This craft is so easy to put together you barely need directions, but I will give you the details anyway. I really hope that you all enjoy making this project as much as I have. It’s always exciting to experience the process of creating something like this because when you make art from scratch you never really know what the final outcome will be. Will it be a flop? Will it be just “OK”? Or will it be a hit? Who knows, what I know is that I get such an indescribable feeling in my heart when I’ve created something that I think children and all people will love.

So please enjoy and be sure to share your outcome as well!

You’ll need just a few things to get started, first my printables which you can download in this post below the materials list.

Materials:

• My Simba printables, two pages
• Cardboard tube
• White cardstock paper
• Scissors or craft knife
• Glue

Directions:

Step 1. I suggest printing out the files on white cardstock paper, it is stronger and durable. Then cut out all of the shapes with scissors or adults can use a craft knife. Kids can simply cut out the shapes very loosely, it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Step 2. Wrap the large rectangular piece around a toilet tube and secure with glue or you can use a stapler.

Step 3. Glue on the details as you like.

And the circle of life is complete! How did your Simba turn out? Isn’t he the cutest? I think so. Let me know how your projects turned out in the comments below!

I’ve also collaborated with the wonderful Trixi Symonds over at colouredbuttons.com for Sew a Softie month! It’s July and it’s time for you to pick up a needle and thread and learn how to make some simple stitches. You can learn a whole lot from Trixi because she’s the expert, check out this link as well... sewasoftie.com. Sew a Softie month is a campaign to encourage kids and their parents or teachers to make more art involving sewing, and for me this will alway be one of my favorites to make with my art classes! The kids really learn a unique skill, it helps them focus, stay on task and become better problem solvers on their own.

So on behalf of Sew a Softie month I’ve put together this pencil pillow tutorial, you’ll be needing a few things including my pencil pattern which you can download in this post below.

Materials:

• Felt
• Embroidery floss
• Needle for embroidery floss
• ​Fiber fill
• Fabric scissors

Step 1. Fist you’ll have to decide how big you’d like your pillow, mine is about 18”x7.25”. My pattern is designed to print on 8.5”x11” paper so you will have to enlarge it if you’d like but it’s a very simple pattern and shouldn’t be an issue to just freehand your own pattern on a large piece of paper.

Step 2. Cut out your pattern and attach it to your felt, I like to just staple it but you can pin it if you like. Then cut out your shapes with fabric scissors they work best. Be sure to cut two layers of the large yellow piece.

Step 3. Next prepare your needle and thread with the embroidery floss. Use a running stitch to attach all of your pieces to the top layer of yellow felt only. Be sure to stitch on the seems that are inside the shape, don’t stitch the edges.

Step 4. Stitch on any other details you’d like, then stitch all around the edges, I used a blanket stitch for this, it’s much stronger and looks nice too. Leave an opening at the end to stuff with fiber fill.

Step 5. Fill your pillow and stitch up the remainder and bam! You have a cute little pencil lumbar pillow!

Have you found everything you wanted from the Target dollar spot? Did you make one of my felt pillow projects? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

Hello everyone and welcome to the summer season, I’m celebrating with FinFunMermaid.com to bring you this felt, plush mermaid tail! Sewing and stitching is such a great summer activity to do with the kids and it will definitely keep them busy and entertained.

How cute is this green and teal mermaid tail, make it any size you'd like using my template, it'll be a great addition to any under the sea themed celebration. You could even turn this little tail into a key chain!

Making little stuffed plush projects is a lot of fun and it’s a truly unique way to make art, I highly recommend trying this type of activity, you don’t need a whole lot of materials either. So get your felt and try a new project today!

I’ve partnered with Fin Fun Mermaid and created this special project inspired by their fun, real mermaid tails you could wear in the pool! Just check out my template and see my video tutorial below for full instructions on how I put this felt project together.

Here’s what you’ll need.

• My template, which you can download below this list
• Felt in your choice of colors
• A needle and thread
• Good fabric scissors
• Fiber fill
• Sequins and any other embellishments you’d like

Be sure to check out FinFunMermaid.com for fun accessories and super cool gadgets for summer fun in the pool! Also, share the felt projects you've made, I'd love to hear all about it in the comments below!

So these days I’m teaching High School but it doesn’t stop me from doing fun, interactive and creative projects like this with teenage students. It does seem as if they enjoy it, don’t quote me though. Even if at the end of the day a student feels like “what’s the point of this?” or “this is dumb” or “this isn’t for me” at least I know that through these feelings they’re at least learning some fundamental skills like how to do a simple stitch, which might come in handy one day, ya never know! Plus they are learning some problem solving skills and just some basic concepts about assembling materials to achieve a final product, most of which comes incidentally. So if you’re having second thoughts about teaching felt, stuffed foods to the older kids then don’t worry, they’re going to like it a lot! Most of them anyway! Haha

Ok, so my tutorial video below was rather long so I sped it up quite a bit, it gives you a quick overview on how to make one of these donuts. There are also tons of other resources on the web for you to reference as well so feel free to add your own tricks to these kinds of projects. My friend Trixi over at colouredbuttons.com is a wiz at sewing and she has some great tutorials if you’d like to get started there on learning how to sew.

Materials:

• Felt
• Embroidery floss or thread
• Fiber filling
• Needle
• Good fabric scissors
• ​Scrap paper for patterns

Directions:

Step 1. First decide what you want to make, it doesn’t even have to be a donut, could be any food or an animal perhaps. Then create a pattern out of paper. The pattern for a donut is probably the most simple, it’s just a circle with a smaller circle in the middle. Use the donut pattern to help you make a separate pattern for the frosting. I also suggest avoiding small or narrow details when designing your felt plush, they’re difficult to work with.

Step 2. I like to staple my patterns to the felt so they don’t move while I’m cutting them out, you of course can use pins to keep your pattern in place if you have them. Pins are not an option for me in the classroom, a staple or two works fine and they barely effect the felt.

Step 3. Be sure you have the correct number of layers! So for the donut I need two layers of the cream colored felt, these two layers get stitiched together and the fiber filling goes in between. You also need a layer of felt for the frosting which gets stitiched to the top layer of cream colored felt first.

Step 4. Stitch on sprinkles in several different colors using the running stitich. Don’t forget to stitch on the frosting as well along the edges.

Step 5. Stitch the two layers of cream colored felt around the perimeter using the blanket stitch, it’s much more secure and visually it looks nicer.

Step 6. Stuff your donut with fiber filling before stitching the donut closed, then complete the stitching to seal the opening.

Enjoy making your felt foods, I hope you make lots of fun desserts! Remember to share your ideas and creations with me here at The Art Dream!

So have you worked with Model Magic yet? If not then definitely start here with these easy to make unicorns using a cookie cutter! If you like the one I used then check it out here at Sweetapolita. This is such a fun way to keep the magic of the holidays alive and going because who really wants to let go? I don’t! So make a whole tray of these (just don’t eat ‘em) and get them decorated to give out to friends and family. Kids will also love making these at home or in the classroom.

​I’ve also worked with RedTedArt.com on Maggy’s “31 Days of Love” crafting extravaganza to bring you these little clay uni’s, you can see the post there along with a bunch of other wonderful crafts made by some talented artists and crafters.

If you’re looking for a great art material to work with then definitely try Model Magic by Crayola I’ve raved about it before and I will again, it’s very versatile, clean and easy to work with. Grab your favorite art materials and the kids to get them started on creating their own unicorn pet. They will also make great Valentine’s for the whole class.

​Materials:

• Crayola Model Magic
• Unicorn cookie cutter
• Craft paint
• Fine glitter
• Chunky glitter
• White or clear liquid glue

Enjoy making your clay unicorns, be sure to get creative in the way you use them, perhaps glue them to the front of a card, hang them from a small tree, glue a magnet to the back to put on the fridge or simply put them on display. Also, be sure to share your creations with me in the comments below!

For this project I used my Cricut machine and a simple lantern pattern which you can find on the system if you search “lantern”. I cut it out as big as I could using the 12”x24” mat. I drew four images on a transparent piece of paper. You could use something like vellum or even tracing paper then add color with markers or colored pencils. Cut or trim your images if you have to in order to glue them into the frames of the lantern. Then, assemble the lantern and place a flameless tea light candle inside!

The subjects you choose to depict are of course totally up to you, I have chosen to show balance of power, civil rights, environmental issues and gun violence.

Take a close look at how I’ve assembled this project in the video below. I hope you guys enjoy it!

It is Halloween time again folks, my all time favorite! And I’ve recently been obsessed with molding Model Magic by Crayola. This clay like material is so versatile and fun to work with, it’s very malleable and the best part is that it’s super clean, so you can let the kids make art with it at the table or in the classroom without the mess that’s made from other clays. Here I’m going to show you a few examples of the spooky Halloween sculptures I’ve made. However, I didn’t make photo tutorials for these but I will tell you all about ‘em!

Above is this chic and scary scene, I think I went a little modern spooky on this one and I’m so happy with how it turned out. So don’t forget that Model Magic works great in molds. You can of course buy silicone molds online but I went to the dollar store and bought hollow plastic decorations like skulls and pumpkins too. The plastics are cheap and thin enough to cut with an Exacto knife or craft knife so that they can be used as molds. Ice trays are also fantastic for molding Model Magic and creating your own sculptures.

The frames are a silicone mold I bought on Amazon, they are great and came in a set of 7. After you press the Model Magic into your molds just pop them out and let them dry overnight. The Model Magic doesn’t fully harden for at least a week or two but you can start painting the next day. Paint the Model Magic with craft paint and embellish how you’d like. For my skull above I glued on some plastic gems!

​Check out my photos below for a quick look at the rest of the materials I used!

Check out this guy laying exposed in his grave, poor soul! Ok so for this guy I casted my own mold using something called mold gel. The skeleton is one of the little plastic decorations you find in the dollar store. You mix the mold gel according to the directions, pour it into a small, deep tray or receptacle and then place the plastic toy/decoration or whatever it is you want to cast into the mold gel, let it dry then pop the plastic figure out, the remaining result is a mold very similar to a store bought silicone mold. You can then use it to create your sculptures. The tombstone and pumpkin were molded from an ice cube tray.

I just love this little spooky scene! It’s like a complete piece of Halloween heaven! Oh and I’ve also added some glow in the dark paint to this sculpture for a bit more of Halloween magic!

Definitely the most gruesome of them all is this zombie head. I took one of the larger plastic skulls from the dollar store, cut it in half and used it as a mold. After I had my skull I added Model Magic features like, eyes, ears and a nose. This helped it to look less like a skull and more like a zombie’s face. All of the details help too like the flaps of skin, lips and some texture like forehead lines and the holes in the chin. Some great tools to use for sculpting are plastic palette knives and toothpicks!

Be creative and have fun, Halloween is also about imperfections so remember that your sculptures don’t have to be perfect!

Ever since I was a kid I could always remember being absolutely enchanted by Halloween, there is such a fascinating magic about it's uniqueness and the traditions we’ve grown to love. I truly love this time of year and kind of wish it would last forever!

​I’ve partnered with Treetopia.com to create this mysterious black Halloween tree which really brings that feeling of the spooky season into the room, the orange lights, the skeletons, pumpkins and paper houses all compliment this fantastic Halloween tree. In this post I’m going to share with you a few things, one, my cute little Halloween paper houses which you can find in the shop here at The Art Dream! And two, this awesome giveaway presented by Treetopia!

I just love these little paper haunted houses for Halloween, I think they hold such importance for the season because without our loving neighborhoods where would the kids go trick or treating? These houses are a symbolic reference to the neighborhood we love all haunted and ready for Halloween! Houses play such a pivotal role in our communities, they’re our homes and where all of the memories of Halloween are made. I’ve created many of these houses over the years and this time they’ve ended up on my Treetopia tree as ornaments. If you like these paper haunted houses then you can find them in the shop here at The Art Dream!

I’ll show you how I’ve added the bases and bottle brush trees as well as how to construct the houses themselves!

Take a look at my video tutorial for constructing these houses, it seems complicated but it’s really fun to do and so rewarding when they’re all finished!

If you’d like to turn them into ornaments for your Halloween tree then check out my photo tutorial below.

Materials:

• Haunted paper house printables found in the shop
• Bottle brush trees
• Thin cardboard or chipboard
• ​Black cardstock paper
• Craft paint
• Tacky glue
• Glitter
• ​Ribbon or string
• ​Hot glue
  

Directions:

Step 1. Cut out equal numbers of both cardboard and black cardstock paper circles at about 3 1/2 inches.

Step 2. Paint your bottle brush trees like candy corns with craft paint, let them dry while you work on the rest of the project.

Step 3. Spread tacky glue evenly on the cardboard circles and glue on a black circle.

Step 4. Spread glue on top of the black circle and sprinkle on glitter, allow the circles to dry well. You can even sandwich them in a book to be sure they dry nice and flat.

Step 5. Lastly, hot glue your houses to the base along with your bottle brush trees. Glue on string or ribbon for hooks. Add whatever other details you’d like!

If you want to check out the tree I used in this post then just visit this link here to Treetopia!

Have you been looking for some elements of art posters and always end up finding the same ol’ thing? I do, that’s why I created these fun posters to hang in my classroom so my students can reference them any time! The elements of art are the foundation of art making which is ever changing, let’s change our reference right along with it!

If you like these posters then get them here in the shop at The Art Dream! Might as well check out my other fantastic printables while you’re at it!

So yep, I’m kind of bored and tired of the elements of art posters I find in art supply catalogues, aren’t you? They’re all the same and they don’t reflect my art making or teaching style. Plus they are dated and not very pleasing to look at in my opinion and they are so expensive!

​So I thought well I’m a creative artist, why don’t I make my own? Although they aren’t going to be the biggest posters, they’re still 7 of them which is great for a small bulletin board or a tri-fold foam core board display, something I could whip out when needed. I actually have a long and narrow bulletin board along the top of my classroom that is too short for posters so these will be perfect to occupy that spot!

There are 7 posters included in this purchase, color, line, shape, texture, form, space and value. All of them designed by me to convey the elements in a fun and trendy way. I want my students to be able to look at these posters and immediately understand why each element is important so they can apply the techniques to their own artwork!

These posters can be stapled right to a bulletin board, trimmed down, laminated, framed or however you choose to display them! Be sure to put a big “Elements of Art” sign above them so everyone knows just what they are. Have fun and be creative.

​The download can be found in the shop, just follow the link!

Pull kids away from the game once in a while and create a fun project like my stuffed felt Loot Llama, it’ll teach them a new skill (sewing/stitching) while still feeding their appetite for Fortnite! We have to learn to pick our battles too so why not take some of their current interests and turn them into fun, engaging art projects?

The llamas above were created by myself and my 11 year old niece! She did an amazing job, and it was completely made by her with minimal help from me!

I’ve collaborated with Trixi Symonds over at colouredbuttons.com on this project for “Sew a Softie” month. You can find some great sewing tutorials and tips from Trixi so be sure to visit Coloured Buttons for more info on how to sew. If you’d like to see my full tutorial and get the pattern for this loot llama then keep reading!