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I wanted to share this great family art project. Not only is it a fun craft to do with all ages but it is eco-friendly too. Basically, it is creating a block print from your child’s artwork by recycling Styrofoam.

Materials

Paper
Pencils crayons
Styrofoam containers
Utility knife or pair of scissors
Acrylic or tempera paint
Roller or paintbrush
Cardstock paper
Small stack of Newspaper

First, save your Styrofoam containers. Now in a perfect world we would not have access to Styrofoam and we would all be able to get packaging made from corn or other such green choices. You want something flat and thick like meat and produce packaging. Cut the Styrofoam into blocks. I was able to get a block shape close to 4×6 from my meat package. Then assemble your paper and drawing materials. For example, let your child draw a picture or help them by hand over hand drawing an image. Note: If you are going to try adding text then you have to reverse the lettering so it will read when you stamp it. Keep in mind that the drawing has to fix on the block. If you want to save the original work of art make a photocopy of it and use the copy to transfer the image to the Styrofoam. All I did was hold it on the Styrofoam and use a pencil to retrace over the image Fiona and I drew. An older child might be able to do this step. You might poke through the drawing and you will have to go over the drawing a couple of times to get all the lines to show up on the Styrofoam. Or, if you and your child are feeling free spirited you can just draw on the Styrofoam. I advise that the adult do the next step. Use a pen or pencil to scratch the image into the Styrofoam. Keep in mind those lines are the areas that will be left white (or the background color) when you stamp the image with paint. You might have to ink the block up with paint to see how well your image is showing up. Then, when you have it the way you want roll or paint the block and stamp it on heavy weight paper. I put newspaper under my cardstock to get a better print.

I had a lot of fun doing this art project with my daughter. Fiona got a little bit of fine motor therapy and art in one. I like the fact that I’m using everyday items and old school techniques to create timeless work of art with my child. I liked our image so much that I got it in my head to make Christmas Cards. So after stamping, handwriting and addressing thirty Christmas cards everyone got a little bit of our Family’s Holiday Magic. I also tried glittering a few of the stamped images. What a pretty mess that is. For those of you who get the sparkle cards and continue to fine glitter in their house into the New Year… Your welcome!

Curtis brought home some; tea bags, stir sticks, and instant coffee after a business meeting. Of course I tucked the tea away but the “coffee stuff” sat on my kitchen counter for weeks because we aren’t big coffee drinkers and we when we do make coffee we use spoons to stir not disposable utensils. Right? Not using disposables is one of the ways to positively impact the environment and reduce your waste. I didn’t want to send them to the landfill, but they were going to end up in my cabinets collecting dust. I knew I wasn’t going to use them in the kitchen, so…

I put my recycling cap on and started think about how I could transform these silly wooden sticks into something more use full, more entertaining, and hopefully send a message about looking at the items we use and toss in a new way. I thought about all the items we use to make coffee and tea; stir sticks, tea bags, coffee filters, individual packets of sugar and creamer. Many of them we just use once and toss. I pulled out a coffee filter and stir sticks and started to let my imagination go. Coffee Fairy! I got my wire out and started to bend and twist the core anatomy of the fairy. I looped hip, neck, and shoulder joints to attach the limbs and head of the fairy. I made a spine, ribcage, and even a spiral heart to fill the space under the dress. Adding cotton balls gave Stacey a little more substance to her body. The sir sticks could make simple stick figure arms and legs. I cut the stir sticks in half and wired them to the fairy’s frame.

A filter would make the most beautiful, fluffy, and chic dress for an eco fairy. The hardest part was coming up with a head and wings for Stacey. I eventually found the right size and shape for her head and figured out the simple lines of the copper wings. Now Stacey the Coffee Fairy is ready to hang on your tree or by your desk. Just be careful not to leave a cup of Joe out, she might just drink it down to the last drop!

I named this one-of-a-kind fairy after my close friend and graphic designer, Stacey Pastor. She has been the reason I have a website and wonderful graphics for Miss Fi’s Kingdom. She has works hard for me. She took my pencil drawings of Miss Fi and my vision of her Kingdom and turned them into pixels and points on her Mac. Stacey LOVES coffee! So when we work she has to have to have a cup of coffee or a latté or two. She is one of the reasons I bought a coffee machine. So I thought naming this fairy ornament, Stacey, would be the perfect tribute to her and all her work for me.

Stacey the Coffee Fairy drank all her coffee and she wants some more! Go to www.MissFiKingdom.etsy.com to purchase this very special ornament. There is more to come from Stacey the Coffee Fairy but this is the 1st of her kind.