relatively small scraps. Put together the layers into one bigger piece of fabric, then sew it together to make a tube. Create a pocket at the top for a piece of elastic, and you're ready to step out in an awesome new skirt. Project designed by Joy Hayes. Skirts by Ruby and Isabella, ages 7 and 8.

Download more detailed instructions (pdf).

Natural History Shirts

2006-08-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. How fun to wear natural history shirts that we made ourselves! My new favorite clip art source is the fabulous series of books (with cds) from Pepin Press. These frogs hopped out of their book of skeletons.

Download images into Photoshop, resize if necessary, and then print onto iron transfer paper, and iron on. We are going to try adding fabric paint and fabric markers later. For now, we are enjoying the bookish quality of the black and white graphics.

Brand Your Own Birthday

2006-08-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

The party aisle at your local megastore is filled with prefab cups, napkins, and goody bags. Why not make your own party stuff with inexpensive picnic ware?

1. Draw a cool character.
2. Scan or photocopy your character and print it out in different sizes. Stick it on paper cups, goody bags, and flatware wrapped in a strip of paper.
3. For a quick and easy placemat, tape together two sheets of paper with your character printed on it.

More ideas: Put your character on your own custom party favors. Send your buddies home with a pack of stickers, a tin of mints, or a t-shirt, all imprinted with your awesome character.

Designed by Jay, age 11

Fleece Fashions

2006-08-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

Fleece is made from recycled plastic. It comes in bright colors and simple prints. When you cut it, fleece does not fray, so it requires no hemming (like felt), and is great for new seamsters.

To make a fleece scarf: lay out a length of fleece (2 yards), and cut a long straight strip (1 foot). You can cut two narrower strips in contrasting colors (6 inches each), and sew them together. Or you can cut rectangles of color and sew them together.

To add polka dots or skinnier stripes, you can use fabric glue to attach pieces of fleece to your scarf. Use a lot of fabric glue, as the fleece is very absorbent. (You can also sew them on.)

Variations are endless. Make pockets by folding the bottoms and sewing them on both sides. You can easily fringe your scarf by cutting narrow strips at the bottom or the sides.

Scarves designed by Hannah, Orr, and Ronnie, ages 9 and 10. Project director: Lynn Mally. Photo: Bob Moeller.

Home Camping

2006-08-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

Summer is waning, and we're shifting from formal day camp to light babysitting and activities at home. Hannah is Head Counselor for "Cheesy Camp" (so named, she tells me, because camps are always "cheesy" in style). The best way to brand a camp -- even a home camp -- is through t-shirts. Graphic was drawn first in black sharpie; then scanned and colored in Photoshop.

Design: Hannah and Ronnie, age 9.

Dressy Apron

2006-08-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Grown out of your favorite flowered dress? or just grown out of dresses altogether? The flouncy dresses loved by little kids make cool aprons for bigger kids, and require very little sewing.

1. Lay dress flat on table or floor.
2. Cut out the face of the apron, following the side seams up the top of the dress, across the top, and down. The front of the dress will form one piece.
3. Add ties. You can use pieces cut from the back of the dress or grossgrain ribbon. Sew ties on each side at the waist, and at the top right and top left.
4. For a finished look, you can hem the sides. (But remember -- aprons are for messy work, in the kitchen, studio or garden.)

Variations: cut dress at the waist for a half-apron.
If you don't want top ties and there's a button (not a zipper!) at the back, keep the collar (round neck opening) intact and use the button to open and close your apron.

Sand Socks

2006-07-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

It's a craft! It's a sport! It's ... sand socks! This is a fun activity for beach or sand box. Take odd socks. Fill with sand. Tie tops with rubber bands. Draw faces on socks. Then play bean bag games -- toss; hunt; sort; etc.

Invented by Hannah, age 9. Designedby Hannah and Izzy, Lucy, and Eliot, age 6.

Generation T

2006-07-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

Generation Tby Brooklyn craftista Megan Nicolay is the best of several new books inviting readers to cut, stitch, tie, and pin old t-shirts into gritty new fashions. Megan’s projects involve very few tools and include several no-sew recipes. The book is aimed at single young women, but many projects appeal to the under-12 crowd. My 6-year old daughter Lucy loved melding two years of camp t-shirts into a shizoid hybrid. And the counselors were wowed, too! Indeed, I think summer camp, with its regulation shirts, topsy-turvy dress codes, and low-brow crafting, forms a preteen layer in the DIY t-shirt craze. S'mores, anyone?

To make the shirt: find two shirts of equal size. Go for contrasting colors or funny juxtapositions. Cut both shirts in half. Stitch halves together. If you want, cut off the sleeves and then add complementary ties to the shoulders using scraps from the sleeves.

Altered Purses

2006-07-22T17:52:00.000-07:00

When is a scrap book not a scrap book? When it's a purse.

This project takes a long time, but it's nice for long summer days when you can let the different stages dry outside. We got the idea from Violette's Folk Art.

1. Find an old purse with a smooth surface -- vinyl or leather.
2. Sand. Cover with gesso (a white acrylic base). You may have to do one side at a time and let each one dry.
3. Paint with another coat of acrylic in a color you like. (We chose orange.)
4. When the purse is dry, add layers of imagery.

Possibilities include: fabric squares (from fabric scraps or pieces of clothing you can't wear anymore); colored paper; images from magazines, books, the internet, or clipart; simple stickers such as reinforcer rings and office dots. Black and white engravings stand out against a colorful collage background. We added some ribbons on top once we had our images layed out. These delivered a set of clean connecting lines to the busy layers beneath.

For gluing: put a generous layer of ModPodge or another decoupage glue on the surface of the purse. Add your paper or fabric elements, and then put more glue medium on top. The extra glue helps your pieces stick to the purse, and also seal it.

Note: Some items may be less colorfast than others. The funky look of this project, though, is pretty forgiving.

Purse designed by Hannah, age 9.

Door hangers

2006-07-21T09:50:00.000-07:00

White foam door hangers (50 cents each at your local craft mart) are easily decorated with materials on hand. The finished hangers invite visitors into your space, or ward them off. Draw directly with Sharpies [1]; add stickers to create Office Buddies and Eyeball Monsters [2], or use colored clipart [3].

Designs by Hannah, age 9 and Eliot, age 6.

Sticker Art

2006-07-20T05:41:00.000-07:00

Use a sheet of tiny "price tag" stickers to make itty bitty works of art. Each one is a frame for a different picture. You'll find yourself drawing different kinds of art, just because the space you're working on is different. Draw animals, sushi, flags, abstract shapes, or anything else you like. Keep your stickers together, or put them on letters, packages, stationery, or your notebook. Stickers by Ruby, age 7

Coin box

2006-07-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

This coin box is great for saving your spare change, or collecting money for charity.

We made the trompe l'oeil coin pattern with our scanner. Lay pennies face down on the scanner, positioning them gently so you don't scratch the glass. Place colored paper behind it. Scan, print, and use for wrapping paper. We chose a cereal bar box. The reclose tabs made a great coin slot. We opened up the side of the box, and used a velcro strip for opening and closing. We glued the paper on the box, scored it with skinny orange masking tape, and then added some plastic bugs at the end to ward against early withdrawal.

Great box for Halloween coin collectors .... UNICEF, here we come!

Cup Cozies

2006-07-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

These fuzzy party decorations were made with scraps of fleece left over from another project. We used a Starbucks cardboard cup insulator as a template, and created cozy sleeves for each cup. (We took it apart, laid it flat, and traced it as a pattern for the cup sleeve.) Then, the kids glued on eyes, ears, ribbons, and other stuff to make cuddly characters. (Hot glue worked great on the fleece, forming a very tough bond.) Keep your chocolate warm and your heart happy!

American Graffiti

2006-07-05T09:25:00.001-07:00

This Fourth of July, we put out an old white table cloth and a box of red, white, and blue Sharpies (plus black, and silver) on an outside table. Guests could write whatever they wanted, from names and doodles to their political opinions. By the end of the night, spilled drinks had mingled with mixed sentiments, re-composing the evening.

Grafitti = Writing as Drawing

2006-07-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

Twelve little monkeys, in three straight lines,
Put writing behind them, and call it Design.

Art by Ronnie, age 9.

Soft Turtle

2006-06-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

This soft turtle is by Isobel, age 7.

Decoupage boxes

2006-06-25T18:19:00.000-07:00

We scanned our masking tape and watercolor patterns (see previous post). Then we made patterns with our patterns. Hannah layered transparent versions of the patterns on top of each other. Lucy preferred to keep the pattern samples opaque. Then we printed out the pattern pages and made decoupage boxes.

Paint pieces of paper with white glue, library paste, or decoupage medium. Attach to box. Apply additional designs (clip art, drawings) as desired. Coat entire box with thin layer of medium. Use a squeegee or the edge of a popsicle stick to remove air bubbles, spread glue evenly, and remove excess glue.

You can line your box with felt for a jewelry box feel.

Patterns with masking tape

2006-06-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

Lay out a grid of masking tape onto paper. Use water color to fill in the squares. Let colors mix and blend for nice effects. You can also sprinkle salt into the wet paint. When the paint dries, remove the masking tape. These areas will be white, but with interesting borders. You can scan the finished pattern to make wrapping paper, cards, and other products.

Design by Ronnie, age 9.

Our Own Stuffies

2006-06-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

We made our own stuffies using Jen Bennett's project concept. Here are some cute little birdies by Jay and Ruby.

Fun with Flik

2006-06-20T06:48:00.000-07:00

We scanned Flik and then dumped her into PhotoShop, where we made her Sharpie-drawn planes even flatter and brighter using the eyedropper and paint bucket tools. Then we made patterns -- now we have Flik wrapping paper! Here's one that uses the "Hi" pattern that Hannah made a few weeks ago:

We also made more zine boxes for storage of Flik sketches and other paper productions.

Zine boxes by Hannah and Ronnie, age 9. "Hi" pattern by Hannah; photoshopped with help from Julia, age 42.

Flik's World

2006-06-18T17:08:00.001-07:00

Flik was born last Wednesday. She is Orr's creation, but she has spread quickly through Orr's circle of friends, sometimes as a chant, sometimes as a fit of laughter, and someimes as a simple line drawing. Flik's real name is Frederick. She is an Asian super-model. Her boyfriend's name is Jennifer.

I confess to understanding little of this, but I like the simplicity of Flik's graphic presentation.

Designs by Orr, Ronnie, and Hannah, age 9.

Father's Day Card

2006-06-18T17:08:00.000-07:00

Card with cut out heart, triple pop up feature, and a fresh flower.

Design by Hannah, age 9, for Ken, age 48.

Trader Joe promotes design (along with the brand)

2006-06-16T16:24:00.000-07:00

Our local TJs is running a summer art contest: kids choose their favorite product and illustrate it. For the winning selections, a staff artist will add TJ's signature hand-drawn type, and the completed posters will be displayed near the product.

Design submissions by Hannah (salsa) and Ronnie (cookies). Age 9.

Rock and Roll

2006-06-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

The rock and roll theme inspired my crew, but it was the scene more than the logo.

Drawing by Ronnie Hecht, age 9.

Band Logos

2006-06-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

Do you have a band, or do you just want to you have one? Real or not, every band needs a cool name, and a cool way to write it.

1. Think of interesting words or phrases. The ones we came up all sound a little bit dangerous or weird.

2. Choose a phrase you like and try writing it in an interesting way.

3. Put your logo on gear for your band: CD’s, t-shirts, and stickers. Write it on your notebook, your shoes, your hoodie, or your denim jacket.

Logo graphics designed by Jay and Hannah

download pdf of book spread

See funny Band Logo "tutorial" on HomestarRunner.com

No Mess Sand Art

2006-06-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

Eliot wanted to do sand paintings. We found this great website. Hours of fun. No sand.

Zine files

2006-06-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

Store your zines in these handy zine files. Cover magazine files with collage or wrapping paper. Decorate with black and white clip art -- it stands out nicely from the patterned background. You can label the spines with fancy initials (more clip art).

We found cheap white cardboard files at IKEA (5 pack for under $3). We're thinking of doing the same project with cereal boxes.

Zine boxes by Eliot, Izzy and Lucy, age 6.

Pencil Dragon

2006-06-11T17:33:00.000-07:00

Pencil, pipe cleaner, and play-dough.

Dragon with designer, Eliot, age 6.

Place cards

2006-06-05T02:47:00.000-07:00

Make place cards for your next party, whether it's tea for your stuffed animals or a grown-up family dinner. A place card goes at everyone's plate, letting each guest know where to sit. People and stuffies alike enjoy knowing that the hostess has a plan, and it saves a lot of chaos at the last minute if everyone goes right to his or her spot when it's time to serve. Ruby made these place cards by rubber-stamping the initials of each guest, and then drawing a surprise picture to go with each one.

Make Your Own Stuffie

2006-06-01T00:42:00.000-07:00

This adorable puppy is sewn from circles of fleece. You can come up with countless designs based on the same circle template. Use triangle ears to make a kitty, a beak for a birdy, or eight furry legs for an octopus. Get wild and make chubby monsters and aliens. The concept is designed by Jen Bennett, a graphic designer for children's products, who also carries her own line of stuffed animals on Etsy.com. This one is especially for kids to make. For full instructions, visit www.sweetestpea.com.

More pattern fun

2006-05-30T06:15:00.000-07:00

You can make patterns with words, too. Sharpie on paper by Hannah, age 9.

Make your own "How to Draw" Books

2006-05-29T18:27:00.000-07:00

Like "how to draw" books? Want to teach kids your own techniques? Write your own how-to-draw books.

Art by Hannah, age 9.

CD labels

2006-05-26T18:45:00.000-07:00

Name your band. Then brand your band. You can write directly on CD sticker labels. Record your favorite songs on the disk (unless you can produce your own!).

Designs by Hannah and Ronnie, age 9.

Eye Ball Buddies, raw and photoshopped

2006-05-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

Eliot, age 6, made his favorite eyeball monster with an office dot and a Sharpie. Then I helped him jazz it up in Photoshop. Next stop: a t-shirt.

Tag your media

2006-05-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

Eliot, age 6, built this caterpillar out of office dots and a Sharpie pen. Then he built another one right on top of his Ninetendo.

He'll always know which one is his.

Coin Purse

2006-05-26T16:28:00.000-07:00

Coins were invented in Asia Minor in the 7th century BCE. The oldest coins sport the pictures of cities or their rulers. Why not star on your own coin? Draw your face; add your name; choose a motto that sums up this week's philosophy of life.

Coin purse by Hannah, age 9; Sharpie, crayon and fabric purse.

Savage Teddies

2006-05-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

Ellen designed the shirt. She posted it on cafepress.com. My kids ordered their own shirts from Ellen's "shop," and now they're wearing them. The Savage Teddies are having their picnic today ...

Little books

2006-05-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

Mini-notebooks decorated with colored tape, plus mailing labels sporting hand-lettering.

This one has eyes:

Fancy lettters

2006-05-14T04:49:00.000-07:00

Like people, letters come in many sizes, shapes, colors, and styles. It’s amazing how much you can mess with the basic shape of a letter, and still be able to read it. Make your letters fancy, fuzzy, or 3-D. Superman has his own style of lettering; why shouldn’t you? Use your own letters to make logos, titles for your books and magazines, or to write your name on your stuff.

Character design

2006-05-14T04:42:00.000-07:00

1. Make a head. Draw it by hand, or use office dots, foam pieces, tape, or cut paper.

2. Add eyes and mouth. You can do it with just a hint: a moustache or a beak makes a mouth, and two circles or slits become eyes.

3. Name your character.

The characters above were drawn with the shape tool in InDesign. The ones below are drawn in Sharpie and ballpoint pen.

Little Doggy

2006-05-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

To make your own little doggy, cut a strip of fabric and fold it into thirds lengthwise (so the rough edges are folded in). Roll up the fabric and secure with hot glue. Use another roll to make a head. Add ears, legs, and tail with felt.

Design a Magazine

2006-05-01T05:54:00.000-07:00

Hannah and her friends are editing a magazine. So far, they've got a title, a cover, and a bar code (generated on-line at barcodesinc.com. And they've started to put together the inside front cover:

If they can keep up their interest, they can do anything. There's the digital camera for fashion shoots and investigative reporting, their own writing, drawing and collage skills, and graphic generators at the generator blog to invent fake products. A little initiative and creativity and -- Ta dah! You've got a magazine.

Ology Books

2006-04-30T14:36:00.000-07:00

We are big fans of Candlewick's "Ologies" series, which include Dragonology, Egyptology, and Wizardology. The fanciful mix of history and fantasy in these books is coupled with an inventive design that includes messages hidden inside envelopes, behind flaps, in glued-in booklets, and more. We made our own Mermaidology books. Shown here are details of pages about "Mermaid Society," by Isabella, age 8, and Ruby, age 7. The girls spent three hours on this project, engaged not only with the visual side, but with the writing and mythologizing.

Cards for a wedding shower

2006-04-30T07:14:00.000-07:00

We made a series of cards for a wedding shower. The kids "colorized" pages of clip art from a Dover Victorian Women book (we used water colors). Then we cut the images out and added them "zine" style to sheets of cardstock with a simple preprinted message prepared by Mom, including words in a fancy bracket (digital clip art) on the inside:

and the same bracket blown up on the outside:

The cards formed a nice series together, each one different yet sharing a similar style and set of materials.

This would be a fun way to make a set of invitations for a party, or thank-you notes, or valentines.

Generators

2006-04-27T06:04:00.000-07:00

TheGenerator Blog is a great collection of generator sites that let you put your own text into different graphic and literary forms. Make your own brand, or write a funny Oscar acceptance speech, or print out your own FBI button. It's a great way to play with templates, explore the visual landscape, exercise your verbal and visual wit, and make cool stuff.

Decorated Books

2006-04-25T14:13:00.000-07:00

Make a soft-cover book by sewing together pages or stapling them with a long-necked stapler. Use tape, stickers, labels, envelopes, and collage elements to make your own variations of classic bookbindings. Ruby, age 7, made these books. Download instructions (pdf).

Of zines and clip art

2006-04-20T17:20:00.000-07:00

Coloring books and crayons are for little kids. But good clip art, recovered from old prints and engravings, and jazzed up with watercolors, is another matter. You get to retrace the design principles of an earlier era, and you can really focus on the properties of the paint. We made ours into zines afterwards.

Art: Dover clip art, Women: A Pictoral Archive from Nineteenth Century Sources.
Painting and zine by Lucy, age 6.

Sharpie drawings

2006-04-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

A pad of half-sized construction paper and some new black Sharpies can produce some nice line art. Draw your mother or a friend from the back for a contemplative effect:

or make creepy characters, like this ghostly rocker (her band is called the Death Valley Girls):

You can also use color selectively, adding red for gory effect. This baby dracula was cut out and pasted to another sheet:

Sharpie drawings scan well, so that you can make magnets, t-shirts, mugs, or a nice web posting with your favorite drawings.

Art by Hannah and Ronnie, age 9.

Tagging

2006-04-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

We had fun with the animal tag project today (see Stuffed Animal Party on this site). Five kids aged 6-9 worked for over an hour naming, licensing, tagging, and then playing with their stuffies. Izzy, age 6, discovered that the tags also make nice paper lockets for kids to wear.

More Roundlings

2006-04-15T06:08:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the Reinhard roundlings posted below, made from office dots, here are two versions by Jay and Ruby.

Name Art

2006-04-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

Draw a special character for each letter in your name. Some pictures can be an object that starts with that letter (R is for Rabbit). Others can be an object shaped like the letter, or just a fancy design. Ruby and Jay drew their letters on square stickers and put them in a hand-made accordian book.

Do you know the Marshmallow Man?

2006-04-13T07:27:00.001-07:00

Make aliens, robots, fat ghosts, and fake food using craft marshmallows and office supplies. We used thumb tacks, push pins, and Sharpies. We haven' t tried real marshmallows yet!

Roundlings: Designing with Color Coded Stickers

2006-04-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

Or make a scene:

You can also cut out your favorites and reposition on a new sheet:

We used 6 inch square card stock from the scrapbooking aisle. You could also use origami paper for the background. Blog reader Maia did a similar project with an Easter theme: chicks and eggs on pastel index cards. The secret lies in the simplicity.

Apologies to Maia

2006-04-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

My children stumbled on the administration page for this blog and deleted my most recent posts. My apologies, Maia, for the sudden disappearance of your comments!

Photomontage

2006-04-04T04:24:00.000-07:00

Find pictures in Google and put them together into new scenes. Artists and designers invented this technique in the 1910s and 1920s, using printed photographs. They called it photomontage. Today, you can do it digitally or with pictures from magazines. Ruby, age 7, made this montage with Photoshop.

Playing with Your Food

2006-04-03T06:10:00.000-07:00

Out to lunch? Nothing to do? Pull out a Sharpie and make characters out of ketchup packets (or sugar, or any other disposables at hand). Yes, game may end with dramatic deaths of your dolls.

Featured work by Lucy (top) and Izzy (bottom), age 5.

Designing with Books

2006-04-02T07:43:00.001-07:00

Kids want to be producers, not just consumers. When my 6-year old triplets read a book, they often clamor to "do a project" afterwards. This works best with books that use design principles like collage instead of high-level drawing and painting.

This week, it was Gerald McDermott's Anansi the Spider, which combines African folk motifs with international pictograms, tied together with text in Helvetica. Multi-Cultural Modern, circa 1972.

We used 12" by 12" paper (from the scrapbooking aisle), plus strips of paper and round color-coding labels. We tried it at home first, and then went public in their kindergarten class. The teacher appreciated the literary tie-in!

Camera Games: Picture Day

2006-04-02T07:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a group game you can play using your camera. Pretend it's Picture Day at school. Find a well-lit wall to use as a backdrop. Dress up for photos (crazy or serious, as the mood strikes you!). Take turns taking pictures of each other. If you're using a digital camera, you can develop them afterwards on the computer, creating contact strips. You can even design folders or envelopes for the finished photos.

Variations: Fashion Shoot; Rock Band Photo Session.

Design a Shirt Together

2006-04-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

Give everyone at your gathering a blank 3-x-5 index card or a half-sheet of paper. Draw a tiny picture, word, or squiggle on your card, and then pass it to your neighbor. As the cards move around the table, they get covered with bits of grafitti—hearts, puppies, curlicues, skulls, aliens, names, whatever. After all the cards have gone around a few times, lay them out and pick the best one. Scan the design, print it out on t-shirt transfer paper, and apply to shirts (Mom's help needed for this part). Seven-year-old girls produced this design.

For a simpler project, pass around tote bags and draw directly with Sharpie's. Everyone goes home with a cool tote!

Pattern Design

2006-04-02T05:44:00.001-07:00

A pattern uses the same elements over and over. Patterns are one of the oldest forms of decoration. Anything can be a pattern: dots, stripes, or cherry pie! We made these patterns by drawing simple pictures many times on one sheet of paper.

To give our patterns a printed look, we gave them colored backgrounds in Photoshop. To do this, we scanned them and selected the white backgrounds with the "magic wand" tool. Then we picked colors that look good with our drawings. You can also make patterns in Photoshop by copying one image over and over again. Patterns by Hannah, age 9; and Ruby, age 7.

Re-Composition Books

2006-04-02T04:59:00.000-07:00

Get some notebooks from the office supply store, and make your own covers. We used photocopies of botanical illustrations by Maria Sibylla Marian, an artist and scientist who lived in Germany in the seventeenth century. We colored in the pictures with markers and added tape, office dots, and other stuff to make the covers exciting. We cut windows in the covers, so that you can see a picture glued to the first page of the book.

6-year-old girls needed help with this project; 9-year-old girls did it on their own (with help from Mom cutting out the windows).

Stuffed Animal Party

2006-04-02T04:09:00.000-07:00

Stuffed animals make a great theme for a kid's party. Invite your friends to bring a special stuffed animal. Plan games and activities that involve the animals. At our party, we made pet tags using metal-rimmed key chain tags from the hardware store, tied on with ribbons. We also made identity card magnets and pet-care blankets from scraps of fabric. Between craft activities, we played with the animals. Everyone went home with neat new stuff for the their pet (but of course, no one wanted to go home, because we were having so much fun!) This party was for girls, age 7-8. Pet tag concept by Ruby Miller, age 7.