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Category Archives: printmaking

Foam Printmaking

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A yellow and black foam printmaking artwork depicts a stylized dinosaur-like creature with rectangular shapes and surrounding triangles.

Recently, I did styrofoam printmaking with my 4th/5th grade classes. Styrofoam printing is a relatively easy way to introduce printmaking to a group of kids. It is messy and can be challenging, so I’m providing a video demonstration in this blog post. The materials needed are: For this project, I gave the students an open-ended theme. They could choose either 1. Something from Greek mythology (they were studying ancient Greece and Rome) or 2. Something from a book they read. … Read more… →

Printmaking with Apples: Pumpkin Jack-o-Lanterns

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Child's drawing of six orange Jack-o-Lanterns with various facial expressions on a green background.

This was a fun introduction to printmaking.  I did this project with Kindergartners.  I got the idea from this image on Pinterest. I read them The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons.  I cut apples in half and the students dipped them into orange paint and stamped them on their paper.   The next art class, I provided them with printouts of images I found online of jack-o-lanterns and the students used markers to draw faces and stems on the pumpkins. … Read more… →

Frank Stella Inspired Pictures

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Colorful abstract drawing with swirls and curves in shades of pink, blue, green, purple, orange, and yellow.

First, I want to give a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who follows my blog.  I appreciate your support in reading my blog, leaving comments, pinning images and sharing my posts.  Whenever I get a positive comment or email from a reader, it just MAKES MY DAY and makes all the time worthwhile.  Without this kind of feedback and support, I would not continue blogging! A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who bought resources during the TPT Best Year Ever … Read more… →

Peace Prints with 1st Grade

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Colorful drawing of a peace sign with red hearts inside the segments, surrounded by stars and hearts on a vibrant background, ideal for Peace Prints.

I was trying to sit down to write a blog post yesterday and I was thinking about how when the world seems to be in chaos, writing a blog post about kids’ art seems insignificant in the grand scheme of things.  I had a post about recent doodling projects my students made in the works, but that didn’t seem quite appropriate after the events on Sunday morning.  When something big like the attacks in Orlando, do you go on writing … Read more… →

Kindergarten Painted Bears

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A pair of painted bears: one wearing a blue outfit and the other a green shirt. Text above reads "PAINTED BEARS," making it a fun addition to any kindergarten classroom.

I saw this super cute lesson on Hannah’s Art Club and I just loved it.  My kindergartners have a whole “teddy bear” unit where they read books about bears, do related activities and have a teddy bear picnic (they all bring in their favorite teddy bear to attend the picnic.) At the beginning of the year, simply cutting out pieces, gluing them and following directions is a huge challenge for 5 and 6 year olds.  This project introduced creating texture … Read more… →

An Interview with Margaret Peot, author of Stencil Craft

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Cover of the "Stencil Craft Book" by Margaret Peot, showcasing stenciled art on a flower, leaf, mask, whale, and a grid-patterned box.

Today I have the pleasure of sharing with you an interview with Margaret Peot, author of the new book Stencil Craft. Earlier this week I wrote a book review, with the chance to win copies of this book (there is still time to enter).  You can see that blog post here:  Stencil Craft Book Review and Giveaway. Since I am an elementary art teacher, Margaret is also going to share a fun project to do with little children. 1. What … Read more… →

Printing with Cardboard Strips: First Grade

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Easy Printmaking: Stamping with Cardboard Strips

My first graders created these unique and expressive pictures by stamping with pieces of cardboard. Here’s how you can print with cardboard.  First, cut pieces of cardboard into strips small enough for young kids to easily hold.  Pour a bit of black paint on to newspaper.  Dip the edge of the strip into the paint and stamp on your paper.  The black lines of the faces were all made by stamping with cardboard.  After the paint has dried, color the … Read more… →

Triangle Collage on Canvas for School Auction

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Triangle Collage on Canvas for School Auction

Every year, my 5th/6th grade class carves rubber stamps with symbols they have designed.  This year, we stamped extra prints on tissue paper with acrylic paint to make collaborative artworks.  To stamp, simply use a foam brush to lightly paint acrylic paint on the stamp. Then, the tissue papers were decoupaged (with hard-finish Mod-Podge) on these fun triangular canvases called Squangles.  These are going to be put in our school auction at the end of the year.  We made three … Read more… →

Monoprint Hearts on Gelli Plates with 1st Graders

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A blue abstract painting of a large heart containing a smaller heart, surrounded by wave-like wave-like patterns, created using Gelli Plates.

Hello friends!  Have you used Gelli Printing Plates before?  I was introduced to this a couple of years ago because I received a couple samples to try out for my blog.  They are a super fun way to do monoprinting with kids.  You can read all about the process and see videos of techniques at their blog, Gelli Arts.  There’s also a way to make your own gelatin plates, but I’ve never tried it because it seems like a lot … Read more… →

Tinfoil Hearts with Kindergarten

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A colorful heart collage on black paper with a pink and red patterned background, featuring tinfoil hearts.

The Kindergartners made these lovely mixed media heart pictures.  They started by stamping the background paper with gadgets, such as old thread spools, bottle caps, heart sponges, cookie cutters and more. During the second class period, they traced a heart onto a piece of heavy duty tinfoil and colored designs with Sharpie markers.  They also glued on tissue paper squares and glitter.  After they finished their tinfoil hearts, I covered them in clear contact paper.  During the third class period, … Read more… →

Printmaking with Christmas Ornaments?? What!?

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A vibrant art journal spread with colorful snowflakes and stars in various shades on a multicolored background.

Another printmaking experiment for you!  I bought some felt ornaments and sparkly snowflake decorations from Target on clearance.  Valentine’s Day is also a good time to get decorations. Here is how I created the background shown below. Snowflake:  Place the snowflake decoration on the page.  Use spray inks to spray over the snowflake (I like the Dylusions Ink Spray, but you can also make your own by pouring liquid watercolor into a small makeup spray bottle.) Star: Use an brayer … Read more… →

Printing with Paperclips

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Close-up of a grid of purple square spirals arranged neatly on a beige surface.

I checked out the book Print & Stamp Lab from the library and there was a cool idea in there with printing with paper clips (among many other found objects.)  When I was at Target, I found these cool purple paperclips and decided to try it out. First, find a scrap wooden block to use as a base.  Place layers of double stick tape on top of the block.  Firmly press your paper clips on to the base.  You can … Read more… →

Carving Rubber Stamps with 5th and 6th Graders

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Pattern of multiple blue geometric lace designs on a light blue background with one gold design in the upper right corner.

Before I left for my maternity/medical leave, my 5th and 6th graders were carving rubber stamps.  They were turning out so well and I can’t wait to see all of the finished projects. Here are some of our stamps from previous years.  We looked at African Adinkra symbol stamps and the students created their own personal symbols. We print our stamps by applying acrylic paints with a foam brush.  A light touch is best. Students can also test their stamps … Read more… →

African Adinkra Carved Stamps & Art for AUCTION– 5th and 6th grade

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A pattern of hand-stamped yellow symbols, including eyes, paws, and triangles arranged on a white background using Carved Stamps.

My 5th and 6th grade students studied Africa and the African Adinkra stamped cloths.  I showed them a slide show of images. Examples of Adinkra symbols were shown for inspiration.  Check out my African Adinkra Pinterest board for handouts of symbols.  The kids could use these ideas and embellish upon them or come up with their own symbol based on some of these ideas. They used linoleum cutters to carve their own rubber stamps on the Dick Blick Art soft carving … Read more… →

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