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Odd title for a blog post isn't it?  But it's true, these pretty flowers were made using only a stalk of celery!  No paintbrush, no stencils, just veggies!  Want to know how long it took me to actually do this project?  About 15 years!  That's right, I first saw this idea more than a decade ago.  I can't remember if it was in a magazine or craft book or what, but I've had it on my "to-do someday" list for that long.  Finally today, the girls and I picked up three stalks of celery and made some cute celery printed placemats.  {actual project time was less than 30 minutes!} Check it out... Here's how we did it... 1.  First, gather your supplies.  You'll need a stalk of celery and some paints.  We did our celery prints on some plain white placemats, but you could also do them on paper, a tote bag, a t-shirt, etc. 2.  Carefully make a straight cut across the bottom of your celery stalk. It totally looks like a flower, doesn't it? 3...

One of the activities in my Year of Valentine's gift for my kids was to go to a museum.  This month, it was my youngest daughter's turn and I wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been before.  I decided to take her to the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) in Baltimore's Inner Harbor .  It had been years (like, way before I had kids) since I'd been and her first time.  It was a HUGE hit and she declared it "the coolest museum ever".  I really think I have to agree with her. The museum has some of the most unique and creative pieces that I've ever seen.  From the AVAM website is this "definition" of visionary art. "Visionary art as defined for the purposes of the American Visionary Art Museum refers to art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself." You're not allowed to take photographs inside the actu...

Pinterest led me to this art lesson at The Forest Room .  My kids love optical illusions and this project looked to be right up their alley.  I've had the idea in my "to do someday" file until my oldest daughter and I did it together today when she was stuck home recovering from the flu.  It was really fun watch our hands emerge and look almost 3D on a flat piece of paper. Check it out! Doesn't it look almost 3D?  My daughter's is on the top (in rainbow colors, of course!) and I used the cool colors on the bottom.  Now look how simple it is... Here's what you need: your hand plain piece of white paper markers Here's what to do: 1.  Trace your hand and a bit of your wrist in pencil. 2.  Using marker, draw a straight line across until you reach the pencil outline of your hand.  Make a curve from one line to the next, then continue in a straight line. 3.  Continue making lines until the whole paper is covered, always making the lines curve wit...

Today is the 100th Day of School for my Kindergartner.  A couple years ago, her brother made this cool 100th Day Shirt .  My daughter decided she didn't want to wear her project, but wanted something she could carry and then hang up as a decoration.  This cute butterfly collection is what we worked on together and what she took to school today. Aren't all those butterflies pretty? Look at this closer view... Want to know the technique we used to get all those pretty swirls of color?   Yes, with just some shaving cream and a little bit of acrylic paint, you can make this pretty marbleized paper.  It's a fun and slightly messy process with really pretty results.   As you can see in the collage, you just spread some shaving cream on a tray, then add several drops of acrylic paint.  Swirl the paint through the cream with a toothpick, then lay a piece of cardstock (or other heavier weight paper) face down on the swirled paint.  Lift it up an...

Ever since I first saw the melted crayon canvas idea popping up on Pinterest this summer, I've been wanting to try making one with the kids. This weekend, I finally pulled out a big box of crayons and a plain canvas and set out with my youngest to make one. Pretty cool, isn't it?   Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner,  we decided to incorporate a heart  into our melted crayon canvas  and we love how it turned out.   Here's how we did it: 1.  I pulled out a big box of crayons and a blank 11x14" canvas.  Then I had my daughter choose the colors she wanted.  We lined them up across the top to make sure we had enough and they were in the order she wanted. 2.  Next, we gathered the rest of our supplies ~ a hot glue gun, a heat embossing gun ( a hair dryer would work too, it just might splatter a little bit more ) and some contact paper. 3.  Once we had the crayons arranged to our liking, I hot glued them in place acros...