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Easy DIY Craft Kids Can Make for Father’s Day

by zzlivingMay 1, 2015July 21, 20150

Kids love to make fun projects to give to dads on Father’s Day. They especially love making something that they think dad will really like and use. Not one of those things that gets tossed into a drawer after a few weeks. Well, this penny frame project is both fun to make and a definite keeper. Dad can have something unique and personal to place on his desk or dresser. And, gosh, it’s even valuable. 🙂

We guarantee that dad will be pleased with this gift and what better way to use up those copper pennies? To make the penny frame project just follow the link to our Father’s Day page.

5 Reasons to Print Your Photos

by zzlivingApril 30, 2015May 12, 20150

Bet you’ve snapped tons of photos but have you printed all your favorites? In decades past, our parents and ancestors had photos printed and saved in albums, or maybe just saved in those paper envelopes. But even though we can now snap and see a photo instantly by using our smartphones, are we printing them? The answer is NO for most of us. And that is really a shame. I’m sure you enjoy seeing all the old photos your parents took but will there be many photos around for your children to treasure? Now is the time to consider 5 reasons that you really should get some of your favorite family photos in print.

Even if you are taking advantage of having photo books made, you need to realize that because of the printing process you will never be able to get a good future scan from the images. We are all guilty of saving photos we love on our computer, smartphones or just emailing photos to loved ones. But there are some issues and real reasons you should start printing now. And in case you weren’t aware, you can take a CD to Walmart or Walgreens and have actual photos made.

Why you need to start printing your photos now:

Technological Obsolescence As technology advances, so do the ways we save data and information. Some of these things, like the old floppy disks and magneto optical disks, are outdated, unusable and many are corrupted files. The DVDs and CDs we currently use are only guaranteed for so many years, then they too many start becoming corrupted.
Technology Failure There are too many reasons to count for why we might have technological failures. A few reasons include outright hard drive failure, electrical storm, backup failure or just dropping your phone in the toilet.
Hosting Issues Occasionally some hosting companies go out of business or accidents happen and your photos get deleted. Yes, this does happen.
Family Discards When someone in the family passes on, you will probably keep any photos they have printed but will you save the photos that might have been saved on their devices or computers?
Preserving Your Legacy It is up to you to save your family’s history in photos. Don’t depend on anyone else to do this.

Most of us have many old family photos that are actually a piece of our history. And just like knowing the history of your lineage or your country, there is something so personal, real and fulfilling just by being able to see our history other than hearing or reading about it. Make sure you create your family’s visual history by printing all the wonderful photos you take.

Teaching Kids Creativity

by zzlivingApril 29, 2015July 18, 20160

Art and creativity instill lifelong traits that will help your child succeed in life. Even though schools focus more on subjects like math, science and language arts, the creative arts are something that should be a part of every child’s life.

Young children will be assisted in many ways of their development through the creative use of various art projects.

Physical Development
Social Development
Cognitive Development
Emotional Development
Imaginative Development

Skills that your child can develop through practicing creativity in any form:

Confidence If a child is encouraged to bring forth their own interpretations in a drawing, a sculpture or the writing of their own poem, they will develop a sense of confidence in their own skills. They learn how to step out of their own comfort zones.
Thinking Creatively Many jobs require out of the box thinking. If your child has practiced this type of creative thinking when deciding what to make, how to make, and through the execution of an art project, they will be in a good place once they leave school.
Collaboration Learning to collaborate on a piece of art, a dance for a recital or play a musical instrument in a group … all these kinds of creative activities teach a child how to work well with others.
Problem Solving When tackling any creative endeavor, children have to basically problem solve throughout the process. This is such a valuable skill to develop for any future career.

As a parent or teacher, you have the ability to introduce your child to a plethora of artistic activities and projects. Kids are usually biting at the bit to try new art techniques so you shouldn’t have any resistance on their part. Be sure to always keep lots of fun and colorful art supplies on hand so art will become a normal weekly activity. And why not get artsy yourself? Kids really love it when parents and caregivers work alongside them doing separate but similar projects.

To help you come up with ideas other than drawing or painting, here are some fun and creative suggestions.

Make a sculpture from air-dry clay.
Cut colored paper and make a collage.
Make a Memory Jug like the one shown. This was a fun project that enabled not only the child choosing his pieces to be used but also how to artistically place them.
Make a robot from odds and ends and found objects.
Gather unusual materials, such as beads, feathers, twigs, paint and set materials out on a table. Let the creative little minds come up with their own projects.

Learn How to Make Money Online as an Artist

by zzlivingApril 23, 2015May 11, 20150

Are you an artist trying to understand how to make money doing what you love? You are not alone. And whether you are a self-taught artist or a schooled artist, the challenges are the same.

Although there are many opportunities to sell your work at local and national art shows, there are many, many more opportunities to get your work seen by prospective buyers and art collectors. The internet has opened up so many new venues enabling artists to get their work seen by buyers internationally. In fact, the number of opportunities is almost overwhelming. The challenge is to find the best use of your time and choose wisely.

One of the first steps you need to take, as an artist, is to initiate getting a website or blog. Ideally, the site you create to house your artwork will be one that contains a function of showing your work in a gallery of images. You needn’t spend a lot of money doing this either. There are a ton of wordpress themes to choose from and a wordpress site is very user-friendly as far as adding new images and writings. You will want to make sure that your site showcases linking icons to your Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Ah, yes … social media. In this day and age, using social media is a must to survive. Although there are a number of social media options, such as using twitter, tumblr, facebook, instagram etc. … some lend themselves better to showcasing art than others. And if you have been keeping up with facebook recently, they are constantly changing their algorithims which determines how many people actually will see what you posted on your personal or business page. It is important to have a presence on facebook but the payoff is not as great as the early days. We are getting more and more feedback that the place to be, for an artist, is Instagram. Apparently there are art collectors that cull the Instagram feeds every day. In case you aren’t familiar with instagram, this is an app that you normally use from one of your devices, such as an iphone, ipad, nook etc.

Also, you will want to take advantage of online art galleries that will showcase and feature your artwork. Most of these art sites will take a percentage of any sale and they often pay for the shipping or the buyer does. Check out the details before signing up of course. Some of the best, and most reputable art sites, you will want to check out are: Saatchi Art, Art Finder and Ugallery.