Hello friends!
While I’m working on some new lessons and resources for our creative community, here’s one that was a lot of fun to put together. Sometimes the relationships between colors are challenging to understand and communicate, and I hope that these posters will give you some new ways to talk about color families with your artists. Put them up in your art space for quick reference and fun decoration. Sign up below to get this FREE download.
I love printmaking!
In this lesson, we’ll be making some easy and colorful mitten designs using a really fun print-making technique.
Follow along with me as I show your young artists step-by-step how to create their own unique designs.
This project is great for kids of any age and includes an instructional video, downloadable template and a supply list.
Use the form below to get your free lesson.
2024 is going to be an awesome year of creating together!
Best,
Beth
Each Happy Camper Summer Art Box is $47 plus shipping.
Here are some of our favorite home art activities in an easy-to-follow PDF with instructions, supply lists and some extra tips on setting up your home art space. They are lots of fun and leave plenty of room for individual designs and creativity. I hope you’ll try them with your young artists! Grab this FREE resource by filling out the form below.
Grab some supplies, some popsicle sticks and some kids and try these fun and easy puzzles.
Below is the full step-by-step video lesson including a supply list.
Here’s a snowy day challenge – I’d love to see some of your kids make these for a local preschool or share them with little friends. Post a pic of your projects on your social media and tag @discoverartstudio and I’ll share it to inspire us!
Have fun with this project!
Beth
Let’s Cut and Glue a Funny Face Pumpkin! This art project is great for kids of all ages and is super fun for a family night activity. Use it for a fall homeschooling, distance learning or home art time art lesson. Follow this link to a free tutorial and supply list.
If you’re looking for more step-by-step art tutorials of all kinds, check out my Shop Page!
Have a fun and colorful rest of your October!
Best,
Beth
Today I want to talk about best paint options for home art projects. It can be challenging to choose the best kind of paint to give your young artist the best success with their art. But, the right paints and other colorful supplies can make your home art time productive and enjoyable for everyone. Here are a few tips to help you decide.
Pan watercolors are a great supply for home art time. They are versatile, come in a variety of colors and are easy to store. My favorite pan watercolor brand is Prang. They come in sets of 8 and 16 colors, have a good, vibrant pigment and are semi-moist which means they are easier to get the paint wet and ready to paint with. Prang also makes a washable set, however the pigment is less brilliant and tends to fade over time. Here is a link to the set I use. These paints can be found at craft stores, box stores, and online and the price can vary a lot. Look for them in August and September for the best prices. I have also used the Crayola watercolor set with students and found the pigment to be satisfactory and the paints easy to use. Avoid super inexpensive watercolor sets. They don’t take on water easily because of a higher wax content and sometimes the pigment is so inferior that the colors are pale and inaccurate. It’s frustrating to want to paint purple and the color you get is pink or magenta.
Tempera Paint, also called Project Paint is a favorite of elementary art teachers and students alike. And no wonder – the paint is smooth, thick and opaque and there are lots of color choices. This paint usually comes in sets of several colors. Here is a set at Target. This set from Crayola is a good one.
And here is a set at Michaels. As with watercolors, there are washable and non-washable paints.
Tempera Paint also comes in dry cakes that you wet and use. They are another option to consider for painting on mixed media or sulphite paper. Here is one link.
Acrylic Craft Paint is one to consider for multi-media surfaces. It works on paper, wood, terra cotta, paper mache, air-dry clay. The colors are endless and it’s inexpensive. There are several brands and they are available everywhere. You can check some out here. It is not washable and should not be put down the sink. Let this paint dry on the paper plate you use for a palette and throw it away.
Share your tips for best paints in the comments here and I’ll have some more ideas and another free project for your home art time next week!
Best, Beth
Many of us have experienced the overwhelm of choosing paint brushes for our kids or even ourselves for our home art time. From size and shape to bristle material and cost, the options are endless. Today, I want to offer a few tips and some resources for you to, hopefully, streamline your search and get your kids painting.
Your young artist needs 2, maybe 3, brushes to be successful in their art. They need one large brush with round bristles. Round brushes are sized with a number like 10, 12 or 16. These sizes are inconsistent among manufacturers, so just get one that’s between 3/8” and 1/2″. They need one small round brush size 2 or 4, one that’s between an1/4” and 3/8”. And, you can add a large brush with flat bristles –1/2” to 3/4” for painting areas like backgrounds. Paint brushes for kids are best with short handles. Fine art brushes, sold individually, are not what you want for your little painters. There are lots of brush sets, but some have way too many brushes, including some you’d never use. And some don’t have the combination of flat and round brushes. So, here are some links to what I think are good brushes, in a set, at a good price.
Generally, plastic handles are the way to go – brushes with wooden handles left sitting in water never do well. Having said that, these brushes from IKEA are awesome.
This set by Crayola has good sizes of both round and flat brushes and can be found in several stores as well as online. Here is one link.
Here is a set by Mondo Llama with the same good points as the Crayola one. Visit this link.
If you have more than one painter, or just want more brushes to choose from, this set from Artist’s Loft has 25 brushes for $5.99. Check it out here.
I have used all these brushes with good results. There are, of course, lots of others that will work well. I want to mention the brushes that come in some craft kits and watercolor sets. These usually aren’t awesome for painting. The bristles are either plastic or too soft or too coarse to hold paint well. I keep them, though, and use them to spread glue.
I hope these tips help you with your art at home supplies. If you have any other ideas about brushes that have worked for you, please share them here in the comments!
Best,
Beth
Hi there and happy Fall!
Whether you’re team pumpkin spice latte or team apple pie, we all love things about this time of year and fall art projects are one of them for me. I’ve been working on some new designs and lesson ideas and I want to share one of them with you today.
Pop Art Candy Corn is an easy project you can explore at home with your kids. In this teaching video, I go through this project, step-by-step, including a bit of art history and pop art technique as we work together. This lesson is great for elementary age kids and gives them lots of room for creativity and individual expression. Pause the video anytime to go at your own pace! Give this one a try and let me know how it goes for you. Check back in for more video art instruction, and tips and resources for creating a fun and relaxed art space at home. Click on the picture to go to the “Pop Art Candy Corn” teaching video and supply list.
Have fun!
Beth
Hello friends!
While I’m working on some new lessons and resources for our creative community, here’s one that was a lot of fun to put together. Sometimes the relationships between colors are challenging to understand and communicate, and I hope that these posters will give you some new ways to talk about color families with your artists. Put them up in your art space for quick reference and fun decoration. Sign up below to get this FREE download.
