Successful art projects at a birthday party? Yes! Art Party: Pirate Theme

I started hosting birthday parties at my studio, No Corner Suns.  But, I don't want families to come to an art studio and get a blah blah run of the mill cookie cutter project for the kids to make.  I want it to be an art lesson!  I want the kids to make choices and find success, learn, and enjoy what they are doing.  

In anticipation of more parties being booked at No Corner Suns, (fingers crossed) I started preemptively planning party themed lessons.  Welcome to Art Party! 

For one class, we concentrated on Pirates!  We made these really cute pirate hats as our warm-up.  I taught the kids how to make a skull & cross bones, but they could decorate them any way that they liked.

For our project, we made Treasure Maps!  This involved a few visuals and I brought a few books for the kids to look at.  My fun little group was 1st - 6th graders, and they all had fun!

Easy and inexpensive projects that take art to the streets: The best one!! Paper Bag Hats

This was the most amazing Street Fair project I did this summer.  I had been asking friends and family for months to save recyclables for me in anticipation of Street Fair art, but the best was my super surplus of bags from Trader Joe's.

I originally saw another art teacher make paper bag hats with kindergartners a million years ago.  I always loved tem and often replicate the adorable hats by having the kids fold them.  I knew that would get costly, and be a little hectic to do at Westmont's Street Fair.

We began by turning the bags inside out and tight rolling them up to fit kids' heads. I brought streamers, scraps, cupcake cups, markers and die cuts to decorate them.  Everyone enjoyed making their hat, and I loved seeing people walk around wearing bags on their heads!