The coolest Father's Day craft idea ever. (Really.)

Are you trying to come up with a special made-by-the-hands-of-children gift idea for Father's Day? Because I have found just the thing. My creative and talented friend from high school, Bergen, has sewn up these neat white 100% cotton neckties, ready for decorating. Dad's Day just got way cooler. Just hand the kids some fabric markers and/or permanent markers and let them do their thing.

 

Bowie drew circles and scribbles and Lo drew stripes and happy skateboards. So good. You can pick up your own nifty white necktie at Bergen's shop, Lilla Barn. (She also makes super cool clothing for babies and kids.) You should definitely follow her on Facebook, too. 

Happy Dad's Day to you!

kid art: paint a skateboard deck

Sometimes a really good idea is right under your nose. Especially when it comes to creative projects for kids. Bo and I were brainstorming ideas for kids' room decor, since we've totally switched up Lo's room recently. With Bo (and now Lotus) being skaters, skateboard decks popped into our heads. I'll be sharing pics soon to show how we used these in the baby's room, too.

Lo is quite the little artist (haha, isn't that such a typical mom thing to say?) so we figured she could really work some magic with a blank skateboard deck. One cold and snowy afternoon, we hooked her up with the supplies and she went to work.

We thought over some ideas for her painting's subject matter, and she decided that she wanted to paint a bomb pop popsicle. And a bunny. (And a hamster and a duck and about twenty other things, but we stopped there.)

I drew a basic outline for her with a pencil so she had a little something to start with, and then she painted away.

In no time, she had finished painting in the outlines, and we took a much-deserved bomb pop break.

 (Brrr!)

We let the background colors dry for the afternoon, and then Lo went back over the outlines with a skinny brush and some black paint. When she was done, we asked her to add her autograph to her new 'pro model' deck.

This is how it turned out. So unbelievably fantastic! Just a reminder to myself (and maybe you, too) that it's usually a really good idea to let your kid go crazy with art supplies and materials you might not normally give them. This skateboard deck turned out so much cooler than I ever could have anticipated. Don't fear the paint; kids are washable.

And now, we're going to hang it on the wall in her bedroom. She couldn't be more proud of her new artwork. Want to give this project a try? Find artwork inspiration in coloring books or clip art, or let you kid run free with something totally abstract. We used regular acrylic paint, and you can find blank skateboard decks at blankdecks.com. We haven't sealed this yet, but it might be a good idea to coat your skateboard art with a clear protective coat. Krylon makes a clear spray varnish, and I've personally always liked Liquitex acrylic varnish. Let me know if you give this a try! I highly recommend it.