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

Magic Wands

 

Everyone needs a little magic.  I made these out of paint swatches and wooden skewers.  If you would like to see how, click here: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Magic-Wands-Craft.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

Awesome Sparkly Felt Crowns

It was cold around here last few weeks. REALLY COLD!!! So cold, in fact, that we had to stay inside for quite a few days. Since we were home I took out some crafts for me to play with. Crafts that were too girly for my boys to even look at. Lots of sparkles, sequins and other shiny things. I decided that I NEED to make a felt crown. You know, so that I could wear it around the house whilst doing dishes and such. Wait, but I didn't only make one crown, I went ahead and made FIVE! See what happens when I stay home for too long: I start playing with scissors and glue, and sequins. 

To see how I made them look here: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Felt-Crown-Craft.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

Happy Holidays

I am still having a great time drawing snowmen.  These two are really cute.  Take a guess as to what they are doing?

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

Art Games

I tried this game yesterday with kids: In a bin I had all kinds of different words written down on pieces of paper (folded so that they couldn't see the words right away). I like a good mix of animals and household objects. The kids would p...ull out two pieces of paper and draw a combination of the words they got. They had a few minutes to sketch it out. After they did about 10 combinations each, they got to pick their favorite one and draw it out on a different paper, and color it in. It was a lot of fun! My favorites were definately the Book Chicken, the Elephant Trees, and the Cat Spaceships. There was also Alien Ice Cream, Balloon Pony, and many more. The kids had a blast doing it.

We also played the broken telephone with art. One kid would come up with a rather detailed idea for a picture, like a Big Blue Shark Playing a Loud Flute Under Water, and whisper it to the next kid, and the next and the next, etc. At the end everyone had a different idea. It is a broken telephone after all. :)

For the first game and more cool art games see the article below by Becca Swanson:

http://voices.yahoo.com/10-art-games-play-classroom-7177042.html

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!!!

The Adventures of Petunia

After much hard work, collaborative efforts with the author and a lot of time, I am proud to say that 'The Adventures of Petunia' are finally printed and ready for sale. Written by Judy England-McCarthy and illustrated by me, Mariya Kovalyov, it is a wonderful story about one cute, brave, determined pink pig.
Below are a few pictures from the book, in a non specific order, so as not to give any spoilers and, ofcourse, no text.

 

If you would like to see more of them, please visit my website here:

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Petunia-Illustrations.html

Valentin Kovalyov's Mosaics

Today I spent a few hours working on photos of Valentin Kovalyov's (my father-in-law) mosaics.  He works on them all the time.  In fact, this year he made so many of them that I think I will have to make a new page on our website for just the ones for 2013. 
He made a few sets of seven Chakras as well.  They look absolutely beautiful!  Take a look below:

 

To see many more of his amazing works, please visit our website: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Mosaics-by-Valentin-Kovalyov.html

The Wedding Gift

The kids and I went to a wedding a few weeks back.  A friend's daughter was getting married.  For a gift I drew and framed their portret.  It is 11x14 inches, colored pencils.



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

Beach Themed Candleholders.

Every time I am at the beach with my kids, I always pick up pretty shells and pieces of sea glass. Frankly, I don't know why, I never have any specific purpose for them in mind, it has just become a habit for me. At the end of summer, my purse pockets are filled with little rocks, seashells and pieces of sea glass.

After the super storm Sandy knocked our power out for eight long days, I found myself in a desperate need for candleholders. Not usually one to use candles for fun, I didn't have any around the house. We made do with jars and lids at the time, but now I found myself on the kick to make candleholders. The ones with the seashells turned out to be one of my favorites.

They are all easy to make and produce a beautiful result. 

 

 

To see the instruction, please visit my website here:

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Seashell-Candleholders.html

Recycled T-Shirt Doggie Toy

This project is super easy to make, and is a great way to recycle a few old t-shirts. If you have a dog, making an awesome dog toy out of old t-shirts is super easy, and free. So before running to the store to get a tug-of-war rope for your furry loved one, give this a try. Plus, your pup will love it even more because it will smell like you!

 

This is a photo of our big doggie (we have three: tiny, medium and big), enjoying his new toy.

 

To read the instructions, please visit my website right here:

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Recycled-Tshirt-Dog-Toy.html



Awesome Birthday Pinata!

My youngest had a birthday party recently.  Actually, since two of his close friends had birthdays within a day of him, their moms and I decided to throw a big collective birthday party. The boys share almost all friends, with an exception of a few. As you can imagine the turnout for the party was enormous. There were close to 50 children.  We all pitched in, and had pizza, salads, fruits and berries, a beautiful chocolate cake, and a 'no presents' rule so that folks wouldn't feel overwhelmed by having to get gifts for three kids.  It was a good party, everyone had a good time.

His favorite thing for every birthday is having a Piñata that he can break open with his friends.  We didn't do any party favors, and decided that the prizes in the Pinata would serve that purpose.  Now the question is: where do you get a Pinata that size, one that is strong enough for all the kids to have a turn at hitting it (and some kids are older and much stronger).  I looked around online, and after seeing the prices and the sized that weren't big enough, I decided to make one.

It turned out to be better and way cheaper than buying one. While it did take some time for me to make it, I feel like it was worth it! The Piñata I made came out strong (it held up through all the kids and even some parents), beautiful, and definitely big enough for everyone to enjoy!

At first I was going to make a very simple one: just take a large square box, strengthen it with papier-mâché, then wrap it all pretty like a present and let them whack it with a bat. However, my kids had a different idea in mind: they wanted a car shaped piñata. Go figure. So, with the help of my kids, here is how I made my beautiful car shaped piñata.
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You will need a large piece of strong, good cardboard. I happened to have one from a shipment of something or other in my garage. It has to be big enough to cut out two sides of the piñata, and the center for it. You will also need a roll of packing tape, some recycled brown paper bags from a store, newspaper or recycled paper for papier-mâché, tissue paper, some recycled wrapping paper and a few construction paper sheets (I used 12x18 inch construction paper: 2 black, 2 blue, 1 red, 1 orange), also some flour and water to make the glue.

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To begin take your giant piece of cardboard and draw the shape of the piñata you would like, in my case it was a car, but the less curves, dips and bends you have the easier it will be to make. Cut the shape out. I started cutting it out with scissors, but that was too tough, so I used a small sharp knife instead, box cutter would probably be better, but since I don't have one, knife did the job. Once you have one side cut out, put it on top of the remaining cardboard, trace it and cut it out again. You should have two sides that are the same.

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To continue reading the instructions, please visit my website here: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Pinata.html

Saving Summer!

I love summer and usually get sad when it is over.  Last year the kids and I made these just before it got cold:

 

 

I got large clear Christmas glass balls in ACMoore and then we put a bit of ground in them and carefully arranged a few small plants from our backyard in them with chopsticks.  A few broke in the process, so please be careful with glass pieces!  Otherwise they came out great.  You do have to make sure to spary some water into them, and occasionally check to make sure they are not to dry!  They lasted quite a bit!  All the way until spring brought new plants.

 

Don't forget to like us on facebook: www.facebook.com/happyfamilyart

Please visit our website: www.happyfamilyart.com

 

Pink Stork Logo

Upon request, I made a few logos for a friend's start up. It was according to what she asked for, and she wasvery specific. So here they are. The first two are my personal favorites, and the last one is the one the person actually chose. There are about five more, but I didn't particularly like them.