Invitations To Create: New Videos & Prompts!

Are you familiar with Invitations To Create?

Invitations To Create are open-ended art prompts set up for kids to encourage creative exploration of materials. I first learned about these types of art prompts when I was a Reggio-Inspired preschool teacher and have since used them with my own kids for the past 9 years.

Invitations To Create have been the one tool I go back to again and again to keep my kids engaged with their art supplies and to learn new skills.

I’ve been working on a few new projects that involve Invitations To Create and I’m so excited to share them with you today!

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Big Kid Art Space

I set up our current art space 4 years ago when I had a toddler and a kindergartener. Now that my girls are 6 and almost 10, I recently realized that it’s time to make some updates to this creative work space.

I want this space to reflect their interests and to inspire them to use a variety of tools and materials in their work. So I sat down with the girls and asked them for their input before planning the new items.

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Easy, Artsy, Ornaments & The Coolest Kid-Made Wrapping Paper

Every holiday season, our family loves to spend time together making playful decorations and gifts for loved ones. With young kids, I always try to make these crafting activities fun, simple, and process-based, so kids can truly enjoy the experience.

(This post is sponsored by Walmart (thank you Walmart!), all opinions expressed are my own)

5 Artful & Kid-Friendly Holiday Projects

This year, I am so excited to partner with Walmart.com to share 5 of our favorite artful and kid-friendly projects for the holiday season. We had a blast making these colorful tree ornaments and the coolest kid-made wrapping paper you’ll ever see!

I love these projects not only because they are super budget-friendly, but even more so because they bring us together as a family to have fun, get crafty, and make gifts for others. Isn’t this what the holidays are all about?

Here’s a peek at my new favorite printing technique for kids- It’s easier than you think!

How To Make Your Own

In addition to the mini canvas ornaments and the wrapping paper, I’m sharing 5 super fun and easy holiday projects that the whole family will love over on Walmart.com.

Click here to head over to Walmart’s blog and see all of the steps and supplies for each project.

What’s your favorite kid-friendly, Holiday project? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

Easy Yarn Wall Hanging

Last weekend I was invited to host a creative activity at a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. If you don’t know who they are, this amazing organization helps to grant wishes to kids with terminal illnesses. Some kids wish to travel, perform on stage, meet their idols or even become their idol for a day! It was so special to meet some of the “wish kids” and help bring a smile to their faces with a fun, creative project.

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Embroidery Multimedia Art

This summer, my hubby, Aaron, decided to run a small soccer camp for some of the 7-year-old girls that will be on his team in the fall. It’s been a while since I’ve taught art classes and we thought it would be fun to add an hour of art to each day of camp. Then, to top off this already incredibly cool camp, Aaron decided to add in dessert adventures at the end of each day (walking around town, in search of the yummiest treat!).

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Garden Wish Flags With The Artful Parent

When I started blogging about kids and art in late 2009, I discovered my first blogger hero, Jean Van’t Hul at the Artful Parent. She was (and still is!) my go-to resource for creative project ideas and living artfully with kids. Her toddler art group was also the inspiration behind my first toddler art classes. Over the years, Jean has only become more inspiring, always delivering countless fresh ideas for engaging children in the arts.

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DIY Valentines from the Heart

DIY Valentines from the Heart- The Art Pantry

Encourage kids to express authentic gratitude and love this Valentines Day, by making something from the heart. Handmade Valentines are easier than you think! Just set up a Valentine crafting station with some fun supplies like blank cards, patterned paper, fancy scissors, glitter glue, markers, washi tape, stamps ,stickers, or whatever else you have around. Invite your children to make their own Valentine cards for friends and family. If they need a little inspiration, you can create a few samples ahead of time, or sit down and work along side them!

 

 

Handmade cards are filled with so much love and joy. I’ll take that over candy any day!

 

Making Science Creative

This week, Karuna had the amazing opportunity to attend Camp Galileo. As her third camp this summer, I was curious to see how it would compare to the other two camps. As I mentioned in a recent post, Camp Galileo talks a big game.
During each one-week session, they hope to inspire innovation by offering opportunities to imagine, create, and test their creations. Campers work together to build on their ideas and discover new ways to re-work their designs. All of this is based around a weekly theme and infused with fun & enthusiasm. After hearing the daily reports from Karuna and visiting the camp during their “art class,” I was pleased to find that this camp definitely walks the walk!
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Duct Tape Cell Phone Case For Dad

DIY Phone Case with Duct tape

As the girls work on their Father’s Day art projects, I decided that I wanted to make my own gift for my hubby for Father’s Day. With duct tape being all the rage these days, I wanted to experiment with this fun medium and see what I could come up with.  Here’s how I made a duct tape cell phone case with a photo holder (a great way to showcase your kid’s artwork too!).

What you’ll need

  • Duct tape (one or more colors, depending on your design)
  • Scissors
  • Clear plastic bag (freezer zip locks work well)

Steps

1) Start by layering three or four pieces of tape together, sticky side up, to make one large piece. The height and length depends on the size of your phone. Make sure it’s at least an inch taller than your phone and a little more than double the width (you can always cut it down later if it’s too large).
Then do the same thing, sticky side down, over your first piece. You will end up with a double-sided large rectangle of duct tape.

2) Cut a piece of tape the same length as the height of your rectangle and stick it along the side edge- with half of it hanging off.
3) Fold this side of the rectangle over your phone so that there is a strip of the sticky edge facing up.
Fold the other side over to fit snugly around the phone and press down so that it sticks to the strip of extra tape.
4) To seal this side, cut a new strip of tape and place it over the seam. If there is extra tape, you can fold it towards the inside or cut it off.

5) To close off the bottom of the case, fold the corners in, like you are wrapping a gift and seal it with a new piece of tape.

6) To make a picture slot, cut out a piece of plastic from your baggie, a little bit smaller than the front of your case.
7) Cut out four thin strips (about ½ in wide) of tape for the edges of your plastic window.
Use one strip to fold over the top of your window.
8) Place the window over your case and secure it on the sides and bottom with the thin strips of tape (so that half sticks to the window and half hangs over to stick to the case).

9) Now for the extra special touch… just cut a photo or a piece of your child’s artwork to size and slip it under the window.
So cute, I might just have to make a second one for myself!

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