ART CAMP - DAY THREE

Today was the final day of art camp and I can honestly say that I'm sad that it's over. I'd like to take a day or two off, but I would definitely be ready to pick right up again on Monday! Sadly, that is not the plan, but this is absolutely something we will do again in the future.

The theme for today was wearable art and I decided to reward the girls' hard work these past two days with some fun projects that can be completed rather quickly. I had planned to start out with some fabric scrap necklaces to use up some of the scraps from the purses we made on day one, but when Petunia saw the Martha Stewart paper bead necklace kit that I picked up just in case I needed an extra activity, she fell in love with the idea and wanted to make that first. So that's what we did! Here are the girls rolling the paper beads.

Now to string the beads on to the elastic, making a pattern of colors and sizes.

This was a great activity for Peanut because she finally felt like she could keep up with the big girls and truly make her own necklace with very little help.

Like most of Martha's kits, this really was well put together and the colors and patterns are beautiful. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that this is the project that Petunia chose, but once we got started, I realized it was a perfect choice.

Here is Peanut showing off her creation.

And here is a completed necklace. I love how the little girl that made this one planned it so she can wear it with one side showing pink, orange and green or flip it to the other side to show the blues, depending on what she was wearing. Very clever!

Once the necklaces were made, we quickly moved on to the next project. I was determined to use some of the beautiful scraps leftover from the purses we made, so we decided to make some fabric pins. 

The first step was to position the template on the fabric to find the most beautiful spot to cut, then the template was traced and the circle was carefully cut out of the fabric. I then helped the girls personalize their buttons by adding a painted monogram.

Next, the buttons were assembled with the Badge-a-minit and we used our muscles to squeeze really hard and secure the pins. Anytime I can use my Badge-a-minit, I'm happy.

Here is our adorable group modeling their pins and necklaces after a great couple of days of camp. I did have a few more projects up my sleeve, but the girls decided to save them for next time and spend the rest of this very warm day swimming. That's fine with me, as that means there will be a next time! Although I'm taking bets that the next spare moment Petunia has she will want me to work on the remaining projects with her.

Well that's it for Summer Art Camp 2009! I really learned a lot from this experience and will definitely be planning future sessions. I know that the girls had tons of fun, are thrilled with their new treasures and learned some new skills in the process - so I'd call that a great success!

So many of you have contacted me asking for advice on how to host your own art camp, and I am just thrilled that so many people are inspired to take this on themselves. To help you along, I will be recapping the entire three days and including some tips and tricks and lessons learned along the way in my next post. Check back for that no later than Monday.