
Stamping cookies is a fun and simple kid activity. Who knew?
Want a smiley face on your cookie? Just for fun? Or maybe a star or other holiday image? You can do what we did and make your own food coloring stamp pads (watered-down food coloring + piece of felt) and get out your collection of stamps.
Continue reading "Use stamps for unique holiday cookies" »
Mary Ann Athens is an amazing Asheville-area elementary art teacher and the mother of two. I first starting hearing about her, her summer camps, and her after-school art programs a few years ago and am excited to finally interview her on The Artful Parent! Here she quotes Einstein and talks about the challenges and importance of art in education.
***Note: Readers will have a chance to win a gift pack of some of Mary Ann's favorite children's art supplies at the end of this interview.***
JEAN: I’ve heard so many good things about you as a children’s art teacher! Why art? What led you to teach art rather than, say, biology or English?
Continue reading "Mary Ann Athens on Art in Education" »
I never thought I'd have a Cyber Monday sale of my own to offer, but apparently I do. Or Lulu does, rather, and it affects my calendar. So here's the sale:
30% off today only
With the code: CYBERMONDAY
Continue reading "Cyber Monday: 30% off The Artful Parent Calendar" »

I'm excited to announce a project that I've been working on this week! I've used photos and favorite activities from this past year to create a 2012 calendar that is full of arts and crafts projects for each month.
Around the Year with The Artful Parent:
Celebrating the Seasons and Holidays with Arts & Crafts
Continue reading "The Artful Parent 2012 Calendar" »

Happy Thanksgiving! The pies are cooling and our rolls are rising. I'm on a brief baking lull and thought I'd post a quick hello. Our Thanksgiving plans have changed abruptly as we found out that one of the little friends we were going to spend the day with woke up with a stomach bug. Instead of having a big feast with friends, we are now going to have a rather smaller family meal. While we were initially bummed (and Maia still is), I have to say that we have so much to be thankful for. Not the least of which is that we have each other and we are all healthy. That's a lot right there.
Continue reading "Happy Thanksgiving!" »
Patty Palmer of Deep Space Sparkle teaches art to 400 elementary school kids in Goleta, California. I imagine we could all learn a thing (or five) from her about art and children!
***Note: Readers will have a chance to win two of Patty's art lesson plan e-booklets at the end of this interview.***
JEAN: Would you tell us a bit about yourself and what led you to art and teaching?
PATTY: Teaching art was a bit of a surprise for me.
Continue reading "Patty Palmer of Deep Space Sparkle on teaching art" »

I thought I'd share a gift tag I made for a friend's baby shower in October. It's a leaf sewn from felted wool. I found some yellow scraps left over from an old sweater that I had turned into potholders and coasters last Christmas. The extra pieces were perfect for autumn leaves!
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Hello my friends. I am planning something of a digital sabbatical for the month of January. A time for me to disconnect from the web and reconnect with myself. A month to focus instead on my family and who I am and what I want to be and maybe get a jump start on a few New Year's resolutions.
Continue reading "A digital sabbatical and a call for guest posts" »

A couple of days ago, we combined a couple of our family's favorite drawing activities—leaf drawing and Simon Says drawing—to create these fun fall artworks.
Continue reading "Two of our favorites: Leaf drawing and Simon Says" »