Thursday, July 14, 2016

Really Random Thursday, 7/14/16: The 2016 Wiens Art Camp Edition

Be prepared for lots of color and lots of pictures. The 2016 session of Wiens Art Camp seemed like a resounding success.

After decorating their art smocks, the first project was stamping and painting on leather. I had purchased long strips of 3/4" wide leather that I cut into 12 1/2" lengths. I saw this project on Kristie Maslow's instagram feed (@kristieocd) and she texted me with lots of helpful hints.


I had two sizes of alphabet stamps and we spent a bit of time figuring out what words they wanted on their leather key fobs. I helped Gabe a little bit by holding the stamp, but he did all the letter spacing and pounding himself (and never missed once).
Then it was time to use some leather paint for decorating.

 Charlotte sneaking in some extra painting time before she and Levi left for swimming lessons
I added the rivets and the key ring. Ta-da!
Charlotte made two--a matching one for her best friend.
And if you are curious what an 8-year-old boy stamps on his key fob, it reads: "Oh yeah. Go to gmail.com @ Levi is cool." And now you know...

We had extra time another day, and extra strips of leather. They had enjoyed the project so much, they asked if they could each make another one. Of course!
We usually had our sessions during Ella's nap time--just easier as she is 2 1/2. But I had gotten some Color Wonder stamps for her and she enjoyed that.

The next session was a bit lengthier, but they never lost focus. It involved carving their own stamps, making a custom stamp pad with screen printing ink, a piece of craft felt and a paper plate (works like a charm), stamping on linen, and then doing some fabric painting.

With careful supervision, Charlotte and Levi carved their own stamps.

I found a cool set of foam shapes that Gabe could pull off and attach to another piece of foam and make his own custom stamp--perfect for his age.

Then we made the stamp pads. Charlotte wanted purple paint, and since I only had golden yellow, green, blue and magenta, it was a good time to talk about color theory and how to mix colors to get the purple that she wanted.
Then it was time to stamp on the linen.

Paint supplies are so pretty.
We put fabric paint in this plastic palette.
And they completed their project with more color.
I'm so proud of them. They were engaged and seemed eager to learn new techniques. (And I learned right along with them, as I had never done any of these projects myself.)

Once they understood the steps, they were completely free to make their own artistic decisions. Aren't these fabulous?

I highly recommend the book, Beyond Cotton, by Krista Fleckenstein. It is packed with information for each of these techniques. And we still have a lot more to learn.

I'll have a couple more highlights of the week tomorrow. I know Aaron and Christa were having a great time in New York City, but Charlotte, Levi, Gabe and I were having our own adventures. I hope they will have some good memories of art camp.

11 comments:

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Quiltdivajulie said... #

Art Camp - what fun! Really like the stamped on fabric pieces.

Val's Quilting Studio said... #

You are the best grandma!!! What FUN!!!! Love the leather bracelets especially! Good job kids!

Robby said... #

I am so impressed by their (and your) creativity and what they made. I think it's easy to underestimate what kids can do, and you clearly did not.

Rosemarie said... #

I used to do art projects with my granddaughter, we have an art room at my house with all the supplies she needed or wanted. We had so much fun. She's 14 now and way too busy with school and soccer to have free time for art projects but we still have a gin rummy game that lasts all summer so we still get to spend time together. She made a small quilt one year but not really interested in quilting yet, hopefully someday? She did some tied fleece blankets with me last year for Project Linus as part of her school community service hours. I'm just glad she enjoys being creative.

Unknown said... #

This is so, so good. Your grandkids look like they are having the best time! Love the picture with the swim cap on :)

Pinkadot Quilts said... #

What a fun and creative day you made for them!

Unknown said... #

Crafts with Grandma are always very fun! Speaking as a grandma that plans crafts for the grandson to do😊

Unknown said... #

Crafts with Grandma are always very fun! Speaking as a grandma that plans crafts for the grandson to do😊

Needled Mom said... #

Can I come to camp with you next year???? That looks like such fun and they will have such great memories.

Nancy said... #

What fun and such great learning experiences. Such budding artists. I want to come to your camp!

Becky (My Fabric Obsession) said... #

so great!! I wanna play too! ;)