Happy New Year’s Card

I’ve collected a variety of decorative letters from clipartETC.com and arranged them on a jpeg file that you can print and hand color for a quick but fancy Happy New Year sign.1. Click on the image above to download my prepared jpeg file. Print on a sheet of heavy 8.5" x 11" paper with the landscape setting and all footers removed.2. Use ultra fine point markers or pencils to fill in the letters and surrounding shap...

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Kandinsky Circles Mural

Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian artist from the late 1800s, was inspired by the loose painting style of the Impressionists and ended up pioneering the abstract art movement. This mural is a copy of one of his most popular paintings, and can easily be adapted for larger or smaller classrooms.This mural contains 12 pages and measures 35"x 23" when complete. For larger classrooms, just print extra pages and add another row. You can purchase my pdf file with instructions for just $5. Click the “Add to Cart” button below to make your payment and receive download instructio...

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Pop Art Wreath Mural

This wreath mural is full of simple graphic shapes, and just the right size to fit on any standard door. I've included 3 versions: square, with and without background patterns and circlular. (Click on image to see examples.)Each wreath mural has nine pages and measures 23"x 23" when complete. You can purchase my pdf file with instructions for just $5. Click the “Add to Cart” button below to make your payment and receive download instructio...

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Tissue Paper Poinsettias

Tearing shapes from tissue paper can create some very organic shapes, and end up looking pretty similar to poinsettia leaves.1. Give each student some rectangles of red, green and yellow tissue paper (the craft kind, NOT any that says ‘bleeding paper‘). Show them that there is a grain to the paper which makes it easier to tear in one direction than the other. They are to tear petals, leaves and a center for 3 flowers.2. After all the shapes are torn, give each student a brush and 50/50 water+glue solution. They need to cover a white sheet of paper with the glue, and then arrange their flowers on top of it. When complete, another layer of the...

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Paper Mache Piggy Bank

This was my third after-school paper mache project this year, and I must say that I learned a LOT from doing this with 20 students, mostly grades kinder and 1st. These pigs took 5 class sessions to complete.1. The first class was just about having each student cover a 12" balloon with a couple of layers of newspaper and paper mache. My favorite recipe is posted here. One thing I learned was to tie the balloon really tight, as it was best if it stayed inflated through the 2nd class. Students that had only one layer of newspaper in the first class (and popped balloons) had shapes that collapsed in the second.2. The students covered their balloons...

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Abstract Shape Drawing

I’m finding that almost anything looks good when drawn on black paper, and colored heavily with oil pastels. This is more of an exercise, but can look like a cool abstract drawing when complete.1. Give each student a sheet of black construction paper, and ask them to draw one circle, one square and one triangle, with space in between. They may fill the page with more of these shapes, with some of them overlapping. When the page is filled, they need to decide which of the overlapping shapes are in front, and erase all the lines that are inside it. Lastly, they add at least two lines that divide up the background. The lines may “jump” over any...

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Ceramic Snowman

Sometimes the simplest of projects can turn out to be anything but. My students loved making these snowman, but they did turn out to be a challenge in making clay pieces connect to each other. Whether it was a nose or hat or head, we all learned a lot about what it takes to keep clay shapes from falling apart.1. The students got a handful of clay, warmed and softened it up with water and formed the small, medium and large balls of their snowman. To connect the shapes, they needed to score (scratch with a fork) the sides of the balls that would touch each other. After securely pressing the scored edges to each other, they could add decorations...

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Pastel Penguin

Penguins are a very popular subject matter. Looking at some large photos before beginning will give students a chance to see colors and detail they may not have noticed before.1. I first gave the students oval cardboard templates about 5" tall by 3" wide to trace the body on colored construction paper. They then drew the head, wings and feet. Circle eyes and a triangle beak completed the face. A horizon line was added to the background along with sky details.2. The students then outlined their drawings with a thin black marker and colored in the shapes with oil pastel. Because this image has so much white, it's fun to do on almost any colored...

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Homemade Holiday Gift Box

I admit I get an urge to make more crafty things this time of year. But when I am looking for a good gift project, I tend to end up more in that camp. But hey, it’s all creative, which is the bottom line for me.1. I found a box pattern online that I adapted to fill a standard letter paper. You can download my template here. I recommend that you copy it on at least cover, if not card stock paper.2. After cutting out the top and bottom, it really helps to score the fold lines. This can be done by taking a ruler and semi-sharp edge like that of a butter knife, and running it several times over each fold line. Try to make a ridge, but not any tears.3....

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Warhol Style Christmas Tree Mural

 Andy Warhol (1923-1987) was one of the 20th century’s most creative artists who defined a decade with his groundbreaking Pop Art. His commercial art background must have influenced him when he created this Christmas Tree print in 1958. Note: I love a new coloring product that I discovered and used on my sample, Crayola Twistable Slick Stix. I like the set of twelve which include a pretty gold and silver, and are super smooth to color with. They are much cleaner to work with than regular oil pastels and seem to leave little to no residue on the paper. My mural has 24 pages measures 37" by 50" when complete. You can purchase my pdf file...

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Nutcracker Painting

One way to have students draw LARGE is to instruct them that their art must touch the top and the bottom of a piece of paper.1. This project requires 10" x 18" paper, tempera paints, black sharpie marker and a gold opaque metallic marker. Have the students fold the 10" x 18" paper in half, crease, and open.2. Show them how to draw in pencil a nutcracker that has a hat that touches the top edge, a belt that is on the fold, and shoes that are sitting on the bottom edge. Fill in the nutcracker with details such as boots, shirt button detail and face. The shoulders should nearly touch the sides of the paper.3. Paint the nutcracker with tempera paints....

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Crayon Resist Snowflakes

If you go to the holiday decoration section at Michael’s, you can find these amazing laser-cut wood snowflake decorations that are cheap (about three for $1) and perfect for making crayon rubbings. These are the same snowflakes I used for the Plaster Paperweight project.1. I made this picture with a white crayon, but younger students could use bright colors they could see more easily. I placed the snowflake under my paper, and rubbed over it with the side of a large crayon, going back and forth in many directions.2. Liquid watercolor was painted over all the picture, and dabbed with a paper towel to soak up the paint on the cray...

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How to Draw a Winter Tree

Winter brings bare trees, and the to chance study and draw them without any worries about leaves. I’ve posted my favorite method of drawing "Y Trees” before (click here) but this time it’s with a winter theme.1. I drew a large “Y” just using a black oil pastel. Then I added more “Y”s on the branches until it was filled.2. I made the trunk and middle branches thicker, ending with just points at the tips of all the branches.3. I drew a horizon line with a blue pastel, and filled in the sky as solid as I could. The darker, the better.4. After mixing up some watery white tempera paint, I used a brush to shake drops all over my picture. No flinging,...

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Watercolor Resist Snowflakes

Here's a simple crayon and watercolor painting idea that was inspired by an illustration on a stock art website.1. As the students will first need to draw with a white crayon on white paper, I've found it helpful to trace 9 large circles very lightly in pencil to use as a guide. As a starting point, I encouraged the students to make an "X" in the middle of each circle, and then a horizontal line through the middle so their flake will have 6 legs. After that, they may add dots or arrows to each, but they must press very hard and draw slowly to leave a lot of crayon on the paper.2. Once you are certain that there is a snoflake drawn in the middle...

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Stained Glass Nativity Mural

I am proud to unveil my newest stained glass mural design, a nativity manger scene. I love the way the colors stand out against the heavy black edges. Just click on the image if you want to see how the template looks before coloring.This mural has 30 pages to color and is 36" by 60" when complete. It also contains a single page color copy of this sample posted. Students could refer to it if you would like your final mural to look somewhat like mine.You can purchase my pdf file with instructions for just $5. Click the “Add to Cart” button below to make your payment and receive your download instructio...

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Line Art Leaves

I tried something new with this project. I told my students that contrary to the popular belief, there was not going to be a prize for finishing first, but rather this time there would actually be a prize for the student who finished last. (Their homeroom teachers usually had some kind of reward system already set up.) It actually worked out well as I saw a lot of slow and careful work being done, especially from those that always seemed to rush.1. I had large tabloid paper and large cardboard stencils of three different kinds of leaves (oak, beech and sassafras.) Each student was asked to trace at least two of their favorite leaves, and then...

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Acrylic Dry Brush Landscape Painting

This lesson was to show young students how to layer color when painting with opaque paints, such as acrylic or tempera. Their tendency is to mix and mix and mix, which only creates a muddy palette. If you put some restrictions in place, the outcome is much cleaner and brighter.1. I had the students paint the bottom third of a horizontal paper white. (This example was done with acrylic, but tempera would work fine too.) Then they chose a main cool color for the sky, as this was to be a winter scene. All the paint needs to be spread thin so that it starts to dry pretty quickly.2. Next, an accent color was added to the sky as small dots of paint...

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Turkey Coloring Page

Need a quick activity for class or family get-together? Here’s a turkey that I drew (inspired by a stock art illustration again) that can be customized in many ways. Click on the image to get the blank page to print. Happy colori...

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One More Turkey Drawing

I’ve found a lot of great drawing ideas over at www.fotosearch.com. If you ever get stuck for new ways of drawing common items, try searching their clip art to see what comes up.1. I started by drawing my turkey on black paper with a pencil. If you want to see the steps, follow the project I have posted here and then add some more details and patterns to the feathers and body.2. Trace all your pencil lines with a white Marvy Opaque Stix. The white is really fun to draw with as the line first seems clear, and then turns bright white after a few secon...

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Watercolor Still Life

When it comes to painting, most children need to practice looking at subtle changes in color. The skilled student may already see this, but others may have not been asked to think about it before. In this case, they are challenged to make as many values as they can with just one color and a little water. 1. On a chalk board, draw three simple still life shapes: the coffee cup, the wine glass and a bowl. Ask the students to draw all three in pencil on a 9" x 12" watercolor paper, but note that the items MUST all overlap in some fashion. Add a table edge line somewhere in the middle.2. Give each student a single dark crayon for them to trace all...

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Turkey Scratch Art Drawing

This scratchy-looking technique is called “sgraffito”, and it works well with drawing something like a turkey with all it’s lines and feathers.1. I made a simple line drawing of a turkey for the students (that you can download here) as they are a rather unusual and complex shape. Have the students trace the lines with a black Sharpie marker to thicken the lines.2. The turkeys are to be colored in with oil pastels. Important: this layer needs to be thick and it really helps to use some very soft oil pastels like the Portfolio brand. I’m not sure that the less expensive ones will work very well as they tend to be harder and not as easy to get really...

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Tempera Turkey Painting

This project uses the same drawing technique that I posted about here, but is drawn in a large format (about 12" x 18") and painted with tempera paint. I let the students finish the feathers in whatever manner they wished – either realistic or with fun patterns. My goal was to have them practice their radial drawing with the feather lines that went out from the body. I compared it to the lines that radiate out from the sun, which most students seemed to grasp, even the 1st grade...

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Paper Mache Bowls

My after-school paper mache class just finished their bowl project, and I love how they turned out. The key is to just not take any shortcuts. This bowl is made from four mache sessions: two with newspaper and two with paper towels. 1. I have posted the steps to this project before, which you can see by clicking here. I had previously instructed students to do just three layers of mache, but you can see the difference that is made by adding one more layer. I love how thick and strong this one is. It stands about 12" high. This bowl was made by a talented kinder (with a little help from his mo...

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Tissue Paper Collage

This is really good for young kids (age 5 and 6) who may not have used a paint brush before. The only catch is finding liquid starch, which I have only found at the Von’s grocery store chain in LA. 1. You can tell the students that they will be making a collage with just warm colors: red, yellow and orange. Give them a few dozen tissue paper squares in these colors, approx. 2" in size. 2. I used a parchment-type paper (wax paper would work too) for the base, and gave the students all a cup of starch and brush. The starch works well because it is thick and not too sticky. Show the students how to brush a little starch on their base paper, and...

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Friendship Bracelets

This project was a hit not only with girls but with boys as well. I think they are just “surfer” looking enough to work for both.1. I read somewhere that these bracelets are made with 6 colors, one for each letter in the word F-R-I-E-N-D. I cut about a yard of each color and taped them to the back of a piece of 8.5" x 11" chip board. I then taped the top down with the yarn lying smooth and placed a clip at the bottom. Keeping the yarn snuggly in place while working produces more consistent knots.2. The process of making the bracelet is releasing one yarn at a time from the clip, wrapping a double knot around each successive yarn, and then securing...

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Lots of Logs Painting

I was inspired by a print at “Geninne’s Art Blog” and turned it into a study using neutral colors. In third grade, students can start to learn about colors that are not on the basic color wheel, like the neutral colors brown, black, white and gray. I like to associate them with nature, so this log painting helps to make that connection.1. Give the students a square piece of paper. They are to draw a square frame near the edge, and lots of circles that fit inside. The goal is to have lots of different sizes, and all of the spaces used up. Tip: the younger the student, the larger the paper should be.2. Using brown, gray and black and white crayons,...

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Rousseau Tiger Drawing

Henri Rousseau was a French artist that lived in the late 1800s. He tried to paint in the schooled manner of the traditional artists, but it was the innocence and charm of his work that won him the admiration of many avant-garde artists such as Paul Klee. 1. If possible, show a poster of Rousseau's “Surprised! Storm in the Forest” painting to the students. Impress upon them that it was Rousseau's loving attention to detail that made him an exceptional artist. Encourage them to do the same.2. Give each student a 9" x 12" piece of paper and a 6" cardboard circle template. Have them trace the circle in the center of the paper.3. Show the students...

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Paul Klee Mural

Paul Klee was a Swiss artist (1879–1940) who experimented and eventually mastered color theory. This mural of his famous “Castle and Sun” painting may be colored to match the original as shown here, or just filled in with your student’s favorite colors. My mural has 24 pages to color and measures 43" x 40" when complete.You can purchase my pdf file with instructions for just $5. Click the “Add to Cart” button below to make your payment and receive download instructio...

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M.C. Escher Tessellations

A tessellation is created when a shape is repeated over and over again covering a plane without any gaps or overlaps. I learned the hard way how easily triangles can get flopped and rotated, so I came up with a numbering process that eliminated that problem.1. Give each student a 3" (or larger) square of heavy card stock paper, scissors, tape, and drawing paper.2. Make a diagram on a board that follows the steps illustrated to the right.a. Number the corners as shown.b. Cut the bottom two corners off and move up to the top. With edges "kissing" and not overlapping, tape in place. The numbers should stay right reading.c. The students are to draw...

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Snowman on Skis

I sometimes look at stock illustrations on websites like gettyone.com for inspiration. I found a simple drawing of a snowman on skis that I really liked, and remade with my glue and pastel technique. 1. Drawing lightly on black paper, make three overlapping circles, each getting a bit smaller as they go up.2. Draw simple stick arms, a face and buttons.3. Add stick ski poles attached to the hands, and a hat that sits on top of the head. Stripes are nice as they allow for extra color.4. Draw two skis below the bottom circle, and then a curved horizon line. Trace all lines with a thin line of white glue and let dry for 6 hours or so.5. When dry,...

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Close Crop Snowman

Drawing closeup and cropping out what is unnecessary can make just about any artwork more interesting. The tendency is for students to draw small with lots of extra space. If you are trying for dynamic images for special uses like greeting cards, this approach will make a big difference.1. I started with a 9" x 12" sheet of black paper, and traced a ruler width in pencil around the outside to give the artwork a frame.2. I used an old CD to trace the bottom circle, purposely placing it so that it would go off the page on one side. The smaller head circle came from centering a smaller cup above the CD circle. I drew in the face, hat, scarf, arms...

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Oil Pastel Snowman

This is a little twist (literally) on the usual snowman drawing. It asks students to think about circles can become spheres and have a 3-dimensional shape to them.1. I started by giving studets a large black paper (12" x 17") and a cardboard circle template (5" diam.) They used the template for drawing the bottom circle, and then had to draw the middle and top circle themselves, in pencil.2. Next, they were to choose to draw their snowman as turned to either the right or the left, just not head-on as they probably have done in the past.3. After the pencil drawing was done, the lines were to be traced heavily with a black pastel. Finally, the...

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Positive / Negative Pumpkin

One last Halloween project. This is short and sweet but makes a very graphic image.1. Give each student a square piece of black paper and an orange that is half the width of the black. With the orange lying on top of the right side of the black, they are to imagine the center line as the middle of a pumpkin.2. Starting on the middle line, they need to draw half of a pumpkin. Next, one eye and one half of a mouth are drawn. When complete, the eye and mouth are cut out, all as complete shapes, not bits and pieces. I show them how to cheat with the eye by cutting a line over to it and then cutting around to get the triangle out. The little slice...

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Batik Crayon Pumpkins

Batik is a resist-dyeing process that originated in Indonesia. Children can simulate the look with crayons and watercolor.1. Show the students how to draw overlapping circles to start their pumpkin picture. Stems are added near the top, and lines that radiate out curve down to the bottom. When complete, the drawing is traced with a permanent black marker.2. The pumpkins and background need to be heavily colored in with crayons. More advanced students can try to make a highlight spot on each pumpkin by coloring it with a lighter orange. Remind them that any highlight spots should pretty much be in the same position on each pumpkin (a quick light-source...

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Make a Paper Pumpkin

This project turned out to be a very quick and easy way to make a 3D shape out of strips of paper.1. I used orange construction paper in the standard 9"x12" size, and then used a paper cutter to make a pile of orange strips that were 1" wide by 12" tall. The students were given 10 strips of paper, a push pin and two paper fasteners. They were to stack the strips and use the push pin to help make a hole in each end through all the layers.2. The pin is removed and replaced by the paper fastener. It's best to push it through just a couple of layers at a time.3. The paper fastener legs are opened and the strips are adjusted around each pin until...

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Symbols of the Season Drawing

There are seasonal symbols that work not only for Halloween, but fall and Thanksgiving as well. I’m planning to have students divide their paper into a grid, and draw and color symbols that will proportionally fit each rectangle.1. I find that I tend to divide areas into thirds a lot when I am trying to draw grids. In this case, I will ask students to first draw a border in pencil near the outside edge. If they mark the top line into thirds, they need to draw a vertical line down on their the left on the right mark.2. Next they will look at the larger rectangle they made, and draw one horizontal line to divide it into thirds. The same is done...

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Fine Line Marker Leaves

I find a lot of inspiration at stock art sites like gettyone.com and istock.com. This came from a leaf illustration, which is simpler than it looks if you pencil yourself some guidelines first.1. I started by drawing the center veins of each leaf, which kind of looked like a long main line with an "X” through it. Sketch lightly with a pencil. Continue drawing these until the paper is full.2. Still using your pencil, draw the outside curved edge of each leaf as shown in the small corner diagram.3. Using a fine tip marker such as this Stabilo set, draw parallel lines inside each leaf, taking care to start at the center vein and end at the pencil...

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Pumpkin Tissue Paper Painting

Some tissue paper has an amazing ability to bleed when it is mixed with water. Cut-up squares can be used to control the color and make an easy way to paint...without the paint. Word of advice: not all tissue paper bleeds. My impression is that the cheaper variety from Michael's works best, but it is something you need to test before starting. 1. Older students can draw their own pumpkin, younger ones may need a template to trace. A horizon line is added. After the drawing is done in pencil, the lines should be traced with a permanent black marker.2. My favorite is to get 2 values of orange, green and purple tissue paper. For instance, I cut...

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Masking Tape Letter

I tried this masking tape and marker project today with some kinders and they really enjoyed it. The students were given full permission to scribble, and actually had time to do both their initials in about an hour.Note: I recommend testing your tape on your paper first to see if it comes off without tearing. I used blue painter’s masking tape on some donated coated paper. I’d say some paper came off with the tape maybe 10% of the time, so I’m going to experiment next week with maybe reducing the stickiness of the tape somehow.1. I began by writing block letters on the board. I had hopes of the student’s tearing their own strips of tape to make...

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How to Draw A Haunted House

I love all the creative possibilities of Halloween. You can have your students practice their architectural drawing while changing just a few elements to make their houses "spooky".1. If you Google "haunted house paintings" you will get some really cool images to show your students. You could begin with a discussion of what the houses have in common: they are usually old, have lots of add-ons, have broken windows, and the sky is often looks like it is nightime.2. Give each student a paper and pencil, and have them draw a house that fits the above description. I usually show them how they could draw a front entry, and then add on lots of sections...

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Finish-the-Spider Drawing

I’m thinking of adapting some of my black and white projects to Halloween themes, and this one I think might work well for some creepy, but symmetrical drawing practice.1. If you google “Clip Art ETC” you will find this amazing collection of black and white art that is collected mainly for educational use. Search for “spiders” and you may have trouble deciding which one to download. I chose the highest resolution of a fuzzy one, and cropped it in my computer to print just half an image. The low tech approach would be to print out the whole image, cut it in half, and xerox your copies.2. I plan to give each student a spider print, along with a...

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Paul Klee Portrait

Paul Klee was a Swiss artist from the early 1900's who liked to turn things he saw into simple geometric shapes. His “Head of A Man” is a classic example of his philosophy.1. In the center of a 9" x 12" sheet of paper, have the students draw a 6" circle, using a cardboard template. Below that the neck and shoulders can be drawn, but only using straight lines and angles.2. The face may be drawn in pencil, but again only using very simple lines. Trace all with a dark crayon, pressing firmly.3. Cut up various sheets of tissue paper, in about 3" squares. With a cup of water and a paint brush, the students are to dampen the white paper, and place...

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Paper Mache Masks

This week I had a lot of students finish their paper mache masks in my first after-school class. I love the big, bold results! One of the joys of working with little kids is watching how they can paint without hesitation. No regrets, no worries... they just paint. Note: There is a fair amount of prep work for this, but it was all made from recycled products so it was cheap. I started by cutting the largest matching ovals I could from the two flat sides of a pizza box, approx: 17" x 14". This large size is important as it allows little ones to paint with big fat brushes and still get a clear face. Using box cutters, I cut out the eyes from one...

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Tree Silhouette

I was inspired for this project by a stock art illustration. I really like how it turned out as it lets students focus on how detailed tree shapes can be. And it makes a good Halloween project too.1. Give the students a 9" x 12" piece of watercolor paper, and some yellow and blue watercolor paint. Ask them to paint one large yellow moon circle in the middle of the paper, and then a blue sky all the way around it. Let the paint dry.2. With wide, medium and thin-tipped Sharpie permanent markers, demonstrate how the students can draw thick tree trunks from the top to the bottom, and gradually add branches growing up and out from both sides, using...

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