Pendulum Painting Outside

Pendulum Painting didn't get into the Art and Yoga Camp but I hope to try it again in the one we do in August.  Easy to set up but the trick is getting the ratio of paint to water correct - too much paint and it just makes spots.  Also crucial is the distance to the paper from the paint tip - closer makes more "spirograph" lines, farther up in the air makes "dotty" paintings - both have their charms!

Paper Mache Volcano and Wet Felting with Kids

 Also from the Art and Yoga Camp - paper mache volcano with a bottle inside to allow for vinegar and baking soda lava.  JUST like on the Brady Bunch....

Wet felted vignettes - made inside plastic bags.  With tabs sewn into the tops and hung on twigs they make cute little art.

Big Painting

 Another go at painting on craft paper on the sidewalk - this time for Art and Yoga Camp.

Milk Jug Makeover

 

A yard sale purchase for a dollar - it had been in a garden and had lots of rust.  I sprayed it with rust stopping paint (black) then two coats of our trim enamel.

 Following a tip from pinterest (of course) I used the stock market pages to transfer a design I found from a vintage milk bottle for sale on ebay.  I blew it up to letter size and didn't worry about the poor quality since I was just tracing it and it was a pretty simple graphic.  The stock market pages technique worked very well!

 I covered the tracing with red permanent marker.  After having the milk jug for two years in the rusty state, I was suddenly unable to wait the amount of time it would have taken to go get a paint pen.  The color looks great so far - not sure how it will hold up or fade yet.  But I can always trace back over it.

 I love the back of the bottle - so cheerful!

 Now we have a pretty little stand in our entry way for the flag when not flying and umbrellas, canes, etc.  I love it.

Tie Dye with Kids and Koolaid

There's something about summer.  We DO a lot more, and we HAVE a lot less time to do things like blog about our projects!

This was a project a month or so back - tie dye with koolaid.  The great thing about koolaid dyeing is that it is completely safe with kids.  You don't need to set the colors with vinegar, because the citric acid in the koolaid will do that.  It is cheap.  You can play around with mixing and dipping.  It comes off your hands by bathtime.

The cons about koolaid is that it dyes protein (animal) fibers like wool much more permanently than cotton.  So for summer t-shirts your results will be short lived if you launder them in the wash.  Wash by hand in cold water, as infrequently as you can, if you want to keep your design.

 

 Of course, if you happen to wash the colors out - you can always dye them again.  All you need is a container and some packets of koolaid - about one packet to 1C of water.  The water doesn't even need to be hot.  PERFECT for little ones to experiment.

Be warned if you have a boy who likes red - cherry koolaid will inevitably fade to pink.  You can always give that one to your sister!