A couple of weeks on, I'm still experimenting with doodling and drawing around basic shapes that I'm finding around the house - it's really relaxing!

Here are a few more simple ideas .... I'm thinking this would be a great rainy day holiday activity as such few materials are needed.

27.7.15

Today I tore some pages out of my dad's old 70's yellowed, A-Z of London with the idea of doodling on maps.

Again, drawing round a roll of tape with a biro and then colouring in the circle.

They came out looking quite 'Mondrian'.

7th August

My latest doodle has come from finding an old plastic lid - the shape reminded me of lemons and limes - I drew some overlapping shapes and experimented with pattern and colorblocking using felt tips, pastels and watercolours.

September's here and I'm thinking about Autumn / fall doodles, here's a manuscript maple leaf

Head over to my Autumn page for free printables and templates.

We're celebrating sunny school holidays here with some fun tropical fruit art!
The diamond shapes on these pineapples are great for little hands to explore colour using all sorts of art materials - we used watercolours and oil pastels.
You can download a free pineapple template on my summer downloads page - you'll also find pears, lemons, watermelons.... Have fun!

Are you looking for more creative project ideas for Summer?
You might like to visit these pages below or subscribe to my seasonal newsletter?
Thanks for dropping by, have a wonderful arty summer!
Diane :-)
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I love the simplicity of working with squares and circles, repeating the same shape over and over again to produce a pattern.

I hope you find these simple ideas inspiring!

Best wishes

Diane

Yippee! 
We've just booked our first family day trip to London with our 6 and 8 year olds to visit  'The World Goes Pop' exhibition at the amazing Tate Modern.
I''ve always been attracted to the fun, bold shapes and bright colourful imagery of Pop Art, a movement which began back in the 1950's. 

I've been developing ideas for Autumn/Fall free printable worksheets with a 'Pop Art twist'.
They are designed to encourage kids to explore design, shape, colour and graphic design.
You can download these free printable worksheets on my Autumn page

There's a link below to the World Goes Pop UK Exhibtion - 

Tate Modern: The World Goes Pop
17 September 2015 – 24 January 2016

You might also like my 'hidden modern art' free printables, colourful challenging colouring activities for kids  - and adults too!

I love this time of year, the change in light, the smell in the air, moisture on the windows, blackberry picking, waiting for the apples on our little tree to ripen....

Pattern making and doodling can be fun and relaxing whatever age we are.

I'm continuing to use my charity shop stamp album squared paper, I love it's yellowed appearance and the way it soaks up the felt tips.

Here are a few acorn and oak leaf doodles that we created today.

I'll be working on a collection of free Autumn/ Fall free printables next week once my little ones are back at school so I hope you come back and visit soon!

If you like these quick ideas, have a read of another doodletastic blog post,
adventures with a roll of tape and a biro!

If you are a homeschooler or teacher looking for more detailed lesson plans and art lessons, why not visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store?
It's packed with fun, affordable, low prep art activities.
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Following the 'Modern Art' theme I've been developing, here's the latest addition - a
shamrock. Go to my downloads page to print off a free template. 
Explore as many shades of green as you can to colour the shamrock and then explore contrasting colours for the background. I chose pinks and purples, just because i like them!  
This artwork has been coloured digitally - you can explore felt tips, watercolours, 
oil pastels, collage..........

What is St. Patrick's Day all about?
Every year on March 17, the Irish and the Irish-at-heart across the globe observe St. Patrick’s Day. What began as a religious feast day for the patron saint of Ireland has become an international festival celebrating Irish culture with parades, dancing, special foods and a whole lot of green. See http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day for more information on this event.


For further St. Patrick's Day ideas and activities for kids, take a look at my Pinterest board 

Following the popularity of my 'Modern Art' Trees, Angels and Stars at Christmas, I've continued this 'hidden / abstract' theme for Chinese New Year and to celebrate the Year of the Horse. This has been coloured digitally in rich reds, ochres and monotones. 
On my downloads page, you'll find a black and white A4 free colouring sheet to print out. It takes quite a while to colour in, so this should keep children, age 4+ and adults occupied for a while. 
I am going to 'track the horse' on pinterest. The modern art tree was downloaded in over 25 countries. I'm really hoping this little horse will be as popular!

I began this website about 3 months ago as  a way of documenting and sharing my work from the past 10 years and have had great fun learning about blogging, website design (thanks Weebly, so user friendly), social media and especially the growing worldwide creative community that is Pinterest.

My most pinned pin on Pinterest is the Modern Art Christmas Tree, pictured below.
It is also the image that has brought around 80% of my visitors to this website, via Pinterest - far more than Twitter or Facebook.

My 'statcounter' has told me that people have been downloading this activity in the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, India, Australia, Norway, Poland, Russia, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and the Netherlands - what a well travelled tree! 

I have used this idea in my workshops, with young mums at risk of post natal depression, young adults in hospital fighting cancer, in community and mental health settings and schools - and at home of course with my children and their little friends.
Colouring can be a very relaxing, meditative process, proven to de-stress us, stop our busy minds working overtime and lower our heart rate.

You can download this activity and visit my pinterest boards for more creative ideas.
Happy Christmas folks!

Are you looking for some festive Christmas projects to do with your children?
Take a look at my free downloads page where you'll find lots of printables, colouring activities, cards and more.

This festive activity is suitable for children age 3+. Free templates are available to print  from my downloads page. Use paint, pastels, pencils, felt tips, add some glitter if you want!

A sheet of 4 smaller images has been included for making Christmas Cards.
Have fun! Let me know how you get on, I'd love some feedback.

I'll be blogging alot about 'squares' over the next week or so. It's important to remember not to try too hard coming up with ideas, sometimes the simplest ones can work the best!
Pixel people are a great project for children - invite them to do a self portrait! You can design and download graph paper online - for younger children, I recommend larger squares, older children can challenge themselves with more detail. Follow the link below for squared paper and more, a great resource for general doodling...have fun!http://incompetech.com/graphpaper