Make Breaks

1. Cut two pieces of cardboard the size of your pages.

2. Glue a piece of cardboard down onto a piece of paper that is slightly larger than your cardboard. This will be what your outside cover looks like.

3. Cut the corners off your paper. Fold the paper around the edges of your cardboard, and glue them to the backside of the board.

4. Take a smaller sheet of paper and glue it to the back of your board as a lining, hiding the raw edges of the front decorative paper.

5. Repeat with the other cardboard piece for the other side of your book.

6. Glue your covers to the outside pages of your book!

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1. Take a regular size piece of paper, and fold it in half like a hot dog. Fold it again, like a hamburger, to quarter your paper. Fold it in half one more time like a hamburger.

2. Open your paper up and lay it landscape on the table. It should have 8 equal sections folded into it. Looking at the one center horizontal fold, slit the paper from the FIRST vertical crease to the THIRD vertical. The edges should still be connected, but your paper should look like it has a mouth.

3. Fold your paper in half again, like a hot dog. Your slit should be on the top. Pinch the vertical fold in the middle together, bringing the first and third folds together in the center. From a bird’s eye view, your paper should make an X.

4. Fold the four arms of the X so they’re all facing one direction. You now have a little 8 page book!

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1. Take a square sheet of paper and fold it in half. Unfold, and fold it in half the other way, making an x shape fold.

2. Hold it so your folds create a valley (not a mountain). Fold the paper diagonally, corner to corner, making a triangle. You want this triangle to be a mountain fold, not a valley, to make this next step easier, but you can always fold it back and forth so it bends in both directions.

3. Hold the paper so it looks like a diamond, with your hands on the two squares WITHOUT a diagonal fold bisecting them. Push their far corners together, so that the squares with the diagonal creases fold down and in. Laying flat, it should look like a little square, and when it’s partially open, it should look like a little crumpet.

4. Make as many squares like this as you’d like. When you have enough, glue the back of one square to the inside of the next square, with their mouths facing each other. They should nest together comfortably. Continue chaining them on for however many pages you’d like. It should fold down into a little square, or waterfall out into a long length.

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• Take a long strip of paper and fold it back and forth like an accordion. You can hold it closed at the spine and leaf through it like a book, or unfold it into one long story. You can even use front and back! If you want more length, it’s easy to attach more strips of paper to the end!

• Use an accordion book to show a sequential story or image!

• Show off a collection! Use each page to show flowers, buttons, stamps, or anything cool you might have!

• Make one long continuous image across the whole book.

• Cutting photos or magazine pages (or old drawings!) into strips can give you a really visually dynamic page. Use as a background or just as is!

• Accordion books can be a great way to show information as well. Give your book report some flair.

• Experiment with drawing, painting, collage—anything goes!

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• Embroidery starts with a stitch! Knot your thread on one end, thread your needle, and off you go. Up through the bottom, down through the top! Keep this pattern going in a straight line, and soon you’ll have a running stitch.

• Hole punch cardboard for a great fine motor skill practice for little ones.

• Try drawing on your fabric first, and then using that as a guide to draw.

• Cross stitch is a popular type of embroidery. Make tiny little Xs next to each other in a grid pattern to make a pixilated image.

• Want to step up your skills? Time to daisy chain! Come up through the bottom, and then back down through the same hole. Before you pull it all the way out, push your needle up through the bottom, a cm away from the original, and catch the loop.

• Jazz up your embroidery! Add beads to your stitches!

• Sew straight onto paper to add some multimedia style to your artwork.

• Don’t feel stuck embroidering on scrap fabric! Embroider your jackets, headbands, handkerchiefs, or anything else you can find!

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• Experiment painting on wet paper versus dry paper!

• Add salt to watercolors, let dry, and then scrape off! The salt absorbs the water, leaving a speckled pattern.

• Use a white crayon for a resist before painting. Great for spots you want to leave bright white, like stars.

• Use other tools to paint besides a brush—rubber spatulas, forks, or a rag!

• Mask out sections with tape.

• Blow paint through a straw for a cool splatter. Be careful not to breathe in!

• Get messy! Use your hands!

• Experiment with mixing colors! Try and invent as many new colors as you can.

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• Paint sheets of paper in loose abstract ways, and then cut them up and rearrange them

• Layer hand made drawings over photographs and printed media.

• Rip paper into tiny squares and create a mosaic

• Use text or texture as an interesting background.

• Cut an image into equal size squares and then move them into an entirely new arrangement

• Combine images to create your own one-of-a-kind animal

• Find bits and doodads around the house and arrange them into a temporary 3D collage on a table or tray.

• Want more collage activities? Check out our Virtual Student Art Start on VirtualVaMOCA.org for an awesome guided lesson.

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1. Repurpose all those Amazon boxes! There are a few ways you can use cardboard to build.

• • Cut a slot into the edge of two cardboard pieces. Line the slots up perpendicular to each other and press them together into an x shape to create a strong attachment without glue.

  • A piece of strong tape along two pieces of cardboard can make a secure hinge.

  • Use a tube! Cut and fold tabs along the bottom to make a base that stands upright.

  • Punch holes and use a string or brad fastener to make the pieces movable.

2. Paper is your friend. With a little bit of folding, your 2D surface can become a 3D structure. Look for construction paper, sticky-notes, or even junk mail!

• • Fold it like an accordion to create a zigzag!

  • Add fringe to your sculpture by cutting or ripping thin strips.

  • Curl a narrow strip around your finger.

  • Fold it in half and cut out a window!

3. A bit of wire can make all the difference in the world. Look for twist ties, pipe cleaners, or even paperclips.

• • Bend it into shapes by wrapping it around a soda cans or a larger object.

  • Twist it around your finger to create a spring.

  • Link small loops of wire together to create a chain.

4. Now that you have some of the basics, get building! Construct your dream house, design a robot, or invent a crazy animal!

1. A continuous line drawing is when you draw from observation, making one unbroken line without lifting your pencil. Want a step harder? Do it with your eyes closed!

2. Try putting restrictions on your drawing! Draw with your left hand, tape your paper to the ceiling, or put your pencil on the end of a very long stick.

3. Some artists use marks to define shapes or backgrounds, or to create texture and movement! Some types of mark making are cross hatching, stippling, and shading. Try using the Zentangle method, filling an entire page with different patterns!

4. Listen to a variety of music and let the sound of it direct your movements! Trace the rising and falling of pitch, the shapes of the instruments, or the tempo of the rhythm.

5. Not sure where to start? Make a still life drawing of the things in your pocket or purse. Illustrate a mood you’ve felt today. Design an album cover based on your favorite song.

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1. Create a loom by cutting an equal amount of notches into each end of a sheet of cardboard

2. Wrap your thread through one notch, across the loom, and through the parallel notch. Wrap it around the back and go back down through the neighboring notch!

3. Continue this pattern across the whole loom

4. Take your weaving thread and take it OVER the first loom thread, and then under the second. Repeat all the way across! When you get it to the end, make your way back, alternating OVER under OVER under.

5. Try alternating colors and textures!

6. Weave in natural materials for a fun texture or sweet smelling wall hanging!

7. Want to experiment? Weave right on to natural materials like sticks for a cool sculpture!

8. No yarn? Weave a mat with strips of paper! Tip: Tape down one end to keep it from sliding across the table!

9. Try cutting an odd number of notches into a paper cup and weaving a basket!

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1. Try covering toilet paper tubes in fun textures like buttons, rubber bands, glitter, or string, to roll paint out like a rolling pin.

2. Use a pencil to carve designs into a potato, and then stamp it!

3. Look for interesting textures around your house, like bubble wrap, tissue paper, corrugated cardboard, or trash bags! Coat it lightly in paint, press it to your surface, peel, and reveal!

4. Check outside! Natural things like flowers and leaves make great stamps when dipped in paint!

5. Still stuck? Experiment with using your fingers to create patterns! Make sure you wash them after!

You can make prints on all different materials! Try printing on fabric, old clothes, or wrapping paper, or making a birthday card or a wall hanging.

Need a jumping off point? Try layering multiple techniques to create a repeating pattern! The best part of printmaking is experimenting.

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