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The Perfect Collaborative Art Party Game

December 16, 2022 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

Do you have an artist who loves to create with friends! It’s my bet that he/she would LOVE this collaborative art party game!

Over the years our art studio was in business, we hosted hundreds of birthday parties. We found that even after the individual projects were done- the artists would want to keep creating. We always had a coloring station, magnets and play-dough available, but we quickly became known for this fun art game that we held at the end of each of our parties.

We would play an art version of i-spy

Have you ever sat in a restaurant or a doctor’s office and needed a way to entertain kids, while they are waiting? I-spy is a classic game and one you have probably turned to in a moment like that.

Kids get into it and have fun-without even realizing you may just be making the most of some idle time. It’s fun. It forms a connection and you learn a lot about how your child thinks, what he/she notices, and enjoy each other’s company in the process.

We would create a recycled art collage to use for our art version of i-spy. If you want to learn more about how we created this collage, you can view the 5 Reasons Why Creating With Trash Matters post or this quick video lesson from Erica.

How to play i-spy as an art game

I always demonstrated a couple of rounds of leading/playing i-spy first. The idea is you call out things you spy, and they can only be on the i-spy board. The importance is to have a creative collage that is full of different items to make a well rounded, entertaining game. A few idea categories to think through and call out as you play…

  • shapes
  • colors
  • item’s uses
  • item’s location
  • funniest

After I did a few rounds, I would let any artists who wanted to think of one to call it out. If everyone was excited to call an “i-spy” item out, we would just take turns going around the table with everyone getting a chance.

We would play this for as long as kids were really interested. Want to see this game in action? I convinced two of my kids to play with me in this video, so we could demonstrate it to you! They are getting a little old for it, but once they were playing, they still had fun!

Paint that i-spy board

When the fun in the i-spy game is winding down, you can breath new life into the game by allowing the artists to paint the board together! We always just gave out the leftover paint from individual projects and each child a brush. We tried to encourage that teamwork happens in art too. They could each start by painting what stood out to them.

It was so fun to watch the artists paint such unusual items. They’d paint in the items, on the items, around the items and get to see how the paint moves, absorbs, and takes to each item.

We use tempera paint, just in case paint gets on clothes, as hands start reaching. I promise you will know the moment the game is ready to end. You simply say, “on the count of 3, it is time to end and then brushes need to be placed down. 1-2-3 brushes down!” and then it’s time to wash hands. Your artists run off laughing and talking about the fun they just had.

It’s not everyday that artists get to paint a bottle cap, straw or broken shell. Let alone do it with friends after talking, studying and playing i-spy with those items. This i-spy game really is the perfect collaborative art party game. From creating the i-spy board to playing with it and then painting it, you breath a lot of extra life, engineering and fun into those recycled materials.

Sometimes the birthday child would want to take his/her collage home and sometimes we would share the picture and kindly toss the piece.

Isn’t that the beautiful thing about the process being the focus of creating and playing in the arts? If the focus is to have fun, play, and learn as you go then there is no pressure to save the final product. It can just be tossed!

I hope this game inspires you to play a creative art game at your next party or artist has a slumber party. If you need a little extra encouragement, check out this 5 minute video demonstrating a game in action. Let me know, if you try this fun!

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DIY Cardboard Costumes

October 25, 2022 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

Have you ever looked at your child creating something and thought “how did they think of that?” It happens over here a lot. I am constantly amazed at my kids’ creativity, and it really shows in their cardboard costumes. I love Walt Disney’s quote,

“our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.”

This quote sums up the process of my children creating something they need. We try to go as thrifty as we can for Halloween costumes. I love dress up and I love creativity and it feels like Halloween can merge those two passions so beautifully. Cardboard is a cheap material, so they often opt to make a cardboard costume for Halloween.

Do I Buy or Make a Costume?

For the record, I am NOT about paying a ton for a costume that you wear one time. Yet, we had probably a half dozen Toy Story costumes when our kids were younger because they literally lived in them all day long.

So, knowing your children and their interest level is important when deciding how invested you want to be in a Halloween costume.

Now that we have big kids, they wont wear the costume again. Dress up is not one of their everyday hobbies anymore. In that case, we want to have fun, play, and have something to wear and celebrate the day. Cardboard costumes can be quick, resourceful, inexpensive, fun and get the job done.

cardboard costume

What do I need to create a DIY Cardboard Costume?

Big boxes can be the whole costume. I will never forget being out on a walk and seeing Sponge Bob run up to me. It was one of the funniest parenting moments. Who expects to see their child in a cardboard box version of Sponge Bob run up to them!?

A box box can be taped shut, painted and have holes cut for the arms and legs and be pretty amazing.

Our Caleb loves shoes. He buys shoes, he paints shoes, he draws shoes, and he even sells shoes. Do you know anyone like that? You can see more of his love for shoes/art on his YouTube channel. It made perfect sense that he would dress up as a shoe box one year. When we let our kids create their own costume, it can be more personalized and tuned to their individual interests.

Maybe you just have a sheet of cardboard laying around. It ca be turned into a mask. It can be as big as a pumpkin (wearing sunglasses) or smaller like an animal face. I love that the DIY style lets you be as elaborate or simple your time frame and heart’s desire cares to invest.

Our Reagan loves to create, so of course she spent more time on the fox mask than I did on the large cardboard piece we used for a skit.

cardboard costumeWe all are ordering online these days. By having things we love shipped directly to our door, we can have smaller cardboard boxes pile up. Am I right!? A smaller cardboard box can be the perfect addition to clothes you already have at home.

Have you ever been to a stadium baseball game or basketball game where the ushers are going up and down the stairs selling drinks? One year, our Caleb dressed up as a Dr. Pepper sales guy and it still makes me laugh to look at this picture. DIY Cardboard costumes can be hilarious and so fun. Caleb literally gave away some caned Dr. Peppers during our trick or treating that night. You should have seen the kids asking to trade candy for a drink with him!

What do you think? Do you still need a costume for this year’s trick or treating or Halloween party? Have fun imagining the possibilities! You can save a trip to Walmart and some $ by recycling your cardboard box into a creative costume.

cardboard costumeNeed more help tapping into your exquisite imagination? Join me in this 30 day challenge to practice imagining and allow the interesting, rewarding possibilities to emerge!

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Fourth of July Preparation -with kids!

June 27, 2022 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

Do you love to celebrate the seasons with your artists by creating? Letting your artists help “decorate” is such an empowering, confidence building gift to invest in your child!

It is also such a fun way to talk about the upcoming season, by creating together. We designed this project to be all about the process! So, you can have fun being together, as you do all that!

Splatter, drizzle, squeeze, and pour paint to create your one of a kind Fourth of July centerpiece. Use it to hold candles or stick silverware in it for a utensil holder in the buffet line. There’s so many possibilities, when we use our imaginations!

What started as a phone call from Matt saying, “hey, do you want any of these old bricks?” led to such a fun process art paint project! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

If you don’t have any old bricks on hand, I know you can get some at a hardware store for less than $1.00 each. Here are some basic supplies to get you started. Please feel free to use what you have, or if you are local, you can pick this kit up in our shop as well.

Supplies:

brick (with holes)

paints

paper cup

stirrer (like a popsicle stick)

pipette

tea light candles (optional)

Once you have all your supplies out, you are almost ready to have some fun! You might be able to tell that I laid some paper down before I started painting. This project can get a little messy, so protect your surface. I also used washable Tempera paints. That means this centerpiece can’t stay outside for forever. The rain will wash our beauitful colors off, but it also means if paint splatters somewhere unwanted, it will come off too. Once you are set up, you are ready!

1. Splatter

Every kid loves to splatter paint. Use the popsicle stick or any stick you might have to scoop a little paint up and flick it onto the brick. It creates fun splatters of globs and some strains of stringing paint. I love the mix of amounts that get placed and that you can’t really control the outcome. It’s freeing!

2. Drizzle

This is a little bit slower of a technique then the splatter painting. As you scoop up the paint with the stick, you let it slowly fall off the stick, so it creates like a drizzle effect as you move your hand around. This has a bit more control as you can determine how much paint falls in a particular area before you move your hand -thus, moving the paint! I tired to aim for the areas that the dark blue paint didn’t get splattered.

3. Squeeze

Pipette’s are such a fun little tool to paint with! You can also use a small syringe, baby nasal aspirator, or pool toy that does the same technique of sucking up liquid! I used a small paper cup with a little water in it to pour some of my paint in on top. I then used the pipette to stir the water + paint mixture to create a more runny, liquefied paint. The pipette then sucked up that newly created paint and I got to spray it wherever I wanted.

Again, this can be a more controlled painting step then the splatter paint. It depends on how high in the air you squeeze the paint. Play around with squeezing it low to the brick verse about 2 feet high. Talk about aim and the different effects the height had.

4. Pour

How often do you just get to pour paint!? It’s not something that happens a lot as it can be considered “wasting”. I would argue that it is also a freeing step that gives a different look and teaches things like spacing, managing, and control. Pour a little paint and watch it drip down the sides of the brick! it can be mesmerizing!

5. Dry

This might be the hardest step! After layers and layers of paint, the newly created decoration is going to take some time to dry. It might test your young artist’s patience. That’s another valuable skill to invest in! Try to not touch the brick, while this important step happens. It helps if the brick sits in that hot June/July sun to dry more quickly!

6.  Decorate and enjoy

Once your newly created centerpiece is dry, you are ready to enjoy it! Place tea light candles it for a fun decoration or use it as a utensil holder in the buffet line!

We know your artist will get so excited explaining how he/she made it to all your Fourth of July visitors!

Have fun and embrace the process! The best part is this was hopefully a really fun memory with your artist. The second best was it was also really cheap. Throw the brick out after the holiday and create a new one next year! There is no need to store it.

Just get creating memories and fun!

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A Paint Project For All Ages: Painting Sticks

January 16, 2018 By Erica Deuel

A Paint Project For All Ages: Painting SticksIs it cold where you are? Its been in the negative degrees and snowing off and on for weeks in Indiana. We are getting crafty and creative up in here to keep these kids happy, content, and add some color to our world. Cause let’s be honest if it isn’t snowing and white outside it is gray.

One day while we were all hanging out, I was staring at my favorite wall and the sticks stood out. I loved the size, character, and texture of these sticks. So, one day while picking up the yard in the fall, I didn’t add these to the burn pile. I brought them inside. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with them, so I just stuck them in the turtle shell so my husband didn’t think the kids brought them in and throw them back outside. The look grew on me though. I kind of liked them there! Except for one thing…that wall needed a punch of color. The whole wall was in the rustic, gray scheme too much for my liking. I had an idea.A Paint Project For All Ages: Painting SticksLet’s paint the sticks! I picked out some of my favorite colors and roped in one of my artists to help me out.

A Paint Project For All Ages: Painting SticksMy Jeremiah was eager to help. I gave him the sticks and the colors and told him to paint them however he wanted. We used acrylic craft paint and a 1″ wide brush. He did one solid and then stripes on the others. I loved the colors he paired together.

A Paint Project For All Ages: Painting Sticks

Once he was done painting the sticks, I loved them. I loved the colors and you still caught the texture, but they didn’t seem quite finished. I wrapped some yarn around the tops of a couple, and that was exactly what they needed. I love texture and color and it’s so fun to mix contrasting elements. The sticks are rough and hard. The yarn is soft and light. They look awesome together.

A Paint Project For All Ages: Painting SticksThis craft was practically free! I had all the elements already on hand. What a fun, inexpensive craft to do with the kids. You could even turn your sticks into the ends of flags and tie some fabric on with your yarn. The sky is really the limit if you use your imagination!A Paint Project For All Ages: Painting SticksDo you like color too!? I always like to think my style is rustic-bohemian. I love rustic, natural elements paired with bright pops of color and patterns. What is your style? I’d love to know!

A Paint Project For All Ages: Painting Sticks

A Paint Project For All Ages: Painting SticksThanks so much for checking in and following along with my projects! If you end up painting some sticks, do please share with me! Tag me on social media with #spoonfulproject so I can see it!

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