Kids Creating Art

I'm sure that all of us deal with Children in one way or another. Whether you are a parent, carer, teacher or someones relative we all are involved in some way. What better way to create a keepsake than by getting the kids involved in the Art itself. Some of the us ladies on IACW have been getting crafty with our children and here are some ideas you might want to have a go at! Enjoy!!! Cath xx Andrea I am a teacher in A Special Needs School and also the Art Co-ordinator so the children in my class do a lot of art! A couple of weeks ago I set them a challenge to make an art gallery to brighten up a corner of the classroom. They really took the challenge to heart and produced some fantastic pictures on the theme of 'landscapes'. I thought I would share this on It's A Creative World as I know a lot of you will be at home with your children over the long summer holidays and will need to fill in the odd rainy afternoon.

These pictures were all made with just coloured tissue paper and pva glue. I was so amazed at how well they came out, especially when you take into consideration that these children all have very severe special needs and are only 7 and 8 years old. Just tear the tissue into strips, glue onto the background using pva and then cover the whole thing in another layer of pva to seal it and to give it a shiny finish.

This method could be adapted to create colourful art for your home by taking on a theme of spaceships, seaside, sunshine, under the sea etc. and your children could make an original work of art for their bedroom.

Love from Andrea x

Cath

I decided to get my son Corey involved in making a canvas for my kitchen. Not only did i make a work of art but also a unique keepsake. Keepsakes are very precious to me. Corey was a very sick little boy when he was born 12 wks early and spent 5 months in hospital. During those times, not being a scrapbooker then, i didn't value the concept of keeping everything so to have memories for the future. I truly understand how important it is now.

I picked up a canvas at Home Bargains for £1.99 and used the paint i already had so that is literally all this cost me! This really couldn't be any simpler. I basically painted Coreys hands with a variety of colours and the pressed his hand down on the canvas to make the pattern.

You can obviously just let the child go for it but i wanted something that was somewhat neat. But if you aren't bothered about that then just let them rub their hands in paint and go for it. The result, i think, is a stunning work of art and one that will have pride of place on my wall! Thanks! Cath xx

Joy 2 fabulous projects from Joy!

Shells

Materials: Shells, bag/bucket, water, Adirondack inks, plastic tubs, paper towels/newspaper/messy mat, spatula, bowl

This is a simple project you can do yourself or with kids of any age. My 2 year old son helped me, and he's still talking about it :0)

Collect your shells from the beach... Look for bright colours - anything that grabs your interest. (I even gather little rocks - heart shaped ones - for other projects.) Wash them thoroughly, and leave them out to dry.

Then fill small plastic tubs with water and add a few spritzes of Adirodack colour wash of your choice in each tub. You just want enough water to cover the shells you place in each tub. Leave them overnight to soak.

Have a messy mat (or old plastic table cloth - something you don't mind getting paint on) and paper towels ready. Line the messy mat with paper towels. Gently remove the shells using a spatula or spoon. Pour the excess water down the sink (but leave the water running a bit to rinse any dye from the tub). The shells should be ready for use in a few hours.

Then pick a lovely bowl for display. :0)

PAINTING with your kids with Berol Water Soluble Wax sticks opens up a WHOLE NEW WORLD of creativity... I had the adult version for messy play, and I went looking for some for Calum that would survive little hands. These fabby little things are coated in plastic for easy grip, and the break down easily when dipped in water to make opaque paint - so easy, so much fun, and something just a little bit different to try with kids....

Trish

I used 2 6x6 canvases

Anitas acrylic paint

Anitas metalic acrylic paint

Black felt tip pen

The hands of 2 small children

The handprints, outlines and writing on each canvas were done by my 6 year old and 4 year old kids.

It says ***** right hand, aged *

They had great fun doing this and getting covered in paint, a lovely gift for a family member.