What we have been up to in April, 2014



I realize that I probably should update this blog more often!  At this point in my life I just can't squeeze the extra time.  However, to see all the new things on our website you could just go to www.happyfamilyart.com  In the meantime, I am going to commit to doing a monthly update. 
Here is the update for April, 2014!!!
Let's see what we did.

We visited the Morris Museum in NJ: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Our-Visit-To-Morris-Museum-NJ.html

We also went to IPlay America for some fun in an arcade and indoor rides.  It was great.  Read more about it here: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Our-Visit-To-IPlayAmerica.html

 

We made quite a few great crafts.  Like these recycled portfolios: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Recycled-Art-Portfolios.html

And these lovely flower hairbands made from recycled t-shirts: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Recycled-Tshirt-Headband.html
 



 

Of course there is an art project there as well, Watercolor Water Lilies: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Painting-Water-Lilies.html

 

 

I also added a few new sections.  One of them is all about art history for kids.  These are new, so there are only a few things there.  So far we have an art lesson on Georges Seurat: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Georges-Seurat-Art-Lesson.html
 

Another is on Louis Comfort Tiffany: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Tiffany-Stained-Glass-Art-Lesson.html

 

I also added a section on Photography.  I dubbed it a 1000 Photos Project.  I am hoping to improve my photo taking skills as I climb to a 1000 Photos.  Here is a link for that section, I do hope you like it: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/1000-Photos-Project.html

 

I think that is about it for the month of April! I hope you enjoyed it, and stop by again!  Also, I love comments, and don't be shy about using the contact me page with any questions!  Thank you, and see you at the end of this May!



Finger Painting

Who doesn't love finger painting.  It is messy, fun, and so relaxing.  Some of the kids in art class asked for finger painting, and I made a lesson plan around it.  Here it is:

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Fun-Finger-Painting-Art-Lesson.html

 

Styrofoam Art Prints

Recently I have been coming across different sites with folks doing prints using recycled Styrofoam containers. I saw a few of them, but the one that stuck out was the red cat print that I saw on Pinterest.   I have been looking at stamp kits for kids, but felt they were too pricy, this came into my view right on time. What a neat idea it is! I jumped right on it. Before trying it out with the group of kids I do art classes with, I decided to try it together with my kids. Here are the awesome results we got!

 

Take a look at how we made them here:

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Printing-With-Styrofoam.html

Fun Mural Art Lesson

We made this great under the sea mural in art class.  Read more here: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Fun-Mural-Painting.html

Lots Of Sunflowers

I have been drawing a lot of Sunflowers!!!  I started out with a simple sunflower sketch, then I moved on to making 10 copies of the same sketch, and coloring them in using a different material for each. 
I used colored pencils, watercolors, markers, ink, acrylic paint, regular pencil, computer graphics, oil pastels, regular pastels, crayons, and more. 
Here are just a few:

 

On my website I put step by step directions to how to draw the sunflower sketch, followed by all the colored versions, and then step by step for how to paint them in acrylic paint.  For the last bit there is a small step by step for the colored pencil drawing there as well.  Please take a look at it all here:

 

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/How-To-Draw-Sunflowers.html

Snowman Painting: Let It Snow

Inspired by the first snow of the season, I have been drawing and painting snowmen.  Lots of them.  They are easy to draw and it is fun to get them to do funny things. 

Here is a quick and easy way to draw a snowman.  I wanted a "Let It Snow" painting with it.  It is fun to do and looks very pretty. 

I used Folk Art Acrylic Paint, a flat medium paintbrush and a small pointy one.  I also had a 9x12 inch stretched canvas that had an old sketch on it.  I washed the sketch off using water and a kitchen towel, let it dry and then used for these two adorable snowmen.  

To see step by step directions with photos for every step, please look on my website here:

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Snowman-Acrylic-Painting.htm

I have been busy

Past few months I have been very busy building my site: www.happyfamilyart.com 
There are so many new projects on there, and yet more to come. 
Here are a few of the most recent ones:

Learn how to draw this wonderful Landscape in Colored Pencil:

 

 

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Landscape-In-Colored-Pencil.html

 

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Or you could make a few notebooks as stocking stuffers:

 

 

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Handmade-Notebook.html

 

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Or you could check out my awesome list of kids books that includes our favorites through the kids ages:

 

 

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Great-Books-For-Children.html

 

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You could also read the Tips For Nurturing Creative Kids that I wrote over here:

 

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Tips-For-Creative-Kids.html

 

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There is also a few new art works, and mosaics:

 

 

I hope you enjoy it all!!!

Tissue Paper Collage

After I made the piñata for my son's birthday I had a lot of tissue paper left over. It is all colorful and pretty, and my hands were just itching to do something with it. Tissue paper collage was the first thing that came to mind. I love all the colors, and how tissue paper is transparent. I also absolutely love Eric Carle's illustrations, you can find them on his website here: http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html I think they are great! While I am not used to working with tissue paper, and this is a first for me, I wanted to give it a try.

Actually, I made two of them, but I liked the second one better.  The first one was more of a learning experience.  I put both of them on the website, just in case.

 

To see the step by step instructions please visit my website here:

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Tissue-Paper-Collage.html

Cherry Blossom Watercolor Painting Instructions.

I just finished writing up easy to follow step by step instructions on how to paint these beautiful watercolor cherry blossom paintings.  The first one is easier and quicker to do.  The second one requires more time and effort.  Both come out really well though! I hope you enjoy them.

 

To see the instructions please go to my website here:

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Cherry-Blossom-Painting-Lesson.html

Sponge Painting of a Garden

This sponge painting of a garden is very simple and easy to make, it is especially good for really young kids. I made it with my 5 and 11 year olds and they both enjoyed it.  

What you'll need is a canvas board that we used previously and the picture just didn't come out well. A re-used or new canvas board would work well, or if you don't have that, some heavy duty paper would be good also.

You will also need sponges of different shapes and sizes.  They don't have to be shaped like flowers, just be creative with how you use them.  For some of the shapes I bought cheap sponges in a .99 cent store and cut them out as flowers or leaves. We also had some rectangular sponges to go along. A few small sponge rollers for the background. For paint, "My Studio" Acrylic Paint in colors of your choice works really well, but that's up to you! We picked light green, white, dark green, orange, purple and blue.

 

 

 

To see the instructions please visit my website here:

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Sponge-Painting.html

 

 

Paint The Town

Take a look at this art lesson! It is a painting of a town with buildings and trees.  It might look daunting at first, but with these easy step by step instructions you will be surprised as to how good it will come out at the end.  The most important thing is not to get discouraged when you are half way done, but to carry it through to the end.  It is all made of basic shapes and little details make it beautiful! Painted in watercolor, a bit of acrylic and ink.

 

To view the instructions please go to my website here:

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Street-and-Buildings-Painting.html 

 

I also put up the final version of this painting on Etsy, to see the listing, please click here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/123423733/original-watercolor-and-ink-painting-of

Forest in the Summer Time Painting

Take a look at the new art lesson we have put together on Happy Family Art!
 



Check out these step by step easy instructions, with photographs, on how to make this beautiful painting of Summertime Forest with Acrylic Paint. Best suited for teen to adult!

 

This painting of a forest in the summer time is most appropriate for teens to adult. It is fairly simple to do. The most important thing to remember is: THERE IS NO WRONG WAY TO DO IT! Don't make it exactly as it is here, make it your art. Put your own trees, and leaves and grass, and hills. These are just general guidelines. Have fun with it and enjoy the process!

To view the entire instructions for the complete painting please visit our website page for this project over here: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Forest.html