The Artful Parent

Daphne Painting and Singing at the Easel (A Video!)

Here's a video of Daphne painting and singing at the easel, taken this morning. It was such a happy painting experience, I had to try to capture it on video! (Pretty sure this is the first video I've shared here...)

Welcome April Sponsors!

Please welcome my blog sponsors for the month of April! Some are new and many are longtime sponsors. They all help make this blog possible and I am very grateful for their support. I hope you will take a moment to visit their sites and see what they have to offer.

These businesses can be a great resource for artful families like yours and mine. I'm highlighting one of each of their products in the image above and including a link to it beside the business listed below. Explore and enjoy!

A Few Reminders...

Just a few more days until The Artful Parent book release!! Tuesday, April 9th is the big day! That means that there are just a few more days to pre-order The Artful Parent book and get a FREE copy of The Artful Spring eBook. If you've already pre-ordered, thank you, thank you! And if you were hoping for a friendly last-minute reminder, here it is... :)

Also, have you been following along on The Artful Parent Blog Tour? There are so many wonderful posts about the book on some of my favorite blogs!

Take a look at what people have said so far:

- Tinkerlab 
- Handmade Charlotte 
- Playful Learning
- Nurture Store 
- Make and Takes 
- Red Ted Art 
- Kids Activity Blog 
- Pink and Green Mama 
- Peas & Carrots Studio 
- A Mom with a Lesson Plan 

Look What Daphne is Drawing!

Daphne has started drawing her first faces and people! I find this developmental stage SO exciting!! Of course, she's still doing lots of scribbling and abstract art as well, which is completely normal. And I have to say I LOVE those, too. But seeing a few of those first faces and realism drawings peep out here and there is just so much fun.

Signed, Proud Mama

Note: Daphne is 3 1/2, the same age Maia was when she first started drawing faces and people. Some children begin drawing people as early as age 2 1/2, some later.

When did your kids begin drawing people?

Children's Arts and Crafts Pinterest Contest!

Get your pinning hats on, folks! It's time for a children's arts and crafts Pinterest contest! 

Yes. I am inviting you to create a Pinterest board of children's art and crafts activities and giving you an excuse to pin, pin, pin! As if you needed one...

(And if have yet to delve into the wonderful world of Pinterest, perhaps it's time to give it a try.)

To enter the contest, follow the instructions in the image above. You'll be pinning your favorite children's arts and crafts activities from around the web. Here are a few tips if you need some help getting started:

Birthday Reminiscing

I turned 36 yesterday. 

I know I say this every year, but 36 seems like a good age to me. A good year. (Will I say this when I turn 40?)

I came across a word on my birthday that opened a torrent of memories. A simple word:

Tumbleweed.

Happy Easter! (& An Image Transfer Easter Egg Decorating Idea)

Happy Easter! I hope that you are your family are enjoying a lovely Easter holiday. My daughters were surprised and excited to find that the Easter bunny hid their eggs inside the house today (a first for them) due to the rain. 

Anyway, I wanted to share one last Easter egg decorating idea while it's still somewhat relevant—image transfers on Easter eggs. I know it's too late for you to try it this year, but I'm very excited about this one. So pin it for next year! It is one of my new favorites and I'll definitely be experimenting more with image transfers. 

Kool-Aid Marbled Easter Eggs

We dyed Easter eggs with Kool-Aid the other day when we did the egg frame drawing. Then we took the Kool-Aid a step further and marbled Easter eggs with it! I just love how these look! Fancy and subtle at the same time.

Here's how we decorated these eggs. This is an easy and quick method—so give it a try today if you have yet to dye your eggs! (Otherwise pin for next year...)

Red Ted Art :: A New Kids' Craft Book & Interview (+ Giveaway!)

Maggy Woodley is the crafty dynamo behind the Red Ted Art blog. This Austrian-born, UK-based mom of two also has a new book (released today!) by the same name.

***Note: Readers will have a chance to win a copy of Maggy's new kids' craft book, Red Ted Art: Cute and Easy Crafts for Kids, at the end of this interview.***

JEAN: Maggy, Your new book is gorgeous! Plus it’s filled with tons of fun craft ideas for kids. You must be so proud! Can you tell us a bit about the process of creating your book?

MAGGY: Thank you Jean. I am so pleased you like the book (it is quite nerve racking having the first copies going out to people!).

My New Morning Ritual (& Writing in Our Family)

I have a new morning ritual and commitment. It involves waking up early before anyone else is up and making an amazing coffee drink (how did I live so long without it?!).

And writing.

Writing and thinking; processing and dreaming.