The Nigerian Mvies

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Friday 13 September 2013

Fun Fantastic Art Projects For Kids

By Kate Halfey


Art is one of the world's great methods of communication, expressing ideas and emotions. For children, who don't always understand their own emotions or how to express them, art can become a vehicle for letting go of emotion or expressing joy and creativity. Here are a few art easy art projects that provide your children with an opportunity to express themselves and create something beautiful in the process.

One fun and easy idea is to mimic a work by a famous painter, such as Vincent Van Gogh or Claude Monet. You can go online to a site like ArtProjectsForKids.org and for just a few dollars, download mural of a painting such as Starry Night or perhaps Klimt's Tree of Life. Then simply print out all of the mural pages and have your children color each section. Once all the coloring is complete, and you can use anything from crayons to watercolors, you just organize the pieces into the correct order and paste it all onto a large piece of paper or perhaps an actual canvas. The end result looks like a famous painting and this is a great way for children to learn about a specific artist.

Many children enjoy really digging in and getting messy with art, so think about creating a project that allows them to really get their hands dirty such as paper mache. With this medium, you can create any number of decorative or useful items. Children can create cupholders or bowls or perhaps create a giant animal or a huge version of their first initial as a room decoration. Paper mache can be made using newspaper strips soaked in a solution of glue and water or perhaps flour and water that has been boiled and cooled. Check online and you will find a variety of easy recipes. Whatever mix you use, you will want to do several layers of paper on your project, and newspaper is an excellent and inexpensive source of material. If you don't subscribe to a newspaper, just ask a friend or neighbor to save their old ones for you.

To make the giant initial, first cut out two identical giant letters out of cardboard. Glue five or six Styrofoam cups or bowls onto one letter and then glue the other letter on to the other side of the cups. Let the glue dry and then cover the letter thoroughly with strips of paper mache. Once this is dry, you can paint the letter with acrylic paints and then once all the painting is finished, coat it all with Mod Podge. For other projects, such as a bowl, you will fill up a balloon and cover the bottom half of the balloon with paper mache strips. Once it dries, pop the balloon and paint and seal just as you would with the initial.

Sometimes the art you create can be art that you also wear. Tie dye is definitely an outlet for creativity, and kids will enjoy creating a piece of clothing using their favorite colors. All of the items you will need from gloves to bottles to dye can be purchased at a craft store, but if you have never tie dyed before, it's not a bad idea to simply purchase a kit, which includes all the supplies as well as helpful step-by-step instructions. Tie dye is better for older children, typically around age 8 or 9 and up, but there are tons of cool fabric paints that allow kids to really create a special t-shirt of their own design.

Every season brings a holiday, and each of these observances can be celebrated with a cool art project. Take a look around the internet and you will find something special for each and every major holiday, from Christmas to Fourth of July to Halloween. Folk art flags make a cool tabletop decoration for your Independence Day table, for example, and these can be created using popsicle craft sticks. Pom poms in vibrant Christmas colors can be glued to Styrofoam balls to make festive ornaments. For Thanksgiving, have the children create festive placeholder cards for eat table setting. The only limit is your imagination and that of your children.




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