Art Lesson: Watercolor Paper Dolls

I have a friend I met at one of my early craft shows that made paper art dolls out of scraps of her watercolor paintings.  I wrote about her on the blog a couple years ago when I reviewed the Second Storie Indie Craft Show.

Anyway, I have been inspired by her work and have always wanted to try it myself (even if mine didn't turn out as beautifully abstract as hers).  And since teaching the art class, I have wanted to do it as a project with the kids.  So a few weeks ago on art class day, I got out some watercolor paper, paints, and mini brads and  had the kids make some.

(The big one on the left side is mine.) :)

Big Kids' class...

First I had them use the watercolor paints on the paper, telling them to "scribble" abstract designs with the paint.  Then I had them cut the pieces out to make the arms, legs, head, and body...then attach them with the brads.  I used a large needle to poke holes for them to more easily attach the brads, since it's difficult to poke the brads through the thicker watercolor paper.

Then the next week we did the project in the Little Kids' class... 

The kids all had a lot of fun with this project, and I think they liked making something they could play with later.

Art Lesson with Little Kids: Collage

This week, I had an art class with the "little kids". I decided to give the younger siblings of the kids I'm teaching a chance to have art class so they don't feel left out, since their older siblings get to come have art. Since the kids are so young, this class is less of an "art class" and more of a "craft time". I've decided to alternate weeks between older kids and younger kids. This was the first week with the youngin's. The group has two 4 year olds, one 3 year old, and one 2 year old.

We did a simple collage project. I cut out little person shapes with my Cricut and had the kids color them, then had them color a 8.5 x 11 piece of paper for the background, then had them color a smaller piece of paper to cut out pieces for a "house" and glue them onto the background paper. I kept it really simple, and they all seemed to enjoy it!

Can you tell which work is from the two 4 year olds, the 3 year old, and the 2 year old? ;)

The 2 year old had a hard time following directions...but hey, she's 2! She seemed content to just color and be a part of the class though.

For the next "Little Kid" class, I am planning a project using watercolors and my Button stamps, similar to a project I did myself. I may even do that project for the older kids too.

Pretty Primele

I am impressed at how well branded Primele is...
And I love how Rachel and Tricia package their products. They look so professional...
I helped package these thank you notes and envelopes today. They look like they could be from a big stationery company. You'd never guess they were from a homegrown business, packaged by three 20-something girls in an art studio loft.

Speaking of the Studio...here's a glimpse into the workspace...

I have concluded today (after only working 4 days) that working for Primele is the best job I've ever had! I get to do graphic design stuff on the computer, do stuff with paper, and hang out in a sweet art studio loft with two of my good friends for 4 hours...and get paid for it! Best...job...ever. :)

Mother-Daughter Silhouettes Comparison

Mom in 1972.

Me in 1983

Mom (right) and me (left) in 2010.

Good Fortunes...

I have a thing for saving the fortunes out of fortune cookies. I have a bunch that I want to put in a scrapbook. Here are a couple of my favorites...

Paper Bird Art

I randomly started doing these last night. They're just cut paper. I'm thinking of framing and giving them away as Christmas gifts.

I've also busted out the pottery wheel lately. I'll try to remember to post some pictures this week.