I am so excited by a little package I got in the mail the other day. It was a copy of The Artful Year, a gorgeous new book by Jean Van’t Hul, the creative brain behind The Artful Parent. If you follow my Facebook page, you know that I love how she creates accessible ways to play with art. With a keen eye for what makes kiddos tick, you can always find that perfect project on her site to inspire creativity in your kids. And today, I’m giving you a sneak preview of her new book and making some fun tissue paper nests to make Easter more Artful. Jean gave me a copy of the book, but all of these opinions are my own (mainly because I’m an Artful Parent groupie!).
The Artful Year
Jean has written a lovely book to help you and your family live a more creative life in the coming year. The Artful Year is filled with ideas, activities & recipes for every season and all of the major holidays. All written with her relaxed, easy to follow style that encourages kids and adults to have fun and get creative. My favorite part of the book? Art projects thatcan pair with recipes for deliciously fun family afternoons or best friend play dates.
An Artful Easter
I had The Babe pick out her favorite projects in the book for us to try. She debated between play dough snow globes, getting her glitter on with a blue bird paper chain and making some yummy chocolate dipped pretzels. But Easter won out with all the colorful eggs and unique bird nests in the book.
Tissue Paper Nests
These colorful nests are a simple, sensory craft to do with the kiddos. And they make a gorgeous Easter decoration. Simply cover a small bowl with plastic wrap and cover with crumpled tissue paper dipped in water-diluted glue. Let it dry and then gently peel from the plastic wrap. We were impatient with the glue, so popped the bowl in a sunny spot on the patio and the morning’s project was dry by afternoon.
And since we made a nest, of course we needed to decorate some eggs. I thought great, I have a dozen in the fridge, all ready to color. Then I remembered that they were brown eggs… Enter washi tape eggs, one of Left Brain Craft Brain’s very first projects.
There are a bunch more creative ways to decorate eggs in the book. Be sure to pick up your own copy of The Artful Year to try out all of Jean’s gorgeous Easter decorating ideas.
The Artful Year Blog Tour
A few other creative blogging types had fun reading The Artful Year, too. Take a peek at their reviews for more creative activities, recipes and interviews with Jean Van’t Hul.
February 3 :: Tinkerlab- February 4 :: Creative with Kids
- February 5 :: Toddler Approved
- February 6 :: Tiny Rotten Peanuts
- February 7 :: Art Bar Blog
- February 8 :: Meri Cherry
- February 9 :: Teach Mama
- February 10 :: Playful Learning
- February 11 :: Fun at Home with Kids
- February 13 :: Red Ted Art
- February 14 :: Picklebums
- February 15 :: Mother Natured
- February 16 :: Left Brain Craft Brain
- February 17 :: No Time for Flashcards
- February 18 :: Buggy & Buddy
- February 19 :: Nurture Store
- February 20 :: Kids Activities Blog
- February 21 :: MollyMoo Crafts
- February 22 :: Let’s Lasso the Moon
- February 23 :: Childhood 101
- February 24 :: Handmade Charlotte
- February 25 :: Babble Dabble Do
- February 26 :: I Heart Crafty Things
- February 27 :: The Imagination Tree
- February 28 :: Inner Child Fun
- Date tba :: Hands Free Mama
The Artful Year Giveaway
Loving what you see from The Artful Year? Enter to win your very own copy of the book. There are two ways to enter: 1) sign up for the Left Brain Craft Brain newsletter or 2) leave me a comment telling me what type of Easter arts & craft projects you like to do with kids.
