Tips for Tips!
Welcome to our new doodlebug Blog - the place to share tips, ideas, project successes, and get inspired!
doodlebug Marin is popularly known as creative headquarters in Marin, California --- A vibrant, ever-changing toy and arts & crafts supply store, pottery and art studio, and party room provide a broad range of activities, materials and inspiration.
doodlebug is getting organized to kick-off its "crafty recycler" effort - beginning at the San Anselmo Art & Design Festival on July 14 & 15, 2007. We'll have a variety of samples for sale - including items made using recycled textiles, paper and ceramics. We'll also have some "ingredients" available for those of you who may want to experiment with some projects of your own - old linens, assembled paper bags for book-making, yarns, fabrics, buttons, trims and more. We hope to see you at the festival on San Anselmo Avenue! As we get closer to the date we'll try to add some photos of pieces that will be available - just for inspiration!
Whether made from fabric or from combining squares knit by the students, you can help create a spectacular treasure. We have some special fusible material that can make it easier. If you’d like, you can think about joining our needlecraft group classes to get ideas and the help of two great teachers.
Project Featured: Pillow Project created at the doodlebug Tuesday Night Knitting & Felting Class in collaboration with Marin Needle Arts Guild.
This is a great Fundraising Idea!
Consider combining drawings, special paper, photos and other items into a collage to be applied to a large mirror, a toy box, a table or chair or whatever you can dream up – all of the items can be layered on with decoupage “glue” and sealed into a lasting memory of a special year.
Project Featured: Purse Box created with Decoupage, Cloth, & Trimming.
This is a great Fundraising Idea!
Sets of plates,
platters, bowls, cookie jars, tiles or flowerpots – the possibilities are
almost endless. You can bring the items
to the children and we’ll lend you a selection of colors (we usually recommend
a palette of 4-5 colors at most so that the piece(s) “hang together”) and
provide some tips on how to obtain the best results – we can also brainstorm
“theme” ideas. Then you bring the items
back to us, we’ll fire them and have them ready in five days.
Occasionally people use special clay carbon paper to transfer drawings the children have made onto the items – this can work very well when they are of varying sizes – but, heads up, it can take awhile.
This is a great Fundraising Idea!
Have the children paint a small tile, or make a small item from clay which can be fired (a flower, a bug, a person???). These items can then be incorporated into a mosaic piece which also can use broken tiles, plates, special items from their toy box, old jewelry and so on.
We have a variety of “surfaces” you can use (mirrors, trays, flowerpots…) but you can also go on the hunt for something on your own – an old table, a toy box, or whatever you find.
doodlebug offers classes to learn both clay and mosaic techniques which you can join on an hourly basis and where we’ll help you as you assemble your item.
This is a great Fundraising Idea!
Getting Started
Wash your
hands! Oil or grease can prevent glazes from sticking
Remove dust by
wiping your piece with a clean, damp (NOT wet) sponge
Choose your
paint (underglaze) colors – they are located at the front of the store – the
tiles beneath each color show 1, 2, and 3 coats of that color as it will appear
after firing
Squeeze a SMALL amount of each color (about the size of a dime) onto the shiny white tile provided as a palette
Think about using pre-stretched and prepared canvas as a surface for a collaborative project. Self-portraits, a panoramic scene, squares filled with special flowers or animals, seasonal themes, a lesson plan brought to life, the possibilities are endless. You can use one large canvas or combine many small ones to achieve a stunning impact. Of course, you can also think about painting on wood as well, we have a variety of items or you can search the antique stores or your neighbor’s garages for something special.
Self-Portrait by doodlebug owner Marnie Delaney.
This is a great Fundraising Idea!
Choose your item
Be
sure it is large enough to accommodate the hand(s)/foo(ee)t (we would
point out here that feet are generally easier than hands with babies
who tend to “clench” – just something to think about!
This is easier to do on a flat item (things like bowls and mugs can also work but choose something convex versus concave)
doodlebug Marin has a long history of sharing arts and crafts project ideas with its local customers. With our new blog, we are able to share our knowledge with the world! We have established this "Tip Jar" to collect small tokens of appreciation from our global artists! Thanks for the tip!
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