Friday, June 27, 2008

Canvas Art with your Kids

Summer is here and I don’t know about you, but we enjoy doing crafts together. And with gas prices the way they are, finding things to do with your kids... at home and with on-hand supplies is even better!

Not long ago I was blog hopping and came across a fun kids project by Arounna Khounnoraj at the Book Hour Craft Projects Blog. She created this amazing Alphabet Poster using old wood typeset letters & numbers. Such a simple, but beautiful piece for any wall and I was instantly inspired. What a fun project to do yourself and have your kids make one too!

At first I thought we could use some of the alphabet stamps I already have so it would be similar. But then I came across the large, 8 inch chipboard “M” by Making Memories that I bought forever ago. Who knows what I had planned for it way back then, but I’m glad I saved it because now I had the perfect project for it. It inspired me to do a monogrammed canvas instead! Isn't it funny how inspiration works!

Then the fun began with digging through all the chipboard, metal and other fun M’s that I could find in my supplies. I dug pretty deep, because if you've been scrapping for a while, you'll notice some older products on there too. Here's what I was inspired to create. A simple, colorful monogrammed piece of art.

My canvas is 14" x 18" and I have a pretty big variety of products on there. The largest M is from Making Memories. I think I've had that for at least 2 years, so I'm not sure if you can still find them or not. The large green M on the top right is from Creative Imaginations Bare Elements line and the pink M is a felt one that I picked up on clearance at Joann's. There's pretty much a little of everything on here. I even painted a few of my chipboard pieces with Twinkling H2o's. Just have fun using what you have on-hand!

I started with the large 8 inch “M” and then worked my way around it until I liked the way everything looked. I then took a photo so that I could refer back to it as necessary. Next I painted the bare chipboard pieces and my canvas. Once everything was dry, I started gluing.

Here’s the one my 9 year old son, Tyler made and he loves it! I kept his a little easier to manage by having him work on a 6 x 8 canvas. It was a Target $1 spot item I already had in my supplies. I then had him stick to mostly alphabet stickers, using just a few larger chipboard pieces. He sure had fun going through all of my alphabets to find what he liked! I really like the tan color he used for his canvas and the green he chose for the large T inspired me to use that color too.

You can find lots of fun & inspiring projects on the internet for all ages, including the one I linked above. And remember, your local library is always a good source for some kids craft books.

Go find something that inspired you and enjoy doing something crafty with your kids this summer!

11 comments:

Angie Tieman said...

Wow! This is an awesome project! What a great way to use up a lot of your letters, and it would make a great gift too! TFS!

Anabelle O'Malley said...

What a fabulous idea, Miki!!!! I just love it.

Melanie said...

What a CUTE idea! That 'm' one will go nicely in my office! What a great idea to use up all those letters I have! thanks, miki!

Julia Sandvoss said...

Such a fantastic idea Miki! Love both of your canvas'. I'll definitely be making one of these for Haley's room!!

Sherry Wright said...

What a great idea, love them both. WTG Tyler & Mom!

Linda Beeson said...

Miki! What a really fabulous idea! Who doesn't have all kinds of leftover letters and I can so see how this would be doable with kids!

Stacey S said...

Awesome, Miki! I'm in love with this idea and definitely want to try this out with my kids! Love it!

Chrissy said...

Loved this idea since I first saw it here months ago. I've had tucked it away, but I'll be including it on my blog tomorrow! Thanks!

Jenny said...

Love this idea...definitely starred it to come back to do with my kids. What a great personal addition to their rooms.

Aimee Larsen said...

We love this idea. We'll be linking up over at www.onthelap.org. Stop by and visit us.

Gina M. said...

What glue did you find worked best for canvas and chipboard?