I’ve also been telling my students to make art more meaningful, to think about the subjects, colors or patterns they choose. I want them to make art that reflects something important to them or that reflects their own personality in some way. Being able to make art is a very powerful tool when you want to share an opinion or turn your feelings and grief into an external reminder of what you believe in. So remember to make art with intention and passion, you’ll never know who you’ll inspire by doing so.

The storm cloud represents the turmoil and tragedy turned into a powerful force, one that will rain down and wash away old, dated views in hopes that new positive changes will come into effect. Each person killed is represented by a raindrop who’s deaths will not be in vain because I’m hopeful that laws will change to make us all safer! Over the past couple of months I’ve witnessed some of the most brave young people determined to make a difference, I commend them for their resilience and tenacity.

My cloud was actually pretty easy to make, I cut two pieces of felt exactly the same then stitched on all of my details with bakers twine to one piece of the felt. I then cut out the raindrops and stitched on some beads. I glued two raindrops together with the string in-between. I glued the top of the string to the inside of the cloud and then began to use a blanket stitch to seal up the cloud. Just before finishing the stitch I stuffed the pillow well with fiber fill and sealed it up.

Have fun making felt creations and be sure to make it meaningful too!

Here’s a quick tutorial for putting these paper bunnies together, it’s a fun and easy activity to do with the kids plus you’re practicing fine motor skills which is really important. As an art teacher I see a lot of older kids having trouble with their craftsmanship of small details. With some practice they’ll get better and better preparing them for executing more complicated tasks. So grab your materials and make these fantastic stitched bunnies for hanging or giving as gifts this spring season!

Materials:

• Colored cardstock paper or paper cutouts
• Clear vellum paper
• Yarn
• Tapestry needle
• ​Shredded paper
• Small hole puncher
  

Directions:

Step 1. I cut my bunnies using the Cricut machine but you can trace a pattern or use pre-cut shapes found at the craft store. Then layer your vellum shape on top of the solid shape and punch holes around the perimeter.

Step 2. Thread your needle with yarn and start stitching, I used a running stitch, which means you thread in an up and down pattern.

Step 3. Stop before you get to the end and stuff the bunny with some shredded paper, be careful you don’t want to rip the vellum or paper.

These turned out really nice! I plan to hang them as decoration for Easter! You can stuff these bunnnies with things you have like chunky glitter, feathers for color, shredded paper, scraps of felt, tissue paper or candies like jelly beans!

Hip hop, hip hop this cute little bunny papercraft will jump right into your spring celebrations! He is perfectly white too which gives you the opportunity to decorate and color it just as you wish! Give him spots, give him stripes, give him bows and ties, whatever you’d like just make sure it’s full of spring excitement. This papercraft is available below for free but if you like it then check out some of my other original designs in the shop here at The Art Dream!

There’s something really special about creating a 3D piece of artwork, the subject just comes to life and is given dimentionality, it’s pulled into the physical world making it a step closer to realistic. Imagine the kids giving these bunnies color by adding a bunch of craft supplies like pom-poms, glitter, sequins, ribbons or even gems! Or they could be used as place cards for all of your dinner plates. See more of my 3D creations in the shop too, I know you’ll love what you find!

You’ll need just a few things to make this bunny craft, it’s so easy, check out the directions below but first be sure to download the free printable...

Materials:

• 3D bunny printable
• White cardstock paper
• Scissors or craft knife
• Tacky glue
• Straight edge like a ruler, credit card or popsicle stick
• ​Any craft supplies you’d like

Directions:

Step 1. Print and cut out the pieces of the bunny, there are 4 pieces in total.

Step 2. Score all of the lines with a craft knife or you could use something like a credit card to press the “dent” into the lines, this helps tremendously when folding.

Step 3. Fold the head and body, use tacky glue to adhere the flaps to the corresponding sides. Glue the head to the body when done.

​Step 4. Glue on the ears to the top of the head. Don’t forget to add your own details!

Hide small treats underneath this little silly bunny!

I’m no stranger to building castles from cardboard tubes but I usually make them big and fancy. Here’s a version that’s very doable for you and the little ones! You can easily put a fun castle like this together, no problemo, just follow my photo tutorial and you’ll be well on your way to making a castle everyone will admire!

Visit RedTedArt to see the full tutorial!

Isn’t this castle a beaut’, I used crushed up cds to make the base, it makes for a beautiful reflective surface perfect for replicating a cold, icy texture!

Add some fairy lights for an extra touch of shimmer! Kids will definitely be entranced. If you’d like to see how I made this castle then follow the link here! Or click on one of the images!

Remember, your castle doesn’t have to be an ice castle it can be inspired by spring or any other season, maybe it’s a candy castle or a heart castle, maybe it’s a sea castle or a castle in the sky! Let your imagination run wild!

I really do enjoy making these fantastic creatures because the possibilities are endless. Choose your favorite animal and put your own spin on the design. Oaxacan animal sculptures are some of the most beautiful sculptures I’ve ever seen, my iterations don’t even compare! However, that doesn’t stop me from creating my own collection of beauties!

The armature (skeleton underneath) is literally made up of garbage, ok not the kind you throw in the trash can but the kind you could. Empty cardboard tubes make for a great place to start, then you just tape on crumpled up pieces of paper with masking tape to create the features like arms, legs, tail etc.

A great tip is to use cone shapes, roll up a piece of paper like a cone, trim if necessary and tape to your tube. Cones make great legs and tails like the one I made for my shark.

Tape on all of your details like fins and ears. Then papier-mâché the entire sculpture like a mummy, I use a simple mixture of water and glue. Dip strips of newspaper into the mixture and get to wrapping, two layers is enough but if you want it to be super strong and a little thicker go for more layers. Let it dry well then paint to your heart’s content!

Be sure to add lots of patterns too, this really helps make your sculpture look more interesting!

This beautiful ice dragon is in complete contrast to my fiery dragon, it’s icy breath will leave the strongest of enemies frozen in time! How cool is this fierce ice dragon blowing it's blustery blast of snow! It’s such a synch to make too! Just add your own streamers to create that amazing frosty breath.

​Find this printable in the shop along with my other original printables!

Who doesn’t love a super cold dragon like this, it’s so fun to play pretend with a mystical, mythical creature. It’s very easy to make as well. First you’ll need to get this download from the shop here at The Art Dream! You’ll also need just a few materials that you probably already have at home.

​If you are having trouble with the printed size of the image, make sure that you select "fit to page" or "print actual size" in your printer options window.

Materials:

• Ice dragon printable found in the shop
• White cardstock paper
• Toilet tube
• Scissors or craft knife
• Tacky glue
• Tissue paper

Directions:

Step 1. Print out the dragon printable on white cardstock paper and cut out all of the pieces with scissors or a craft knife.

Step 2. Construct the horns, score all of the lines with a craft knife or you can use something like a popsicle stick or the corner of a credit card. Scoring helps tremendously when folding small flaps and executing fine details. Glue the flap to the corresponding side.

Step 3. Prepare your streamers however you wish, mine are tissue paper but you can use ribbon, yarn or even wrapping paper. Glue the streamers to the back of the dragon printable, be sure to use the side with the mouth.

Step 4. Wrap the dragon around a toilet tube and secure with glue or a stapler.

Step 5. Glue on the horns and bend the crown horns upward as well.

The kids will have a total blast blowing into the toilet tube to make the streamers fly! I’m guilty of doing this myself again and again!

Have you seen the beautiful and uniquely designed Oaxacan animal sculptures? They are incredible and certainly deserve a looking at if you appreciate cultural art! These sculptures are created in Oaxaca, Mexico and were originally born from an artist named Pedro Linares who had dreams about these fantastical creatures. He decided to bring them to life many years ago and many artists have created their own interpretations since then.

Here I’ve created a creature inspired by a deer or stag with his large and beautiful antlers.

Oaxacan animal sculptures are brightly colored, have many patterns and lots of their features are exaggerated such as their tails, hooves, snouts and ears. You really have to do a google search to see all of these incredible sculptures, they are carved from wood too and it’s just amazing how smooth and beautiful they turn out.

I also love making these with my students, there’s so many possibilities, they learn how to papier-mâché and it’s such a fantastic hands on project that keeps everyone engaged and excited. We first construct the armature with toilet tubes, scrap paper, newsprint paper and masking tape. I then make a glue and water mixture, we dip strips of newspaper into the mixture and then cover the entire armature like a mummy. Lastly it’s time to paint and add details!

This is a great project that targets many skills and touches upon an aspect of Mexican culture, there’s so much for students and children to learn from creating a magical creature like this. Have your kids or students give their animal a name it’ll really bring the character to life and make it all the more special!

Looking for a quick last minute Valentine’s Day craft project to give to the whole class? These fluttering butterflies are perfection, kids will love seeing them wiggle around as they write! I worked with Aleene’s glue to make this cute pencil topper and it’s so easy to make you could totally hand out a bunch of these for V-day, such a great alternative to those store bought impersonal Valentine’s. A handmade touch makes them so much more special and each one will be unique!

Pipe cleaners are really a staple when it comes to crafting you just have to know which crafts to use them for, they aren’t the best to be glued down. Pipe cleaners are best used when bent and wrapped around something or used all by themselves. They work great for twisting around pencils or even pens to create a fancy, fun topper!

Visit Aleene’s to see the full video tutorial and a list of materials for creating this craft yourself and with the kids!

So pretty and super fun! I love how the tissue paper fills in the spaces on the butterfly wings. I used a paper punch for the little butterflies and let me tell you, kids LOVE using those paper punches. There’s a little thrill you get when the punch pierces the paper and then you lift the punch away to reveal that perfectly cut out shape! It really is a split moment of magic, to see the look on a child’s face after they see how awesome and fun it is to cut a shape this way. I definitely reccomend investing in some paper craft punches, especially the basic shapes, you will use them ALL the time!

I hope you all enjoy your Valentine’s Day, make lots of fun things!

I put together a video tutorial for this gem right here at The Art Dream, take a look at it below but first, here’s what you’ll need...

Materials:

• Jar with cap lid
• All purpose paint
• Bottle brush trees
• Small plastic figurines
• Piece of styrofoam
• Wood slice
• Glycerine
• ​Glitter
• ​Hot glue

Directions:

Step 1. Paint your bottle brush trees with an all purpose paint. Let them dry really well because you don’t want the wet paint to mix with the water or your snow globe will be ruined.

Step 2. Cut a pice of styrofoam to fit the inside lid, paint it and let it dry well also.

Step 3. Hot glue the styrofoam to the lid then hot glue on your trees and figurines.

Step 4. Fill your jar about 3/4 of the way and add about 2 tablespoons of glycerine and glitter of your choice.

Step 5. Place the lid in the jar and add more water if needed!

Felt flowers last so much longer than real ones, plus they show off the everlasting love you have for that special someone! It’s so simple to make a beautiful felt wreath. I partnered with Aleene’s glue on this project, they make a wonderful fabric glue called Fabric Fusion and it holds the felt together incredibly! Fabric Fusion is also a great alternative to hot glue especially when working with young children. I know how frustrating glueing felt could be so definitely check out this glue if you’re looking for something strong to hold your felt projects together!

Using felt to create your Valentine’s Day projects and giveaways is such a great choice because you know they’ll have a little bit (or a lot of bit) haha, more life to them than traditional paper crafts. It’ll be something you can keep around for spring or pull out again year after year for decorating. I especially love felt projects because they hold up better in storage and they won’t break when mishandled. So think about swapping that craft paper for felt once in a while.

To see more of this craft visit Aleene’s to get the full video tutorial along with a list of materials!