A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Art

Children’s Craft Books

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It is wintertime and therefore the time to spend time with friends and family indoors, or to broaden one’s studies with making crafts to round out your studies.   I thought it was about time for me to share with you some of the children’s craft books we have used and/or reviewed over the years. 

Affiliate links will be used. 

Children's Craft Books

Children’s Craft Books from My Shelves

Over the years, I have collected arts and crafts books from all over the place.  Thrift stores, yard sales, gifts from friends and families.  I simply adore many of the OLD arts/crafts books as they don’t tend to require specialty items.   Don’t you just adore crafts that you can simply from what you have at hand?

Children's Craft Books

I have a great collection of come to me used books.  Papercraft, woodcrafts, gifts to make, and lots of eclectic books. 

The oldest book I have is this McCalls Golden book called “Do it Book”.  It has probably seen the most use in our house.  Old crafts that are just interesting to do.   From cities to build, to bears to sew and stuff, to projects to paint.  Masks to make, circuses to create, with templates and ideas galore.   When I got it you could tell how well-loved it was, I had to scratch away some paint!  🙂   Imagine my surprise when I found it on amazon yet!  

Most of my books are not that old though.  The complete book of arts and crafts is probably one of the youngest books and is great for children 5-9 years old.  Paper, painting, wood, nature, holidays, toys and sewing.  All sorts of activities to inspire the creative mind. 

Specialty books like Geography, woodcraft and papercraft help to enhance skills or knowledge in a given area. 

Adventures in Art has a wide variety of art projects that we used in our worldwide explorations.  

children's craft books

Review Books you shouldn’t miss

What makes a review book on arts and crafts stand out for me and make it to my art shelf? 

Needs to contain at least one of the following, preferrably more.

  • encourage thinking outside the box and not merely be about copying the idea presented  
  • teach necessary skills
  • to be somewhat out of the box (such as using duct tape)
  • provide variety

Books that have met that criteria.  I have linked them to my review. 

What about You?

How about you?   What children’s craft books would you recommend?  Do you have favourites or special things you watch for in your craft books for your children?

January 2021

Want to Learn Art?

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Art, it’s a wonderful part of the life don’t you find?   Today I am focusing on visual arts like drawing, painting, sculpting and what not.   Things you look at and make with your hands, feet or mouth.  🙂   Not everyone does art the same way do they?   So if you want to learn art, here are some places to go.

Want to Learn Art?

Art for Elementary School

Created by A Net in Time
Want to Learn Art?
created by A Net In Time

Art for Middle School

 

Want to Learn Art?
Created by A Net in Time

Art For High School

Book Reviews you might want to check out

I adore the 642 Things to draw series.  I’ve reviewed a few of them and think they are fantastic for inspiring conversation and imagination over an art prompt idea. You will find one review here. And another here.  Grab up a couple of drawing pages, sit down and draw.  Talk about how an art prompt inspired you.  Laugh, be amazed, and just draw.

Want to Learn Art?

Draw, Print, Paint like the Great artists continues to be a favourite of mine.  And this Zentangles book made for a really fun class at HOPE days that I would happily do again.  I had a series of How to Draw books that we used for ideas when stuck.  Fine Art Adventures was a great book as well that we have used. You must check out this Doll Crafts book as well.  So many great ideas for making dolls!  Don’t fail to check out the Get into Art Places book.  These are just a few of the great books I’ve been honoured to review. 

If you want to learn art, there are so many ways to do so.  🙂

fresh start

SchoolhouseTeachers has over 20 art classes as well as many art components mixed into her other courses. Some of the teachers are Art Achieve, Jan Bower, Everyday Easels, Inkscape and Studio for Teens. Do check out their amazing deal.  $5 for a month of art?  Videos and on-line lessons.  Access wherever you go. It’s a great deal eh?  Get all your school needs met in one place. 

And do some art!

Want to Learn Some Specifics?

The Art of Gardening

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Do you recall my post from a couple of weeks ago?  I talked about what’s been keeping me busy lately?   Well seeing as it’s Wednesday I and normally (when I have arty type books) do an art post, I figured gardening is another type of an art form isn’t it?  At least the art of gardening seems real to me.

The art of Gardening

I’ve been busy moving gardens around.  They used to be vertical to the rabbitry but I found that didn’t leave me a lot of space for when I do a major clean up.  Easy for me to trip and fall.  I thought I’d move them horizontal and see how much room that left me.  TONS more room!  🙂

So here’s the old way they were set up looking out from the rabbitry.

The art of Gardening

And the new way I have them set up, again looking out from the rabbitry. 

The art of Gardening

What I’ve ended up giving myself is an extra two feet for maneuvering rabbitry items in and out.   I have goals to rearrange where the mice are, and where our pet rabbit Wafer’s cage are but that will take time, some figuring out and room to move.   That bare patch of dirt below is the room I gained, isn’t it great?

The art of Gardening

You may have noticed those white barrels.  My goal is to paint them some lovely colour (whatever is recycleable paint cans) at some point, probably not til late August for me to get that done.  These three above hold my mint.  I think it will make them more containable!  Mint spreads fast if you let it. 

The art of Gardening

Art of gardening

This is my newest bed, well okay, perhaps not my NEWEST bed, but it’s my “make me smile” bed.  Buttercups, allium, irises, lilies and daisy type flowers.  They make my heart smile when they flower.  Isn’t that what art does?  Make a heart smile?  Gardening does it for me.

And of course my metal chicken!   I have other garden things to put in here yet, but just haven’t gotten them in yet from my original perennial bed.   My mom gave me those green chickens that are hidden under a coreopsis plant.  Brilliant yellow flowers will come out in July (if this wet weather ever goes away).

The art of Gardening

I used to have a lovely BIG rooster in my perennial bed. But chicken met active boys and unfixable damage happened so I lost that lovely big rooster.  I was rather sad but accidents happen when boys are having fun, apologies happened and life moves on.  Someday I hope to replace him.   

IGNORE the weeds PLEASE!   I haven’t gotten to them yet, but do enjoy my purple allium.  Isn’t it lovely?  🙂

Behind the perennial bed I have my fruit bushes.  Gooseberry, black currant and goji berry.  I am hopeful this year to get more than TWO goji berries. They do have a lovely taste. If they don’t start producing better I’ll be getting rid of them.  I’ll give them this year and next to prove themselves. A friend told me I have berries coming, so maybe I need to yell at the squirrels and birds faster.  🙂   My red currants are on the other side of the yard.  Bigger bushes so they need more room to spread out.

Next Project

The art of Gardening

I’m actually divided on what my next project is.  The biggest part of me wants to move these three small gardens and then move the pond up two feet and three feet longer.   I’ve done a bit of research on how to make a better pond and want to put that knowledge to work. 

BUT then again, I have a front bed that needs some rather significant work on it. I’m kinda wondering if that will need to wait until the fall though.  Bushes to move, new ones to start.  If I bend down a branch and weight it on the ground I can start a new bush and kill off the old one…. the original is too close to the house. I want the bush, but not the work of digging it all up, so if I can get a new one growing then I have less work overall.   

So overall I think pond and small gardens first.  Oh that reminds me.. I need to bring my dahlias up out of the basement! 

I have convinced out bumble bee to let me move her home (hence the bare patch in-between the gardens).  She didn’t sting me when I moved her home and I’ve seen her going in and out from where I moved her hollow log too, so that was a huge YAY for me.  🙂

The art of Gardening - pond frog

This fellow here is a big part of my reason to change up our pond.  I want to make a deeper end so that we can put in water lilies and other pond plants.  I want to encourage dragonflies, water striders, frogs, toads and other such critters to come hang out. It doesn’t need to be pretty (though that would be nice) but it mostly needs to be inviting. Right now our goldfish & catfish are happy, but I want more critters.  I also love the moss growing. I have NO CLUE why, but it makes me happy so it stays. 

Did you know that SchoolhouseTeachers. com has a huge selection are gardening helps? Free organizers, copywork, colouring pages, and plant observations pages as well as member only resources for square foot gardens, raised beds, sensory gardens, designs for garden containers and so much more.  It’s remarkable the number of resources they have.  I may have my lad work through some of it to get a horticultural credit. 

schoolhouse

Builds By The Lad

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builds by the lad

Nerfed Sniper Rifle. This thing works amazingly well! It shoots really far and accurately. Took him a day thinking, permission to rework his marshmallow shooter and a day’s solid labour.

Nerfed sniper rifle

His shield, which I just think is amazing. This project took him about a week from start to finish.

shield

He’s also made this highly accurate crossbow. It took him a long time to make it. This is the second one he’s made and you could tell that he learned a lot from the first one. Better cordage, better shafts and a more accurate trigger system. It’s well made and he won a first place with his cadet corp.

crossbow

The lad asked me today why I take pictures of the things he builds. I said “it’s cause I’m proud of you”.

His response what that he doesn’t want everyone knows all his business. He DID give me permission to do ONE post but I’m not to share it everywhere and make a big deal about it. 🙂 He also doesn’t want it on facebook and what not. I’ve gotta respect his business right? 🙂

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The New Jumbo Book of Easy Crafts

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Looking for easy to make crafts for a variety of ages?   Enter in The New Jumbo Book of Easy Crafts.  150 crafts of a wide variety to entertain and educate the children and youth in your life. 

The New Jumbo Book of Easy Crafts give you over 150 crafts to choose from.   With clear step-by-step instructions, crafts organized into four themed sections, and detailed colourful illustrations, even the littlest hands can make a big impression. 

Four sections divide up the 150 crafts provided in this book.

  • Imagine and Create
  • Wear and Use
  • Make and Play
  • Decorate and Celebrate

Imagine and Create contains crafts such as wiggling caterpillar, egg-cup chick and rock painting.   

Wear and Use gives us pasta jewelry, magic wands and decorated baskets. 

Make and Play gives us sock sacks, marble mazes, puzzles, folded frog puppets and much more. 

Decorate and Celebrate allows us to make decorated eggs, doily angels, paper cutouts and party favours. 

Clear materials lists and instructions makes the completion of each craft a breeze.  The full colour pictures put words into image helping to reinforce each step to the completion of a successful craft. 

Clear materials lists and instructions makes the completion of each craft a breeze.  The full colour pictures put words into image helping to reinforce each step to the completion of a successful craft. 

My Thoughts

I like this book!  The sheer variety of crafts available and the ease of use make this book a keeper in my eyes.  Judy Ann Sadler did an excellent job of putting these crafts together, and Caroline Price’s illustrations brought it all very much to life.   The only thing I would have liked would have been to see actual photographs of the finished craft. 

Crafts that I want to do… button puppy!  It’s too cute!  Bead buddies intrigues me for a doll class I still want to teach.  The Pom-pom bear would just be fun to give a try to, brings back memories of games I used to play with my lad. 

Five Tips for Teaching Yourself Art

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I would love for you to welcome my neice to my blog today! WOOT WOOT! 🙂 Nicole writes over at Inkwyrm about book reviews and writing. I think she does a fantastic job at both. Anyways, she’s looking at selling some of her art work (as a gal’s gotta make a living right?) and I thought, how nice it would be if I could support her efforts! To that end…. Here’s Nicole.

Hello everyone! My name is Nicole K., and Annette asked me to be a guest blogger for today’s post to talk a bit about what I do, so here I am!

I am an artist and writer in Alberta, Canada, and I’ve been doing art all my life. Starting around eight, I began to take my art more seriously. Ever since then I’ve been doing it steadily. I currently do a range of art styles, with my background mostly being pencil and leaning toward realism. My usual is style based off of anime and manga, mostly using ink and alcohol-based markers, with a few other mediums thrown in.

Aside from a stint of lessons when in elementary school (a short stint), and the public school art classes, I am an entirely self-taught artist. Every art skill I have because I sought out the information myself, whether it be through people I knew who were better artists than me, looking up tips online, or through stubborn experimentation.

Today I want to talk about that, and give five tips on teaching yourself art.

Tip #1: The internet is your best friend

You can find just about anything on the internet, and art tips and skills are no exception. Using the powers of google and YouTube have saved me MANY times as I’ve struggled through a piece, from looking for references to looking for ways to keep watercolour paper from wrinkling. Not sure about how to use an art supply? Look it up. Want to know how to do a different type of texture? Look it up.

The internet is your best friend, and there’s no shame in using it.

Tip #2: IT’S OK TO COPY

Speaking of the internet, references are one of the BEST things you could ever use. I’ve heard from people time and again ‘I’m not an artist, I can only copy’, but I say NO to that. Where copying someone’s art and calling it your own is one of the worst things an artist can do, it’s perfectly fine to copy a piece for practice. During my high school years, where I developed most of my current style, all my time was spent copying other people’s work. It’s how I learned proportion, expressions, body language, linework, and SO MANY other things that I apply to every piece I do now.

Don’t know what something looks like? Find a reference online and draw it. Then draw it again from a different reference. The more you copy, the more you understand what you’re drawing, and the better you can do when trying to draw it from memory.

Tip #3: Mistakes are OK

Make mistakes. If you’re not making mistakes, it means you aren’t learning. Mess up, see what went wrong, and use that knowledge for future improvement. Try new things, and don’t be afraid of messing it up. That’s what sketchbooks and scrap papers are for.

Tip #4: Learn to take advice

Understanding that there is always something that can be improved upon is a huge part of learning. You don’t have to follow every piece of advice you get, and you don’t have to listen to every criticism you get. Be willing to listen if somebody points out an issue with your art. Having a critical eye for your own work can be hard when it’s a picture you’re really proud of. Remember that most people who give honest advice aren’t out to get you, they just want to give you a hand and help you improve.

Again, you don’t have to follow all advice you get, and some advice won’t be good, but hear them out anyway. You never know what you might learn.

Tip #5: NEVER tell yourself that you will never be good enough or have no ability.

A couple years ago, I taught an art class at a kid’s summer camp that my church held, and this was the first thing I told my students.

There are few things I hate hearing more than “I’ll never be that good”, or “I’ll never be able to do it”, or “my art sucks and I hate it.”

Guess what? ALL ARTISTS HAVE FELT THAT WAY BEFORE.

Your favourite artist? They’ve felt that. The most successful artists? They’ve felt that.

ALL OF THEM HAVE FELT LIKE THEY CAN’T DO IT.

But you know what they did? They refused to give up. They looked at their art, and instead of saying “I’ll never be able to do it”, they said “I can’t do it yet, but someday I will”.

DON’T. GIVE. UP.

Getting down on your art does nothing. We all have good days and bad days for art, but what matters is getting past the bad days and pushing onward, moving forward even when it’s hard. If you have to, leave a piece for a while and come back with fresh eyes. Relax. Art is supposed to be fun, so have fun with it and stay positive. We’re all in this together.

In Closing

If you are trying to teach yourself art I hope these five tips gave you ideas or a hand up. If you like what you’ve read and seen here, you can find me on my instagram where I post most of my art (@inkwyrm), my facebook page Inkwyrm Art, or check out my own blog Inkwyrm, where I post book reviews and talk about writing.

Thanks Annette for having me as a guest! I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Me adding this information.  My neice is selling Commission pieces of art.  She’s not selling stuff she’s already done (it’s too dear to her heart) BUT if you have something you’d like her to do (like dragons! or your favourite game character or whatever).. give her a shout via her facebook account  or her Instagram (above) and she’ll be happy to work with you.

The pricing is $50 for an original and custom 5×7 piece, of any character you like. This includes drawings of yourself or loved ones. Larger pictures and more characters are available at a higher price. 

365 Days of Drawing

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I have got to tell you about this fantastic review book I received in the mail this week.  365 Days of Drawing.   I LOVE idea books like this.  BUT not only is this an idea book, but it also teaches as well.  How much better could it get eh!?

From the back cover

Get lost in your creativity with 365 Days of Drawing, a thoughtful and inspiring art journal designed to help you carve out moments of self-expression. Lorna shows you that drawing does not have to be scary – it can be done with any materials, in any color, in any style and can be done anywhere.

Each activity has been given a loose category: imagination, tutorial, relaxation, color theory, and observational, so that you can practice a broad range of drawing skills. Each ‘theme’ is designed to expand your creative skills and spark the artist within. With helpful prompts and pages that encourage you to try new materials to draw with, 365 Days of Drawing is guaranteed to stir your imagination and put a little creativity into every single day.

What you Get:

A fantastic resource to help you take moments every day to stir your imagination and draw something new, or learn how to express your creativity even better.   Some of the ideas are simple.  Design your own mugs, draw the perfect circle etc. 

Yet others teach: make a colour wheel, create colour blends, fill a grid with colour using matching colours, discern what colours match a mood, or figure out mood with shading.

And still others take time to work through, allowing you the freedom to learn new techniques or practice a skill.  Blend tones, change a sploch into an art form, or learn to create a 3D object.

My Thoughts

I really, really like this book.  If you are at all creative, this book will be a boon to your spirit, nudging you along, giving you great ideas to work with drawing a flock of birds, doodling your way through triangles, learning to use a gird to expand a picture, look deeply into an object and pull out all the colours you can see, draw a picture by looking into the negative space, or even draw an animal as fast as you can.   So many ideas, you are bound to find a few that appeal, or add a spark to your day. 

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