Spoonful of Imagination

Add it to a Family for Something Beautiful

Art in History Craft Kit {Review & Giveaway}

By 32 Comments

Disclosure: I received this product for free to review. I was compensated for my time, but all opinions are my own.

Art_in_historyBeing a part of my son’s learning experience is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. I am constantly surprised by what I am learning with him as well. We have been studying Egypt this fall, and I am reading aloud books that fascinate me. It is so cool how these little lessons carry over to our everyday life, and we can talk about it freely since we are discovering it together.
I was so excited when I was asked to review a project from Art in History. “AMAZING fit” was all I could think. I love art and we are loving history this year. I got to choose what project I wanted and I choose the King Tutankhamun Tomb Frieze.
As part of this project’s description says “much of our understanding of Egyptian daily life comes from paintings and reliefs that decorate tombs.” I can’t think of a better way to learn history than to study the art and replicate it. This project came with a lesson plan that we read through as a review while Caleb started painting his frieze (painted or sculpted decoration on a wall).
As a first grader, Caleb loved that this project was all his to create. He loved mixing the colors and completing his own masterpiece from start to finish.

mixing_paint

creating_egyptian_artI love that this project came with everything I needed. Every supply that I needed, I pulled from the box. It had paint, a brush, sponge, plate pallet, the lesson plan with pictures and maps, and an easy step by step tutorial on how to replicate their example frieze.

painting_King_Tut

Art_in_history_reviewCaleb loved the hands on approach to learning. For a young guy, he really got to realize the work it took to write in hieroglyphics by writing his name in them!

writing_hieroglyphicsHe is so proud of his piece and quickly ran to show it to his siblings when he was done.

Benefits of Art in History

  • It was a fun hands on educational experience.
  • It creates a meaningful time for you to participate in the learning experience.
  • It saved time by not having to scour the web for a project that would work with our history subject.
  • It eliminated stress by having to find and buy all the project’s supplies.
  • This project came straight to my door, and we just had to open the box to start it.

King_Tut_artDiscovery through Creativity

I am a firm believer of discovery through creativity. I love that even though this lesson had a tutorial that told us what to do, my son felt the freedom to make it his own. He created a “rough” line at the bottom rather than the black line because he felt it displayed a more dirty ground like the Egyptians had. Plus, he was afraid to paint his hieroglyphics because he didn’t want to ruin them, so he asked to use a Sharpie instead. He had a voice and created something he is proud of and the hands on approach will probably hold Egypt facts in his head a lot longer than just reading or being told about it.

You might not be studying Egypt, no worries! Art in History has a wide range of World History and US History projects to choose from as well. I am already browsing their catalog for our next project. You should too! I know you will find something you love.

american_revolution_artSAVE 10% off all orders over $100. Enter coupon code: HOMESCHOOL10 upon checkout. Valid through 11/30/13.

In addition to the kits, Art in History is now selling their craft paint as well. Art in History is happy to announce that they have created a paint line to meet the specific needs of the craft industry and the classroom. Their custom paints are safe, have no odor, are non-toxic, and conform to ASTM D-4236 safety standards. All acrylic paints are conveniently packaged in 2 oz. bottles. Their all-purpose paints can be used on bisque, wood, metal, plastic, and other general craft projects. Those can be purchased here.

PLEASE NOTE: All historically correct paint colors are included with purchase of Artifact(s). Paint colors may vary depending on monitor variations.

I have good news for you! You can win your own Art in History kit!

Details:

  • Winner will receive 1 art kit ($9.95 value, plus S/H)
  • Winner may choose from any World History or US History project
  • Winner will be notified via email and must respond within 48 hours
  • Winner must have a US or Military address

**If you buy a kit now and win the giveaway, Art in History will refund your cost of one project (9.95 plus S/H)**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for checking in! To learn more and stay connected with Art in History visit them online, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or YouTube.

signature

The “No Mess” Preschool Fall Craft

By Leave a Comment

quick_kids_fall_craftI love a good mess. There is something that is comfortable about it to me. Paint and little cuts of paper are a pretty normal sight around my house. BUT, every other week or so I do have an OCD melt down where I clean it all. We then create it again. I love crafting in a clean house. So weird.

There are times though, where I want a quick, no mess craft. I have found that having some of these on hand can change-up my day and even help entertain my kids on days where I am needed something. I whipped this little picture frame craft up for my J this week, and he loved it. And I loved that it was a no mess craft, as we were headed out-of-town the afternoon he created it.

Here is what you need:

  • Paper mache picture frame (an old cheap frame could work or even cutting your own out of cardboard or paper) You can also buy them in a bulk party pack for a birthday party, thanksgiving craft, school activity, etc.
  • Fall foam leaf stickers
  • Picture (for these types of things I just print out the picture at home on normal cardstock paper)

fall_preschool_activityMy J loves stickers, and we are constantly working on building a little more confidence and independence in him. This simple craft was something he could do on his own, have fun, create, and make something he was proud of.

I printed off two pictures (different sizes) to find the best fit for the frame. I cut the one out I liked best and stuck it in the frame for J. He then picked up leaves, pulled the sticker back off, and placed them on the frame. It was that easy. I loved that he mixed up shape and colors of the leaves. So, although it was pretty basic, it still shows his creativity.

fittin_picture_to_frame

No_mess_preschool_fall_craftThere was no glue or paint to clean up. We simply threw away the sticker backs, and his frame was complete. Side note: Peeling sticker backs off can be a task for a preschooler and really practiced his eye hand coordination! The teacher in me had to say that ;).

Proud_preschoolerHe made something he was proud of, and I hope built that little self-confidence up while having a blast. I love how the natural background looks with the pop of leaf color. You could always paint it, wrap it with string, or create a paper collage on your frame to make it a little more intricate and a step harder. Another idea is to use this idea for a card rather than a picture frame and write a message inside. The possibilities are endless to stretch or use this technique!

Kids_fall_decorI hope you are having a great weekend and are getting to use your creative juices!

signature

DIY Initial Art

By 3 Comments

initial_art

When you do something new (that you love), aren’t you so proud of it!? One of the things I love about homeschooling our kiddos is seeing their excitement when they get something new for the first time. You have these moments all the time as parents. The first steps, the first drink out of sippy cups, and even the first #2 on the “big girl potty” are all big deals. Can you tell we have been potty training this summer by that last one?

This week, I let me boys do two things that I have always said no to in the past: spray paint and use a hot glue gun. They were on cloud nine. I was scared to pick up the camera and try to capture the moment for fear of my eye balls leaving them for one second, but they were fine. In this DIY initial art, my boys made new initials all by themselves that we are going to use in their room makeover.

The first step was to gather some supplies. We bought some large letters, collected bottle caps, found some spray paint, and got our hammer and hot glue gun out.

Decorative_letter

I did actually spray paint the letters my favorite color, while the kiddos were hammering the bottle caps flat. I liked the idea of the dark color being contrasted with the light color of the caps later.

Initial_letters

Kids_hammeringAll three had so much fun hammering the bottle caps flat. We talked about cause and effect, weight, and all kinds of good terms with this project. They got nice and sweaty and loved that they were able to actually do something in our workshop. Once we had a bowl of flat like bottle caps, we spray painted them a bright silver. NOTE: My kids were spray painting for seconds here, but I should have had a mask for them to wear! We now have bought some masks and will wear them spray painting always! Can’t be too careful!

kids_spray_painting

After the spray paint dried, we started hot gluing them onto the letter. They glued them all random and filled in the letter in a non uniform way, not like I would have, but they did it all by themselves and are so proud. I’m so glad I kept my hands out of it, and let it be their project.

little_hands

Of course the letters are a little messier than I would have done them, but that is ok. We are teaching them to create and make something on your own.

messy_glue_gunI love the 3d element of the bottle caps sticking off the letters and all being different heights and shapes pounded out. We are in the middle of doing a full on room makeover for the boys. I painted the room last week, and we have started to create decor like this for the room. As soon as we have some free weekends, we are gong to start building them a bunk bed tree house, that I can’t wait to share more with you.

bottle_cap_art

If you too like bottle cap art, you might like a few of my other projects.

patio-checker-board-964x1024

DIY Checker Board

make-bottle-cap-necklace-1024x824

Transformer Necklace

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you are having a great week! Tomorrow, I will show you something I did that was NEW and SCARY for me this week.

signature

 

 

When A Project Bombs

By 8 Comments

when_a_project_bombs

When a project bombs, you want to…

admit you never tried it…

crumple it up and stomp on it…

keep going till you perfect it…

do anything but admit it didn’t work…

at least that was me tonight.

I stared at that alphabet and silently threatened it. “I will beat you,” I kept thinking to myself.

It’s my own fault. I waited till the night before we start our school year to try to make a new alphabet poster. So, maybe that is part of my frustration. Since most of our school supplies are going to be stored in our foster care bedroom, I want the decor to be some what educational but still really cool and fun.

I saw this alphabet poster at Ikea earlier this summer, and I just loved it.

ikea_alphabet_posterI loved the simplicity and that the vowels were in red. The only thing was it’s a Danish alphabet and it doesn’t have the lower case letters, which are important to a new writer. So, I used it as my inspiration tonight to try to create my own.

writing_the_alphabet

painting_the_alphabet

alphabet_cards

Attempts 1, 2, and 3 did not work. The stencil was too fat, the free hand was too ugly, and the cards were too “school room” type. I angrily stomped to the computer where I decided I would just google and buy a simple looking poster. I. Could. Not. Find. One.

There were no cute, simple alphabet posters with the capital and lower case letters (with out cartoon images and letters being thrown all over the page in a twisted out-of-order way).

I was stuck trying to figure this out. So, I browsed dafont.com and downloaded a whole bunch of new fonts. I am sure you will be seeing them in coming posts, but here are a few of my new favs, in case you want to download them too!

Font_favs

I decided I would go with a font that I already had, and created this poster.

8x11Why did I have to make that when it’s such a simple idea!? I do not know, but now it’s out there. I am gonna blow this sucker up. Stick it in a frame. AND try to pretend this project did not hurt my crafter’s ego.

Hopefully, this school prep project is not a foretelling sign of our school year!

signature