Art Week

Last week was Art Week. To be honest, it was a little rough. Katie still doesn't have a lot of patience for arts & crafts, and I was a bit overwhelmed, juggling too many other things, and just not that into it. Nevertheless, we pressed on and made the best of it. Ellie said it was her favorite week (though I suspect that each week, as it comes, will be her new "favorite"). I just got back from a much-needed vacation, so I don't remember exactly which days we did what, but here's the rundown of activities. 

We started with some family painting time. 

The kids decorated some blank fabric dolls I made, with fabric markers and yarn. Anthony even got to make a little bear. 

The girls made fingerprint art with the help of an Ed Emberley book I picked up. I remember those books from my childhood, so it was extra special to watch Ellie flip through it and create her pictures. She really enjoyed following the directions and making her pictures. 

We tried to make floam, but it was a terrible sticky mess, so we ended up making plain old slime. 

It was much better, and the girls even colored on it. 

We also tried a little embossing. This project required prep time. The day before, we selected some coloring book pages, traced over the lines with glue, and let it dry. The next day, we covered the images with foil and rubbed the edges until the image was raised in the foil. Then we used shoe polish to rub on and off and help the image appear. It was a fun process, although the result left something to be desired. 

We also did these art books that the kids just happened to get at Chick-fil-a the week before. What a happy coincidence! It had drawing prompts, stickers, stencils, and art facts. A perfect easy (mess-free) activity!

On Wednesday, we went to the Museum of Fine Arts. There was a really cool large installation of long plastic tubes hanging from the ceiling, like rain or a forest. The kids had so much fun walking through it; we probably spent half our time there. 

Then they got hungry, so we ate lunch from a food truck at the sculpture garden. 

After lunch, I asked if they wanted to go back into the museum. To my surprise, they did!

We had fun imitating and laughing at art. 

We also admired the colors and shapes. 

And Ellie searched for the items on her scavenger hunt worksheet. It definitely helped keep things interesting, though she got tired of it at the end. 

Back home, we painted with liquid watercolors. 

And did some patriotic sponge art in honor of Independence Day. 

Ellie's deer, which then turned into... Something else. 

Both girls made sculptures with Nuudles that I picked up on a whim at the craft store. They were super easy to use, and Katie especially loved making "dragons". This is the first craft I've seen her spend more than 15 minutes making. 

Her dragon. 

Another 4th of July craft: blow painting fireworks. We put a drop of liquid watercolor on the paper, then blew on it through a straw.

We had some family Model Magic jewelry making time to round out the week. The girls always love creating with Model Magic, and it's a rare treat since it's a little expensive.

And that was Art Week! I'm super excited about our next theme... Stay tuned for all the details!