Craft workshops Fall Lineup

Crafting classes beginning in September
For the last two years I've held kid's crafting classes at my home on and off. This year I am planning on beginning them again. Its a great time for you to get in a little babysitting/errand time and your child comes home with a unique, hand-made item as well.

They'll be held Monday nights from 7-8:15 PM (barring nothing changes in my son's schedules, such as sports practices). Whether they will be weekly or bi-weekly classes, I am not yet sure.

For children grades k and up in the Warren county area. We'll work with hot liquids in some classes so ask ahead if you are unsure of whether a workshop is too advanced for your child.

Cost will usually be $5 per child per class. Payment is needed at time of drop-off but number of children attending will always be needed in advance so I can have time to order supplies.

Boys are welcome to attend any classes. Some classes can easily become very unisex in the end result as long as I know to plan for boys and make adjustments before-hand.

My plans for fall classes as loosely as follows:

September:

bath tub fun: make bath paint and bath jelly
altered clip board: alter a plain clip board into a beautiful note/photo display

October:

Bottlecap bling: make 2 necklaces from bottlecaps
Decoupaged desk/vanity tray
Sassy initial tote bag
cotton paper casting (use for cards, crafts, etc.)

November:

Mosaic picture frame
alter a brag book/photo album
make a girly wall plaque with hook for hanging items
make "sweet shoppe" clay beads

December:

whipped layered bath butter
"flirty purse" paper album
"Pixie Dust" bath fizz and glitter gel for hair/body

More details to come!
-Lynn

review of Artistic Pursuits Senior High level book 1

My oldest son, Nick, is an 8th grader pursuing some early high school credits. One of the latest test products we received is going to be extremely helpful in getting a jump start on that. The product is a complete art curriculum called ARTistic Pursuits. Visit their website at http://www.artisticpursuits.com/ to see their wide variety of complete art curricula.

We were given the first senior high level book called The Elements of Art and Composition. The spiral-bound volume contains enough self-directed art lessons for one full school year. This schedule has a student working on art for about two hours per week.

Each unit is broken down into 4 lessons. The first lesson is always on Building a Visual Vocabulary, followed by lesson 2 on Art Appreciation and Art History. Lessons 3 and 4 always cover Techniques and Application.The book begins with an overview of how to get started. This is written to the student and is very easy to follow.

Nick's first lesson was on the use of space in art. He sat at the kitchen table with his book, paper, and pencils. After reading through the non-threatening one-page lesson he began the first assignment: drawing an outdoor scene with use of both active and non-active spaces in the drawing. After about 45 minutes he was able to not only tell me what he had learned but to show me a very nice sketch he had produced. He also commented on how easy the lesson was to understand and how much he liked it.

The book has some very nice art reproductions in it. I appreciate the fact that Nick can do this on his own and free me up to work with the "littles" at our house.

The back of the book contains two very useful pages: one on how to evaluate the student's work to obtain a letter or number grade, and also how to gain high school credits from this course.

Both senior high volumes only cost $42.95 each. There are volumes for all grade levels each costing $42.95. That's a great price for a year's worth of quality student-led lessons.

-Lynn