With the weather getting colder and wetter it’s great to have something crafty up your sleeves to entertain your children. I was pretty useless at art as a kid (and still am) but my dad helped me make some pretty wicked crafty creations. There are some great art and craft books around and our library shelves are always bursting with them. Candlewick Press have just released a really cool new craft book by Marthe Jocelyn, called Sneaky Art: Crafty Surprises to Hide in Plain Sight.
Sneaky Art is chock full of quirky yet simple craft ideas that kids will love to make. Marthe says that sneaky art ‘is quick to install and effortless to remove’ and that each project in the book is ‘meant to be displayed in a public place, for people you may know or may not know, in a made-you-look-twice spirit of fun.’ There are Fractured Faces that you can stick anywhere, tiny bunting for a teeny party, a teensy-weensy washing line, and miniature houses to place in unexpected places. My favourite idea is something I might just try in the library – Library Shouts. These are large speech bubbles, with sayings like ‘Best Book Ever!’ and ‘Read Me!’ that you can stick in books to make them jump out at you.
The thing I love about all the ideas in Sneaky Art is that you can make them from stuff you already have at home, including junk mail, magazines, and Post-it notes. Part of the fun of making the things in this book is finding somewhere funny to leave them. Together you can plan your sneak art attack.
Next time you’re looking for something to entertain your kids grab a copy of Sneaky Art from your library or bookshop.
