Custom kids birthday party invitations by Paper & Palm. Citrus Collection
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Mr. Boddington’s Studio
Tons of whimsical stationery and exceptional creativity from Mr. Boddington’s Studio. I’m completely obsessed with the new White House letter writing kits, which are geared towards kids but would be equally awesome for adults! There are also new stationery sets, greeting card designs, and much more!
Online Art Classes We Can All Do At Home
Image via Wildfield Paper Co.
Hi friends. How are you all holding up? Hopefully everyone is safe and quarantining at home, and during these uncertain times I know some of us are looking to the arts to help us de-stress and pass the time at home. So for those of you looking for online art classes we can all do at home – primarily calligraphy, painting, illustration, and printmaking classes – I thought I’d share a few of my faves for you!
Image via Written Word Calligraphy
CALLIGRAPHY
- Calligraphy is so meditative and therapeutic – and there’s so much you can do with it once you master the skill! After teaching more than a thousand students through sold-out in person workshops, Karla Lim from Written Word Calligraphy just launched her first online workshop! Karla worked really hard to make her in-person workshops completely virtual, with printable worksheets, notes for troubleshooting, group live sessions, private Facebook groups, and feedback from Karla to help students get where they want to be. Enrollment is only open until April 14 – sign up right here!
- Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls is another one of my favorite calligraphers and has a couple of calligraphy classes over on Creativebug! Her calligraphy on unconventional surfaces class covers techniques for writing with calligraphy on unconventional surfaces, like wood and chalkboard, using acrylic paint, gouache and chalk.
- For those of you looking for a full introduction into all things calligraphy, I highly recommend the Modern Calligraphy Summit! There are two installments so far – Modern Calligraphy Summit 1.0 and Modern Calligraphy Summit 2.0 –and the classes including brush lettering, invitation design, envelope layouts, basic copperplate, writing on non-traditional surfaces, digitizing watercolor illustrations, and so much more! And as much as an in-person workshop would be totally amazing, it’s just as incredible to be able to learn from so many talented calligraphers from the comfort of your own home. The Modern Calligraphy Summit also includes handy templates and handouts, a private Facebook community to support you as you learn, and lifetime access to all the amazing content so you can go back and watch the videos as many times as you need to practice and get the hang of things. Enroll right here!
Image via Carolyn Gavin
PAINTING + ILLUSTRATION
- For those of you who enjoy watercolor painting, the Watercolor Summit is right up your alley. Learn how to mix custom colors, paint landscapes and skies, florals of every variety, and even animals with layers and depth with over sixteen hours of instruction from teachers like Jenna Rainey and Annie Mertlich of Wildfield Paper Co. The Watercolor Summit includes a list of recommended supplies, a private Facebook community, and lifetime access to all the course materials. There’s also a bonus pack just focused on Annie’s botanical paintings and a full second installment of the Watercolor Summit focused on gouache painting coming on May 11! Enroll right here!
- If you already have all your supplies and want to learn how to paint specific kinds of flowers, a few of my favorite watercolor artists offer more detailed classes on their own channels. Watercolor artist Yao Cheng has several classes on Creativebug, while Jenna Rainey also has a ton of video tutorials on her YouTube channel, covering everything from anemones to peonies to leaves!
- If acrylics are more your speed, I’m intrigued by this Loose Floral Acrylic Painting class with Australian-based artist Claire Bremner. The colors are so fun, and the loose painting style is super accessible for beginners. She also has this Expressive Floral Artwork class!
- Speaking of bold, bright colors, I was absolutely delighted to discover this gouache and watercolor painting class from one of my favorite artists, Carolyn Gavin. It’s geared more towards intermediate level artists, with a focus on flowers, fruit, and natural objects. The class includes 31 days of video instruction and painting prompts – enough to keep you busy for a while! And for beginners, this gouache painting class from Heather Ross looks like fun!
- And since many of us are staying indoors these days, landscape painting could be a great way to remember our favorite places – or the places we plan to visit when it’s safe to travel! I’ve always been drawn to loose Impressionist-style landscapes. This landscape painting class uses oil paints, but you can totally follow along in acrylics or watercolor depending on your preference.
- If you’re looking to develop your line drawing skills, Lisa Congdon has a whole range of classes over on Creativebug, including a month-long daily drawing challenge and a4-part basic line drawing class.
Image via Katharine Watson
PRINTMAKING
- I took a printmaking class back in college and absolutely loved it – I’ve been wanting to get back into it ever since, and I would love to teach my girls when they’re a bit older! I’m definitely signing up for this linoleum block printing class from one of my favorite printmaking artists, Katharine Watson and this monoprinting class from Courtney Cerutti.
- I took a Suminagashi paper marbling class a couple years ago and it was SO fun – and incredibly meditative. My 6 year old took the class with me and also loved it, so it’s kid friendly for those of you with artistically-inclined kids! I was thrilled to find this online version that anyone can take at home.
Happy learning everyone!
2019 Gift Guide: Gift Ideas for Kids
Our next gift guide is all about the kiddos! I have two girls, age 5 and 7, so this guide is mostly geared towards kids in the 5-9 year old range – but if you have kids in that age range I’ve got a lot of great ideas for you! If you’re looking for gift ideas for younger kids, check out my gift guides from previous years to see our favorite toys for those ages! (Hint: Magnatiles is pretty much always the answer.)
1. I’m kind of obsessed with this wood castle set. It’s completely modular, so your kids can build any castle that comes to mind. I can totally see my kids creating a castle filled with their favorite figurines!
2. This might be pretty specific to my kids, but they play with these Lightfury and Toothless figurines for hours – so I thought I’d include them! I try not to have a million dolls and figurines in the house, but these seem to inspire a lot of imaginative play so they get my stamp of approval.
3. If dragons aren’t your kids’ thing, my kids are also super into all things horses and Spirit. This walking Spirit is at the top of their Christmas list, but they love any horse figurine like this or this with long hair that they can comb and braid.
4. This star projector would be so beautiful as a bedroom nightlight.
5. We discovered these Peaceable Kingdom board games at our local game shop, Labyrinth, over the summer – and we already have three of them! The games are cooperative, meaning everyone wins together and there are no losers (especially tiny younger siblings) with hurt feelings. Feed the Woozle is probably our favorite so far, but we also love Gnomes at Night and this Fairy Game! We also really love this bug building game from Lakeshore Learning.
6. My kids scooter all over the neighborhood – this one folds flat and has light up wheels!
7. Thank goodness for beautiful wood toys. I love the colors in this Montessori counting toy for younger kids, and this minimalist wood counting toy for kids above first grade.
8. This shapes puzzle set is perfect for visually-oriented kids! Let them build something entirely from their imagination or work on their problem-solving skills by trying to build the designs shown on the cards. Would make a fantastic travel toy, too!
9. I’m thrilled that Polly Pocket is making a comeback! We have a couple sets already and my girls love them – and they’re small enough to be fun stocking stuffers, too! This unicorn set is on my list.
10. My kids are absolutely obsessed with temporary tattoos – especially metallic tattoos! This Melissa & Doug temporary tattoo book would also be a wonderful stocking stuffer.
11. Bracelets with secret messages! So fun!
12. We took the kids to the International Spy Museum a few weeks ago, and they’ve been obsessed with all things secret and sleuthy ever since! I feel like we’d get a lot of mileage out of this Super Sleuth kit – but an invisible ink pen also makes a wonderful stocking stuffer!
13. Give me all the STEM kits! This Snap Circuits kit looks like so much fun, and there’s also a Magic Rocks kit and a build-your-own Robot Spider kit!