CHERRY ON TOP!

Did you know that it was National Ice Cream day on July 16th?

It's also National Ice Cream month, according to some very reliable sources.

The Camper Kids got a head start on this fabulous food holiday when we had Sweet Treats Arts Day!



We not only made delicious papier machè ice cream cones, but also scrumptious cupcakes!

And while the sprinkles and frosting were drying on those sweets, we cooled off and made some painted Popsicle and lollipop mobiles.



The best part was eating real ice cold Popsicles at the end of the day.

That was the cherry on top.

JOLLY JELLYFISH & SQUISHY SPONGE SEA URCHINS

It's beach time!

We brought the ocean to us again this June at Summer Arts Camp.

Last year Ocean Arts Day was such a splash when we made papier maché octopuses from plastic bottles, that we had to create another squirmy sea creature this year.

Whimsical papier maché jellyfish, made from tiny plastic bowls, tissue paper, sea shells, google eyes, and ribbons were swimming all around us!

Silly jelly faces and expressions filled our aquarium.

Jellyfish were squirming and squishy sponge sea urchins began to fly!

{At the end of the day, the Camper Kids made squishy spongy sea urchins, soaked them in a bucket of ice cold water, and threw them at Matthew!}

A perfect way to cool off!

Ocean Arts Day was a blast!

NOT A SINGLE FISH OUT OF WATER

Hello!

Summer zipped by too fast, didn't it?  I know that many of our Camper Kids were on their way to the beach after their week here at Summer Arts Camp, however, all of the Camper Kids enjoyed a little "ocean time" while they were here in June.

OCEAN ARTS DAY was one of the highlights of Summer Arts Camp this year.

During Week One we created sea creatures from recycled plastic bottles and papier maché, using layers of pastel blue tissue paper and home made paste, which resulted in a family of octopuses.

These eight legged squids were adorned with seashells on their heads, google eyes, and glitter on their tentacles and when they swam into our "saltwater aquarium" for a photo, they were as handsome and glamorous as could be.

While the octopuses were happy in the aquarium, the Camper Kids started sailing away and painted saltwater-colors works of art.

Using black Sharpies to sketch their sailboats on the sea and saturated watercolors for color, the boats started floating on the waves.

Some sprinkles of salt on the wet watercolor paint, added a textured effect, much like sand in the sea.

Love all the color!

By Week Two there was not a single fish out of water.  We continued our OCEAN ARTS DAY, but with a different project...

...a Fancy Fun Fish!

Painting with acrylics this time instead of watercolors, the Camper Kids went wild and painted fabulous tropical colored fish on paper.

We stuffed them {the fish, not the Camper Kids} with paper and added a ribbon so that they {the fish} could hang as a mobile.

This school of Fancy Fun Fish got all A's!

STICKY FINGERS

Who knew...

that we could make fabric machè bowls!

This was a first-time project at Summer Arts Camp and...it was an experiment.  The SAC Team did a trial or two of this project before camp began {as we do with every one}, but we were not quite sure how it would actually turn out with the Camper Kids getting their own hands into the gluey gooey mess.  

Last year we had fun creating papier machè bowls with paper and the Camper Kids loved it.  This year we wanted to try something new using the same concept, but with a different medium.

With a generous donation of designer fabric samples, tailored dress shirts, and scraps from my personal sewing collection, the little artists had some design decisions to make.

Basic supplies of glue, paint brushes, scissors, plastic bowls used for molds, recycled glass jars, and strips of torn textiles...

evolved into a collection of beautifully crafted handmade decorative fabric bowls, vases, and candle holders created by the Camper Kids' sticky fingers.

Vibrant colors, 

cheetah prints, polka dots, traditional tattersall, and plaids were some of the patterns chosen for these creations.

The bowls and jars were wonderful!  And while our sample {the yellow dotty bowl} was made using cut fabric strips rather than the torn strips the Camper Kids made, and the edge of the bowl was a clean cut edge instead of a ragged one, I rather like the organic randomness of the torn fabric and irregular edges of the bowls and jars the Camper Kids created.  Don't you?

It was a challenging, time consuming, thoughtful project, and the Camper Kids did a fabulous job!  

Now you all know what you can do with your old shirts and stuff ~ tear them up, give your child some glue, a paint brush, and a jar, and let them create!