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Author Archives: Marcia Beckett

About Marcia Beckett

Marcia is an elementary art teacher and loves painting, drawing, sculpture, art journaling and clay. Her blog, Art is Basic, features many exciting art projects for kids.

More Sketchbook Covers for Elementary School Art Journals

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Colorful drawing with birds, clouds, and candies surrounding the name "Jenny" in large, decorated letters. Ideal for sketchbook covers or elementary school art journals.

All of my classes have been busy making sketchbook covers.  Here are a few more assignments by grade level: 1st Grade Initials:I saw this idea at Art Projects for Kids. The background has crayon texture rubbings and watercolor paint. 3rd Grade:  The students wrote their names in cursive and then surrounded the name with repeating colorful lines.   4th/5th Grade Names:  They drew their names and then covered the negative space with patterns.  Similar to this idea… Name Tangles.   … Read more… →

Introducing: The Weekly Doodle– Printable Drawing Prompts

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The Weekly Doodle: Printable Drawing Prompts features a colorful illustration on lined paper clipped with a red paperclip.

Only for 11 prompts. Purchase the Weekly Doodle here. These printable drawing prompts are now also available at my NEW TPT store. The Weekly Doodle is a PDF file of 11 drawing prompts written for kids in grades K-6. Ready to print and distribute to the class! Printable drawing prompts are perfect for: art centers enrichment activities homeschool lessons substitute plans Here is a sample that you will receive in the packet: If you buy this packet, please allow 24 … Read more… →

Sketchbook Covers for Kids

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Abstract art with colorful circles and patterns, including multi-colored segments, stars, and various shapes on a white background.

It has been a busy 2 weeks and a rough transition back to school.  The actual “school” part has been just fine.  The problems have been with coordinating my schedule and “life balance.”  I will talk about that more at the end of this post, but first I will show you some pretty pictures. We have been making sketchbook covers from donated file tab dividers.  My sister-in-law works in medical records and they were transferring everything over to digital, so … Read more… →

Summer Art Challenge

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Decorative items on a desk include a tree figurine, a glass art piece, and woven objects.

I passed out Summer Art Challenge Sheets at the end of the school year last year.  Any of the students could participate in it over the summer and then turn in their artwork at the beginning of this year.  It is kind of like a summer reading program, where you record what you’ve read and get prizes. Here are the basic parameters of the challenge: “Welcome to the Summer Art Challenge!  You are invited to play along and stretch your … Read more… →

Giveaway Winner

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Silhouette of an eagle flying over clouds

Jennifer Grobsaid… I just hung up my sark poster today in my room. I would love those books!!! Your projects are super cute!Jenn Grob Congrats Jenn, you are the winner of the Sark books. School starts on Monday!  So, I will have lots of new posts about projects coming soon.   Our school is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year and in the next few years we are going to building on to the existing structure and adding new classes!  … Read more… →

5 Fabulous Books for Art Teachers

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Colorful banner that reads "5 Fabulous Books for Art Teachers" with vibrant paint splashes and patterns in the background.

As school is starting soon, I thought I would start a new series of blog posts about some of my favorite fabulous things.   I LOVE art books and have so many of them.  Our school library also has a great collection of books I can use.  Here is a list (in no particular order) of books that I refer to frequently when I need a boost of inspiration.  There are many more exciting books for art teachers, but here … Read more… →

Book Giveaway!! and an update of sorts..

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A person in an orange shirt plays a keyboard piano with sheet music in front of them.

In honor of the new school year I am giving away two books to ONE lucky person!  To enter, leave a comment on this blog post.  I LOVE Sark.  So inspirational, colorful and fun!  The first book is called “Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper” which is about writing.  I picked this up from a library sale, so it is a discarded library book with a little bit of water damage.  I personally don’t care if a book has a bit of … Read more… →

Fabric Collages

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Colorful, patterned fabric collage with hearts, stars, and "Peace" text on a background of diamond shapes.

I never posted about these fabric collages that we finished at the end of the year last year.   The third and fourth graders made these. We worked together to paint fabrics! We painted with acrylic paints on muslin fabric. We sprayed the fabric with water to allow the paint to spread more easily. We made graffiti fabrics! We had lots of painted fabrics at the end. We even painted over ugly patterned fabrics. Then, we chose our pieces and cut … Read more… →

What would it be like to be a teacher?

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A typewritten essay titled "Why It Would Be Nice to Have a Career as a Teacher" with handwritten edits in the top left corner.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a teacher? My mom gave me this old gem written by Yours Truly when I was in 3rd grade.  (My 3rd grade teacher had the initials ABC which everyone thought was really cool.) Lessons learned: It is very important to let your students write in pen. Make sure you have “neat” ways of doing things. Your students should use Trapper Keepers. Let your students go to the bathroom in … Read more… →

Tissue Paper Fun

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Two tissue paper stained glass artworks hang in a window, one with blue-green shapes and the other with red-orange hearts.

Our last summer art workshop was a fun one!  We decoupaged tissue paper on to glass vases.  The cylindrical ones could be candle holders.  We tore and cut tissue paper and adhered them to the glasses with Matte Medium.  I hate the smell of mod-podge, so I rarely use it.  I get headaches from it, does anyone else?  I figure if I get headaches from it, it probably is not good for the kids to inhale.  This Blick Matte Medium … Read more… →

Etsy Shop Sale: 35% off!

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Discover five colorful, artfully decorated cards with positive words like "Faith," "Awaken," and "Think," complemented by vibrant abstract designs.

I’m trying to clear out some of my inventory in my Etsy Shop for the end of this cycle of goods.  Would you be interested in some vintage ephemera? Or maybe a collage pack? Or maybe you would be interested in some of my ACEOs? To receive 35% off your order, type in coupon code:  JulySpecial at the checkout!  There won’t be another sale like this until Black Friday.

  • Banner with colorful artwork promoting an art shop featuring kindness coloring pages, artist activities, and resources for teachers.