Tag Archives: picture book craft

BOOK GIVEAWAY & Craft: Being A Dog: A Tail of Mindfulness

Posted in Children's Books, Free Printables, Kids, Paper, Stuff to make by

The BOOK GIVEAWAY is now closed. The winner has been notified. Congratulations!

PROJECT: Make a moving puppy puppet with fasteners!

How do we learn to savor the present, untroubled by the past, unworried about the future? In this delightful, meditative book, author Maria Gianferrari shows it’s as simple as being like a dog: “Stretch while you rise. Wag your body. Greet the day and everyone you love.” Being A Dog is a perfect read-aloud for littles, who will love mirroring the motions of the sweet pup illustrated by Pete Oswald.

To celebrate this book publication, I wanted to create something full of movement: something that will wag, romp, nap, munch, sniff and stretch just like our canine hero. Why not a moving pup-pet with fasteners that allow for pouncing paws and a thumping tail?

MATERIALS

being-a-dog-homemadecityDOWNLOAD Coloring Page
  • homemadecity coloring page (just click the download button above)
  • cardstock
  • fasteners
  • crayons, markers, or colored pencils
  • scissors
  • hole puncher (preferable smaller size)
  • popsicle stick
  • masking tape
  • optional: googly eyes

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Print out a copy of the homemadecity coloring page linked above. If possible, print on cardstock.
  2. Color in your puppy puppet! I sponge-painted my puppet for a dappled fur look, but crayons, markers, or colored pencils work just as well.
  3. Cut out the pieces and punch holes at the indicated spots (marked by stars). This might be a step for grown-ups or older children.
  4. Add googly eyes and bedazzle however you see fit!
  5. Attach tail, legs, and jaw using paper fasteners. For the legs, attach one leg in front of the body, and one behind.
  6. Attach popsicle stick to the back using masking tape or other kind of tape.

Once you’ve made one doggo, make it a friend and put on a puppet show!

To learn more about author Maria Gianferrari, go to mariagianferrari.com; you can find illustrator Pete Oswald at peteoswald.com.

Read & Make/ Unbound: The Life + Art of Judith Scott

Posted in Children's Books, Kids, Recycled materials, Stuff to make by

This book! If you are looking for a story about self-expression, creativity, the deep river of sisterhood, AND the experience of a person living with a disability, Unbound ticks all the boxes and then some. Joyce Scott and her twin Judith, who is born with Down’s Syndrome and also deaf, are keenly, wordlessly connected as children. Their effortless bond, subsequent devastating separation and much later reunion form the backbone of the story, all written in beautiful, heartfelt vignettes. Joyce’s determination to nourish Judith’s mind and spirit lead them to a studio called the Creative Growth Art Center, and eventually to a “new language” for Judith–an art form that’s intricate, entwined, intriguing, and all her own.

Caldecott Honor winner Melissa Sweet is the perfect illustrator for this picture book. Sweet often uses found objects in her playful, color-filled art, a nice correlation with Judith’s sculptures. Sweet makes sure to note that she is *interpreting* Judith’s art in her illustration. There’s only one photo of Judith’s sculpture in the end notes so make sure to look up more examples of her amazing work!

PROJECT: Wrap and weave string around twigs, sticks or other found objects, just like Judith!

MATERIALS: Use what you have or can find, such as:

  • twigs
  • wooden spools or popsicle sticks
  • cardboard tubes or flat cardboard shapes
  • embroidery floss
  • fabric scraps
  • yarn
  • twine or string

I gathered some sticks outside and added a wooden spool and clothespin. I used embroidery floss, fabric pieces, yarn, and cotton loops from a potholder loom kit. I tucked in loose ends and occasionally knotted some ends. I didn’t try to simulate Judith’s sculptures, I just did my own thing. The project involved more decision-making than I anticipated–it was very engrossing to wrap new colors and connect different objects into the shape/form I wanted. I took an early photo but I kept going since–I wasn’t quite done! Even though I didn’t try to recreate Judith’s art, it gave me insight and respect for her art. If you try it, send me a pic!

MORE TO EXPLORE:

Penguin Random House information about Unbound

Melissa Sweet’s website description of Unbound

“Textile artist Judith Scott: Uncovering innate talent,” textileartist.org

Make: Giant Frisbee!

Posted in Children's Books, FLIP!, Kids, Sewing, Stuff to make by

Here’s another activity to celebrate my new picture book, Flip! How the Frisbee Took Flight, and this one is a goodie. In fact, it’s one of the funnest projects I’ve done. And yes, I know, “funnest” is not a word–but it best expresses how satisfying it is to make a giant flying disc.

I’m sorry I didn’t photo-document the process better. The whole thing felt like a wild experiment with an uncertain outcome. But . . . it worked! I recommend trying this one at home.

MATERIALS:

  • 1 hula hoop (I used child’s size hoop.)
  • 1 yard of cotton or nylon fabric (or enough to cover the hoop).
  • Iron
  • Scissors or pinking shears
  • Hot glue gun

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Iron your fabric so it’s wrinkle free. I used cotton because that’s what I had on hand. I also tried to make it look a splashy by sewing together four colors but that’s optional and an extra step.
  2. Lay out your fabric on a large working surface and place the hoop on top. If necessary, trim fabric so there’s about 5″ inches of fabric outside the circumference of the hoop.
  3. With a hot glue gun, squeeze drops of glue on a 5-6″ segment of the hoop.
  4. Fold the fabric over the glue and shape to the curve of the hoop.
  5. Repeat adding glue to a segment of the hoop and folding the fabric over it. Make sure to pull the fabric taut as you go.
  6. Once it’s all glued, trim off the extra fabric. Tuck the remaining fabric in. (I added glue here and there to make sure the fabric ends were tucked in well.

That’s it. Take it outside and give it a spin!



















Check out www.margaretmuirhead.com for more information about Flip! You can order your copy at Indiebound, Target, Barnes & Noble, Amazon or at your favorite neighborhood book shop. 






			

	
	



			
				


	

					
				
Read & Make: Count on Me + Math Quest Cards
						

							
			Posted in Children's Books, Kids, Paper, Stuff to make		
			
	
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When Danielle Davis of This Picture Book Life asked me to dream up a little math-y crafty to accompany Miguel Tanco’s picture book, Count on Me, I was ready. I could overcome my fear of all things arithmetic!


Unlike me, the curly-haired heroine of this beautifully illustrated book has a special love for math. While her dad has a passion for painting, her mom science, and her brother music (he plays a tuba twice his size), the smallest member of the family sees shapes and patterns everywhere. She skips stones to see concentric circles form and tracks the trajectory of a paper airplane. She finds math everywhere.


Count on Me cover


Tanco’s sweet story is followed by a book-within-a-book: the heroine’s math notebook that illustrates math concepts like fractals, polygons, curves, solid figures, trajectories and sets (in terms clear enough that even I can understand).


Inspired by the small heroine’s passion for math, I painted a deck of cards with basic concepts from the book to spark my own scavenger math hunt. If we take the time to notice, what patterns, polygons, circles, and curves can we discover in the world around us?


Materials:


    

  • Art cards or index cards (I picked up these little Legion Paper samplers at my local craft store)
    • 

  • Pen, marker, and/or paint
    • 

  • The world!
    • 



Count on Me supplies


I copied the math concepts illustrated in Count on Me and in an attempt to emulate Tanco’s delightful, watery illustrations, I used watercolor paint to tint them. However, young artists can skip the paint and get the job done easily enough with markers and crayons.


Count on Me Deck


I drew and labeled the cards with a range of basic polygons, solid forms like cones and cylinders, patterns of concentric circles and curves, and other concepts to create a deck of 25 cards. Then my son and I went hunting through the house and around our neighborhood. This is some of what we found:


 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 


We found so many surprises: dandelion fluff fractals, milk carton polygons, the curved trajectory of a Frisbee in flight. What will you find?


 

			

	
	



			
				


	

					
				
Read & Make: Cloth Lullaby & Sashiko
						

							
			Posted in Children's Books, Recycled materials, Sewing, Stuff to make		
			
	
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This book. I’m not sure which is more beautiful: the words or the pictures. Cloth Lullaby: The Woven Life of Louise Bourgeois (written by Amy Novesky; illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault) was published a couple of years ago, but my appreciation for its cross-hatched reds and blues hasn’t abated, nor has my admiration for its quiet telling about an emerging artist.


fullsizeoutput_169For me, the illustration’s delicate inky stitches brought to mind sashiko, a Japanese form of embroidery that I’ve been spotting online a lot lately.


 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
  
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
  


Sashiko is usually a running stitch; the word sashiko translates to “little stabs.” My attempt at sashiko was my own improvised version. I used fabric scraps I had on hand, denim pieces from old jeans and worn cotton patches I rescued a while back from a disintegrating quilt. I grabbed embroidery floss for thread and the sharpest needle I could find.


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I didn’t make anything in particular. I’m not sure I will. But I found the stitching meditative and love the way the stitches & patches look: imperfect, wobbly, delicate, salvaged. I think the simplicity and improvisation would appeal to kids, too (although I’d probably use thinner cotton so that the “little stabs” are easier to make). I’m going to try it out in my school library after reading Cloth Lullaby aloud–I’ll let you know how it goes . . .