The Art Box – Oct. 11, 2010

In the Art Box last week: lots of colored paper, watercolor paper (in the back with a paperclip on it), watercolor paints, watercolor pencils, markers, glue, glitter glue, scissors, a small container with little goodies in it for collaging (lower left), a pinecone, stickers, and cardboard ribbon spools.

I’ve been trying to find a good way to keep M’s art supplies organized, and found this little utensil carousel at Target.  It’s great for markers, pencils, scissors, glue, etc.  But, the picture looks a little crowded, doesn’t it?  Maybe next week I’ll set everything out all nice and pretty before I take the picture.  Didn’t you know I have all the time in the world to do things like that? ;)  Okay, maybe not.  We’ll see. ;)

Despite the plethora of good art supplies, not much art was done.  We’ve had a run of summer-like days this fall (I guess to make up for the fall-like days we had in summer), and much of our time was spent outside.  Some beautiful items did make their way into nature collages, but those are for a post later this week.

However, despite the beautiful weather, M can’t resist anything sparkly.  Once he saw the glitter glue and some sparkly bug stickers he had to take time out from his outdoor play to put a couple of things together. 

A glitter glue, sticker collage: 

And whatever this is, with glitter foam pieces (more sparkles!):

That was it.  Just some quick bling and then back to jumping in the leaves.

I did find time to put up some art strings in our home.  Here’s one:

We’ve got 4 of them up in a variety of places – stairwell, family room, bedroom.  My (unspoken to M) hope is that I can s l o w l y start taking down a few pieces of art that he’s just randomly taped on the walls and move them onto the art strings, and eventually only have M’s art on the strings except for a few very special things that we’ll leave in the kitchen, perhaps in frames.  That’s the plan, anyway.

If you have a kid's art post, link it up below! Be sure to link back here somewhere in your post.

Have a beautiful day! :)

The Art Box – Oct. 4, 2010

I try so hard to be organized every week… but inevitably something always gets overlooked!  This week it was the art box again.  I just can’t seem to remember that it’s time to change out the supplies (or let M change them out) and we end up just haphazardly grabbing extra paper and whatever he wants on the spur of the moment.  And art gets done, but there’s no neat and tidy art box.  And I like a neat and tidy art box – even if it’s just neat and tidy long enough for a picture to be taken.  One of the things I like most about these posts is seeing those supplies, all picked out and nicely arranged, just waiting for imagination to take hold and something to be created.  It helps me remember what we’ve done, what items M has especially enjoyed, and gives me ideas for what to give him in the future.  So.  Next week – maybe?

I do remember that he had access to markers, do-a-dot painters, and stencils this week.  And here’s what he created…

He tried the stencils with his dot painters and then with his markers.  I can really see the difference between the two “techniques”. ;)  I was also impressed that he was able to trace the outlines with the markers, which was something totally new for him.   

 

His drawing has really taken off lately too.  He drew up a storm, but here are my three favorites:

I’m not sure what this is, but I love the happy smiley face!

A family, not ours, but one with two boys… which is what he wishes our family was.  (Me too!)

A rainbow, a sunshine, and a bird – so sweet!

 

He has created a “collage box” that he keeps near his “reading spot”.  Basically this is a box full of interesting magazines and catalogs and calendars, and general stuff.  He’s been creating collages non-stop with all the good things he’s finding in this box o’ things.  And with his new found love for masking tape, I’m being surprised with new collages popping up everywhere I turn.

 The front door.

  A closet.

  The hallway.

And more in the kitchen and bedrooms.  Sigh.  I don’t plan on keeping these beauties up, but so far I haven’t had the heart to take any of them down since he is just so darn proud of himself.  Yet, deep down I know my house is beginning to look a little… strange.  Like a 4 year old is running around on the loose with scissors and tape.

Lastly, Daddy’s birthday is coming up soon and M made him a little something:Pretty special, wouldn’t you say? :)   

If you have a kid's art post, link it up below! Be sure to link back here somewhere in your post.

Have a beautiful day! :)

The Art Box – 9-27-10

 

It feels good to have The Art Box back!  Although a break is always nice too. :)

M did random art here, there, and everywhere over the summer – wherever the mood would strike and with whatever was available.  It’s been a few weeks since the actual art box has been replenished, so I thought I’d share a few of his summer creations with you this week.

These are a couple of things that he did completely on his own from the beginning of an idea to the completion of the project.  All I had to do was find and give him what he told me he needed.

A collage of Daddy, done one day when Dad had on a melon-colored shirt:

I love the hair on top and how his eyes are on his “shirt”.  What I really loved though was what M said when he showed it to my husband - “This is your hair, and this is your pink dress.”  Hee hee.  I like your pink dress, Daddy. ;)

One day I was laminating some colored papers and then cut off the margins, which left little laminated strips.  I asked M if he wanted them for anything and he took them.  Here’s what he did (in our camper):
The boy adores tape.  I thought it was pretty cool and loved all the “bridges” he made.  He made several of these on various colored papers.

We always love it when my artsy-craftsy niece visits, which happened a few times over the summer.  I’ve shown the day they painted outside.  Here’s some inside art they enjoyed creating:


Cousin S made some pretty art with interesting details.  M – well, he glued craft sticks to paper.  Over and over again.  What a goofball.

If you have a kid's art post, link it up below! Be sure to link back here somewhere in your post.

Have a beautiful day! :)

The Art Box – August 9, 2010

Last week the Art Box was left untouched.   We had a busy week with play dates and errands, and then there was that one morning when I decided to tear up the living room carpet… :)  Pictures of that, hopefully soon (although lately I can’t promise anything when it comes to blogging). 

 

M did manage to get in some artsy time with his cousin S on Friday.  I set up the little outdoor easel, put out a (muffin) tray of paints, and a selection of stamps, several brushes and sheets of newsprint:

 

and they went to work:

 

Paint a little, play a little, paint a little – all day long.  We had stacks of artwork by day’s end.  Summer is so much fun, isn’t it?

If you have a kid's art post, link it up below! Be sure to link back here somewhere in your post.

Have a beautiful day! :)

The Art Box – August 2, 2010

My beloved laptop was having some issues last week and my not-so-beloved-but-normally-reliable camera was malfunctioning.  Ugh.  You can imagine my horror and anxiety, right? ;)  Everything seems to be back to normal now, and the internet did not go away during my absence.  Thank goodness.  Um, not that I need the internet, or my laptop, or my camera for that matter…  that would just be silly, wouldn’t it?

So, I only captured one lovely piece of artwork made from the Art Box and this is it: Yes, I know it looks like he poured glue on a piece of paper and then dumped a bunch of random stuff on it.  However, it took him a good half hour and he was very intentional about all, or at least most, of it.  He even stuffed things into the noodles. :) 

To be honest, sometimes I think the Art Box has turned into more of a tool for me to keep M busy while I “get something done”, than just something for his enjoyment.  However, he really does enjoy the freedom of being able to make whatever he wants whenever he wants.  And he is always so proud of each and every creation.  So many are made with a specific person in mind (to give it to), and I love to hear him talk about how much he loves them and how much they are going to love their special gift.  He is definitely expressing himself through his artwork! 

If you have a kid's art post, link it up below! Be sure to link back here somewhere in your post.

Have a beautiful day! :)

 

We had family from New York visiting last week and most of our time was spent just having fun with cousins.  The Art Box did not see much action, but I did capture a couple of creative moments… these were times when a very over-tired 3 year old who doesn’t take naps anymore needed something quiet to do.  While sitting in one spot. ;)

 

First, a little sand art, which is always a huge hit with M.  Michael’s has these cute little containers and M used a funnel to fill them up with colored sand:

 

Also, some drawing on the side of the fridge with window markers.  This was a novel idea for him and kept him happy and creative for a good half hour at least:

(His “snowman” drawing)

If you have a kid's art post, link it up below! Be sure to link back here somewhere in your post.

Have a beautiful day! :)

The Art Box – July 19, 2010

I bought a little tote to go along with M’s Art Box last week.  This way we can keep all his usual stuff in one spot and he can add more fun things to the actual box.  In the tote are paintbrushes, glue, pens (which I’ll switch out for colored pencils, pastels, or markers occasionally), scissors, his tiny paint palette, and a small container of collage items like macaroni, pom-poms, etc.

 

I let him pick 3 items from each drawer (there are two craft drawers that are his “art box drawers”.  He chose a bundle of old fabric, cotton balls, a wooden snake with paints, coffee filters, electrical tape, and some stickers.  I picked a variety of papers for him to use.

*Note how messy the box is now that I let M pick the items for it?  There’s no time to pretty it all up before snapping a quick photo. You’ll have to just take my word for what’s in there! :)

 

     

First he made… well, what are these?He was so very proud of them, and told me he had thought up something that no one else had ever made before.  I think he just might be right about that. ;)

 

He had a great time painting his little wooden snake from Michael’s:

 

 

And then he grabbed a piece of dark green velvet (it looks black in the photo), and glued cotton balls all over it.  He told me he had made a “collage of very soft things”:

 

So, yes – his art was interesting this past week, but he enjoyed himself, was excited about it, and probably even learned something – I call that a success.  And I don’t mind that it keeps him busy while I blog either. ;)

If you have a kid's art post, link it up below! Be sure to link back here somewhere in your post.

Have a beautiful day! :)