Big Paper Snowflake

We get to enjoy making various types of snowflakes from October through April (hopefully not May...). This is one of our favorites.

We make one or two of these big beautiful snowflakes every year. You need 7 squares of paper, scissors, a pencil, and clear tape. We used white paper cut in 9" squares.

Fold in half to make a triangle, then in half again forming a smaller triangle.

With the open sides at the bottom, cut three lines, parallel to the long straight side, from the bottom, almost to the top (but do not cut through the top). Use the picture below as a guide. Draw first if that helps.

When you open it up, it should look like this. Now, repeat with the remaining 6 squares.

Now, you want to make each piece 3-dimensional. Take the top and bottom corner, bring them together and secure with clear tape. Then take the next top and bottom corners and bring them together on the opposite side and secure with tape. Looks like we started with the inside pieces...

It really does not matter how you start as long as you end up with seven pieces like the one pictured below.

Now line them up and tape the sides together so that they form a long line. We only have five lined up in the picture, just pretend there are seven.

Finally you want to tape the bottoms together so that it forms a round snowflake. As you can see, I took over at this point. It can be tricky getting the corners together.

These are beautiful in a classroom or a space that can accommodate a bunch especially if they are various sizes and colors.

Our Ice Sculpture

Well, here it is. The most fun was removing the round ice from the balloons. After you cut off the ends, the balloon just peels off and out pops a lovely little ice jewel. After we removed everything from the molds we just stacked them up. We did not even need to spray water in between the pieces because it was warm enough that there was some wet melty ice and all the pieces stuck together nicely. I really would like to do this on a much larger scale. It would be a great school project or something to do with a group of friends.

Ice Sculptures--Part 1

It is that magical time of year in Fairbanks when the sun is bright, the days are longer and warmer, and the ice park is here. The kids' ice park runs alongside the World Ice Art Championships which is one of my very favorite things about living in Alaska. The sculptures are amazing and playing at a park made entirely out of ice is not something anyone should live without doing. With season passes, we plan to spend lots of time there until it closes at the end of March.

Since we cannot be there 24 hours a day, we decided to make a few sculptures out of ice for the yard. I did not give the kids sharp tools and hot irons to carve and sculpt with, instead we went with more kid friendly tools such as balloons, cups, bowls, colored water, glitter, beads, found objects and spray bottles. My plan is to build with several small pieces of ice rather than carve away from a larger block of ice.

This is a 2 part project since you have to make your ice before you can build with it.

 As you can see we just poured colored water into molds and added "stuff". It was a warm enough day to go without mittens and survive a few splashes. It was a major mess, but well worth it I hope! I hope to show you part 2 in the next few days.

Frozen Tempera Paint

We had so much fun painting with paintsicles the other day so I decided to make some more frozen paint. This time we squeezed tempera paint into mini muffin tins. Ice cube trays would also work well for this. I covered the tray with foil and Hollin inserted a toothpick into the center of each "muffin".

We left these on the deck overnight. When we did bring them in they were frozen solid but after a few minutes on the table they came right out and were really nice to paint with. Very thick and buttery.

Without even intending it, this project turned into a great color mixing experience.

A few of the toothpicks came out as the paint warmed up and were great for adding lines.

The texture of the frozen tempera was so inviting. There was just no way to keep hands out. We did manage a few prints by folding the paper before the inevitable finger painting began....

I love the serious expression on Waylon's face. He is in the zone!

A Chilly Valentine

Paintsicles

Despite the bright sunshine that suddenly has started to flood our windows this week, we still have quite a bit of winter weather ahead of us. Fighting the cold will not make it go away, so why not use the giant outdoor freezer for a creative purpose? We experimented with frozen paint this week and I think it is fair to say that this is a keeper. We froze tempera mixed with water in popsicle molds and then painted with our "paintsicles" on watercolor paper. A dish of salt and a small bowl of water with a dropper helped create beautiful textures. Wetting the paper first with a brush or droppers full of water help the frozen paint slide across the paper. Dipping the end in salt for a minute helped speed up the melting process creating thicker paint, more vibrant colors and a grainy texture.

Stamping the ends resulted in rings while sliding on dry paper made scratchy lines.

Yes, I know the next picture is sideways, it keeps uploading that way despite not being sideways in my file--just tilt your head, it is worth it! Maybe I have been sunlight deprived for too long, but that natural light and shadow makes me giddy...

When we finished we just stuck the paintsicles back outside so that we can use them again and again. The only downside to this is that the frozen paint looks very yummy. Hollin could not resist licking each one. She is almost 5 and not at all the type to eat paint. But even she could not resist--even after saying "yuck" to the first one. I think she was holding out hope that one of them really was a popsicle...just thought I would warn you!

Spool Snowflakes

Here is a quick and rewarding printmaking project for a snowy day. I hope you like it as much as we do.
I am a big fan of all types of gadget printing--especially for toddlers. To make snowflake prints, use white paint on a colored background, or make a pale blue paint and use white paper. I used tempera and card stock. First we mixed up some pale blue paint. (The mixing of colors alone is a great experience). Next, I gave my little guy some empty thread spools and showed him how to push the spool into the paint and then print on the paper.

Snow Family

Here is another one from the Christmas box. Again, I don't have pictures of the process, but I may make a few more this year (I believe I have a baby or two to send out) and if I do I will post instructions. I started making snow families about 10 years ago--I gave them as gifts to friends and family. A cute personalized gift that I hope the recipients enjoy every year. They are paper mache over newspaper and masking tape armatures. I use white paper towels with the paper mache glue so that I do not have to paint them (saves a step and looks really nice) The carrot noses are made out of polymer clay and everything has been assembled with a glue gun. My family is in need of a few repairs (the trip from MD to AK took a toll on them). The kids love these and like to play with them. I think it is fun for them to have a "doll" of themselves. You can add little features to characterize each family member a bit more. I would like to put a princess scarf og Hollin and a truck scarf on Waylon. Nothing is ever really finished...

Sparkley Snowflakes

We moved into our new house, had a wonderful visit from Grammy, and then my husband left for what will be almost 4 weeks (12 days to go!) The shock of it all has kept me from the computer, but I think it is safe to say I am back and in full on holiday art mode! My art space is starting to take shape in our new house and I can finally access all of our materials. It is not perfect yet, but it is going to be. We have made, are currently making, and will be making tons of fun projects. December always creeps up on me and leaves our house in a crafty disarray. We have glitter on the counters, gingerbread in the oven, and popsicle stick creations on the table. The first thing I want to share is a beautiful little snowflake made with wagon wheel pasta (uncooked of course).


To make this you need:

• card stock



• glue



• marker



• wagon wheel pasta (uncooked!)



• white tempera paint



• paint tray and brush



• white glitterWe are fortunate here in Alaska to get a close look at snowflakes pretty regularly. We have been able to see that they are all different and that they have symmetrical patterns.

Start by drawing a simple snowflake shape on white card stock with a marker.

Next, glue the pasta over your lines.

Now sing a song, go outside, have a snack--do something for at least 10 minutes to let the glue set.

Paint with white tempera, brush with glue, sprinkle with glitter, shake off excess and you have a very lacy and very lovely snowflake.

Doing this with a group will result in many different designs. I must warn you that you will likely see more wagon wheel pasta projects in the coming weeks. I have never been much a the noodle art type, but I have been having fun adapting this activity.