As parents, as I think even more as homeschooling families, we accumulate a plethora of art projects. And after a while you start to wonder what to do with it all. You don’t feel right tossing it but you certainly don’t want piles of artsy goodness all over the house.

photo courtesy the_toe_stubber

My friend Renae had a post the other day about saving art work and of course a quandary like that just gets my mind going. I have to write a post when I started a mental list of some potential ideas for you to consider. Keep in mind these are the keepers, the best stuff. You don’t have to keep it all, just keep the stuff worth saving and happily toss the rest when the kids aren’t looking.

• Laminate them. Punch holes in the corners and connect them with jump rings to make a curtain of art for a wall or a room divider or to cover a window.
• Laminate them to use as placemats.
• scan for use as a screensaver.
• Use them as wallpaper. Arrange them corner to corner like bricks and attach to the wall with sticky tack. When you want to change it up, just pull them down.
• Mount a piece on heavy cardboard with glue and cut into puzzle pieces. before you cut, make sure to scan it to make putting the puzzle back together a lot easier. Mail it to a relative or friend.
• Make a scrapbook. Google that if you need to know.
• Affix a weighted string to the ceiling and hang art on the string with clips or two magnets stuck together.
• Mail them to your relatives.
• Cut them up for collage or other projects.
• Recycle them. Use a different medium to add to it, trade pictures with siblings and add to the picture.
• Enter them in a contest.
• Use them as story book illustrations.
• Scan them and make T-shirts.
• Use them as story prompts.
• Trade art with another family. Take turns guessing the subject of the piece.
• Hold an art show. Display your art all over the house and invite friends and family. Serve simple snacks and have a short discussion on art appreciation or how to study a painting.
• Scan and print on fabric for use as pillows, quilt squares, tote bags or clothing.
• For 3-D things, take pictures of them. And for smaller things a high shelf or curio cabinet can be a nice place to showcase the best of the best.

I don’t know about you, but when it’s back to school time I can’t resist stocking up on white glue. It was only 5 cents a bottle, after all. But now I have about 20 bottles of it. So what do I do with all this white gluey goodness? (I mean besides letting the kiddos rub it on their skin and peel it off?)

1. Make a relief design art project. Draw with it on paper. Make sure the lines are nice and thick and don’t fill in any spaces. Let it dry overnight. The next day you can place another sheet on top and rub with crayons or colored pencils and create some great rubbings. Try lots of different patterns and you can mix and match for interesting effects.
2. Use it as a resist. Once again, draw a line drawing with the glue in nice thick lines. Let it dry overnight. The next day get out your paints and color in your picture. The colors will stay within the glue lines and you can end up with a great effect that looks a bit like batik.
3. Use it to make play putty for the kids on a rainy day.
4. Make some Papier Mache goodies.
5. Use it like a glue stick. Now isn’t that handy?

Still have some glue left? For even more fun visit here.

Yea it’s museum day! Your family is excited as you all pile in the car. How can you get the most out of your precious time together? Here are some tips to help you enjoy your local art museum to the fullest.

• Go when your family is at their best. for some it’s morning, for others the afternoon. Assess your family’s best time and go then. And remind the kids about the usual–whispering, not touching anything, etc. so they know what to expect, especially if it’s their first time.
• Go on free day. Many museums offer days with free admission. Take advantage.
• Check the schedule. Before you head out the door check the museum’s listing of temporary exhibits. Maybe one fits what you are studying. Mark future exhibits on your calendar so you won’t forget.
• Study a local artist that has work in your museum before you go. Your kids will enjoy the artist’s work much more when they feel connected to the artist. Maybe you can even schedule a studio tour with the artist. It never hurts to call and ask!
• Leave prepared. Have all the stuff you would have wherever you go. Feed the kids. Wear comfy shoes.
• Get a map. Plan out your tour, learn where the bathrooms are (and the fire exits too) and see what’s available for viewing.
• Get a tour from a docent. They will tell you all the interesting tidbits you might never learn otherwise. They are passionate about the museum and will usually offer a great tour.
• Go on a regular basis. You don’t have to see the whole thing at once. Take it in small bites and savor each moment.
• Buy a membership. Membership really does have its privileges. Members have access to private shows, special events, classes and newsletters. And if you are a regular museum goer you’ll save money on admission.
• Plan a visual scavenger hunt. Make a list for the kids to check off, such as “a lady with a hat” or “a piece of fruit” or “a statue of a horse” and let them look for them.
• Don’t skip the gift shop. It’s a great place to pick up unusual gifts. And they almost always have neat things you can use in your homeschool, like sunprinting paper, models and art prints.

Due to personal reasons I have to put the brakes on my handmade books business for the forseeable future. I am giving you all one last chance to get a one-of-a-kind book by moi at a good price. Color choice is mine (to use up my materials) but you may specify light or dark colors.

Optional hard cover binding:

Elizabeth: 5X7 coptic stitch $25

Soft over books:

Mimi: 4X5

Jane: 5X7

Any of these above books are $20, which includes shipping and cute wrapping.

I will take orders only through about July 15, so place your order now. I accept Paypal at hawthornefive at hotmail dot com and please contact me at that address, as these are not Etsy listings but personal ones here.

If you have The Easy French or the Noah Plan Third Grade Lessons and are willing to trade for handmade books, please let me know and we can negotiate a fair price.

In my studies recently I happened upon a type of “notebooking” that was fascinating. It combines two of my favorite things–notebooks and traditional books (which I happen to be passionate about making!). I am such a book geek that I had to learn more.

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines it as:

Commonplace-book, a book in which are registered such facts, opinions or observations as are deemed worthy of notice or remembrance, so disposed that any one may be easily found. Hence common-place as used as an epithet to denote what is common or often repeated, or trite; as a commonplace observation.

It’s taking a topic, such as sewing, literature, a branch of science or cooking and creating your own special book about it. It may include tables or charts, definitions, clippings, quotes, measurements or your observations. Some well known commonplacers included Thomas Jefferson, John Locke and Ben Franklin.  Jonathan Edwards also kept a commonplace book. 

Read more here here and here.

Some modern uses for commonplacing may be for remodeling your home, landscaping or gardening, scrapbooking, reading an important literary work, fiction writing or Bible study. They can be invaluable resources for a life full of learning. And they can become treasures that your kids can fight over after your funeral!

 And of course, I will endeavor to make some commonplace books that are uncommon. If you are interested in a unique commonplace book customized to your special topic, please contact me for details and I’ll make a one of a kind commonplace book you will treasure for years to come. anna at annahawthorne dot com

Anna Hawthorne Studios

In our house we LOVE all things artsy and craftsy, so I thought I would share some links to help you add more arts and crafts to your daily lessons. If you would like to add a link to this list, please share it in the comments section.

Bible

• DLTK
• Making Friends
• Teacher Help
• First School

History

• History for Kids
• Suite 101 printable crafts

Science

• Kids Create
• Science Crafts
• More Science Crafts

Mathematics

• Math Cat’s Math Crafts
• About.com math crafts
• Danielle’s Place math crafts and games
• Tessellations
• Tangrams

Geography

• Enchanted Learning
• Family Fun

Literature and English

• Suite 101
• Preschool: fairy tales
• Language arts crafts

Music

• Enchanted Learning
• About.com
• DLTK Kids
• Kaboose

American Sign Language

• Signing Time
• ASL 4 Kids
• ASL coloring pages

I am having another book sale. My handmade books are fun to give as a gift or to keep for yourself. This sale is a great deal and you’ll be glad you ordered. These books are open spine books bound with a coptic stitch. The pages are blank with lots of pages to journal, take notes, write recipes or whatever you like (see samples of books from my last sale here).

5X8 book: $25

4X4 book: $21

All books are custom made when you order, so no two are alike. Please specify color preference. Also if you would like it personalized, please let me know that too. Prices include shipping (and a surprise goodie thrown in too!). I accept PayPal, personal check or money order. These prices are good through January 15 and then the books go back to their normal prices. Get in on this sale while you can! Contact me to get yours today.

I am an art lover and this is so interesting I had to post about it. A Japanese scientist calculated her bone structure and analyzed the data. See Mona Lisa and DaVinci speak here. Click the box to the right to launch the video. Enjoy!

In art time I had my girls paint a picture. It could be about anything they wanted, so long as it fit the artistic criteria we were studying. What she did made my day.

The picture is a garden, with her family as the flowers. Jesus is watering us with His Word and God is shining down on us with rays of hope. When I asked her to write details about it so we can remember what it was about, I should have specified to write it on the back!

I am so glad to see that she is understanding what we are doing. She is “getting it,” and it is coming out of her even in her free time. Thank you Lord!

BTW, the drawing is in black crayon, the background is in cool colors and the flowers in warm colors. the crayon will keep the colors separate, unless you really go crazy with it. I think it’s lovely.

See my book art page (link on the right) for scans of the books I did from my sale a couple of weeks ago. You will wish you had ordered one. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

If you decide you would like a book for you or someone you love, contact me.