Drawing Day-June 4

Grab your favorite drawing utensil and get sketching!  Today is the day to pick up a new drawing habit.   I’m sure we all have our favorite drawing medium, but here are a few ideas that my kids have enjoyed over the years.  About 6 years ago my son, Jake, began his true interest in drawing.  He was just 5 years old.  We used to line one of the walls in the basement with butcher paper and I would tie crayons to a string and hang them in front of the paper.  It became a perpetual picture that he would add to day after day.  As my kids grew older they would draw while I cooked dinner.  They would always ask me what they could draw.  I finally came up with the idea to create a sketch and journal jar.

It's a Ringer!

They loved it and could draw pictures and journal to their heart's content.  I found that they would take the jar in the car and that perhaps I should come up with a more compact way for them to bring it, so I developed two products. The Sketch It and Journal It are sketch and journal prompts on a ring.  They are easy to stuff in a bag or pocket and accompanied with a journal or sketch pad make the perfect gift.  You can purchase your on Sketch It or Journal It by contacting Mulberry Creek Embellishments at the right.

Okay, we all have the problem of what to do with the kid's art work, right?  One of my friends came up with a great idea and she photographs her kid's artwork and makes a scrapbook of photos.  It is more compact than saving it all.  I had a blank wall upstairs and decided to buy random sized frames and frame their drawings and artwork.  We change it out and the kids have a great time selecting what will be on display next.

Are your kids into duct tape crafts yet?  You can find all sorts of fun patterns at Wal-mart, Michaels and Hobby Lobby.  My daughter, Maddie, made this super fun duct tape flower pencil.  It's super easy very cute.

First you cut several duct tape rectangles.      

Then fold one corner over so there is still tape revealed.

Simply make several of these and wrap them around the eraser side of the pencil to form a rose.

Another fun thing to do with a child of any age is rainbow crayons.  Take 5 or 6 of their favorite crayons, rubber band them together, and let them draw on paper.  It forms a nice rainbow of colors.  They can practice their name, just scribble, or draw a picture.

One last idea, and then I'm off to draw......

Be Green.  Take and old muffin tin or other mold and melt old, broken crayons at 300 degrees for about 8-10 minutes.  You can only melt Crayola brand crayons.  Other crayons will not smoothly melt.  However, you can add them to the melted Crayola's for a 3-D effect. 

Happy Drawing Day, 2011.  Have fun with the kids today.  Let us know what fun things you do to make drawing interesting.