Fingerprints Tree Painting

Fingerprints Tree Painting

Mom and Me Fingerprint Painting

Family Yoga Art

Sharing these adorable photos of the families who joined us for the Family Yoga & Art class last month.  Join us on June 25th for the next Family Yoga & Art class adventure. We will be painting with our whole bodies in canvas!  More info can be found here:  Family Painted Yoga

Can't wait to Paint by Yoga with you and your little ones soon!

Yoga Bead Love. Yoga and Mala Beads Making Workshop.

So excited to start 2014 with series of yoga+art workshops to teach. First on the list: ‘YOGA. BEAD. LOVE.’ A Yoga and Mala Beads Making Workshop on February 23, Sunday, 2-4pm. 

Mala Beads have been around for centuries, are not only beautiful, but also an anytime-reminder of the inner quietude and space available to us at all times. Turning the thumb around each bead while reciting a mantra or holding a visualization helps keep count and sustain focus during meditation.

Enjoy an hour of gentle yoga practice followed by a fun, creative workshop. You will choose, string and make your own Mala Beads Bracelet that complement your unique energy system. You can keep it for yourself or give as a gift. Bring a friend and let’s have fun!  All levels welcome.

Contact: Yoga360.  91 Bankview Dr., Frankfort, IL 60423 / South Chicagoland. Visit www.yoga-360.com or call (815) 806-0360 to reserve your spots.

Hop on to my website sheriesloane.com for more yoga+art fun!

How to Paint an Abstract Art

Fun foundation painting.  Work in progress.

Putting in the tiny details.

'Untitled' by Sherie Sloane.  Finished Painting - Detail.

Watercolor on Strathmore Cold Press Paper

Art should be fun.  Remember how fun it was painting in grade school? Laying the colors with our brushes without knowing the 'rules' of color combination, hues, focal point and subject placement.  All the tenets of art that seem to hold many emerging artists from fully expressing themselves.

With dull skies hovering the city in this cold autumn weather, I craved for punches of color on my paper. At the same time, I wanted to create something cheery and bright.  I happened to stumble on my boys' building blocks on my way to the studio in the wee hours this morning.  That was my starting 'block'.

One after the other, I painted squares in random sizes and colors, not thinking about any rules.  It was my time, in my own island of imagination and creativity.  Away (even for a moment) from the rigors of daily routines.  After the paper is filled with squares, I painted some of the squares with darker colors to bring out shapes to represent the subjects that developed in my mind during the process.  The difficult part is when to stop, especially when you're having fun. 

Maybe next time, I'll try circles.  So if you think abstract art is just for serious artists, think again.  You can do art and have fun too.  

'Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.'  

~Pablo Picasso

Feel free to share!  Send a photo if you decide to do this project, I'll be happy to see and share your art here.  Take care.

One Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

One Minute Chocolate Cup-Cake

Five minute mug cakes are increasingly getting popular.  It's a quick sweet fix, convenient and easy to clean up.  We tried different recipes and although it only takes 5 minutes to cook it, making the cake mix still takes quite a bit of time.  I also found out that eggs in a microwave is not a good idea (just think salmonella).  I searched for a mug cake recipe using store bought cake mixes and didn't found any, maybe I just have to click past the 2nd page in the google search result.

After 3 burnt cakes in a cup, we finally got the perfect timing and mix right.  So, without further ado, we (me and our little man) present to you our 1 minute mug cake.  

:: Ingredients ::

microwaveable mug or cup

8 tablespoons of Devil's Food cake mix (we used Duncan Hine's)

1 tablespoon of water

1 tablespoon of oil

drop of vanilla extract

2 tablespoons of chocolate morsels (chopped up chocolate bars work too)

:: How-To ::

mix all dry ingredients

add wet ingredients

mix in the cup or mug

microwave on high for 1 minute for 1000w ovens

let sit for 1-2 minutes

top with nutella or whipped cream

sprinkle with nuts (skip if allergic to nuts)

Enjoy! 

Let me know if you made some and how you liked it.

Thanks for Leftovers

Crunchy on the outside, warm and soft inside.

 

 A post-Thanksgiving breakfast to look forward to.

Good morning!  Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  It's the morning after, ready to tackle the leftovers?  Rise up with this simple leftover stuffing recipe idea:

Thanksgiving Stuffing Cakes

::  Ingredients ::

leftover stuffing or dressing

panko bread crumbs

olive oil

sprig of parsley for garnish

::  How-To  ::

scoop some stuffing and form into patties

sprinkle and tap panko bread crumbs on both side

heat pan with oil or spray a non-stick pan

pan-fry patties until golden brown

serve hot and top each with egg

garnish with parsley

Enjoy!

Pillow Talk

Is it a notebook or a pillow?

Handpainted Gift Tag by our Little Man

A little Thanksgiving Gift

It's Thanksgiving Week!  Time to say 'Thanks' to all the special people in our lives.  Instead of writing on cards, why not make a pillow notebook to write on - just like we did!  

:: Materials ::

plain fabric

bunting

sewing machine

thread (blue/ teal and red)

fabric markers

:: How To ::

- cut 2 pieces of fabric in either square or rectangle

- layer first fabric on top of bunting and pin in place

- sew horizontal straight lines using blue/ teal thread

- next, sew vertical line using red thread

- write your message using fabric marker or pen

- with right sides facing each other, sew both fabrics together

- leave about 5 inch opening to insert pillow stuffing

- reverse/ flip to right side 

- insert pillow stuffing

- sew opening to close

Now, bask in the joy you'll see from your special one.

And Huge Thanks for stopping by and being my friend here in the blogosphere.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Modern Crafty Wreath

Handmade Wreath

Two White Birds :: For our Two Boys

Bird Detail :: Handpicked by our Little Man at a local craft store

Leftover Yarn Detail :: Randomly Wrapped by our Boys

Tweet! Tweet!

Hello there.  Today I want to share with you the wreath we made with our boys.  It's a super simple project you can do with your kids, in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

:: Materials ::

12 inch round styrofoam 

fabric scraps, cut lengthwise

stray yarns

raffia (or ribbons, if you prefer)

birds, or choice of accents

:: How To ::

wrap fabric scraps around styrofoam (pin or glue to secure)

randomly cross over some yarn

tie raffia or ribbon and make a bow

hook or tie your choice of accents

:: All Done! ::

Now step back and enjoy your one of a kind, handmade wreath.

Style Saturday: DIY Skinny Jeans

Eye Candy: PRPS Skinny Jeans from Italy, $617.

My eight-year old $7 flare jeans turned skinny!

 

DIY Skinny Jeans

Hello friends. It's Saturday and that means I get to have a little time to pull up my feet, relax and browse through some designer eye candies.  Today, I was into skinny jeans! 

For some of you who have been following this blog, you know by now that I'm huge on 'do-it-yourself' projects.  I've been a fan of designer Donwan Harrell for quite some time now, and the way he re-engineered the must-have jeans.  Harrell's PRPS (short for 'purpose') jeans are understandably pricey because each one is 'rare and premium' and designs run in limited editions.  A true wearable art!  That inspired me to re-design one of my old forgotten jeans, instead of breaking the bank.

I wish I took photos in the process, but it was a bit tough with two energetic toddlers ready to conquer the weekend fun.  It's actually pretty simple if you have a little experience in sewing.  There are a lot of videos you can watch out there on how to turn any pair of jeans into a skinny one.  The one I found the most helpful is by ModCloth.

It took me twenty-five minutes to finish mine, and very happy with how it turned out, especially the fit.

There you have it!  If ever you decide to alter your own jeans, share your photo.  Have fun! And thanks for stopping by again, and thanks ModCloth for the video.

Angry Birds Handmade Costume

We're celebrating!  Finally finished these birds and so pleased with the results.  Each piece was patterned, hand cut and machine sewn.  Our boys wanted Angry Birds for their halloween costumes this year.  And I thought, why not make it ourselves!

For those of you wondering what Angry Birds are.  It's the number one iPhone app/game in 60 countries.  Here's a quick trailer:

What are you going to be this Halloween? 

Kid's Craft: Birthday Balloon Card

'Birthday Balloons' Card.

Birthday Balloon Bag.

Ready for Gift Giving.

Wondering what to do with all those kids' artworks piling up?  Here's an awesome idea for you.  My boys recently made these for their uncle's birthday.  I helped them with the cutting and they used double sided tape to adhere their balloon paintings and yarns.  The balloon paintings were actually cut outs from their free-form painting and scribble on letter-size paper.

What do you think?

Painting Workshop Photos

Here are some photos from last Sunday's art workshop in Millenium Park, Chicago.
Despite of the rain forecast, the painting workshop had a great turnout.

Family Fun Festival Tent in Millenium Park presented by Target.

Mom and son from Europe painting together.

Tourists and Chicago locals paint the Chicago skyline.
More than sixty (adults and kids) participated in the workshop.

The busy budding artists.

Dawson, age 9 paints one of the larger cityscape.

I gave Dawson, age 9 instructions and he did great!

Little artists ages 3, 5, 7 painted away.

Two-year old masterpiece.

A two year old happily shows off her work.

Giving the little artists freedom to express themselves.

Artists from age 1 to 63 came and tried their hands on painting.

Listening to artist's instructions.

Families paint together.

Some families came all the way from Wisconsin, Michigan and Florida
to attend the free painting workshop.

One-hour painting by Katelyn, age 11.

One-hour painting by Emma, age 17.

Leave a comment below if you wish to be notified of future art workshops.  

Huge thanks to Strathmore Artist Papers for providing the art materials.
Thanks to all who came, volunteered and participated.

See you again next time!  And Great Job Everyone!

Free Painting Workshop

Click image to zoom.

If you missed the one last month, then don't miss this weekend's free art workshop in Millenium Park, Chicago.  Here's your chance to paint the beautiful Chicago skyline for free.
Mark your calendar this Sunday, July 24 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. Bring the kids, your spouse, friends, relatives, even co workers. Post workshop, go around the promenade to experience Millenium Park's Family Fun Festival's shows and activities.  

Thanks to our gracious sponsor Strathmore Artist Papers for providing the art materials for our students.

See you there!  Be there at least half an hour early, seats fill up fast.  Bring extra brushes and pencils too.  

Click the icon to RSVP.

Post Workshop Photos

Here are more photos from the Painting Workshop I did at the Chicago Children's Museum two weeks ago.

Click on images for full view.

Students' Painting

My students this year ranged from one to seventy-eight year olds.  Who says age matters when it comes to learning a new skill?  On top of painting their own artworks, each participant took part in painting the collaborative piece. Forty one artists (including me) made their marks on the finished painting, including the tiniest, one-year old artist.

Actual Workshop Instructor Painting

Now, meet the amazing budding artists and see their cool works below.

Participants' and their Paintings

If you missed it this year, make sure to mark your calendar on June 2012 for the bigger and better painting workshop.  Best of all, it's free for the whole family.  

Don't leave just yet.  If you're around Chicago on July 24 (Sunday) and want to learn how to paint Chicago cityscape in canvas, join us at the Family Fun Festival in Millenium Park from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.  More details to follow soon.

Learn-To-Paint Workshop

A family paints together.

Little artists try their hands on painting.

Artists for the day.

My three year old student paints the background.

Move over Monet, the new Master is here.

Not too young for art.  My tiniest, one and a half year old student.

Moms, kids and even grandparents showed up for the workshop.

Students got free watercolor pads from Strathmore Artist Papers.

Here are some photos from the Learn-To-Paint art workshop I did yesterday at the Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier.  If you missed it this year, stay tuned for next year's workshop.  

I'll be posting more photos soon.  Thanks to all who came.  See you again next year!