I used to say that everyone is an artist but I don’t know if I always believed it. I don’t think that I truly believed it until I had a daughter that was born an artist. She sees life and everything in it with a sense of magic that I can only define as art. Me? Not so much. The thing is though that by being her mom I have learned that both of our perspectives are art. I have learned that we all create art all day long and often don’t realize the magic that we leave behind.
Normally, when I do art gift guides they cater to the traditional artist. Now, don’t get me wrong, if you have a little artist like mine, they will enjoy these items. So will any other littles (and not so littles) that wouldn’t traditionally identify as an artist. Being a non-traditional artist living and raising a traditional artist has made me blur my lines a bit. I now truly believe that everyone is an artist and just about anything is a type of art.
My little artist right now has a love of sculpting and plans to live in Paris as a professional artist when she is an adult. I can’t wait to follow her across the pond and be front and center at all of her shows.
Treemendous Ornament Decorating Kit – This is a gift for the entire family. It is also an awesome activity to countdown the days to Christmas. It can even be the gift that keeps on giving. It comes with three ornaments but you can buy more to either do an Advent Calendar of ornaments that your little creates daily and then adds to your tree until the BIG DAY. Or you can have your little decorate ornaments and then give them as gifts to others. We love figuring out how many different color patterns we can create. I think I love this even more than the Eggmazing Decorator we use at Easter time. That says a lot as I have been using the egg decorator for years.
Black Brave Beautiful The Badass Black Girl’s Coloring Book – I was barely able to unpack this book when it delivered before it was being snatched out my hands. JustaBXgirl saw it and reacted as if she had been waiting for it forever. Who knows? In a subconscious way, we both have been. I love how she lives in an era that exalts her melanin. I love that she flips through the pages and feels spoken to. The words, the quotes and the images resonate with her. And she isn’t a huge fan of coloring. That hasn’t stopped her from sharing this book and her finished projects from the book with her friends in her virtual afterschool program or with her teacher during her online office hours.
Spa*rkle Rainbow Festival Body Art – Body embellishments mean different things in different cultures. Most cultures agree that body embellishments are art. I love this kit that is designed for the tween generation can be used and appreciated by all generations. If you follow me on Instagram, you will see that JustaBXgirl has taken to creating her own body art. As I type this, she has adorned her face with gems. This is a safe way for artists to express themselves.
Chalk of the Town Shirt, Tote, Patches – I remember meeting the owner of Chalk of the Town years ago. She is so sweet. I have loved watching her company grow and am always cheering her on. We have used her shirts for years and can still create art on the first shirt we ever got from her all those years ago. The quality is amazing. I love all the options available now. You can add patches to stockings, tote bags for moms, and shirts for the whole family. You can even purchase products based on themes. The holiday themes are so cute!
iHeartArt kits – I’ve featured these in Toy School posts because I think they are absolutely amazing (and affordable). We don’t speak enough about how creating art can cost money. Once you create something, most of the time you can’t go back and reuse the products so you have to get more supplies. Every household doesn’t have an endless supply of funding for their artists so when kits like this pop up it makes me excited. It contains quality materials to create multiple creations at an affordable rate AND 5% of their profits go towards helping other artists!
