Easy Birch Trees - Kid's Art Class

 This was one of those projects that left the kids so proud of themselves afterwards.  Several of them said it was easier than they thought it would be.  We used different sizes of painters & masking tapes to make the tree trunks (the largest widths were put on first so they would come off last to get the right perspective).  Then the kids painted the backgrounds with two different acrylic paints, blending them in the middle where they met.  We used metallic paints to make the circles with different sized items (small sponges, jar lids, etc.).  Then we carefully tore off the "background" tree tape (the smallest widths that were crossing over the larger trees).  Using credit cards and black paint, they scraped along the tree trunks on either side to make their birch bark.  It is amazingly easy and the kids had a blast.  As each tree was finished we would tear off another piece of tape until all the tree trunks were painted.  Doing the trees in stages made sure that the perspective stayed true and kept it from being too confusing for the kids.  Kept me running in circles supervising though!

Here is my video tutorial for this project.

Our project combined a couple of different ideas from awesome pins I found on Pinterest  links are below. Gotta love Pinterest!

Source: cmae-adayinthelife.blogspot.com via Angela on Pinterest    

Source: afaithfulattempt.blogspot.com via Angela on Pinterest

Funky Pumpkins - Kid's Art Class

 We made the cutest pumpkins in art class this week!  I traced and cut out large circles (pizza pan size) onto a graphic black and white fabric. The kids sewed around the edge of the circles and then pulled the ends of the string to gather the fabric at the neck.  They then stuffed their pumpkins and tied off the opening (leaving a little space for the stem) and sewed through the bottom of the pumpkins with orange yarn to create that ribbed pumpkin look.  To finish them, I used hot glue to attach a felt piece and stick to the top.  Then we tied raffia and ribbon bows and added curled cloth-covered wire for a cute accent.  The kids were really proud of their creations.  I love how they turned out.