I have to give the credit to my son for this craft. The other day, we were out in the yard and the kids were picking flowers off the azalea bush. My son, who loves building things, took the flowers and poked them all onto a short stick. When he showed it to me, I...Continue Reading
I’m making some coloring sheets for a new urban homesteading store here in Portland. They wanted a chicken, duck, and a goat. I’m still working on the duck and goat, but here’s the chicken. Happy coloring! Click here or on the image below to print.Continue Reading
Disney asked me to make a road trip illustration for a project of theirs. (More on that in a few weeks.) So I thought I’d turn some of the illustrations into a Paper City “Road Trip Pack.” I made road pieces, like train tracks, so you can build your own road. My son was very...Continue Reading
Underwater life has been a very popular theme in our house lately. So yesterday morning, while we were all drawing, I made this coloring sheet. I haven’t yet colored it in, so if you want to upload your colored versions to the Made by Joel Facebook Page, please do! I’d love to see them. Later...Continue Reading
Etsy just posted their How-Tuesday video recently filmed in my studio! We made a Paper Bird Mobile that works nicely as a Mother’s Day present. I’ll attach the template below, but you can view the entire Etsy post and more info here. Thanks, Etsy! [vimeo 23216545 640 360] “This week’s Etsy how-to unfolds in the...Continue Reading
My sister Lori has a new album of original songs entitled “Outside My Door – Songs For Children Of all Ages.” I did the artwork for it, which some of you might recognize since I used the Paper City and added some color and a few extra details relating to her lyrics. The design layout...Continue Reading
As you know, I love handmade and recyclable activities. In honor of Earth Day, I’ve created this quick coloring sheet. You can print it out on both front and back of the page or why not print it on the backside of existing paper bound for recycling? Show us you creations and other great ideas for Earth Day...Continue Reading
Here is a project I did for Junior Magazine, and I thought it would make a fun craft or gift for Mother’s Day. They are standing paper flowers. The idea was inspired by a paper ornament from Ann Wiseman’s book, Making Things (One of my favorite kids craft books.) The paper pedal circles slide on...Continue Reading
My paintings are in the Daily Cafe through March if any of you in the Portland area want to swing by! Bring the kids too, they still have my coloring sheets at the cafe. I’ll post them again below if anyone’s in the mood for coloring now. (More info on the paintings at my art...Continue Reading
I was asked to create a Paper City addition for Art Month Sydney. To launch the festival this year, Sydney’s National Art School hosted an ‘Art Month Art Adventure’ event for kids. The project (named Itty Bitty City) was driven by LMNOP magazine, and was based on my Paper City, but also included many other decorations...Continue Reading
I’ve wanted to try making a thaumatrope spinner for awhile, and when I recently saw these on the Made in Me blog, I had to give it a try. I just finished a bird painting for a commission, so I used it for the design. When spinning, it almost looks like the bird is flapping...Continue Reading
We’ve been having some more windy days with small sticks falling into our yard. So I took a piece of scrap board and drilled some holes into it and made a little forest building toy. It was fun sticking the branches in to build the forest, but it was even more exciting when my son...Continue Reading
And the winner according to random.org is comment number 398! So it looks like the dolls will be going to Denmark. Congratulations! This was really fun! I also made another quick coloring sheet from one of my paintings so everyone can get a little something. Hope you are all enjoying the Holidays! Coloring sheet is...Continue Reading
Liz over at Say Yes to Hoboken invited me to do a craft for her BlogNog Holiday Series. She did a great job organizing a fantastic collection of holiday crafts, so keep your eye out over there for more BlogNog posts. For mine, I decided to make these reindeer cards! My kids love it when...Continue Reading
I’ve seen people make trees of thanks and thought it would be fun to make a mobile of thanks. It was a fast and simple project, similar to the nature mobile I made a few months ago. We just cut out pieces of paper, drew or wrote things that we were happy for and taped...Continue Reading
There were some warm, windy days last week and many sticks were blowing off the trees into the yard. We had the spur of the moment idea to try making a kite. So we gathered a few sticks, cut some thick paper, got out the tape and string and in ten minutes we had a...Continue Reading
And the winner according to random.org is comment number 34! So it looks like the puzzle will be going to France. Congratulations! This was so much fun and such a success, I’ll definitely do another one before the winter holidays. Thanks for playing everybody! I also decided I better make a couple of new coloring...Continue Reading
A few months ago Parents Magazine asked me to design the Thanksgiving craft for their November issue. I just picked it up at the grocery store last night! If you want to try making one then you can see the craft and instructions here on the Parents website. And I also have instructions for wooden...Continue Reading
