Rocks, Paper, Scissors!
What's better than messing with rocks, clay, aluminum foil and toying with semi-precious gems? Pick a couple of these activities for an easy summer program, digging into art projects.
Here's a dragon eyeball. I colored the original with colored pencils on a rock and added a little black Sharpie and some sparkly nail polish to the eyeball. I'm sure it's going to come in very handy. And the real point of this craft is that involves no drying time and no toxic glues or sprays.
I felt the need for a dragon eyeball, but ladybugs, tiny houses, woodland creatures -- all would be fun subjects. Using a pencil lets you layer over your work.
Photo: TF Sherman
Here's a dragon eyeball. I colored the original with colored pencils on a rock and added a little black Sharpie and some sparkly nail polish to the eyeball. I'm sure it's going to come in very handy. And the real point of this craft is that involves no drying time and no toxic glues or sprays.
I felt the need for a dragon eyeball, but ladybugs, tiny houses, woodland creatures -- all would be fun subjects. Using a pencil lets you layer over your work.
Photo: TF Sherman
CONTENTS AT A GLANCE
Rock Pets
Who doesn’t want a rock pet? These adorable dudes are easy to make with Tacky Glue and a bag of nice smooth stones. The light ones are easier to draw on. Pick up a few scrapbooking doodads for some nonsense touches.Stone Craft Ideas
- Red Ted Art
- Of course I love the rock pets, but I have a nice couple of castle kits in the back that I'd love to glue some stones to. Then good ideas here.
Sorting & Naming Rock Assortments
I'll have a beautiful array of semi-precious stones spread over a table, and challenge the kids to sort and name them. They'll be souvenirs when we're through.
As a beader, I'll probably just root through my "Precious Gems" drawer and pull out some samples for a grab bag. But if you don't have a "Precious Gems" drawer, here are some good deals.I could just order a big bag of bulk gems, but then I'D have to be able to identify all the rocks and gems, and I don't know if I could!
Alternate event: Dig the gems out of sandboxes.
Alternate event: Dig the gems out of sandboxes.
The Age of Metal
Five thousand years ago, we learned how to get metal out of rocks and make stuff with it. Like swords. And jewelry. We still love metal, and today we’re going to make a beautiful shiny art project out of aluminum. Aluminum is the second most widely used metal in the world, after iron, but it wasn’t even discovered until two hundred years ago, and then it was a college student who figured out how to make it cheaply enough to use in every kitchen in the country.Materials: four sheets of heavy-weight aluminum, or one of etching aluminum. Dull pencils and unclicked ball point pens, foam sheets, magazines or newspapers as padding, and black acryclic paint to highlight the detail at the end.
Project details:
A Faithful Attempt blogspot
Pete the Cat
I Love My Aluminum Shoes
Here’s what I made. (Please keep in mind I teach art to five year olds because that’s about my level). It’s Pete the Cat! Rather than attempting to draw a picture, although I would give children that option, I picked out my favorite children’s book character and made this copy.Here’s how your tinfoil sandwich should work:
–open your book to the image you want to trace
–on the page underneath, place a piece of fun foam or a magazine (I used fun foam)
–on top of the fun foam, put your tinfoil (either four layers of heavy duty or embossing tinfoil. I had only regular)
– turn the page so your image is on top of the tinfoil. Position nicely. Now place a piece of tracing paper on your page, if it’s a book you don’t want written on. Start tracing with a dull pencil.
Whooo! Lift and admire! You’ll want to add some lines and squiggles and doodlies around your image. Keep in mind that the more full and flowing the design is, the more exciting it will be.
Embossing in Relief
These are the inverse of the “Pete the Cat” method. The design outline is made with yarn and glue so it stands out, and the detail is in relief. But this means — yes — the glue has to dry. Also, the pens used have to be sharpies. So this project may not be totally suitable for a big library project.But it sure is pretty.
More directions at We Heart Art
Fossil Rubbings
These are fossils (ammonites, I think) placed under a single layer of foil. I just had one but I repositioned it. Put it under the foil, and rub carefully first with just your finger, to wrap it in place. Then take a blunt pencil, a very blunt pencil, and work the shape for detail. I went over it then with a little fingernail polish for color. I also used ferns. After the object is removed, you can go over it as much as you want to add detail, just the way you would any canvas. But I like the idea of the kids interacting with fossils by taking rubbings.Photo by TF Sherman
Link List
- Lots of rock crafts, all so cute!
- Rock crafts pretty, silly and bright.
- Pet rocks
- How to adopt a pet rock.
August 6: Art from Below
We're going to be making some cute little rock dudes and experimenting with metal art too.
August 13: End of Summer Party
We'll find out who's won the Kindle! This year we're giving one away for teens AND one for tweens, according to how many book reports are turned in.
Debi Laramie, Madeira Beach's professional landscaper, brought us some bags of dirt and seeds and her recycled Raisin Bran and Cheerio containers so that we could all plant some pots of green beans and pumpkins. The green beans were a special "asparagus" green bean variety that grows 3 feet long, but unfortunately, she could not promise us a chicken that would lay golden eggs at the end of it.
Debi Laramie, Madeira Beach's professional landscaper, brought us some bags of dirt and seeds and her recycled Raisin Bran and Cheerio containers so that we could all plant some pots of green beans and pumpkins. The green beans were a special "asparagus" green bean variety that grows 3 feet long, but unfortunately, she could not promise us a chicken that would lay golden eggs at the end of it.
Afterward, we ate some mud topped with cookie boulders and gummi worms.
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