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Leaf & Fabric Collage – ARTBAR

We experienced another successful community art table! This time, I set out leaves with fabric scraps, tempera paint, glue, and colored construction paper. I had a prompt at the table, but children could use the materials however they chose. The results were pure magic. I love every single piece!

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Here’s what you’ll need for Leaf & Fabric Collages:

~ Drop cloth or butcher paper to cover your table

~ Colored construction paper (I used sulphite paper in almond, pink, and gold)

~ Tempera paint (I mixed a muted yellow, deep orange, and bright pink)

~ Brushes

~ Fabric scraps (cut up from donated fabric and old clothing)

~ Leaves (collected the morning of so they were fresh)

~ Glue

Setting up the table:

I used a round table and made sure there were about 3 separate stations so children didn’t have to reach too far to get what they needed.

1. Start by covering your table. I like using a dropcloth, it can absorb the paint a little if there are spills, and it can be washed and reused, so it saves on paper.

2. Mix some warm colors. I added white and a dash of purple to the yellow to make it a little more muted and opaque. I mixed the orange with a dash of blue and a little white so make it more of a burnt orange. You can add a little red, too. And I added white to the neon pink. Add a brush or two to each jar.

3. Set out a box of leaves and some trays of fabric scraps. And add some glue bottles, making sure that they all work. I used light, warm-colored construction paper instead of white so that even the most minimalist explorations would feel complete.

Managing the process:

1. The thing I love most about setting up an essentially self-serve art experience is watching how children will use the materials and in what sequence. When I used to have art classes in my house, I would have staggered this type of project. Meaning, I would have started with collage and then brought out the paint, or maybe vice-versa. This is because art class was an hour and I wanted to extend the experience for as long as possible. But I can admit that spacing the use of materials controls the experience to a certain degree, since children don’t have full autonomy over when to use the materials. With a community table where children and families come and go, I can’t space out the usage of the materials even if I wanted to, it would be too clumsy and take up so much of my time. I have up to 75 people in the room at one time with three different tables, so I need to set up a painting experience with the understanding that all the materials are out at once and children will have autonomy over their entire experience (that is, if a parent doesn’t control it). This first used to make me anxious, but now I love and embrace the outcomes and I don’t think I’ll ever go back!

2. The only thing I have to manage is making sure to restock the fabric scraps, add more paint (but I didn’t actually have to do that because even after 2 hours, the paint never ran out), and clean up the space quickly to add some fresh paper. The rest is just left to fate!

3. I absolutely LOVE watching different styles emerge. This child had a very minimalist aesthetic. She started with this simple yet dazzling layout, adding yellow all the way around her painted leaf.

Once all the yellow was added, she painted back over her leaf so it was just a monochromatic piece. Next time I cam pack she had added another color at the top, and made hair and a border from the fabric. It was fascinating to watch her iterate.

We had other minimalists as well. This one really caught my eye.

And these were two of my very favorite pieces of the whole day. The control and purpose behind these mixed-media paintings are unreal! Frame worthy.

This child was very young, maybe between 2 and 3 years old. Her parents were nearby but let her work mostly by herself, adding layers and layers of color and collage. I love it so much.

This artist seemed to have a particular affinity for the textural collage pieces and didn’t want to add any paint. The colors and composition are so on point.

4. Make sure you have a drying area nearby. We just used the floor. I would also suggest having a few pieces of flat, scrap cardboard available for the very wet paintings that needed to get home without too much mess.

5. What I learned from watching the children hard at work at this painting table was that they use core design elements so effortlessly and instinctively, such as color, texture, space, form, mark-making, and composition. It’s actually so inspiring!

Let me know if you try this one, and tag me on Instagram @artbarblog if you do!

xo Bar

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Did you like this post? Here are other collage and leaf ideas:

Rainbow Collage

Painted Leaf Mobile with Kids

Recycled Mixed-Media Collage

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14/04/2025
Tuscany Travel & Inspiration – ARTBAR

Our family went on a trip of a lifetime to Tuscany, Italy last summer and finally, I am sitting down to write and share all about it. We had been planning this trip for what feels like a decade. Every year we would do all the work creating the itinerary, but then be too overwhelmed with the details, cost, logistics, dogs, work, summer camps. We had spreadsheets and links and secret Pinterest boards, but would instead become paralyzed and just end up driving to Maine or Martha’s Vineyard or Rhode Island (all amazing places) or up to Montreal in search of a little slice of Europe without the air travel. (If you follow me on Instagram, I have lots of story highlights with our family travels along the East Coast — there are some really beautiful spots.) We had everything planned for summer 2020, but then the world stopped (we did perfect the staycation during those pandemic summers). Somehow, some way, with help from friends who cheered and counseled and convinced, we finally hit “buy tickets” with an emotional wave of excitement and panic. We’re going to Italy!!

Here’s what STEP 1 of our Italy planning entailed: Watch all of Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy; watch White Lotus (season 2). STEP 2: Wardrobe and art supplies. Then alas, STEP 3 (the hard part): Itinerary. I say the hard part because, on the one hand, it’s fun to do the research (especially following all the Tuscany IG accounts), but on the other hand, planning and logistics are not something I’m naturally good at or like very much. I prefer being a follower on vacations; just tell me what’s happening and where to go, and I’m there. But this trip forced me to be a travel leader, which is way out of my comfort zone. I’m really a homebody at heart. I want to see and experience new places, but I want to teleport there. I hate flying, and I get motion sickness in any moving vehicle.

But now that this whole trip is done, I can say that I did all the hard things, and it went really well. And even though I still would prefer to be a follower on trips, I was actually okay at being a leader. Not perfect (like the first-day excursion to Arezzo during the 3 hours everything is closed), but pretty okay!

So, without further ado, I am sharing my favorite photos and inspiring spots, the t-shirts I made, my Tuscany color palettes (still to come and the reason this post has taken 6 months), and some links to the places and things we loved most.

Villa Barbazzano

The first 9 days of our trip were spent at this gorgeous villa (which is available to rent!). It’s located about 45 minutes south of Florence in a small town called Val di Chiani. It was the five of us, plus each of my kids brought a friend, for a total of eight people. The villa has nine bedrooms and sleeps 20 (perfect for family reunions)! If you click on the link, you can see how beautiful the villa is from all of the photos. But it so far exceeded even our wildest dreams. It is heaven on earth. The grounds are absolutely stunning, kept so beautiful by one man, Corrado, and his dog Terri; the pool and pool house are gorgeous and in perfect shape, plus so comfortable and tasteful; the bedrooms are cozy and comfortable and feel a bit like being in a castle with delightful tile and incredible architecture; and the sunsets are magnificent. We would go back in a heartbeat.

In fact, the villa is so beautiful and comfortable that we decided to have more rest days at home than originally planned. We had rented two cars to fit everyone, and it did get to be a bit much to do so much driving every day, so we were happy to just plan a day off. The closest big town is Arezzo, about 20 minutes away, and we went there three times for short excursions and meals. We actually loved Arezzo so much, scroll down for more on that.

Florence

On the day we planned our Florence tour, there were intermittent thunderstorms. I took the photo above right before the skies opened up. I love the moody sky and the Ponte di Vecchio in the distance. We bought ponchos and umbrellas on the fly, which gave me an opportunity to quickly snap photos of the contrast between the gray, neutral environment and the rainbow gear.

We hired a tour guide which I messed up by going to the wrong location. It was supposed to be a 4-hour tour but ended up being 3 hours which was honestly plenty, and maybe even a tad long, for teenagers. I loved it, but I think in the future, I would have booked a shorter tour, like 2 hours tops. However, Chiara from Florence Custom Tours was phenomenal! She was so friendly, patient, charismatic, warm, and knowledgable, and found us the most delicious pizza restaurant, Ciro & Sons, right near the train station so we could easily catch the train back home. We unfortunately missed getting inside the Duomo by minutes, which was a bummer. But coming upon that giant structure in the middle of the city is quite magical. We also saw the Statue of David by Michaelangelo, which was breathtaking. All in all, a good and exhausting day. We definitely needed a rest day after that!

Montepulciano

This was one of my favorite little towns to visit. It was such a beautiful day, and the drive was not too long (less than an hour) and also gorgeous with so many perfect Tuscany landscape moments. From the lush, windy hills to the expansive vineyards, there was beauty at every turn. The village is very hilly, as all villages in Tuscany are, with skinny, winding roads and paths that were just so beautiful with the weathered stone and pops of colored shutters and doors.

We first walked up the hills to the Piazza Grande and found a great little outdoor pizza and gelato restaurant. Then we walked up to the top of the Montepulciano Tower. This was probably a highlight of the whole trip! We climbed lots of towers during the 2 weeks we were in Italy, and the view from the top of this tower was the most stunning of all. So much so that I made a painting of the quilt-like landscape!

We took a selfie of all of us at the top (oh, and we added my sister-in-law, so we were now nine!), and the joy on our faces is so evident and real. Two in the group were afraid of heights, but it wasn’t too scary climbing up. I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone whose mobility is compromised as the steps get taller and the space narrower towards the top. Highly recommend this captivating little town for shopping, too. We found our favorite leather bag store, and hat store, too.

Il Borro

Borro is a town only about 20 minutes from the villa, and Il Borro is the luxury resort that was built there. It might actually be the whole town, I’m not sure. It was so quaint and gorgeous, and as we were talking about what a perfect spot it would be for a wedding, a bride appeared on cue! There was a curious but strange Pinocchio museum, the cutest dachshund puppy named Otto, and a delicious (but expensive) meal at the resort. A perfect end to our rest-day at home.

Riecine

This was our first vineyard tour! Riecine (pronounced ree-AY-cheh-nay) was about an hour away from our villa. The building where they produced the wine was a new-ish, modern structure that had the coolest murals painted by a local artist, Marco Zedone. We tasted all of their red wines, and their new rose wine that was one of the best we’ve ever had. Not too sweet. Did you know that rosé wine is made from red grapes that just don’t sit for very long, so they are a very light red? We love learning new things.

Piancornello

A few days later, we visited another red wine vineyard. Piancornello (pronounced Pee-awn-kor-NELL-o) is all organic (they don’t use any chemicals) and does not do tours, it’s just a family home and we were invited through a friend. On the downside, it was a 2-hour ride on a bus (blech, some of us got car sick because the roads are so windy), but on the upside, we got a home-cooked meal and a tour of 50-year-old grape vines! Oh, and a room full of kittens. Yup, it was a lot for the senses – something for everyone. Ava loved the kittens, Nate discovered his pici cacio e pepe obsession, and everyone adored the grandma and grandpa who cooked us one of the best meals we had the whole trip. Did you know that young grapes are all green at first, and then turn color around late August? Both of the two vineyards we visited said that they pick the grapes sometime in early October, and the decision happens quickly. The pickers have to wait on hand and be called basically at a moment’s notice. Seeing how much work goes into just one bottle of wine was very eye-opening. It’s an art, and a labor of love.

Arezzo

We loved this little town/city close to home! We never made it to Siena, but have been told that Arezzo is very similar (and some like it even better because there is more to do). We went to Arezzo three different times. We saw the beautiful frescoes by Giorgio Vasari, explored the famous shopping street, Corso Italia, and had several meals on the medieval Piazza Grande with all their coat of arms insignias hanging everywhere. Fun fact, did you know that parts of the movie Life is Beautiful were filmed here? Also, it was just about the only time we saw a salad on a menu. Note to readers: Italians don’t really do salads. We are big salad eaters and definitely missed our fresh greens.

San Gimignano

We finally said goodbye to the villa and to our houseguests on day nine and packed our car to travel west towards the Mediterranean. On our way, we stopped in San Gimignano, the town of towers. This walled city was so cool, but it was really crowded with busloads of tourists. We actually were able to find off-the-path roads, though, and we even found a restaurant with a free table that was jazz-themed. Our server was an artist whose paintings were hanging in between the black-and-white photographs. There is also this really cool miniature model of the city that was displayed in a hidden shop. We learned that the towers were not used for any purpose in battle, it was just a contest of riches – who could build the tallest tower! It was actually a perfect last place to visit before traveling to the coast. The contrast from old, monochromatic stone structures to colorful, limestone houses in Lucca!

Lucca

Ahh, Lucca. We loved this walled city so very much. Driving west towards the Mediterranean, we noticed the topography changing from hilly to more flat. It was about a 2 hour drive from San Gimignano, and we only had one car at this point which was packed with way too much luggage, so everyone was cranky. We passed some mountains that looked like big, white chunks were taken out of them. We learned later that Lucca is near Carrara, famous for their white marble, so we passed some of their quarries and caves! I wish we had known beforehand and had stopped to take a tour, but it was so cool nonetheless.

Arriving in Lucca is very magical. There is this giant wall around the city, so big that it is also a park where residents and vacationers can go for a run, ride their bikes, walk their dogs, and look down at the city’s streets and colorful buildings. You drive through a big gate to enter, and then as a tourist, you have to park your car in one of the parking garages around the exterior. We rolled our luggage to our AirBnb apartment, which was not far, and were pleasantly surprised that it had air conditioning! It was in a perfect location, and we immediately went out to walk around and explore.

The streets are all cobblestone with very few cars. You can walk around the whole city in less than an hour, and every turn you make onto a new street brings a new color or texture or cute shop. We climbed the Torre Guinigi which has trees at the top and another impressive view of the terra cotta roofs and the wall in the distance. We visited the most amazing oval Piazza dell’Anfiteatro many times as it was filled with restaurants and shops and at night it looks and feels like you’re on a movie set with the lights and colors and sounds. We found our favorite pizza of the whole trip (and maybe ever) at Dante e Gentucca. If you ever go, get a slice and sit on the church steps across from the shop. Did you know Puccini was born in Lucca? They have a Puccini concert every night in the church across from the pizzeria! We also found our favorite vintage shop called Mi Casa with a mirror I wanted so badly, but it was too expensive to ship. There is the Lucca Summer Music Festival which happened to feature Bob Dylan when we were there. I see a destination concert in our future.

Tellaro

On our third day in Lucca, we took a 40-minute drive to the coast to a town called Tellaro. Our original plan was to drive to Cinque Terre and walk the five towns. But it was 94 degrees Fahrenheit by now, and it was a Saturday, so the property manager of our apartment, Manuel who was incredibly helpful, said that he did not recommend in any way to go to Cinque Terre. He said you will hate it. If it was me, I would have gone anyway. I mean, when would I ever be this near to a place I have dreamed about visiting for a decade (and might have planned the trip around)? But it was five of us, and the other four considered it a warning and I didn’t have the energy to convince them otherwise. Manuel suggested instead that we drive to a non-touristy, locals-only beach town that he promised would be just like any of the towns in Cinque Terre but without the crowds. That is how we ended up in Tellaro.

It turned out to be one of our best and most memorable experiences. And Manuel was right, not a tourist in sight, other than us. Parking was a bit of an issue, but once we found a spot, we walked down the one street all the way to the bottom and found the ocean. There was a rock quarry with a shallow walk-in that was good for families with little kids, and then we walked a little further along the path and found big rocks where people laid out towels and carefully (the rocks were slippy) crept into the water. Turns out this spot was called Gro. There was a gorgeous metal sign, but I forgot to take a photo. Grace and Nate climbed up even bigger rocks and jumped off. The Mediterranean was absolutely gorgeous, from the color to the temperature to the vibe. Just heavenly. Do I wish we had seen Cinque Terre? Yes. But I don’t regret our choice, and now I will just have to go back!

T-shirt Printing

I hand-cut a rubber stamp and printed t-shirts for everyone on the trip (see my video here on Instagram). It was actually a fairly unsuccessful printing project. I should have used linoleum, but instead used rubber because I had it on my shelf, but it was too soft and didn’t hold the ink well. Someday I will try it again and write a whole post about it. But for now, here are some photos of the process and us wearing them!

That’s a wrap on our amazing Italy trip! I will be back to add in my color palette collages which I am still working on. Let me know if this post inspired you to travel to any of these places!

xo, Bar

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Did you like this post? Here are some more places we have traveled as a family:

Family Holiday to Martha’s Vineyard

Our Amsterdam Bike Trip with Kids

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14/04/2025
Egg Carton Mushrooms – ARTBAR

On New Year’s Eve day I was scrolling through Instagram and saw this post for @ingthings whereby she shared some little mountains she knit for friends that were coming over because in Austria, it’s tradition to give little good luck trinkets for the new year. Well, that was the spark I needed to make a little craft table for our friends coming over for NYE — it was time to make lucky egg carton mushrooms!

I’ve always wanted to make these and lord knows I have enough egg cartons, thanks to my repurpose-everything nature (I am not a hoarder, I am not a hoarder). Let me show you how easy these are to make!

See the video on my Instagram post.

[ I am a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for bloggers to earn small fees at no cost to you by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. ]

Supplies needed for Egg Carton Mushrooms:

~ Egg cartons (I used 3 to make 36 mushrooms)

~ Xacto knife

~ Scissors

~ Hot glue gun

~ Rigatoni and/or Corks

~ Acrylic paints

~ Brushes

How to make Egg Carton Mushrooms:

1. First, cut the peaks off of the egg cartons using the exact knife. These will become the stems, or they can become the mushrooms (or trees as my kids called them). You won’t have enough of these peaks for all the stems which is why I also used rigatoni and corks.

2. Cut up all the cups and trim them down.

3. Paint the tops white. This is optional, but egg cartons are made from paper pulp and are spongy so they absorb the first layer. I just wanted the colors to be really bright, but you can skip this step if you don’t mind colors being a little more muted (not really by much). Tell your guests who may have never mixed colors before to add a little white so that the color is more creamy and opaque.

4. Hot glue all the tops to the stems.

5. Set them out with paints and palettes or paper plates, glasses of water and paper towel for dabbing.

TIP: I also printed out some colorful mushroom photos and left them on the table for inspiration. I wanted to spark people’s imaginations that they don’t all need to be red!

We had a few takers on NYE but then my own kids really got into them on New Year’s Day and even the following weekend. Since they are teens and young adults now, of course they made it into a competition “which one will mom like better” which was hilarious and amazing and the best way to start 2024. My heart is full.

Share your mushrooms with me on Instagram if you make them!

xo Bar

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Did you like this post? Here are some more repurposed DIY ideas:

Paper Luminaries

Coffee Filter Wall Hanging

Heart Stamps from Craft Foam

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13/04/2025
Mixed-Media Exploration with Wood – ARTBAR

Hello! It’s been a while. I have been working so much on The Creativity Project that it’s been hard to find the time to write over here on Art Bar. But I have things to share! As you know, I have been facilitating open-studio classes at our local library over the past year (I’ve written about them and you can scroll to the bottom for links), and I have grown and learned so much from those experiences. I really want to write a book (not really but sort of) about setting up open-ended community art events that appeal to multi-ages and cultivate a new mindset around what childhood art experiences can (and should) look like. Including parents in these library events has been such an important part of the process because that’s really where the work needs to be done. Changing grownup mindsets to giving children the freedom to make their own choices, and seeing them as artists who are capable of having good ideas and playing with materials on their own — even if they end up abandoning what they start or simply participate by observing. Just giving children room to be who they are and develop confidence knowing that grownups trust their choices (easier said than done because grownups are used to making choices for their children). This is actually a lot of the same work that Shannon and I do at TCP — mindset shifts for teachers in prioritizing creativity and giving children opportunities for authentic choice-making.

In September I brought this approach to a local early childhood program to work with 5-7yr olds in their beautiful art barn. Today I’m sharing about the day I brought wood scraps, magazine clippings, and a collection of other materials that children could use along with the wood (all inspired by my brilliant friend Samara at Purple Twig from this post and this event). I offered this experience twice — once at the library, too — and each time was a little different. I’ll tell you about the school experience first, then the library. But first, the materials.

[ I am a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for bloggers to earn small fees at no cost to you by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. ]

Materials for mixed-media exploration with wood:

~ Wood scraps (collected from local high school wood shop)

~ Elmer’s glue (next time I will use wood glue)

~ Liquid watercolor

~ Jars and brushes

~ Oil pastels

~ Scissors

~ Magazine clippings (I used mostly home and garden magazines to spark architecture, design, and landscape ideas)

~ A collection of wooden cabinet handles (I had about 40 from my old cabinets, they were used up pretty quickly)

~ Smaller collage materials to build with like: bottle tops, corks, cardboard pieces, egg carton pieces

~ Other collage material: buttons, puzzle pieces

~ Yarn pieces cut into about 18-inch lengths (I love to add a soft element when working with lots of hard materials so children can get a variety of textures)

Setting out materials for mixed-media exploration with wood:

I put a lot of thought into which materials will work best together and spark enough interest without feeling overwhelming. There was only so much I could fit on these small tables because four children had to also sit there and have enough space to work. This school has a wonderful art teacher who suggested on this day that we create a buffet for all of the materials so children could “shop” for what they want. I loved this idea, and the children did too! I put a small selection of things on the table to start, but most of the materials were set out on the buffet and replenished. You can see the buffet on the far end of the space by the window in the 2nd picture down from the top (two above here), and you can also see the plastic box on the floor which was full of wood pieces to choose from. I had another box of wood pieces that I used to refill as the children worked.

Preparing for a mixed-media wood exploration

Wood: At this school I see 60 children in 4 groups and they each have half an hour, so I need a lot of materials plus extras just in case a child has a very big idea they want to execute. I don’t want to limit anyone’s ideas. I prepared one big wood base for each child. Some of the “big” bases were just a long strip and if I did this again I would make sure I had a bigger rectangle for everyone. Some children really wanted to build their structure up and the small bases made their structures unstable which was a little frustrating. I think if we had used wood glue it would have helped. I then prepped another 300 pieces (sanded them) about 5 per child. I wagered that some children would use many and some would use one or two since I was also offering so many other materials to play around with. As it turned out, I had only about 20 small pieces left so I was relieved my bet paid off.

Paint: Liquid watercolor is the best to use with wood. I usually limit the palette to warms or cools so that they can be layered on top of each other and not get mucky, but on this day we ran out of time so we just poured a few colors into palettes and set out a jar of water. If I did this again I would have prepped some jars beforehand and put brushes in the jars. It would have saved some space and a little of the mess.

Compatible materials: I have a pretty extensive collection of recycled and collected materials. I ask my community on our local Facebook page all the time if I’m looking for something specific and they always come through. I actually asked for home and architecture magazines and now I have an entire milk crate worth to choose from. The magazine where I found all the best images for this project is Dwell. I also cut up some maps which I collect whenever I can find them. Recently my son and I visited UVM when looking at colleges and they had a whole map display in their student center with maps of Vermont and all of the ski mountains. So just keep your eyes open when you are traveling.

Observations: While I did spend one minute before each group telling them about the materials that I brought in and all of the possible ways in which they could be used (wood can be painted, glued, collaged; make sure to use a sturdy base when building up; there is no wrong way to use the materials it’s really up to you and your ideas) I don’t normally spend time introducing materials in this way. When I am just there once a month, and for only 25 minutes for each group, I don’t want to waste any time and I trust that the children (ages 5-7) will all have their own unique ideas about how to use the materials. But the art teacher does it this way, and asked me to please spend a minute on the rug introducing everything. There is nothing wrong with this and in fact, if I had a class that I saw every day, I might occasionally spend some time talking about materials in this way. But in my practice, I see myself as more of a facilitator, not a teacher. Not only do I want to be careful about influencing them, I am also just curious and excited to see the children’s ideas because without a doubt their ideas are always better than my own. These experiences are as much a learning time for me as they are for them. And I find that the best way to get to know children and their interests and to foster a safe space that reflects each child and their lived experience is by simply letting them play and getting down on their level to listen to their stories and ideas. If they need help I am there to lend a hand. But they are the artists and I really don’t want to limit them in any way.

Looking at these photos, you can see the wide variations of ideas and execution. Every one of those 60 children was experiencing flow. The time went by in a heartbeat — they could have all worked for an hour — and they felt very proud and excited about their pieces. And I felt so inspired, too! These children were very capable and many of them built quite elaborate structures with many pieces (you will see this contrast with the day I offered these same materials at the library). They often walked around and looked at each other’s creations and became inspired to add more to theirs. They loved shopping at the buffet which also was a place where children talked about materials and how they were going to use them. I overheard children say they were building a stage for the Rockettes, a pirate ship, a motion sensor, a video game, a vacuum, and an obstacle course. Many of them were making something for their mom. One child who spent his time covering single wood pieces with magazine images so that he had about 6 or 7 separate pieces said that they were for his mom because she loves beautiful things. It’s hard to imagine these stories, innovations, and iterations happening if the children had been guided through a project.

Mixed-media exploration with wood at the library:

Bringing these materials and setting them up for my community library event went a little bit differently. First of all, it’s a two-hour timeframe and I usually have about 20-30 children coming through, so a lot less materials and a much slower pace. Children can range from age 2 to teen, but usually they are between 3-10. I make a very basic sign because children are with their parents and parents usually want to know what they are supposed to do. I keep it very open-ended and I hope that the parents are going to let their children take the lead. What I do love though is when parents are also making their own art beside their child.

Children did a lot less building and more painting and collating. They also left their work to wander to other tables and then came back to add more when they saw a new material on the table. I love the child who found the sandpaper in the bin of wood pieces and used that in her bathroom collage. The painted wooden pieces below were all left behind, and I have the surfboard headboard pieces propped up on my bookshelf.

I believe that anyone can gather materials and set them out for children in an open-ended way. You don’t have to feel like you need to be “creative” or “artsy” to do this, you just need to believe that this time for creative exploration and discovery is vital in childhood. My wish is that all art in early childhood, from preschool through early elementary, only offer open-ended, process art experiences. They develop so much confidence, and it’s so exciting to see what children can imagine and build, how they share their ideas with others and collaborate, build empathy, find their voice, and grow into future innovators who think about how they can make the world a better place.

xx, Bar

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Did you like this post? Here are 3 more open-ended exploration ideas:

Open-ended collage experience with leaves and textiles

Open-ended exploration of liquid watercolor with flower inspiration

Open-ended exploration with egg cartons, paint, and collage.

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13/04/2025
Harris Walz Collagraph Prints – ARTBAR

If you know me at all or follow me anywhere, you know that I have strong guiding principles which I live by. None stronger than leading with love. Radical love is my north star, not that I am perfect, but I try and frame everything and respond to everything with that lens. This makes it easy for me to choose where my vote goes. As Jen Hatmaker writes, “We head into the voting booth with one of two mindsets: fear or love.” There is no perfect candidate, but I choose the ones who will fight for all the people and not just their own self-interest; who will protect women’s rights, marriage equality, voting rights, our earth. I hate politics, but it can’t be ignored. Art is my way of expressing hope for the future. If you are like-minded and inspired by these handmade prints, I am selling them in my Etsy shop. All proceeds will be donated to support these and other Democratic candidates.

[ I am a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for bloggers to earn small fees at no cost to you by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. ]

Supplies used to make collagraph prints:

~ Sticky back foam sheets

~ Good scissors

~ X-acto knife

~ Piece of flat cardboard

~ Printmaking paper

~ Printmaking ink (I used Blick but Speedball also good)

~ Brayers

~ Non-porous trays/surface for inking

How to my typography-based collagraph prints:

1. First rule of typographical prints: you are creating a mirror image. This means, all letters and words are backwards. So check your spelling! (*I’ve made this mistake too many times, including this time.*)

2. I designed the typography on my computer. However you design yours, the next step is to use a pencil to make a thick, heavy outline of each letter.

3. Turn the paper over and trace the letters onto the foam, hopefully leaving a clear enough outline for cutting.

4. Cut your letters using good, sharp scissors. If they are really small, you might have to use an X-acto knife. You will definitely need one to cut out the inside of the letters.

5. I measured and use pencil marks on the cardboard before sticking down the letters. The sticky-back foam makes it easy to peel-and-stick.

6. Cut down your paper. I tore mine using a heavy ruler. You can use cardstock that is already the correct size and skip this step. Just make sure your paper is bigger than your “printing plate.”

7. Roll out the ink with the brayers. I added a little white just to brighten the color. I added a dash of purple and a dash of orange to the bright yellow just to both mute and warm the hue. You want a sticky sound when rolling. Not too much ink. In fact this was too much ink when I first started. I had to wipe some off. You don’t need much, just cover the roller completely and evenly.

8. Roll the ink onto the foam. This part is tricky since I used three colors. Using one color is much easier. You might want to protect the cardboard around the raised foam that you are inking with a piece of flat paper. The roller can/probably will roll some ink onto the cardboard and that can/probably will transfer to the paper. In my opinion, it’s ok because that is the nature of printmaking, especially in this very rudimentary way. But if you are selling them or just don’t want those smudges, take the extra step in protecting the cardboard.

9. Lay your paper on top. I drew pencil marks to outline where the paper should go, which is kind of a must. Press down for a while, gently rubbing the back of the paper and feeling the letters underneath. Then slowly pull your print. The first few prints were bad, and usually are. The ink was too goopy. I started getting good prints around the 3rd or 4th run. I had to cut the ink way down.

10. After I finished all the good paper, I used cut-up old maps to print on. I love the way these look. Unfortunately, if you look closely, I messed up this entire first batch. I did not follow my rule of double/triple checking the backwards spelling, and I transposed two letters in PEOPLE. The bad news is that I used all the map paper and couldn’t use any for my second run after I fixed the letters. The good news is now we have another inside family joke. Not a day goes by that we don’t say “For the Poeple” to each other (we pronounce that like Edgar Allen Poe-ple).

Here is a short reel on Instagram on the making of these prints. I only have 18 available in my Etsy shop!

xo Bar

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Do you like collagraph printmaking? Here are some more ideas:

Printmaking with wooden blocks

Block printing with styrofoam

Potato printing

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12/04/2025
Homemade Upcycled Crayons – ARTBAR

The idea for these homemade upcycled crayons came from a search I was doing for my newsletter. I was trying to find some fresh sources — blogs that I didn’t know about (which is hard to imagine since I’ve been blogging for 12 years and blogs are becoming a dying breed), but guess what? I found one that I didn’t know about! It’s called Paper & Stitch and they have so many cool DIY ideas. Their crayon gems caught my eye, they really know how to style and photograph their projects. But I wanted to make crayon sticks because I feel like the round ones are hard to use. Commence search for silicone molds!

There was a lot to think about, like do I want a pointed tip? How long should they be? Will they break easily? Who will be using these, and how? I landed on these chocolate stick candy molds and they are good enough. I thought they might make crayons that were too thin, but they are chunky without being too block-y. Each crayon takes about 3 upcycled crayons so they are sturdier than the originals. Ideally, I would make something a bit rounder and easier to hold, but I think this is the best solution with what’s available.

[ I am a participant in affiliate programs designed to provide a means for bloggers to earn small fees at no cost to you by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. ]

Supplies needed to make homemade crayons:

~ Crayons with papers peeled off (I like to soak overnight in water first. Some papers come off really easily, while others take some scraping. It helps to have an X-acto knife to cut down the paper wrapper for an easier to start peeling off the tricky ones.) I like using Crayola because some off-brand crayons don’t even melt, which you will see below.

~ Silicone mold (you can use anything, there are so many to choose from! I used this one)

~ Paring knife (optional, read to find out why I used one)

How to make homemade crayons:

1. After you have peeled all your crayons, sort them into color families. You can also use one color per crayon, but I wanted each crayon to have a variety of shades and hues in one family. Some crayons are so dark you can’t tell if they are black or navy or burgandy, so have scratch paper nearby. (FYI – I made solid black and solid white crayons.)

TIP: If you see some paper still on the crayons, you can just scratch it off with your nail.

2. Break the crayons up into small pieces (you can use scissors if you hand gets tired or if the pieces are too big). Above was my first try at filling the molds. It turned out not to be enough so I dropped some extra pieces in and returned it to the oven for a few more minutes. Below was my second set and it was a little bit too much. You will have to play around with the right balance, but I would say better too much than too little.

3. Put the mold on an old cookie tray and place it in the oven, heated to 300F for about 10-12 minutes or until everything has melted. You will smell the wax and it may even be a little smokey inside the oven. (Using the microwave did not work for me, but mine is old so you can try that method.)

You can see above how some of the crayons didn’t melt. I don’t know why, but I assume it’s some cheaper brands. It’s fine, I just trimmed them down with the knife.

TIP: When taking the melted wax tray out of the oven, make sure you have a surface nearby and ready to set down the tray. You will have to move very carefully and slowly so the wax doesn’t run off the sides too much. (Tips on how to clean the mold and tray below.)

4. Let the wax cool, I waited about an hour, and then pop the crayons out. If you underfill or fill the molds just right you won’t need to trim them. If you overfill then you can break off the extra on the sides but you might need to use the paring knife to clean them up. But there is another reason I used the paring knife.

When melting down the old crayons, the pigment can sink to the bottom a little and leave a thin layer of wax that is clear-ish. I used the paring knife to cut that part off because it would be frustrating for a child to use and not see any color on the paper. I’ve read that maybe heating at a lower heat can avoid this, so maybe try a 250F oven. I didn’t try this because I kind of liked the paring part, I’m weird that way.

You can see above some of the yellow crayon bits that didn’t melt. I kind of like the chunks.

TIP: Cover your table in paper so you can roll it up and throw it away. Doing this project on a dropcloth made cleanup harder because the wax clippings got stuck in the cloth.

5. Cleanup tips: I did not take photos of this part, but the silicone mold will be crusted with whatever color you melted after taking out the crayons. You will have to clean it well before setting in a new color. I cracked most of the remnants off by just folding the mold up and shaking it out. I also used my nail to scratch some bits off, and then washed it with soapy water. Make sure all the wax chunks go in the garbage, not the drain. Also, to clean the cookie sheet I poured some boiling water on it and then used paper towel to wipe it down. Again, all of it goes into the garbage, not the sink.

This DIY is quite time-consuming, so it’s not for everyone. If you want something a little easier I would try the small shape molds. But there was something so satisfying about this process for me, I just really loved it. I am thinking about how I can mass-produce these, so if anyone has any ideas I’m all ears!

Enjoy!

xx Bar

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Did you like this post? Here are some more ways to make your own art materials:

Color Mixing with Tempera Paints

Color Mixing Skin Tones with Tempera Paint

Color Mixing with Liquid Watercolor

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12/04/2025