Today on the Craft Industry Alliance podcast we’re talking about making art with kids. My guests are Amie Plumley and Jean Van’t Hul.
Amie Plumley is passionate about teaching children to sew. She’s a second-grade teacher and the co-author of two books, Sewing School: 21 Sewing Projects Kids Will Love to Make and Sewing School 2: Lessons in Machine Sewing, both published by Storey. Amie co-founded a popular sewing school day camp and oversees a sewing after school program. She lives in Memphis, Tennessee with her husband, two children, and a dog named Tug.
Jean Van’t Hul is passionate about children’s art and creativity. On her blog, The Artful Parent, Jean shares ideas, information, and inspiration to encourage you to enjoy and share art with the kids in your life, whether in your home or your classroom. Jean’s first book, The Artful Parent, was published by Roost in 2013. Her second book, The Artful Year, will come out in February of 2015. Jean lives with her husband and two daughters in the mountains of Western North Carolina.
During the show, we talk about the best tools to use when teaching kids to sew, how to focus on process instead of product, and why the best materials are the simplest. We also address practical ways to control the mess and how to address self-doubt and feelings of frustration.
Whether you’ve been sewing and making art with children for years already, or are just getting started, you’ll get practical tips and new ways to think about art-making from this conversation.
Amie, Jean, and I also recommend great stuff we’re enjoying right now.
Amie recommends:
- The Small Object needle case and custom rubber stamps (and I love the Celebration Candle Kids)
- craft thread and chenille needles
- using old sheets for muslins and for sewing with kids
Jean recommends:
- liquid watercolors
- Tinkerlab by Rachelle Doorley (and the Tinkerlab blog)
- magnetic tiles
- Beautiful Oops
And I recommend:
- eye stickers as creative prompts for drawing
You can listen to the show right here by clicking the arrow below, or subscribe in iTunes and listen any time. If you enjoy the show, tell a friend about it! Thanks so much.
Loved this episode! I bought a hello kitty sewing machine on a whim and am so glad i did. My kids both love to sew on it. Great ideas from everyone!
I loved this podcast. Reminds me when I taught children to handsew as an art project and it was a fun experience. I switched schools and it wasn’t easy to get the children interested to sew, so I dropped the idea. Now, I’m at a different school, I’m inspired to try it again, although it won’t be easy with the number of children we have, but any kind of art is so rewarding. Thank you for your wonderful podcast episodes.
So cool my kid has book 1