Leaf Print Turkeys and Squirrels

Looking for a quick and easy Thanksgiving project, why not try leaf print Turkeys.

or maybe a Squirrel for those of you not celebrating Thanksgiving next Monday.



Full instructions are coming right up but first...........

Speaking of Squirrels check out this adorable one in this week's giveaway.  (I'm still having issues with the photos, are you listening blogger! but you can click on any to enlarge)



I just love the acorn!

And I can't wait to make this deer for the nature table.







 This week's feature book and giveaway is "How to Make Stuffed Animals" by Sian Keegan.  Another great selection from my friends at Quarry Books.

This book features large photos and full size patterns. (no enlarging!) All projects can be completed with "fat quarters" so you don't need alot of fabric kicking around.

There are 18 projects in all and wait till you see the fox and the fluffy sheep.


- 128 pgs.
- 300 illustrations/photos
- paperback, 8.5 x 10 inches
- suggested retail $27.99 CAN, $24.99 US

My kids have always enjoyed making stuffies.  We started out with tiny animals using wool felt and embroidery floss.

Here is my youngest at 6 sewing his frog.

Great projects for you or your little sewer to try.  Wouldn't these make great ornaments for a woodland themed Christmas tree?




Check out the end of this post to enter the giveaway.










But let's get back to the leaf prints:




MATERIALS REQUIRED:

- assorted leaves in different sizes, look for good veining on the back
- liquid tempera paint in Fall colours
- my template if needed
- cardboard, posterboard, or heavy paper for the background (substrate)
- white paper for printing
- coloured paper  (brown, yellow, red, black)
- brown kraft paper or paper bag
- scissors
- glue
- white pencil crayon
- embellishments, googly eyes, scraps of felt, twigs, pinecone

PROCEDURE:

Select your background.  Now you can use cardboard that you have primed and painted, coloured posterboard, or even wc or heavy paper.


Paint if needed.

If you are making the turkey find a round object to trace around.  This will be your guideline when making the feathers.

Take your liquid tempera and paint the backside of a leaf.

Following the circle you traced, lay the leaf paint side down and press.

Vary the sizes, types and paint colour.

For the squirrel make a stack from largest to smallest, you could even put a bit of a curve in it.

When the prints have dried, cut out keeping that fan shape.

Cut out the extra parts of the turkey out of the coloured paper.

You need a circle of Kraft paper/paper bag. a long pear shape for the head, a triangle of yellow for the beak, and a squiggle of red.

You can use my template if needed.

Glue into place on your background.  I used 2 googly eyes and 2 small twigs (for feet) to embellish my turkey.


Lastly you can add some black paper strips glued down to form a nice frame.

For the squirrel I glued down the tail first.

I traced out my squirrel shape with a white pencil crayon on brown paper. (see template).

I cut the shape out and added a few details with the white pencil crayon.

I then glued the squirrel body into place, added a brown felt ear, black felt nose and eye, and bits of a pine cone.

Add the black paper strips to finish.

That's it, a great Thanksgiving project.

Back to the giveaway.  If you would like to win your own copy of "How to Make Stuffed Animals" by Sian Keegan please enter by one of the following:

- leave a comment on this post
- like or comment on this link on my Facebook page
- send me an email at thatartistwoman@shaw.ca

Please enter by 11:59pm on Thursday Oct 4th/12 and I will make the draw Friday Oct 5th/12.

Only US and Canadian residents please.

Good luck everyone and be sure to try some leaf print turkeys or squirrels. Great decorations for Thanksgiving!



Disclaimer: Review copy of How to Make Stuffed Animals provided by Quarry Books.  All opinions expressed are my own.

In the Style of van Gogh: Painted Collage

One of my favorite paintings, especially this time of year, is "Siesta" by van Gogh, 1889 - 1890.  It also sometimes titled "Meridian" or "Rest".


I had the pleasure of seeing it in person at the Orsay in Paris and the texture of the brushstrokes immediately places you in that field.

What a good place to start with a painted paper collage.

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

- wc or heavy sketch paper for painting
- newspaper
- brown kraft paper
- disk tempera, liquid tempera, and/or acrylic
- sponge
- scissors
- glue
- charcoal
- colored pencils or crayons
- reference photos

PROCEDURE:

So this is a 2 session project.  One for painting and one for cutting/pasting. 


Take your heavy sketch paper or wc paper, this will be your background substrate.

With blue paint  cover at least half the paper on the diagonal.  Now with kids I just have them paint the entire page.  Set aside to dry.

Newspaper is one of my favorite art materials.  You will need 3 1/2 sheets.

With the same blue paint you were using paint over one 1/2 sheet.  Add a little white so you have a page that goes from dark blue to light.


Set aside to dry.

Paint the next piece brown and one yellow.

Take the brown sheet.  Using liquid tempera and/or acrylic paint 1/2 of the sheet with darker colours and one with lighter colors.  You also want different brushstrokes for each half.


One side has skinny diagonals and one side has wavy.

It's up to you what you do just be consistent on the half.

Here on the yellow I'm using a piece of cardboard to make my lines.

Leave your newspaper to dry.

By now your background should be dry.

Grab your sponge.  Now it can be a sea sponge or a manufactured one.


Put a little white tempera or acrylic on a plate.

If using a manufactured sponge make sure your tear a chunk off.  You want an uneven surface on the sponge.

Sponge on some white paint on the diagonal.


I ask the kids to turn their hand each time they sponge so you get variation in the sponging.




Let dry.

Take your brown kraft paper and cut a rectangle that fits in the lower 1/2 or 2/3rds of your background.  I pencil in a mark on the kraft paper so I know where to cut.


Don't attach just yet.

Using the painted newspaper start cutting out the other parts of your background.


Here is the light field.

The medium value haystack.

The dark value haystack.

Using glue secure the pieces into place.

Add some pieces to the front, (foreground).







Now with crayon or

colored pencil add in some grass details onto the kraft paper.

With the blue paper you painted sketch out the figures.

Cut out and add to the collage.  For the faces, feet, and hands I used the reverse side of the painted newspaper.

Add some shading and details to the figures with charcoal and crayon/colored pencil.

You could also sketch out the figures on white paper.

Add colour and then cut and paste onto your collage.

That's it.

Onto the results for the giveaway of the DVD Series, "Understanding Art: Impressionism" with Waldemar Januszczak.

I had a total of 57 entries and the winner by random draw is:

Here are your random numbers:

33

Timestamp: 2012-09-28 19:35:59 UTC


Which works out to be Jess who left this comment,

"Hi Gail! I have you on my google reader and I always look forward to your blog. I teach art to grades 4-8. Would love to win the DVDs! Thanks for sharing your ideas. "

Congratulations Jess!  Please email me at thatartistwoman@shaw.ca so I can arrange delivery.   Thanks everyone for entering.

See you next week.