A year without posts...

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I've posted anything on this blog. It's definately time to add some more pictures. ;) I don't have many to share of any artwork I've done with my neice or nephews, since they've been in school lately and too busy to do much art with me. However, Valentine's day is coming up and I decided I would make them each a little something special for it this year. :)

Here's a breakdown of what I used and how:

For the buckets, I purchased those from my local department store, filled each one with some grassy type of decoration found at the same store in the craft department (they were next to the fake flowers and floral accessories), along with some bits of red crinkled paper that was somewhere else down that same aisle, although if you wished to make these yourself, you could easily make the crinkled paper out of whichever coordinating paper you have on hand. The grass I used could also easily be replaced with easter grass or some other basket filler. I also purchased some black crepe paper which I then glued and crinkled around the top of each bucket, making sure not to hinder the movement of the handle. Additionally, I added a small floral butterfly to each pail (I used different colors to let each child know which one was whose). I used a hot glue gun to glue the heart sucker into each pail since they tended to make it very top heavy. If you fill the bucket with some other candy or small toys or use a smaller center piece, it would no doubt prevent that from happening. For each child, instead of making each a standard greeting card valentine, I decided to make each one of them a sort of puppet wand that they could play with instead. I digitally scanned and printed some of my recent clowns and cut out their silhouette which I then attached to a crepe paper covered bamboo skewer. A small plastic bead was attached to the other end as well. And from there, each child has their own, personal Valentine's day pail. :) It was extremely fun to create these and I'm hoping they will all be as equally excited and delighted to receive them. This idea can be used for any season and can by created with almost anything. It makes the gift both very unique and equally very personal to the receiver, which makes it even more special. :)

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

*All artwork copyright Mindy Lou Hagan, not to be used without written permission.

Coraline

While I haven't seen the movie to this yet, I have to say, the website is awesome and is definately something children would love....I think. ;) Or if you love to create things yourself, watch the featured films available from the website and see how the artists and producers created all of the clothing, flowers, etc. for the movie. It really is amazing to watch. :)

You can view the website here.

Create something....to mail!

It's so hard to be creative in today's time, what with so little time to actually sit down and do something. So, how have I been trying to incorporate art into my life? By making my own cards!

I'm afraid I don't have any pictures of recent cards I've made at the moment, nor do I have any sequences of me and the kids in my life making any, so I'm afraid you'll be on your own with this art project. ;) Although it's fairly easy, so I don't really think you'll need my help. ;D

As for my cards, I've been making them out of store bought bank cards (which can be found in packets of usually about 50 or more at your local crafts store) and then using my scrapbooking accessories to make the card decorations with. Of course, if you're really in the creative mood and have the supplies handy, you can draw your own pictures right on the card. I've made my share of those, too, just not lately. ;)

The point of this project is to have fun and let your little ones create something that they can really sink their fingers into. It's always a special moment when a child feels they've created something all on their own. So, get started and create a card! Then mail it to someone really special, like their grandmother or to a good friend or neighbor. Or they can even mail it to one of their own friends. Just be creative and let them enjoy being creative with you.

And don't forget to have fun! ;D

Happy 4th!

Sorry I'm late on getting this posted, but I just wanted to say Happy 4th to everyone! Check out my other blog here to see a little picture I came up with to celebrate.

Oh, and if you have a little girl and are looking to inspire her, then check out this website. It's simply awesome and any little diva will love it. :)

And if you have a little boy, they might like the pictures here. Or they'd probably prefer to play some games over here. :) Then again, they might prefer the girls' website and the girls might prefer the boys' website! Either way, just let them have fun and view the wonderful world of art. :)

Create something fun. ;)

I'm finally back. :) I've been pretty busy lately and haven't had time to post anything new. However, I have discovered something fun to do with your kids. Adopt a (fluff) friend! If you have facebook, you can adopt a fluff throught the fluff friend application and do all kinds of fun things with your kids. They can learn to take care of their pet, meet other fluff lovers, and even win some neat prizes (valuable only in fluff world) by creating fluff art. If your child is young, you definately want to sit with them while they play with this application, as anyone can post art, and while most of it is kid friendly, some may not be. Still, this is a fun application and allows you and your child to create art while thinking outside of the box and lets you spend some time with them while doing something fun. For some pictures of my art I've created, click here.

An "I care about you" package

I haven't made anything with my niece or nephews for awhile, so I've decided to send them an "I care about you" package so that they can have something fun from me during the week and hopefully it will let them feel creative, too. So, here's the package I'm getting ready to try and send them. I made the envelope and the little birdies myself out of scrapbook paper, buttons, and yarn. (If you visit my other blog, you'll see that they're similar to the hanging birdy I posted there.) I really hope they like them. If someone had made something like that for me as a kid, I think I would have loved it. :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today is the day it's okay to be green!

So put on your green hats and mittens and socks

and read Green Eggs and Ham (you can even read it in a box!)

To have more fun when you're done with that book

come over here and have yourself a look!

(There are more St. Patrick's Day things to do there!)

Enjoy being green today!