August 20, 2018  by

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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March 6, 2018  by

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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in Art Spaces / Art Supplies / Creative Learning / Home / Homeschool / Indoor Creative Spaces / Portfolio 4 comments
January 2, 2018  by

5 Tips to Get Your Kid’s Art Space Started

Happy New Year! Every new year I get the urge to do a little re-decorating and get organized in our home. Do you feel the same way?  If you do and you’re thinking of re-working your kid’s art space or setting one up for the first time, I’ve put together my top 5 tips to help you get started.

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December 4, 2017  by

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.

in Art Projects / Creative Projects / Holiday / Party Ideas 0 comments
November 2, 2017  by

Join The Family Canvas Challenge!

Two years ago, I was inspired by an Art Pantry reader, Emily, and her family advent tradition of working on one canvas for each day of the Advent calendar. I loved the idea of layering different materials each day on a collaborative canvas and turning it into a fun game that we could do together as a family.

We adapted this idea and worked on our canvas about twice a week for a month. Each time we worked on it, I would bring out a new material, hide it in a bag, and set it out on the canvas for my girls to discover. They loved the anticipation of not knowing what the next material would be!

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September 5, 2017  by

It’s Not About Art: Skill-building in the studio

The other day I was going through photos of our art space over the years and it hit me how much my girls have learned from having a dedicated art space in our home.

I always say that having an art space is about so much more than just having a place to do art. But I realized that maybe I take this for granted and maybe other people don’t know what happens in an art space over time.

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April 19, 2017  by

Family Art Events On The Road

When we began planning this 3-month Airstream tour around the US, I knew right away that I wanted to host pop-up family art events along the way. I wanted to connect with families across the country and share creative activities that might inspire them to bring more art and creativity and into their lives. But how was I going to pull that off?

The best thing about being a blogger is the friendships that I have made with other art teachers and creative mamas around the world. So once we had our trip route down, I of course went straight to my community of art teacher friends along the route and asked them to collaborate on a family art event in their town.

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in Art Projects / Creative Business / Creative Projects / Homeschool / News / Party Ideas / Travel 4 comments
November 9, 2016  by

Art Workshop For Children: Self-Portraits

Let me introduce you to my favorite new book about process art and Reggio-inspired learning. Friends, meet Art Workshop For Children. Art Workshop For Children, please meet my friends. I’m sure you guys will get along really well.

Art Workshop for Children, by Barbara Rucci and Betsy McKenna, is a breathtaking book (the photos literally made me gasp when I first flipped through the pages) filled with unique process-based art activities for kids and tips on how to prepare your art space for creative exploration. I especially love the thoughtful reflections woven throughout the book by Reggio-inspired educator, Betsy McKenna, on how to raise creative thinkers and why this is important for all children.

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in Art Projects / Creative Learning / Creative Projects / Homeschool / News 110 comments
July 31, 2016  by

Reggio Inspired Art Secrets

You probably know this by now, but I am a huge fan of the incredible art teacher and blogger, Meri Cherry. I remember discovering her work a couple of years ago when she wrote a post about wood working with toddlers. I immediately felt a kinship and was so excited to find another Reggio inspired art blogger. We eventually got to meet in person over a plate of tacos and we both couldn’t stop blabbering on about Reggio and kids art. We have been friends ever since! Meri has a way of sharing her experience as a teacher that is unlike any other teacher and blogger I know. Her beautiful photos and down-to-earth voice bring you into her world and make you feel like you are being let in on a secret. So it’s no wonder she recently published an e-book called  Art Secrets Every Teacher Should Know, A Reggio Inspired Approach.

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