Art Attack – the MAD creative

DIY KID ABSTRACT PAINTING

Post author:Ashley
Post published:March 7, 2016
Post category:KIDS LEARN LOVE PLAY PROJECTS
Post comments:1 Comment

A couple weekends ago, Mya had a 102 degree temperature and a faucet for a nose. (You’re welcome for that visual.) The weather was beautiful– a whopping 60-something degrees in February– and we all needed to get out of the house… even if it was just the back patio. So Derek set up a pretty stellar paint station and Mya– in between blowing her nose– worked her magic. If you only do one craft with your kid this year, THIS should be it. I can’t tell you how warm my creative heart was watching Mya paint a large scale piece of art. It is most definitely one of my favorite things we’ve done together. We’ve painted a lot, but never at this scale. It was so much fun seeing Mya go all out and all in on something so big. She felt pretty special doing it. And she was so proud of the final product that she insisted it be hung in her room.

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FINDING INSPIRATION in ABSTRACT PAINTINGS

Post author:Ashley
Post published:October 22, 2015
Post category:DESIGN
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We have a blank wall that stares you in the face when you first walk in our front door. It’s nakedness makes me uncomfortable and the issue needs to be addressed. The solution? We’re going to slap a big abstract painting up there. But that means I need to paint something. And recently, unwinding at the end of the night has been a bit shy of artistic production– involving dark chocolate, graham crackers dipped in milk, and pinterest. If you follow our pins, you have recently been bombarded with colorful, saturated paintings that I hope liven your senses. At least that’s what they do for me. Or maybe it’s the sugar. But I’m going to say it’s the inspirational art.

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PONY BEAD SUN CATCHERS

Post author:Ashley
Post published:September 27, 2015
Post category:KIDS PLAY PROJECTS
Post comments:4 Comments

With little effort, these turned out pretty cool. I won’t lie, though: They sat on our counter for a good month before I finally sanded them down and drilled a hole in each. But hey, they’re done now and oh so colorful. They’re similar to the perler bead bowls that we did earlier this year, except they’re semi-transparent which makes for some great sun catchers!

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DIY T-SHIRT RUG

Post author:Ashley
Post published:August 28, 2015
Post category:LEARN PROJECTS
Post comments:1 Comment

If you have a lot of old t-shirts and some serious down time, then this project is for you! A couple months ago, you would’ve found me on our living room floor every night– either making t-shirt yarn or crocheting. As it turns out, it’s a very therapeutic, mindless activity that you can do while watching “Million Dollar Listing New York.”

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PAINT SWATCH ART

Post author:Ashley
Post published:March 8, 2015
Post category:DESIGN LEARN PROJECTS
Post comments:1 Comment

Before all the paint companies come after me for hoarding their swatches, let me just say this is an accumulation of supplies over at least 5 years. Why do I have so many? Well, I looooove color and playing with multiple variations in paintings and other projects. Anything that has to do with pantone is super swanky in my book. I think using magazine cut-outs with alternative patterns could be equally as cool too!

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PERLER BEAD BOWLS

Post author:Ashley
Post published:March 1, 2015
Post category:PROJECTS
Post comments:1 Comment

I love art glass. My favorite artists are Lino Tagliapietra and Steven Main… and Mya, of course. But since she’s not getting near a 2000 degree kiln anytime soon, we went a safer, way less expensive direction. I call this little activity “Chihuly on the Cheap” because this is the closest craft to resemble art glass that you can do with a toddler.

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CREATE ART FROM PHONE PHOTOS

Post author:Ashley
Post published:February 20, 2015
Post category:DESIGN KIDS LEARN
Post comments:0 Comments

After living in our home for almost four years, I’m finally getting our master bedroom put together. It’s not complete (not that I ever will think it will be!), but one of the items on the to-do list was printing and framing some pictures. After browsing through old phone pics, printing at Costco, and some at-home framing tactics, it turned out pretty shnazy. Here’s how we did it!

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SALAD SPINNER PAINTINGS

Post author:Ashley
Post published:February 5, 2015
Post category:KIDS PLAY
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Am I the only one that wants it to snow a boatload? I just want to get out and play in some snow! But I digress… “Salad spinner paintings” are exactly what you think. We put paint in a salad spinner and let it do its magic. Yup, we’re getting pretty ~~desperate~~ creative over here. Some of it turned into finger painting, but still fun!

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HEARTS and CRAFTS

Post author:Ashley
Post published:January 18, 2015
Post category:LOVE
Post comments:0 Comments

Valentine’s Day is less than a month away. Call me a sap, but I’ve always liked this holiday– not because of the stereotypical chocolates and vibrant reds, but because it’s a nice reminder to give more love. And it’s usually low key. Besides making heart-shaped pizzas together, Derek and I usually don’t do a whole lot to speak of. And that’s alright with me. These heart themed happy things make me smile. (And you can find even more on our Heart Day Pinterest board.) You could easily use the designs of 2, 9, or 10 on some homemade valentines. I haven’t mastered the delicate pancake stylings of 5, but wouldn’t it be cool if I could?! In any case, I hope the images give you some warm fuzzies.

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CRAYON HEART VALENTINES

Post author:Ashley
Post published:January 7, 2015
Post category:KIDS LEARN PLAY PROJECTS
Post comments:0 Comments

Recently, Mya hasn’t wanted to leave the house. “Stay home” is her most common demand. The cold weather makes it pretty easy to stay in and play, but we’ve been “forced” to do more small projects to prevent cabin fever. One of those projects was making crayon hearts. It might be a bit too early to think about Heart Day, but we made some Valentines’ anyway. Plus, they don’t have to be for any special occasion– just for everyday play.

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PAPER BAG FLOWER WALL

Post author:Ashley
Post published:November 16, 2014
Post category:KIDS LEARN PROJECTS
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Mya’s party was yesterday and it was a blast. I just have to filter through the 502 photos (no, I’m surprisingly not exaggerating) and we’ll share the highlights soon! But until then, we have one of our favorite crafty things from her birthday bash: a flower wall!

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COLORFUL THINGS KIT

Post author:Ashley
Post published:October 11, 2014
Post category:KIDS LEARN PLAY
Post comments:0 Comments

I’ll just admit it… Mya’s not too good with her colors. Everything was “boo” and now it’s “yeh-woh.” So in the effort to not feel like I’m failing as a parent, we made a color kit. (We also made one for her friend Paiy, which you’ll see in some of the pictures below.) It was super easy and inexpensive (under $10) to make.

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