Make a Halloween Poster with Your Kids

I especially enjoy making Halloween paper decorations. For a fun afternoon paper craft project,
how about creating a Halloween poster? I know you can buy all kinds of inexpensive
decorations at your local dollar store. Isn't it much more fun to paint something with the kids?

For the Halloween poster below, I drew a simple scene with a haunted house and ghosts inhabiting it, twisted trees, a witch flying in front of the full moon, bats, and the word "boo". I sketched the design on brown wrapping paper, the kind you use for wrapping packages. I had my grandson help paint
the scene in flourescent paints. After painting the design, we outlined the house, windows, door, and
bats with black paint. Add a black light, and you've got a unique Halloween painting!

Copyright 2013 Fuego Phoenix. All Rights Reserved.

You could use poster board, or watercolor paper as well.

For more creative kids ideas, buy Easy Crafts on a Budget for Kids 4 to 104 here

More Cardboard Picture Frames

We added a couple more cardboard frames for our summer pictures. The "tiled" look is actually
painted to look like old painted wood pieced inside a frame. To create this look, figure out the size of
your frame, cut out the opening for your picture, then figure out what width and depth your tiles will
be. We used 1 inch widths, by 2 inches. After painting your colors, paint brown in between the "tiles" with a fine point paint brush. When the paint has dried, dip a fan paint brush in brown paint, wipe off
any excess and lightly go over certain areas, to create an aged look.


If you prefer a more formal look, you may purchase white picture frames with glass, 
with a small one half inch frame border first, so that you can place your cardboard frames
inside.

This is a great project for kids of all ages.

Copyright c. 2013. Fuego Phoenix. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright c. 2013. Fuego Phoenix. All Rights Reserved.

 

F

For everyday craft projects, check out Easy Crafts on a Budget For Kids 4 to 104 here

Homemade gesso

Update: Homemade modpodge works!

I am beginning work on a design for a huge canvas painting, which
will be 7 feet high by 11.25 feet wide. I priced Gesso to coat the
canvas,  at the local craft store, it is over $25 a gallon (that's the cheap
stuff). I decided to check for a homemade version of gesso.

Just in case you're not familiar with gesso, it's a binder used on
wood and canvas to hold paint so that the wood grain does not
show through the painting, or so the grain of the canvas does
not show through the paint.

 
Guess what??
I found a couple of recipes.  I'll  share them with you, after
I've created and tested them this weekend.

 This homemade gesso can be sanded, holds paint well,
and costs much less than the gesso you buy in art stores.

I'm in the process of drawing out the design for the canvas.
sewing the canvas pieces together, and then adding the
gesso. It's exciting for me to find out how well
homemade gesso works. I'll report back to you.