The next few weeks are going to be a challenge. It's going to be hard on kids being away from school. It's going to be a huge change for working parents and the caregivers home with these little ones during the day - unsure what's safe to participate in during the break. We have a heart for our community, our kids, and our families. We want to help! Here's what we're going to do:
Beginning next week, our studio will be going live daily Monday through Friday at 1pm Eastern Time, with free art & craft tutorials to create at home with your kids! We'll have shopping lists (with links to the supplies you can order from Amazon) so you can have supplies on-hand to complete the projects with us! We hope this helps the parents, grandparents, nannies, and in home providers to still have something fun to do with these little guys, and something exciting to look forward to during a time that can be quite overwhelming for kids. Art is therapy, friends! And if there was ever a time for it, it's now! For our first week of projects - we’re going to need to get some basic supplies to start out with, so the cost will be a bit higher this week - especially if you don't have a lot of these items on hand. Some packs suggested may be in larger quantities than you would want for a single child, so encourage a friend to join you & split the bill! Some things (like a watercolor and brush set) may feel like a little bit of an “investment” - but rest assured that many of these will be reused throughout the upcoming weeks. The best news: We’ll talk about how to take care of these things too, and how to keep them in great shape for your own creative endeavors outside of these tutorials!
Videos will be live via our Facebook page daily @ 1pm EST, and available for replay immediately after. Videos will also be available via our YouTube channel.
Week 1 projects, beginning the week of 3/16 - 3/20
Monday: Drawing and painting watercolor animals
Tuesday: Peg Dolls
Wednesday: Painted Canvas (Theme TBD)
Thursday: Chalk Pastel Galaxy
Friday: Sculpt a friend with Model Magic
**With Amazon being overburdened with essential deliveries, we have partnered with BLICK ARTS to fulfill your orders if / when Amazon cannot. Blick's current lead times (with shipping) are running around 5-7 business days. They have assured me that they will be able to maintain that shipping speed moving forward. Currently, orders over $35 ship free, and there is a promo code typically DAILY in the top of the home screen that provides a % off code for orders over a certain amount (Typically $65)**
The following links to products are affiliate links via Amazon or Blick Arts. I may make a small commission on your purchase which helps fund our studio and endeavors such as our free art tutorials!
Watercolor paper: You definitely don't need anything fancy! This pack of Canson paper is budget friendly and holds up well under pressure! It's able to handle a decent amount of water for younger kiddos and newer water-colorists. It's a bargain and what I use in studio for my own students! We will use just a sheet or two per child each week.
Watercolor Set:
** The set that is linked below (available now) is not what I think you NEED for this - but it is one that's still available on Amazon while other options are limited. PLEASE don't feel like a crayola watercolor set from Target wouldn't be fine for this! Upgrade once you know your kiddos LOVE watercolors and can treat a set like this well.**
Brushes: We want a variety of shapes and sizes to learn with. These aren't the last set you'll ever need, lol, but at this price - they're going to be fun to play and learn with.
Sharpies! Fine and Ultra Fine: Sharpies are a great artist's tool and we'll be using them a lot over the next few weeks! This pack is a twin-tip style, so you get your basic (thicker) lined sharpie, and your finer line (pen style) sharpie all in one!
Cardstock: This is a nice size pack with 4 sheets of each color. We'll be using one sheet of black in week one, so this will cover up to 4 kids (one sheet each) with remaining colors to be used in the following weeks.
Chalk Pastels: Like school chalk - but a little more soft and WAY more vibrant! These are going to be fun to play with - making galaxies and other bright illustrations on that black card stock above!
Peg Dolls: I'm no psychic - but I have a feeling kids are going to go bananas for the projects we create with these. This set comes with 50 dolls, and we'll walk through creating one in the tutorial, but the options are limitless. The set may seem excessive, but easily split with siblings or other friends, or honestly - your child might just want to make them all!
Craft Acrylic Paint: Any craft acrylic paint is fine... and you really only need red, yellow and blue + black and white if you're good at color mixing. But this set has every color you could need and more! Plenty to share with siblings and friends!
8x10 canvas: This pack includes 14 canvases! That's probably WAY more than most of you will need or want, but many of the other options are sold out in smaller packs. It's around $1 per canvas in this pack though - so you're saving a good bit. If you think you could share these with a friend, or have multiple kids painting over the next few weeks, I think it's a great buy. The Dollar Tree is also a great option if you're not sure that you want 14, lol. You can buy an individual 8x10 panel for $1 each.
Model Magic: Like modeling clay - but lightweight and fast drying. This is also the same stuff kids love to make their coveted "butter slime" with, lol. If you have any "tweens" in the house, you could already have some on hand! This set comes with several colors. I'd suggest picking up a pack of solid white too!
Additional supplies that I expect most will have on hand:
- glue
- scissors
- pencils / erasers
**With Amazon being overburdened with essential deliveries, we have partnered with BLICK ARTS to fulfill your orders if / when Amazon cannot. Blick's current lead times (with shipping) are running around 5-7 business days. They have assured me that they will be able to maintain that shipping speed moving forward. Currently, orders over $35 ship free, and there is a promo code typically DAILY in the top of the home screen that provides a % off code for orders over a certain amount (Typically $65)** **If any of these supplies are NOT in stock on Amazon or Blick - simply search for an alternative brand.
We look forward to having you all tune in to our Facebook videos next week! I'm just SO excited that you all want to do this with us! **Please note that we are currently unable to respond to comments here on the blog. Checkout our Facebook page's "FAQ" post - or message us on Facebook for more help!**