We were at the park over the weekend and I spotted some very nice tree branches on the ground and decided it was time to make some fishing poles! The kids each picked out a stick and we carried them home.  I took my knife and whittled down the bumps, found some string, a couple...Continue Reading

There was one corner in my art studio that didn’t have enough light, so I thought it would be interesting to try and make a lamp. I found an old socket in the garage, bent some wire, and sewed a shade from some fabric. It definitely looks homemade, which may or may not be good....Continue Reading

I just had an opening reception for my art show at the Daily Cafe in Portland.  It was a great dinner party.  In addition to the art, I designed coloring sheets for kids.  If you want to try them out, download below. Coloring Sheets: Click on the images below, then print.Continue Reading

I’ve been getting a lot of emails from teachers and parents who are trying out some of my crafts.  It’s so great to see what everybody is doing.  I just got an email from Marta, who is a teacher in Spain.  She told me her students just made design trees!  This was probably the most...Continue Reading

While reading the December issue of Art Forum Magazine, I came across a brilliant Damián Ortega sculpture made of tortillas.  Of course I immediately wished I could play with them.  So I scanned some recent collage circles I’d made, printed them out, and made these building discs.  It’s surprisingly tricky to build with them, but...Continue Reading

Today I made a little cowboy scene out of paper.  Similar to the paper animals I made before.  These are made from painted paper that I use for my collages, but any paper will do.  I also used a black and silver pen to draw on them.  I like toys like these because they flatten and...Continue Reading

A few days ago I got to spend some time at the Portland Art Museum on my birthday.  I hadn’t been there in awhile and was really inspired by the Native American exhibits.  Dance wands, totem poles, jewelry. So I came home and dreamt up the idea for this toy.  A kind of interactive art...Continue Reading

I just finished an interesting art commission: painting a blank set of nesting dolls. It was quite different than anything I’ve done before, but surprisingly enjoyable. Another big bonus is that the recipient of the gift is an amazing photographer, and she put together this really great video. Thanks Lisa!         This last...Continue Reading

I used to do this all the time when I was a kid, but forgot about it until a couple of weeks ago when drawing with Jack and Tess.  It’s a great trick, and you can do all kinds of animations.  We did a chicken first.  If you want to try something like this, here...Continue Reading

This morning we were drawing together and I thought it would be fun to get some material scraps and cut them into clothes so we could dress-up the drawings.  Similar to the vintage buttons game we did before.Continue Reading

We’ve been spending time outside in our playhouse lately, and I realized I’ve never posted pictures of it on this blog.  Some of you might have seen it in my Daddy Story on Bloesem Kids.  Last fall I decided to utilize the strip of cement behind our garage and fit a playhouse to that space....Continue Reading

I finished the dollhouse!  At least for now.  I’m sure I’ll never stop making furniture for it.  It’s too much fun.  My son especially loves organizing and arranging the furniture.  The guys in the family are playing with dollhouses and the girls are out riding bicycles.  Nice.Continue Reading

While finding branches in my yard for the doll house, it got me thinking about what else I could do with them. I just finished making some new bird collages for an upcoming art show, so I scanned them and printed out smaller versions. Then cut them out, and wired them to the branch. Kind...Continue Reading

I’ve started to make some doll house furniture.  I’ve been wanting to do this for a few months now.  My kids love playing with doll houses.  I bent a little chair out of wire, and finally found a use for the awesome hand printed fabric scraps I got from Umbrella Prints.  Got out the hot...Continue Reading

The kids got some new construction paper for a Christmas gift last night, so we made finger puppets this morning. You can see on their faces the excitement and wonder they had for the tiny puppets. They had a great time acting out really funny scenes and stories. A super fast craft with fun results!Continue Reading

8 cousins = 8 hand embroidered holiday shirts! I asked all the parents what they thought their kids would like, and then went to work. I might have to make an R2-D2 for myself! I put them in my bird boxes and made little circle collages for decoration.Continue Reading

My nephew and niece had a joint birthday party last week. Pablo loves trucks and Milly loves our climbing gorilla when she comes over. She also loves princesses, so I made her a climbing princess. Good old fashion fun!Continue Reading

Now that I’m on an embroidery roll, I decided to make some owl shirts. I think it might be part therapy too, since all three of my owl paintings sold at my last art show. (You can see a video below of me painting them, if you’d like.)Continue Reading

A friend of mine has been wanting me to make a bird shirt for her, so she finally came to my house with a blank shirt and made me make her one. Here is a little video that she took of the process. You can see my other shirts here and here if you’d like.Continue Reading

The twins just got some cute Japanese toys from a friend. They called them froggy-bears and thought they needed a nap, so I did a 20 second sewing project and made them some fleece sleeping bags. Then we made lego beds. It’s pretty fun. I’ve been so busy painting for my October art show that...Continue Reading