It’s always fun to make your own craft supplies, whether for your kids or your own use. I’m still enjoying the homemade gesso I made a few months ago and need to make a new batch soon. I decided to try making some paint, not because we need more paint, but because it’s fun to […]
How to Embellish a Canvas Tote Bag
I don’t pay a lot of attention to Klout, the website that gives people scores based on their influence (as of this writing I’m at 63, though I don’t really know what that means). But one cool thing about Klout is Perks, which are sometimes given to people for being awesome in the hope that […]
Spray-Painted Decoration for Spring and Summer
It can be hard to know how to decorate for spring once Easter has come and gone. You don’t want to bust out the red, white and blue right away, but how can you bring a little spring inside without keeping out the Easter eggs for an unseemly amount of time? This little decoration for […]
Found Object Print Making with Kids
Sometimes it pays to have a really messy playroom. Recently the girl asked me to paint with her, which she doesn’t often do. She’s usually content to create by herself, which I love, but it’s fun to work alongside her as well. We each got a piece of paper and she started painting in the […]
DIY Dragon Egg Tutorial
The girl has lately become really interested in dragons. We picked up the book Dragonology rather at random at the library. It’s written like an early 20th century guide book to dragons, and it’s really cool. She decided she needed her own copy, and, later, that she needed a dragon hunting kit like the one […]
Make Word Art with Scrapbook Paper and Paint
Every year for the past few years I have picked a word that’s supposed to help guide me thinking and focus through the year. Simplify has proved to be harder than I thought (ha!) because I needed to start with simplifying my schedule and I seem to just be adding things instead. But one word […]
What is Gesso and How to Make Your Own Gesso
As I have been doing more painting and mixed media type projects, I have found myself delving into art supplies I didn’t know much about before. One of my most-needed supplies right now is a white pasty substance called gesso. Gesso is a primer that’s used for preparing canvases and other surfaces for painting. It […]