A Quick and Fun Kids' Art Project

We recently moved, and we haven't yet unpacked our framed photos and art. The barren walls are starting to get to me, so my daughter and I decided to try a new project to add a splash of color to our office. She is homeschooled, so this room also serves as her classroom.

Take a look at the final product:

It fits perfectly in the space above my daughter's new comfy chair, and she did a great job of pulling in all the bright and pretty colors of our new rug.

It was surprisingly easy to do, too! I had picked up a square frame with a built-in mat at a thrift store a couple of years ago. It's been in a closet ever since, and we thought it would be perfect for this project.

What you'll need:

- A 12" x 12" mosaic of unfinished ceramic tile (like this) Note: we also used 4 green glass tiles and they also worked well.
- A frame
- Scissors
- Paint (any kind is fine)
- A clear, protective spray paint
- Paint brushes
- Glue (I prefer Quick Grip glue)
- Tape
- Rags
- A bowl of water for cleaning brushes
- Cardboard or newspaper as a protective surface while painting

How to do it:

Use your scissors to trim the tiles that you'll paint. Try to trim as close to the tile as possible so the edges will appear smooth.

Nest, paint the tiles! This is the fun part, right? My 9-year-old had a blast, she absolutely loves painting.

Let the painted tiles dry, then spray the with a light coat of the clear, protective paint. Once that dries, it's time to arrange and glue them in the frame.

We simply flipped the paper that came in the frame over so it was a plain white surface. If you don't have one like that, you can use plain white paper or posterboard in the frame.

I learned this lesson the hard way: it's very important to tape the white paper to the back side of the mat. Otherwise, the weight of the tiles will slide it around and it won't be centered.

Arrange the tiles and glue them to the white paper, then let the glue dry. My daughter used a paint set that had come with a craft set (I think it was a little paint your own sculture of some sort). The paint had a glittery sheen to it that looks wonderful on the tiles!

It really turned out great! It fits the space perfectly without looking too busy. She did a fabulous job! The best part of this project is that we can replace the tiles with new ones if we want to change the look! As you can see, she painted a couple of pumpkins on her tiles. If she wants, she can paint a few for each season and we can swap them out. The possibilities are endless!

Another Quick and Easy Hand Print Gift - Framed Art!

If you're still looking for a quick and easy Father's Day gift, this isn't very difficult and is another fun craft for you and your kids: a hand print tree, as framed art!

What You'll Need:
-Posterboard
-Tempera Paint
-Pencil
-Colored Pencils
-Poster Frame

I used the pencil to sketch out a tree like the one below. If your kids like drawing and art, though, they could draw it themselves.

I wrote, "Happy Father's Day 2012" at the bottom in block letters, although my lettering needs quite a bit of work. A paintbrush probably would have been a better choice here, but this was my result:

Then, I rounded my up niece, nephew, and daughter, and let them add their hands to the branches. If I do this again in the future, I'll be sure to make the tree outline darker so it shows up more.

I then let it dry and place it into a poster-sized frame, and that's it! I picked up the frame for $25 at Big Lots, but lightweight poster frames can be found at Wal-Mart for even less than that.

Have fun with it, and to all the Dads out there: may you have a Happy Father's Day!