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This morning my two oldest kids were itching to do an art project. After a couple minutes trying to figure out what to do I decided that we had all the necessary ingredients for making Rainsticks.

Rainsticks are ceremonial musical instruments that are/were used to invoke the rain spirits. They are typically made by people who live in the deserts of northern Chile. And they are traditionally made from dead cactus tubes with hundreds of cactus spines hammered into the tube. Tiny pebbles or stones cascade gently through the tube, sounding much like rain. I am sure you have probably seen them before at arts and crafts festivals.

We did not have cactus tubes on hand unfortunately. When we lived in Arizona we could have found these easy within the state land that formed our back yard but alas Ohio is short on cactus. So we used cardboard mailing tubes, nails, and rice. We decorated our tubes with Tempera paint.

We hammered a couple dozen nails into our mailing tubes, filled with a cup or so of rice, tested to hear the lovely sounds they made, and then painted. Here are some pictures. The kids are quite proud of their rainsticks and we had a fun time making them. They are out trying to invoke the rain spirits right now. We could use the rain!

If you have any mailing tubes laying around this is a great way to recycle them.

Scrapbooking has become a huge pastime and hobby for moms everywhere. I have some friends that scrapbook each of their children’s lives almost daily! I am not so into scrapbooking myself but I did make one once, for a childhood girlfriend that was getting married and it WAS a lot of fun I must admit. I didn’t want to give it to her when it was done!

One of the drawbacks of scrapbooking is that it requires a lot of materials, especially paper. Each scrapbook page requires a piece of fancy paper or card stock for the background, and then of course more paper is used for die cuts, frames and other embellishments. Then there are the non-paper embellishments, and let’s not forget the scrapbook cover. The finished product is priceless really, but this hobby can have an also have an impact on the environment.

Lucky for us there are environmentally conscientious scrapbook materials on the market. Read on for some ideas on how to incorporate some earth friendly practices into your scrapping adventures.

Recycled Paper of Course!

When we think of environmentally responsible scrapbook supplies, the first thing that should come to mind is recycled paper. Buying post consumer recycled paper is a step in the right direction. Buying recycled paper cuts down on the demand for new and this saves trees. But when you purchase recycled paper products, it’s essential to know what you’re buying.

For instance, how much of it is actually recycled? Is it a substantial amount or is it just a marketing gimmick? Each package of paper should list the percentage of recycled materials that were used in manufacturing. The higher the percentage, the better. It is also important to identify the percentage of post-consumer waste used. Post consumer waste paper has been recycled after it has hit the market and been used, as opposed to pre-consumer waste, which is just scraps created when cutting the paper during the manufacturing process. Pre-consumer waste is not really recycling in the traditional sense because manufacturers almost always recycle their own scraps anyway…it is just good business. So touting the word “recycled” for pre-consumer paper scraps is selling something…literally.

Another important factor is the type of ink is used to print on the paper and most scrapbooking papers do have elaborate printing and design. Many of the inks used can be damaging to the environment. Always look for vegetable or soy-based inks, which are environmentally nontoxic. Your local craft store representative should be able to point you in the right direction and if they don’t carry these items, ask if they will start ordering them. You can always buy plain recycled paper and use non-toxic ink stamps or have your children paint the backgrounds with watercolors.

Recycle Your Own

Using recycled paper is a great start when you’re trying to be environmentally conscious in your scrapbooking. But it would be even better to use items that you would have otherwise thrown away. This can also help you save some money. It takes some imagination and creativity, but there are lots of things you can reuse in your scrapbooks. These include:

* Old Children’s Books – Have you ever been to a yard sale where they are selling old children’s books that are falling apart? I know I have…many times. Instead of passing them by because they aren’t very readable buy them up for pennies and cut them up to use in your scrapbooks. The old early readers like the Dick and Jane classics make wonderful scrapbook additions.

* Maps – Maps are great for matting and backgrounds. You can also cut out the states or countries you recently went on vacation and incorporate them into memory pages. Fun!

* Old calendars – These are wonderful to use because you can cut out dates and use the high quality pictures.

* Wrapping paper – You can make all sorts of nice embellishments or backgrounds out of wrapping paper or tissue paper. Ribbons can also be used so save your gift wrapping materials after someone gives you a gift or raid some one’s party garbage (with their permission of course) to get some raw materials.

* Greeting cards – Not only can you cut out the handwritten notes and add them to a page for a personal touch, you can also cut out pretty illustrations and verses to use like die cuts. Instead of letting sit in a box or tossing them…use them!

Digital scrapbooking is also an option and quickly gaining popularity. You may want to try it. Few (if any) physical supplies are required for this type of scrapping.

Reusing items and buying recycled and non-toxic scrapbook materials will greatly reduce your scrapbooking hobby’s impact on the environment. Doing some of these things might require a little more time and effort, but Mother Earth will thank you.

Got any eco scrapbooking ideas of your own to share?

**For more information on making a photo book with us come now. We have a great selection of photo book samples you can view. Can’t decide then make your own custom photo books here.**

Hot on the trail of my post about Young at Art I want to discuss eco friendly art supplies. So what do you think about when you consider children’s art supplies? The first thing that comes to mind is probably the Crayola crayon. It is the most popular brand of crayon used by millions of children around the world. But did you know that Crayola crayons are made with paraffin wax, a petroleum by-product?

Yes, ooey gooey, nasty petro products in your child’s mouths and hands. The availability and price make it hard to buy anything else though…I know, I still have Crayola crayons round here I am sure. I am trying to phase them all out though. Here are some eco crayon alternatives:

Soy Crayons – I don’t eat soy but I have nothing against using crayons made from it. MUCH better than petro and soy is a renewable resource. Prang makes a good soy crayon that you can find at most office supply stores. My kids have Crayon Rocks and really like them. They are small rock shaped crayons made out of soy. Little fingers can grip them well, preparing fingers and hands for handwriting skills.

Soy crayons have a very “light” color though so these may or may not be for you.

Beeswax Crayons – These are a hit in our house. The colors are brilliant and they are made out of all natural, high-quality beeswax. Waldorf schools commonly use these in their classrooms. They are the best IMO and you have a couple options.

Stockmar Beeswax Block Crayons are shaped like blocks. They are easy to hold the shape allows for different coloring possibilities. They also prevent the mess of a wrapper. Sets comes in a handy reusable tin, colors including; crimson, orange, golden yellow, lemon yellow, green, blue, rust and red-violet. Stockmar products are also certified nontoxic by the Art and Craft Materials Institute.

But if you want regular crayons you can get the Stockmar Beeswax Stick Crayons. This luxurious set luxurious set includes the following colors: carmine red, orange, lemon yellow, green, blue, blue violet, red brown, and black.

You can also get a combo pack with both stick and block crayons.

Modeling and Molding Materials – Kids love to manipulate soft substances and create, hence the love of play dough. What kid doesn’t love molding, sculpting and squishing clay or play dough?

Conventional play dough is made with chemical dyes though and could pose a risk. I think this why so many parents are making their own play dough. But if you aren’t the craft sort you can also buy organic and natural play dough these days. My kids love Eco Baby Organic Playdough and Mary’s Softdough. They also like my homemade play dough.

Clay can also be bad news as many clay brands for kids are polymer clays. The qualities of a polymer clay are due to its primary ingredient, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or vinyl. PVC is considered the most toxic plastic. During manufacture and when burned, PVC creates a highly toxic byproduct called dioxin, which is a potent carcinogen and endocrine disruptor.

I try to avoid clays from conventional stores unless I am familiar with the company and the ingredients. We opt to use beeswax modeling materials most times. Beeswax is the ultimate modeling material, a great educational tool for encouraging creativity and tactile exploration. The wax becomes pliable with the warmth of your hands. The modeling wax is completely non-toxic , non crumbly, totally reusable, with a pleasant aroma. We like Stockmar’s Beeswax Sheets.

Artemis Plant Colored Beeswax is another good product.

Finger paints – Finger-painting is a wonderful sensory activity and one kids really enjoy. For this I recommend the natural finger paints from KidBean. It is a 6-color set of petrochemical-free natural finger paint for kids, you can feel confident about. They are hemp-based vegan paints dyed with vegetable dyes. Colors are white, yellow, red, blue, green and black.

Regular paints – We use tempera paints here. I doubt they are dyed using vegetable dyes but they are AP certified non-toxic. They have a smooth texture and bright colors that blend easily. I like to find brushes art yard sales and estate sales but Amazon has some decent natural bristle brushes. Melissa and Doug have some really cute brushes for small folk.

Pencils - Lots of options in pencils. I think I will start by mentioning a favorite in our house…Smencils! They are really cool gourmet scented pencils made from recycled newspaper. The scent lasts for about two years and they have biodegradable erasers. Oh and the scents are groovy … root beer, cherry, watermelon, etc. The only drawback is that each individual pencil comes in a plastic container BUT they house the pencils until they are consumed and then they can be used for beads and stuff so you can give them a second life.

Lyra Waldorf Pencils are artisan-quality watercolor pencils with a wide array of color options using fine pigmented dyes that work to create brilliant color variations, which are long lasting and non-soluble. Pencil colors in the set include: golden rod, lemon, orange, dark carmine, light blue, Prussian blue, sap green, apple green, van dyke brown, vermillion, venetian red and purple.

Faber-Castell 12 Jumbo Triangular Color Eco-Pencils are great for younger kiddos. They are produced with 100% FSC certified reforested wood guaranteed exceptional quality, brilliant colors and excellent results-made with total respect for the environment. Each smooth sided pencil comes with a different design to help teach color recognition.

Jumbo Grip Graphite Pencils with no slip grip. Non-toxic, CE approved and safe for children ages 3 and up.

Earthwrite Recycled Pencils are #2 lead pencils made from 100% preconsumer waste materials and PMA certified non-toxic.

Journals and Sketchbooks – Once you have the tools you need some paper! One that I highlighted awhile back immediately comes to mind.

Elephant Poo Poo Paper Journal … yep its made from elephant dung! It a 20-Page Basic Journal with lignin-free, ccid-free; recycled paper, a brown recycled paper cover embellished with a lovely elephant silhouette. Since elephants poop about 16 times a day (wow!), elephant dung is a resource with the potential to solve the farmer/pachyderm conflict.

Tree Free Notebooks – a sustainable substitute source for paper-making fiber. The growing demand for paper made with kenaf, a fibrous plant from the Mallow family that’s related to cotton and okra, has made it an increasingly viable alternative economically.

Have fun making art AND saving the planet…all the while keeping your kids SAFE.

My weekend read was very inspiring, Young at Art by Susan Striker. Susan is the creator of the widely popular anticoloring books for kids I like so much. As an art teacher of many years and a mom herself she has some great ideas about how art should evolve in a child’s life and how much of what we might be doing may actually stifle their creativity and love of art.

With the exception of baby’s first steps, there is no more significant milestone in your child’s development than the first mark he or she makes on paper. These squiggles herald the start of a lifetime of writing and drawing. – Susan Striker

I love the information this book has about activities and practices to instill a love of art and how it isn’t just “frill” but really a very important foundation for educational skills. This foundation also effects their emotional and intellectual development. I know many parents that don’t let their children pursue art because a clean and tidy home is more important to them but this book clearly shows why that is a BIG mistake.

Interestingly this book also outlines some surprising things we should NOT give to children…coloring books, dot-to-dots, magic paints and markers, or similar projects where the artwork has been done and they just have to use a limited amount of brain power to just fill in the missing parts. These things limit their self expression. Striker’s arguments against these items was very convincing. Really I think parents end up being a creative blocker for their kids as far as art is concerned many times. Throughout the book there is also a strong message to parents that art is serious business for kids and seeing things like scribbling as just “scribbling” or “a mess” can be seen by children as a form of rejection. It is very important not to devalue their work. It is also important not to deny small children things like crayons because we are afraid they will write on things they aren’t supposed to. Its hard to do but very important and yes there may be messes unplanned expression. Take a look at my office wall:

All four walls within his reach look like this. My own mother has a heart attack whenever she sees it.

Striker also has words of caution for parents who “coach” their kids and try to tell them how to draw, what colors to use, or show the “proper” way to do something. It is like expecting a six month old to walk…kids have stages of development where artwork is concerned and coaching rushes them. It also limits self expression. Some of the greatest artists (Picasso) broke all the rules….just keep that in mind.

I really appreciated all the charts, lists, and pictures this book has that explain the creative process of a child. So much research has been done on this and yet this is the first book I have seen to address this. It is fabulous.

The first chapter is the most informational one. It provides the basis for why we should try to encourage art. Subsequent chapters discuss different art activities and how to incorporate them, drawing, painting, paper, sculpture, exploring colors and shapes, etc. The end of the book has lists of art books and wholesale art suppliers.

I found the book to be immensely useful and inspiring. I also found myself using some of the practices that limit self expression but found just as many areas where I am already doing what I need to be doing. Off to plan some activities outlined in this book…

Buy Young at Art!