At Project Kid, our mission is to open kids’ eyes to different ways of crafting. We want kids to think outside the aisles of a craft store and really explore to find their materials to help them build and design something that they can play with, wear, use or even just display (I mean, it’s art, right?).

But today I want to talk a little bit about process art which has a different focus. I love Meri Cherry’s definition:

Art that’s all about the making and the doing, rather than the finished product. Process art doesn’t mean there isn’t an amazing product at the end. There very well could be. It just means that’s not really the point. We’re trying to get kids and their adults to find value in making and doing, where they are making decisions, taking risks, thinking outside the box, taking their time, working with challenges, cultivating connection, and building empathy. Those things are the point.

I have always struggled with sharing projects that have such nit-picky instructions because I worry about kids’ fear of failure. When I wrote the draft of my first book, I kept all of the instructions very loose and open, hoping that parents would be encouraged to let their kids make decisions. But as editors do, they were afraid that parents would get frustrated with the lack of specificity, so I added the details back in. As much as possible, I always say—make it your own! Make choices! My way is not THE way, it’s just how I was feeling that day!

Here are a few of my favorite process art masters and some prompts and projects that you can pepper into the crafting that you do with your kids.

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1 SELF PORTRAITS

This is the perfect activity…all you need is a Sharpie, watercolor paints, paper and you! Once the permanent marker outline is down, you can paint over with the watercolor and let the colors flow! Image via Meri Cherry. I love the idea of doing these at least once a year to see how kids’ self-image changes.

2 WACKY WOOD SCULPTURES

Another gem from Meri Cherry are these delightful, open-ended sculptures. I’d suggest using Aleene’s® Tacky Glue to really hold it all together. But with oil pastels, paint, and gluing on little doodads, each one comes out totally original. And there’s no pressure to attain a certain skill level…this project (like most process art), really meets there kids where they are.

3 DRAWING STICKS

This idea from Art Bar Blog is genius. Tape markers or paint bushes to a stick from outside (or dowels if you have them), and tape paper to the floor. Challenge the kids to make some art by holding the sticks with their toes!

You can let them just run wild or give them prompts that will result in some hilarity…like “draw a self-portrait” or “draw what you want to eat for dinner” or “draw your favorite vacation spot.” They will most like giggle though it but you’ll all be amazed at the results!

4 ENVELOPE CITY

I adore this project from Art Bar…it reminds me of an envelope house project that appeared in my first book! When a child can see that the shape of a traditional object references something else, that’s when my heart sings…like how an unfolded envelope looks like a house.

Color some of the wide wood craft sticks to look like people and set up a little play village! Markers, crayons, or oil pastels work just fine on these!

5 RAINBOW SQUEEGEE PAINTING

This looks like such fun! Hello Wonderful filled up squeeze bottles with tempera paint and then dragged a squeegee across to make this gorgeous, abstract painting.

I think this abstract painting is frame-worthy, and you can also cut it up to make postcards, gift tags, or shapes to make a pretty garland.

6 CONTACT PAPER COLLAGE

The only thing you may not have already in your home for this one is clear contact paper—get it! There are so may creative ways to make the contact paper collages from Art Bar…I want to get started immediately! Magazine clippings, cupcake liners, string, newspaper, or paper scraps of any kind!

Just let kids put their materials down on the contact paper (sticky side up of course) like it’s a big piece of scotch tape. It’s probably a good idea to use some paper masking tape to hold the contact paper down to the table so they don’t get frustrated with it curling up on itself. The end results are so varied and fabulous!

7 PAINTING RECONSTRUCTIONS

I love how Katie Vernon cut up old paintings to make new assemblages. If your child makes something that she really rejects, encourage her to look at it another way. Maybe it was meant to be a different shape? Maybe it was meant to have eyes painted on it to turn it into a monster? It’s so hard talk them off the ledge when they insist on bad-mouthing something that they made, but there are so many ways to reconfigure what we create into something new. (Also, how beautiful is Katie Vernon’s work?)

8 STICKER PROCESS ART

There is no denying that stickers are fun. I love this idea from Tinkerlab of drawing a frame and using office stickers, available online or any office store, to create an abstract composition. Consider adding some drawing lines to connect shapes and give the piece some different line weights.

Definitely explore the websites of these creative women for endless ideas! The beauty of process art is that I think you as parents or caregivers will be inspired to start playing around with materials in experimental ways!

If your Amazon shipment of craft supplies (click here for my list of essentials) hasn’t arrived yet, you’d be surprised that you have some fun materials in your closet that can work as a great starting point. And when we say closet, yes, we mean your clothing closet! Raise your hand if you have a lone sock, missing its mate. Or a single glove? Or a t-shirt that has a pesky stain? Or jeans that are too grungy to donate?

Here are four crafts that you can make using defective clothing items that you have laying around the house.

MONSTER GLOVE PUPPETS

At least twice a year my kids come home, complaining that they lost a glove. I always keep the lone ranger in the hopes that the other one will reappear, but alas, I end up with a bag of single gloves. Raid your craft bin and use anything you can find to add personality to your glove monster puppet—the wackier the better! We recommend using Aleene’s® Tacky Glue to keep everything nice and secure. Click here to find the instructions for the blue puppet!

PENGUIN BOOKEND

Do you have any itty bitty baby socks left over from the early days? If not, you can always just cut off the toe of a cute sock to make the head of this penguin book end. Upcycle a plastic bottle as the base, and fill it with sand or pebbles to keep it weighted. You can find the instructions for this craft here.

DENIM HOBBYHORSE

This project has a bit more heavy lifting for the parents, but it makes such a cute result and you’ll feel so proud of the work you’ve done. If you don’t have cotton batting at home, you can always empty out an old pillow (that you didn’t know what to do with!) and use that. You can find the instructions for this here.

T-SHIRT JEWELRY

I always end up with a pile of t-shirts that have holes or stubborn stains that aren’t suitable even for donation. But the colors and patterns are so great, so cut them up to make jewelry! Here’s how to do it…

1. To make a beaded necklace, cut T-shirts into strips as thin as possible, 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 inch wide. The strips should be at least 2 inches long.
2. Glue the ends of each strand together, then slip on a bead to cover each joint. Use a toothpick to help thread the fabric strips through the bead holes. Add a dab of glue at each point so the bead stays in place. Repeat to reach the desired length, and then knot.
3. To make a tassel necklace, cut a 1-inch wide- by-2-inch-tall piece of T-shirt and fringe it vertically. Roll it horizontally and glue the unfringed end into the hole of a bead. (Use the toothpick to help get the fabric into the bead.)
4. To finish the tassel necklace, glue the ends of two 10-inch-long T-shirt strips into the other hole of the bead. Knot in the back.

Giddy up and get crafting to make this adorable denim hobbyhorse from old jeans!

What you’ll need:

• Old kids’ jeans, about a size 4

• Scissors

• Seam ripper (optional)

• Rubber band

• Batting

• T wine

• Brown felt

• Hot-glue gun

• 2 small black buttons

• 2 large colored buttons

• Long stick

• Bandanna

1. Cut the jeans in half vertically, through the fly. Remove both back pockets (a seam ripper makes this a bit easier) and set aside.
2. Turn one leg inside out. Rubber band the ankle tightly, then turn the leg right-side out. Fully stuff the leg with batting.
3. To create the horse’s head, tie the center of a 4-foot-long piece of twine around the leg about 3 inches from the rubber-banded ankle, wrapping it two or three times. Knot the twine and then bend the stuffed pant leg and wrap the twine around the thicker part of the leg (the horse’s neck). Tie in a knot, leaving the remaining twine to hang off the back as reins.
4. Cut a 3-inch-wide piece of brown felt, about 24 inches long. Cut a 1-inch-deep fringe along each long edge (leaving about an inch intact in the center). Have an adult apply a line of hot glue in the center and fold the felt strip in half.
5. Have an adult hot-glue the edge of the fringed mane down the center of the horse’s head and neck, in between the two pieces of twine.
6. Have an adult hot-glue each small black button to a larger green button and hot-glue in place as eyes.
7. Fold the outside edges of each jean pocket to form an ear shape and have an adult hot-glue the ears on either side of the mane.
8. Insert a long stick into the bottom of the horse’s neck and wrap tightly with the bandanna, making sure to seal in all of the batting. Giddyup!

Using a mix of household, recycled, and traditional craft supplies, your kids will feel so proud of the work they’ve done when they see this colorful penguin holding up her books!

What you’ll need:

• One 17-ounce plastic drink bottle

• 2 to 3 cups of sand

• Funnel

• 1 baby sock

• 4 to 5 cotton balls

• White and yellow felt

• Scissors

• 2 tiny black pom-poms

• Tacky glue

• One 2.-inch piece of wire

• One 2 cm felt bead 

• 1 Tyvek envelope

• Washi tape

• 2 colors of yarn

1. Clean out the bottle and remove all labels. Fill it with sand and replace the cap.
2. To make the penguin’s head, stuff the baby sock with cotton balls and slip it over the top of the bottle.
3. To make the eyes, cut two circles about the size of a plain M&M from white felt. Glue a tiny black pom-pom to each. Glue the circles onto the sock.
4. To make the beak, fold a piece of yellow felt and cut a 1⁄4-inch triangle on the crease. Glue the crease onto the sock about 1⁄2 inch below the eyes.
5. To make the earmuffs, bend the wire into a headband shape. Cut the felt bead in half and glue a piece to each end of the wire, rounded side facing out. Slip the earmuffs onto the penguin’s head and glue to secure.
6. Cut two wing shapes (pointed at one end, cut straight across on the other) from the Tyvek envelope, about two-thirds the height of your bottle and about 3 inches across at the widest point. Cover the wings with strips of washi tape and glue the top, straight edge of each wing around the neck of the bottle.
7. To give the penguin a scarf, braid three 20-inch strands of yarn (the finished scarf will be about 16 inches long). If the yarn is thin, you may want to double or triple it (as shown) to give it some thickness.
8. Finally, to make the feet, fold a 3-inch square of yellow felt in half and cut a 2-inch-tall half heart shape on the crease. Glue it to the bottom of the bottle, rounded points facing out.

Excerpt from Project Kid. Photo by Alexandra Grablewski. 

Whether your kid is playing Kermit in the school play or you just have a big ole pile of green cupcake liners laying around, this frog-mask craft is so cute and fun to make. Here are the step-by-step directions that are as easy 1-2-ribbit.

Step 1: Make the Base

Make a base for the mask by drawing two slightly overlapping 3″-diameter circles onto green cardstock; cut out the shape without cutting through the intersecting lines.

Tip: Use a jelly jar or similar size jar to trace the circles. Fold two matching regular-size green baking cups in half. Attach the folded cups to the bottom half of each mask circle using glue dots.

Step 2: Form Face

Flatten a mini green baking cup, and fold it in half for the nose. Mark two black dots for nostrils on the center, unpleated portion of the baking cup. Cut a regular-size green baking cup in half, then fold one piece in half to make the mouth. To make a tongue, cut two 3/4 x 2″ strips from a red baking cup. Adhere the pieces together with right sides facing out. Round one end, and glue a black pom-pom to the end. Cut a small heart from white paper, and glue it to the pom-pom to make a fly. Adhere the nose, tongue, and mouth together with an adhesive squares as shown. Attach the pieces to the center of the mask using adhesive squares.

Step 3: Add Eyes

Fold four regular-size green baking cups in half. Attach the pieces to the mask as shown using adhesive squares. Add details using a black marker. Place a mini white baking cup inside a standard green baking cup. Cut a circle through the layers in the center. Then, use a marker to outline the hole with a thick black line. Join the pieces using adhesive squares to make an eye. Repeat to make a second eye.

Step 5: Finish Mask

Attach the eyes to the top of the mask using adhesive squares. Trim the mask base to prevent it from blocking the eyeholes. Attach a crafts stick to the back of the side of the mask base for a handle.

Crafted by Project Kid; originally published at Better Homes and Gardens.