Watercolor Spin Art

As you know we love our spin art machine! It is one of our simple go-to art activities that the kids just cant get enough of. We are always trying new mediums in our machine just to see how they will spin. I am thrilled with the results of our latest experiment, Watercolor Spin Art. Head on over to Buddy and Buggy where I am guest posting, and you will find the full tutorial. I adore Chelsey’s site and I am sure that you will too.

Nature Weaving Looms

My sweet friend Chelsey from Buggy and Buddy and I are swapping spots today. While Chelsey is here sharing her creative Nature Weaving Looms; I am over on her site sharing how to make Watercolor Spin Art. I have really enjoyed getting to know Chelsey over the past little while and I absolutely adore her nature posts. You are in for a treat. These creative Nature Weaving Looms that are perfect for creating with little fingers and I can’t wait to try it with my kids.

…………………………………………………………………………

Hi, I’m Chelsey from Buggy and Buddy! I’m absolutely thrilled to be here at Housing a Forest today to share an activity that we had so much fun with- weaving with nature! It’s the perfect combination of art and the outdoors, and it’s appropriate for almost any age. Both my 23 month old son and 5 year old daughter enjoyed creating natural art with their weaving looms!

Recently, we made some little weaving looms from Popsicle sticks and string. The kids used fabric, yarn and ribbon scraps to weave beautiful artwork indoors. The weather had just been so nice outside lately, I thought we should take the looms outdoors and see what we could create!

Before taking the kids outside, I decided to make a simpler loom for Theo, my almost two year old. (Being so young, weaving is still quite difficult for him.) I bought a small grapevine wreath from our local craft store for under a dollar. Then I haphazardly wrapped some string around the wreath so it somewhat resembled a web. (Wrapping the string in this way makes it easier to just stick the nature treasures into the loom rather than actually weaving.) Here are our two weaving looms:

Finally it was time to put on our shoes and jackets and head outside with our looms in hand ready to weave with nature!

We began searching for grasses, flowers, twigs, and leaves right in our own backyard that we could use to weave into our looms.

My 5 year old, Lucy, collected all her nature items in a basket and then found a peaceful spot to weave. (That girl is a pro at picking flowers! She’s even been known to pick some stray flowers right in the middle of the soccer field as her game is going on.) Here she is getting started!

Later on in the day I found her sitting in a chair in the backyard doing some more weaving. “Aren’t these beautiful, Mom? Don’t you love them? I’m an artist!” Those comments put the biggest smile on my face!

Theo and I worked together to add his nature collection to his loom. He loved being able to create just like his sister. I think his turned out so cute!

The best part about these looms is that when you’re done you can either display the finished product as artwork or simply remove the woven materials and start again later.

I can’t wait to pull these looms out again in the fall and see what creations we come up with then!

BuggyandBuddy | Facebook Page | Pinterest

…………………………………………………………………………

Thanks so much for sharing Chelsey. You have inspired me to create little nature weaving looms with my kids. What a great way to explore nature and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. We all love comments, so why not pop over and visit Buggy and Buddy and tell her how much you enjoyed her post on Housing A Forest.

Here are a few of my favorite posts from Buggy and Buddy to get you started:

A Note to the Tooth Fairy

It time for the weekly Kids Co-op. I know I have said it before, but I love seeing what you are creating with your kids. This week I am trying something a little different and sharing a little snap shot into our week.

Things have been a little crazy around here. I’m sure like most houses with the close of school and the beginning of summer, there is just a lot going on. I can’t wait until the last bell rings and school is out for the summer. With that said, I think the kids are feeling the chaos as well. The other night we went to bed to find this adorable note on my hubbies pillow!

Apparently the last time my sweet little lady lost a tooth, the tooth fairy was a little busy. I hear that it took the Tooth Fairy a couple of days before he/she made it to Bree’s room. Oops! My kids know that their Dad is the Tooth Fairy, but love playing along. Plus, the Tooth Fairy would probably stop coming all together if they just asked for the money for their teeth:)

Over the years there have been lots of cute notes and suggestions to the Tooth Fairy. My favorite was a few years ago. When we went to tuck the girls in, there was a note tucked into 2 tutus hanging on the girls door. The note read “Please put on the tutus. I left you 2, one for each leg since you are too big for just one.” Ha!!!!! I love kids! I so wish that I had my camera ready for that one:)

I would love to hear your adorable and hilarious Tooth Fairy stories. Please share them in the comments below:)

If you are looking for more Tooth Fairy inspiration, I love these adorable Tooth Fairy drawings my kids created! I asked them to draw what they thought that the Tooth Fairy could look like. My favorite is the rocket boots:)

……………………………………………………….

Now on to the Weekly kids Co-op. I can’t wait to see what you have been up to this week:)

Tire Swing Pendulum Painting

It is Paint and Play time again! I am really enjoying this fun series that I am doing with Crystal from Growing A Jeweled Rose. The focus for our series is all about the process, having fun and getting kids excited to create art! This week we challenged each other to create Pendulum Art with our kids. Growing A Jeweled Rose created glow in the dark art, and we headed to our neighborhood park to create our art!

Have you tried creating pendulum art before? It has been on our summer bucket list for quite a while. I shared this amazing pendulum art on Housing A Forest’s Facebook Page and I could not wait to give it a try! We wanted to come up with something different and a little more interactive so when the idea of Tire Swing Pendulum Painting came up I knew it would be perfect! (Thanks to my sister-in-law, who blogs at My Adventures in Preschool for helping come up with this fun idea!)

……………………………………………………………

Materials to create your own Tire Swing Pendulum Art:

A park with a tire swing
Large roll of white paper
Squeeze bottles full of watered down paint
Kids that are excited to create art!

Since we would be using the tire swing as our pendulum, the set up for this activity was really simple. We rolled out a large sheet of paper under the swing and the kids all squished in to the tire swing, armed with a bottle of paint. That’s it. No need to build anything, and no need to fancy supplies. Love that!

The kids could wait to try painting is a whole new way. We have created lots of art at our house, but painting while swinging on a tire swing was a first for us:) The hardest part was getting the kids on and off the swing with the paper under neath them. Next time I would have the kiddos get on the swing and then roll the paper out under their feet.

I had the kids hold their bottle of paint so that is was touching the swing. That was a bit of a challenge at times since it was just too fun to squirt paint everywhere. However, since we were after the concept of pendulum art, I was not to worried about the extra little dribbles and squirts of paint.

My favorite projects are the ones that my kids are learning, they are so busy having fun that they don’t realize it. Love that!

If you are wanting a more “true” pendulum painting you could simply tape open ended containers to the tire swing. That would remove the extra movement of the kids swinging paint. Personally, I think this way is way more fun and the kids are able to really be a part of the art.

The kids had a blast with this fun and interactive painting. It was not a busy day at the park, or I’m sure we would have had a huge line up of kiddos wanting to have a turn. There was one sweet little girl that joined in on the fun. It was so cute to see her eyes light up when it was her turn.

Tips:

Tempera Paint comes in all different consistencies, so you may have to play a little with how much water you add to get it to flow properly.
Bring a bucket of water and a few rags for easy clean-up.
Washable, biodegradable paint is the best to use.
My kids were a little sad to see their creation rolled up and placed in the garbage, but it would have been too hard to carry their masterpiece all the way home. You may want to think through bring the artwork home if that is something that will be very important to your child. Maybe stay a little longer at the park and let everything dry so it can be rolled up and carried easily.
Be prepared to have kiddos from the park want to join in on the fun:)

Have you tried pendulum painting before. I would love to hear your experience and any tips that you have.

……………………………………………………………

Make sure to stop by Growing A Jeweled Rose and check out all the amazing fun they had creating pendulum painting in the dark. My kids love anything that glows in the dark, so I am sure they will want to try their hand at creating Glowing Pendulum Painting soon.

……………………………………………………………

Make sure you stop back in next week for more Play and Paint!

Don’t miss out on any of our Paint and Play series:

Balloon Painting 5 Ways

Super Creative Balloon Painting

Homemade Spin Art Machine

A Spin on Spin Art

……………………………………………………………

If you love process art like us, then check out my Painting Without Brushes Pinterest board. It is packed full of fun ideas. I would love to hear how you have used balloons to create or play with your kids.

Top 10 Ways to Learn with Paint

This week I am joining in 25+ other KBN bloggers to share our Top 10 Learning Lists with you. I couldn’t be more excited! We will be sharing all week long, so make sure to check back! You can click here to view all the summer learning topics.

……………………………………………………………

My kids are counting down the days until Summer Vacation begins and so am I! There is nothing better than having a full summer packed full of quality time together. We love being alarm clock free and take full advantage of our flexible scheduled. However, I still want to be intentional about giving the kids opportunities to learn and grow over the summer. That is why I am so excited to be a part of this Top 10 learning series.

As most of you know I am passionate about encouraging kids to explore through art. Lots of the ideas that I will be sharing are easy to do, and so much fun that your kids will forget that they are learning. Totally a win in my book:)

Top 10 Ways to learn with Paint!

1. Study Great Artists ~ There are so much kids can learn from simply studying a great painting and then trying to mimic the techniques they see. Take the opportunity to either go to a museum, grab some art books from the library or simple do a little research on line. There are so many great artists out there that are perfect for getting your kids excited about art and learning a little bit about culture as well. Here are a few examples of ways to inspire your kids though art and painting

Pour Painting ~ Holton Rower
Giant Flowers ~ Georgia O’Keeffe Flowers
Concentric Circles ~ Kandinsky
Circle Painting ~ Olympic Poster

2. Weather and Paint ~ Kids love learning about weather and how it effects us each day. Take your kids outside and try painting in all different types of weather to see how it effects their finished piece.

5 fun ways to Paint in the Rain ~ grab your rain gear and head outside to paint in the rain.
Ice Paint ~ perfect way to stay cool on a sunny day. Watch the sun melt your ice and create a beautiful master piece.
Painting the Sky ~ great way to teach about clouds

3. The Listening Game ~ this game is great for reinforcing listening skills and the importance of following directions.

Each child will need a sheet of paper, paint brush and a pallet of paints. Give simple instructions/directions on what to paint. I love drawing right along with the kids (although I often cover my paper so they can’t see what I am drawing). It is important to remember to only give one set of instructions at a time.

For example, you could describe to the kids how to draw a Robot. You could say “paint a large grey square in the center of your paper. Now paint a smaller grey rectangle on top of the large square. Paint 2 blue curly lines moving away from the large square. At the end of each curly line paint a red circle…” Continue describing how to paint your robot until the master piece is finished. The kids will get a kick out of how silly each one looks. This game works especially well with a group of 2 or more kids following the same instructions. Continue playing, only this time have one of the kids describe what to paint.

4. Science and Paint ~ Kids are amazed by science, so we combined a little paint and a little science to create fun art! Check out these great ideas on how to bring a little science into your painting this summer.

Exploding Art ~ This is by far my kids favorite painting activity that we have done. I love that our whole family got involved. Learn how to make a film canister fly into the air, and see the effects of the explosion in paint.
Fluffy Bathtub Paint ~ Your kids will love this simple recipe. The best part (according to my kids) is the simple science experiment that you do to create this amazing bathtub paint.
Microwave Puffy Paint ~ A simple squeeze paint recipe that your kids will love. Then amaze them by placing their creation in the microwave for a few seconds. My kids could not believe what happened to their painting when it came out of the microwave!
Raised Salt Painting ~ You kids will love watching the paint travel along the salt. Simple recipe that is a little art and a little science!

5. Sensory paint ~ Paint is a great way to explore your senses. Touch, feel, smell, sound and taste can all be explored through paint.

Dancing Oobleck ~ This is a great way to show kids how sound waves work.
Why not turn on the music and paint what you hear. You might be surprised by the results. Switch up what you are listening to so see the difference.
There are lots of edible finger paint recipes out there. This is perfect for litter kiddos that still want to put everything in their mouth.
Cleaning with shaving cream ~ shaving cream is the perfect medium to squish through you fingers and toes. the best part about it is the kids will be cleaning as they are playing. Great way to clean all those messy art trays!
Painting with Spices ~ this is a great way to use up old spices and create a wonderful sensory experience for your kids. They will love how the paint smells.

6. Color Mixing ~ Place a pallet of primary colors in front of your child along with a black piece of paper. No need for anything fancy:) Challenge your kids to see how many colors they can create or challenge them to make a specific color.

If you are working with younger kids, simply invite them to discover what colors they can create. You can also use ice cube trays or muffin tins filled with colored water and use an eye dropper to transfer the colors around.

7. Painting without Brushes ~ Paint with new tools and discover what type of marks they leave behind. Leave the brushes in the cupboard, and try some of these fun and new ways to discover your child’s inner artist!

DIY Spin Art Machine ~ Create your own spin art machine with a few simple items from around the house.
Q-tip Painting ~ Simply replace the brushes with q-tips and see what the kids create.
Mess Free Finger painting ~ perfect for those days when little ones want to paint, but you have no time to clean up a huge mess.
Credit Card Art ~ Lots of scraping and painting can happen with all those used up gift cards, hotel room keys etc.
Marble Painting ~ My kids love rolling a marble in paint and seeing the cool tracks it leaves behind. Use an oatmeal container to contain the mess.
Painting without Brushes Pinterest Board ~ love for you to follow along with our collaborative board that is all about getting creative with how we paint. Lots of fun and unique ideas are being shared!

8. Read a book and then paint what you heard ~ This is a fun way for kids to make connections with the book that they are reading. It is a great way to encourage your kids to be imaginative and pay attention to details. Could work great with a favorite book, or one that you have only read once. Not only is it encouraging your kiddos to read, but also to listen, and use their imagination.

9. Paint with Air ~ We can’t see air, but we can observe it effects on things around us. Here are some fun ways to explore air with your kids and see how wind works.

Bubble Painting ~ This is a favorite in our house. There is nothing better than making amazing bubble prints on a paper. All created by you blowing air into a solution of paint, soap and water.
Painting with Balloons ~ Simple techniques that use the air from inside the balloon to paint with. My kids love this.
Painting with Straws ~ Use a straw and blow paint around on your paper. Great technique for creating beautiful blossoming tree, or a silly monster.

10. DIY Paint Recipes ~ Store bought paints are convenient, however it is fun to teach your kids that they can actually make their own paints right at home.

Art Recipe Pinterest Board ~ this board is packed full of fun DIY recipes that are prefect for creating with your kids. You might be surprised at how many mediums can be created at home. Why purchase it if you can make it at home?

I would love to hear how you keep your kids engaged over the summer and if you have any tricks and tips for using paint to teach your kids.

……………………………………………………………

Here is the list of the other KBN blogs that are participating! You will want to hop on over and check out their Top 10 Ways to keep kids learning while school is out! There are lots of great ideas that I can’t wait to use with my own kids this summer!