KidzArt Official Blog

If you’ve never thought of holiday baking as an art form, then think again. The creativity, attention to detail and talent that goes into making beautiful  and delicious holiday treats can be achieved even by young artists with a little bit of help! The most interesting and adorable creations are usually made with the help of children. In addition to decorating traditional cutout cookies or making gingerbread houses, here are a few tasty and artful recipes that you can enjoy making with the whole family.

Candy Sleighs

photo by TasteTester

Ingredients

• 24 fun-size Nestle crunch bars ( any other fun size bar will work)
• 48 miniature candy canes
• 48 gummy bears
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Unwrap candies and have ready, you will need to work quickly.
2. Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on 50% or mediumin 30 second intervals stirring between each interval, until chocolate is thoroughly melted.
3. Use melted chocolate to attach candy canes onto the sides of the the candy bar to create a sleigh.
4. Attach gummy bears sitting on the top of the candy bar with the melted chocolate.

Snowman Pops

photo by 5hungrykids

Ingredients

• 32 large marshmallows ( 1 bag)
• 1 lb almond bark ( white)
• 16 sturdy wooden skewers ( long)
• 1 cup white icing
• food coloring

Directions

1. Place two marshmallows on the flat end of each of the 16 skewers. Do not pierce all of the way thru the top marshmallow. Be sure the pointed end of the skewer is down and not inside the marshmallows!
2. Break almond bark into chunks. Place into micro safe bowl & cook 1 minute in the microwave. Stir. Continue microwaving 30 seconds at a time until melted. Stir each time.
3. Dip the skewers into the melted almond bark. Roll until well covered. Let dry.
4. Color the icing in desired colors and pipe on or decorate with eyes, a carrot nose, mouth, and a scarf or buttons. Let dry completely before proceeding to arrange or wrap.

Source: www.Food.com

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If you know a budding artist or any child who loves arts and crafts, here are some fun gift ideas to enhance their abilities:

1. Specialty Drawing Paper

Kids love to draw on paper in unique colors and textures.  Try Scratch Art, Folia rainbow paper, Mulberry paper, Acetate(transparent) or simply card stock in cool colors.

2.  An Artist Portfolio

Give your artist a place to collect or organize his/her masterpieces.  A sturdy portfolio will protect artwork and also give it a showcase.

3. Chalk Pastels

A large set of chalk pastels will let your artist experiment with chalk’s unique texture in a vast variety of colors. 

4. Hard Bound Sketchbook

Sketchbooks come in various sizes and shapes and are reasonably priced. The bound books offer long term protection of your artist’s creations.

5. Air Dry Clay

Natural air dry clay dries hard without a kiln or oven. It’s easy to use and clean up.

There are many more materials and mediums that all promising artists will enjoy experimenting with.  Happy gift giving!

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Spiders are fascinating creatures who produce beautiful works of art: their webs. Try this fun Halloween project by seeking an empty spider web and turning it into art!

Materials:

• Non-toxic white enamel spray paint

• Black construction paper

• Newspaper

Directions:

1. Find an EMPTY spider web and place sheets of newspaper around the area to protect it from the spray paint.

2. Spray both sides of your web with short, gentle bursts of paint. Don’t spray too much or your web will break.

3. When the entire web is covered with paint, press a sheet of construction paper to one side of the web and pull the web down on it. Let the web dry.

4. Once your web has dried to the construction paper, you’ll have a beautiful Halloween decoration! Take time to examine the details and patterns of each web you find!

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KidzArt wants to say “thanks” to all of the wonderful teachers that we know.  First, we want to recognize the talent and dedication of all the KidzArt teachers who work tirelessly with KidzArt students of all ages around the world.  They each have a special way of helping children express their creativity and boosting their confidence through encouragement, fun and interactive exercises while teaching them to draw.

We also want to thanks all the elementary and middle school teachers throughout the world, who recognize the value of art enrichment for children and welcome KidzArt into their classrooms every day.  We honor the meaningful contribution that you make to the lives of students every single day.

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Everyone looks for that special gift for Mom or Grandma on Mother’s Day.  Now you’ve found it!  Put your child’s artwork on affordable, fun gifts that Mom will treasure for years to come.

Visit http://www.KidzArtProducts.com to see the selection of customizable products including aprons, mugs, apparel and much more. 

Order by April 19th to guarantee delivery for Mother’s Day!

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March is Youth Art Month in the United States, a time to promote the value of art education for all children and to encourage support for quality school art programs.  We believe that art should be an important and valued part of the lives of young people.  Art and creativity promote problem solving, encourage children to try new things, use their imaginations and overcome their inhibitions or obstacles in order to grow and learn. 

During the month of March, be an advocate for art!  Find a way to show your support, whether it’s in your home, school or the greater community.

Check out how some of our KidzArt students have explored their creative abilities! 

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Valentine’s Day Sculpey™ Pen  

This is an inexpensive and fun project for any age. You can make hearts for Valentine’s day or any other shapes!

What you will need:§  Sculpey oven bake clay about 1 oz—Various colors (One “square” per child is plenty)§  White round stick pen (try Walmart’s brand, it won’t melt)§  Needle nose pliers  What to do: 1.    Remove the ink cartridge from the pen with pliers and set it aside. 2.    Take a “ball” (about1”) of Sculpey clay and work it until it’s soft.  Pat or roll it into a thin layer the length of the pen and about 2” wide.3.    Cover the pen with the Sculpey. 4.    Gently roll the pen back and forth on your work surface. Don’t roll too much, just until the clay is flat. Over-rolling may cause the clay to pull away from the pen. 5.    Add small bits of color to the surface.  Add a shape at the top of the pen6.    Bake at 225 degrees for about 15 minutes. 7.    Replace the ink cartridge when cool. To push it in completely, press the ink tip into a layer of something soft and stand the pen up. Press the clay cover pen case down onto the ink cartridge.  

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Put a new spin on holiday gifting by recruiting the kids’ creativity to help make homemade gifts.  Tighter budgets along with some creativity can be the inspiration for making one-of-a-kind presents this year.  Kids love to make crafts for the holiday season and get a great sense of accomplishment in creating items can be functional and given as gifts.

 Here are a few simple homemade gift ideas that the kids will enjoy making!

Share your home-made baked goods with family and friends with this special home-made gift bag: 

Decorate white or brown paper lunch sacks using acrylic paint in either red and green or blue and white.  Each bag can be different.  Stamp or paint stars, snowflakes, trees, icicles, etc. Sprinkle painted areas with silver glitter glue, tap off excess and let dry completely.  Fill the bag with wrapped baked goods.  Punch a hole in the top of the bag and thread an 8″ green or red ribbon through the holes.  Tie in a bow and give as a gift.

2.  Holiday Scratch Art Gifts

Purchase Scratch Art Scratch-Lite paper available on line or in your local art store.  Cut out festive shapes such as stars, circles, hearts or snowmen.  A rainbow of color appears when you  scratch out a design on the shape (use a wood stick, chopstick or skewer to scratch)!  Use as gift tags or punch with a hole punch and thread varying lengths of decorative ribbon or yarn to make a necklace, bookmark, tree ornament or a mobile. 

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On Wednesday, October 28th between 6-7am, Tammy Imrie, director of KidzArt in Jacksonville, Florida will be on Channel 12′s “Good Morning Jacksonville” in a special segment featuring No-Carve Pumpkin Masterpieces!  Tammy and some of her students will be using paint, clay, glitter and glass paint to create unique pumpkins that are fun, easy and safe for all ages to make!  Visit www.kidzartnfl.com for local KidzArt class information.

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If spending hours scooping out seeds and stringy pumpkin isn’t on your list of fun things to do this Halloween, decorating a pumpkin without carving is a fun option.  Forget the knives and break out the permanent markers along with some other household craft items to decorate your pumpkins.

Decorating pumpkins without carving is a great alternative for younger children who can’t use carving utensils.  Without carving, your child’s decorated pumpkin will last a lot longer and it can be displayed in your home throughout the fall season.

Here are some clever pumpkin art projects that will excite the kids, minus a big mess:

1. Stenciled Pumpkin Designs- Go online and peruse the hundreds of pumpkin template designs available.  But instead of carving, kids can use a stencil to trace a pattern on the pumpkin.  Use colored permanent markers (Sharpies® work well) to color, draw patterns, etc.                2.  Glitter Pumpkins- For kids who love shimmer and sparkle, cover your gourds and pumpkins with a coating of glitter.  Using craft glue that dries clear, “paint” the entire pumpkin with glue.  While the glue is wet, sprinkle your favorite colored glitter over the pumpkin.  Let it dry for an hour and shake off the excess sprinkles.                                                                                                                                                        3.  Pumpkin People- Kids can create ‘pumpkin people’ by using a variety of household items.  Draw eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks on the dry, clean pumpkin. Or get creative and use fruits or vegetables for ears, eyes or a mouth, glue on raffia for hair, add a hat, a bandana, glasses, ribbons or felt to give each pumpkin its own personality.                                                                                                                                 4. Black on White- For a dramatic effect, kids will get a kick out of drawing with black Sharpies on a stark white pumpkin. Try tracing and coloring in simple black silhouettes like bats, cats and spiders!                                                                                                                      Post your creative Halloween art projects!  We’d love to try ‘em out.

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