Happy The Artful Year- Celebrating The Seasons Holidays Creating Alongside Your Kids

This postal service contains Amazon Affiliate links.

I am therefore grateful to live surrounded past times creative colleagues as well as friends who inspire me to create as well as connect amongst my children. Jean Van't Hul, creator of the pop kid's arts as well as arts and crafts blog, The Artful Parent, has been mortal I convey admired for years. I dearest seeing what genius novel as well as creative ideas she comes upward with! 

I was therefore thrilled to live invite to participate inwards her Blog Book Tour for her newest book, The Artful Year: Celebrating the Seasons as well as Holidays amongst Crafts as well as Recipes.

From the minute Jean's majority arrived inwards our dwelling a few weeks agone I convey felt inspired to create to a greater extent than amongst my kids. Jean has an amazing means of helping children create beauty as well as connectedness through the simplest activities.  

Today equally I part about 100 Acts of Kindness Challenge! 

The Artful Year is filled amongst over 175 activities that tin appeal to children ages ane to eight.

The majority includes...

• arts as well as crafts that become along amongst each flavor (Spring, Summer, Winter Fall) along amongst activities that move inwards all seasons

• ideas as well as decorations for celebrating the holidays together

• favorite seasonal recipes that are fun to brand together as well as eat!

• children's literature suggestions that necktie inwards amongst the seasons as well as the holidays (one of my favorite parts of the book!)

I dearest that each department of the majority is broken downward past times flavor as well as includes a detailed tabular array of contents for each department therefore that I tin easily notice activities as well as crafts I desire to try.

I too intend it is fabulous that inwards the department of the majority that features activities for all seasons, Jean breaks downward each activeness as well as shares seasonal variations for each one. 

Melted Bead Suncatchers

When I began scanning through Jean's majority amongst my kids nosotros discovered the melted bead suncatchers on page 128 as well as my kids straightaway said that nosotros bespeak to brand them asap! 

We gathered upward the few supplies that nosotros needed (translucent pony beads, metallic pump baking pan as well as cookie cutters, an erstwhile cookie sheet, some grommets, as well as out toaster over) as well as nosotros invited some neighborhood friends to bring together us for a crafternoon (ie. an afternoon of crafting)!

Our delineate of piece of occupation solid is currently nether structure as well as our dorsum patio is gone, therefore nosotros grabbed an extension cord as well as brought our large toaster oven out to the driveaway.

To brand ane of the versions of melted bead suncatchers that Jean shared inwards her majority y'all merely identify translucent beads within a cake pan or muffin tin. We decided to brand ours a flake to a greater extent than festive for Valentine's Day as well as nosotros used some pump pans as well as pump cookie cutters. From at that spot the kids started getting fifty-fifty to a greater extent than creative ideas as well as wanted to elbow grease making these using the letters of their names.

The plastic fumes aren't adept to live smelling inwards a unopen space, therefore nosotros made certain to create this exterior therefore nosotros had lots of ventilation.

Since nosotros were exterior the kids rode bikes around land they waited for the plastic beads to melt as well as and then they would come upward dorsum as well as cheque on them in ane lawsuit to a greater extent than as well as again.

The kids (ages 2-8) had therefore much fun amongst this activeness that nosotros were creating... as well as waiting... as well as creating for almost iii twelvemonth hours! Once it started getting night as well as nosotros had to wind upward the projection all of the kids were begging for us to acquire to create it in ane lawsuit to a greater extent than some other day. I intend it was a hit!

On a few of them nosotros fifty-fifty followed ane of Jean reader's suggestions to add together a grommet within the pan/cookie cutter therefore that in ane lawsuit the plastic beads melted a petty hole would stay (not covered inwards plastic) to brand it easier to string upward the suncatchers! Genius! We in all likelihood could've popped out the grommet but the kids thought it made it easier to position the string through the holes, therefore nosotros left it.

I dearest how Jean says that celebrating doesn't convey to live a party... nosotros tin too "celebrate past times noticing, sharing, capturing, as well as creating."

Our whole crafternoon sense amongst the neighbors was such a sweetness one. Kids noticed each other's creations, cheered ane some other on, got inspired past times each other, as well as connected inwards such darling ways.

In additon to creating amongst my kids I dearest sharing our favorite crafty activities as well as resources amongst our friends. The vecino kids (and their mom) loved checking out Jean's majority as well as seeing all of the amazing ideas inside.

As purpose of our 100 Acts of Kindness challenge nosotros decided that nosotros wanted to create a Valentine's Day Crafty Kit using The Artful Year as well as give it away to ane of our friends.

Inside the Valentine's Day arts and crafts kit nosotros included several items needed to create some of our favorite Valentine's Day activities from The Artful Year. 

The arts and crafts kit includes the next items...

• A re-create of The Artful Year: Celebrating the Seasons as well as Holidays amongst Crafts as well as Recipes
• metal pump cookie cutters
• crayons
• washable non-toxic paint
• a sketchbook 
• watercolors
• heart doilies
• paper plates
• coffee filters
• red as well as pinkish tissue paper
• a few pieces of clear contact paper
• a few sheets of wax paper

Now that nosotros made melted bead suncatchers nosotros are already filling upward the pages of our re-create of The Artful Year with post-it notes equally nosotros create upward one's heed what to create for our side past times side crafternoon amongst friends!

Purchasing The Artful Year

You tin grab your real ain re-create of The Artful Year, (the #1 New Release inwards Crafts for Children on Amazon), wherever books are sold.

The Artful Year Blog Book Tour inwards Feb 2015

26 of my favorite BLOGS volition too sharing sneak peeks into The Artful Year over the side past times side month. You tin cheque them out past times next the schedule below.

Feb iii :: Tinkerlab


Feb four :: Creative amongst Kids


Feb v :: Toddler Approved


Feb half-dozen :: Tiny Rotten Peanuts


Feb vii :: Art Bar Blog


Feb 8 :: Meri Cherry


Feb nine :: Teach Mama


Feb 10 :: Playful Learning


Feb xi :: Fun at Home amongst Kids


Feb 12 :: Mother Natured


Feb xiii :: Red Ted Art


Feb fourteen :: Picklebums


Feb xv :: tba


Feb xvi :: Left Brain, Craft Brain


Feb 17 :: No Time for Flashcards


Feb eighteen :: Buggy & Buddy


Feb nineteen :: Nurture Store


Feb twenty :: Kids Activities Blog


Feb 21 :: MollyMoo Crafts


Feb 22 :: Let’s Lasso the Moon


Feb 23 :: Childhood 101


Feb 24 :: Handmade Charlotte


Feb 25 :: Babble Dabble Do


Feb 26 :: I Heart Crafty Things


Feb 27 :: The Imagination Tree


Feb 28 :: Inner Child Fun


Date tba :: Hands Free Mama

The Artful Year is gorgeous, filled amongst inspiring ideas, as well as totally do-able. I dearest it!
Let me know if y'all convey whatsoever questions almost the book! I would LOVE to tell y'all fifty-fifty to a greater extent than almost it!

Disclosure: I received a gratis re-create of The Artful Year therefore that I could part it amongst you. All opinions are my own.

Images featured from The Artful Year past times Jean Van’t Hul, © 2015 past times Jean Van’t Hul. Reprinted past times scheme amongst Roost Books, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boston, MA. www.roostbooks.com

Share this post