With our school’s science room filled with new bugs and worms, it seemed timely to have lady bugs as the theme for some art projects. Older students drew and painted theirs, but … Read More
Save your old food magazines for this bug collage project. The shiny and colorful fruit, for example, has a whole new look when viewed as bug parts. You can even mix in … Read More
Yes, you can make some really amazing auction art from a room full of 5 year olds. Celebrate all their scribbly drawings by attaching them to a stretched canvas, and you have … Read More
Try adding some gold to your collage to make a really decorative work of art. Austrian painted Gustav Klimt lived in the early 1900’s, started his career as a decorator and is … Read More
Torn edges have a way of making shapes that would never happen if you started cutting away with a pair of scissors. This duck collage project has a simple shape, but I … Read More
La Boca is a neighborhood, or barrio of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. It is a popular tourist destination because of its very colorful homes. Turn out that years ago, shipyard workers … Read More
Jim Dine is an American pop artist, famous for his series of heart paintings. This project uses tissue paper, glue and oil pastels to create a heart in his very textured style. … Read More
Here is one way to make easy snowflake art with paint and paper. Try blending several shades of blue on good watercolor paper and sprinkle salt to add more texture. Brush it … Read More
This pumpkin art project is a great example of teaching a principal of design, while making a very graphic image. I love how it literally requires students to flip and glue down … Read More
If you’ve every tried painting on a paper towel, and enjoyed the way the color just soaks in, then you will love this fall tree art project. Turns out that coffee filters … Read More
This silly pumpkin art project can’t help but make you smile, what with the goofy teeth and all. I once found this wonderful marble construction paper sold both in packs of green … Read More
I’ve found a rather simple formula that will help students create their own Matisse collage. Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of color. After losing the ability to … Read More
Here is one of my most pinned Halloween ideas for kids. It was originally designed for art trading cards, but has lots of other possibilities too. The simple shape of the cat, … Read More
This tree collage was inspired by a stock art illustration, and it seemed to me a great way to teach first and second graders about cutting and overlapping round shapes. MATERIALS • … Read More
Here is the perfect example of why I love kid’s art. This kinder kitty by Veronica has about a thousand times more personality than my sample posted yesterday. This just screams kitty … Read More
I love the look of a newspaper collage cat, but the reality of it brings problems when trying to make consistent supplies for 150 students. Solution? Technology to the rescue with a … Read More
This Kinders First Project solved my dilemma this fall. I have always thought that if you make the first class too easy, you feel like you’re phoning it in. Make it too … Read More
It turns out that it’s easy and inexpensive to make some amazing coffee filter trees. Put them on some nice card stock paper and you have all the makings of a beautiful … Read More
I have trouble throwing away clean colorful food boxes, and was inspired by the beach theme of these cracker boxes. MATERIALS • Art Journal or paper • Clean old cereal or cracker … Read More
For Grumpy Cat fans, a page of heads that are waiting for bodies to be drawn, colored or painted in. He does have the most amazing blue eyes, doesn’t he? • View … Read More
My students are learning how to make pop out flowers this week, which make a pretty nice Mother’s Day card. Last year I did this with hearts, but I like this flower … Read More
In honor of Earth Day, three classes made this rainbow collage. I do believe that trash never looked so good. MATERIALS • Old stretched canvas • Lots of magazines • Scissors • … Read More
Here’s a simple mouse collage idea that I modified today from a few years ago. The fuzzy bodies contrast nicely with the smooth ears and tail. MATERIALS • Card stock paper, cut … Read More
This is still one of my favorite ideas from last year. Why try to make 24 or so small collages when one big one has much more impact? MATERIALS • Butcher paper, … Read More
A post on Pinterest inspired this drawing and collage, which comes from a classic book named “If the Dinosaurs Came Back”. I’d love to credit whoever first thought of this combination of … Read More
Giuseppe Arcimboldo was an Italian artist from the 1500s who spent years working as an official court painter. He developed a style of composing portraits from fruits, vegetables, etc., which was uniquely … Read More
Students can learn how to make their sticker snowmen card come to “life” by altering where the face and buttons are placed on the body. The fact that they can easily do … Read More
This has to be one of my most favorite collages any of my students have ever made. I just love how funny it looks, and how the head head fits the skirt … Read More
I created this Jasper Johns number painting so students could make a miniature version of his, and recycle an old CD case as well. MATERIALS • Old CD case, 1/4″ thick version … Read More
This is what makes blogging so incredibly rewarding, getting emails like this. “I’m a french ex-teacher who helps in the village where I live. Today and tomorrow we’re having an exhibition about … Read More
Make some pretty poinsettia art by just tearing shapes from tissue paper. The torn shapes just naturally look a lot like the flower petals. MATERIALS • Multimedia paper • Tissue paper: green, … Read More
Making holiday cards with kinders may sound like a fairly simple task, until you factor in all the details. Is it doable with a wide range of abilities? Is it flexible for … Read More
Mix Frankenstein with computer illustrated eye drawings and kids can have fun making some very silly faces. MATERIALS Pycomall, sheet of Cartoon Eyes $8 Drawing paper Black Sharpie marker, chisel tip Crayons … Read More
Here is one of my most pinned Halloween ideas for kids. It was originally designed for art trading cards, but has lots of other possibilities too. The simple shape of the cat, … Read More
I’ve found a rather simple formula for a colorful Matisse collage that will help students create their own. Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of color. After losing … Read More
Here’s is a kinder / first grade version of my Bumblebee Collage project. I think it’s a good way to introduce children to collage as the colors are fun and bright and … Read More
I made my collage the art trading card size, 2.5″ x 3.5″, but it would look great at any size. MATERIALS Watercolor paper Old phone book Watercolor paint Scissors Glue stick Black … Read More
This is my 2nd year for making pop out cards with kinders, and I learned a few things about how to stretch my money. I still recommend using patterned paper from one … Read More
Students can learn how to make their snowman card come to “life” by altering where the face and buttons are placed on the body. The fact that they can easily do this … Read More
My Art Journal class is focusing on themes that describe their home life. Today they made a collage from old LA street maps. MATERIALS Art Journal page, or drawing paper Old street maps … Read More
My Turkey on a Stick project continues, and as I expected, my students came up with some amazing creations today. The new twist was that they started working with several shades of … Read More
I like how this is an example of using both positive and negative shapes, with some built in symmetry. MATERIALS • Card stock paper, cream and black, 8.5″ x 11″ • Scissors … Read More
This project lets students get creative and colorful with the letters in their name. MATERIALS Multimedia paper, 9″ x 12″ Old magazines Glue stick Texture rubbing plates or plastic embroidery mesh … Read More
Drawing a tree on acetate and placing it over a collage of tissue paper keeps the drawing nice and smooth. I’d like to try it next with torn paper as I bet … Read More
If you want to help students break free from their tendency to make tiny art, ask them to make their subject matter touch the top and bottom of their paper. I’ve found … Read More
Here’s an idea for using leftover textured paper from a Coffee Filter Tree Collage. I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time throwing any of it away, it’s just … Read More
Here’s another version of the Coffee Filter Collage only with grass added this time. The good news is that I painted these coffee filters with a tray of Prang watercolors, so my … Read More
If you’ve every tried painting on a paper towel, and enjoyed the way the color just soaks in, then you will love this Coffee Filter Tree project. Turns out that coffee filters … Read More
This project was inspired by Lois Ehlert’s beautiful book “Leaf Man”. A little technology, namely stock photography and a color printer, helped me make dozens of flat, easy to cut and glue leaves. … Read More
I was inspired by a project posted to Artsonia from Holman Elementary School. Their 2nd graders started with a painted background, but I opted to just use the torn mouse idea (which … Read More
