happy weekend!

Wishing all my U.S. readers a happy Labor Day Weekend! I hope everyone takes a little time to soak up the last days of summer. See you back here next week!

leather and lace- doodled vest

I've been busy creating all kinds of fun projects for my latest online class Redefine Creativity and one of the lessons is all about using drawings and doodles to transform just about anything into a piece of art. I can't share everything from the class but I thought I would share one of my favorite projects. With only an oil based Sharpie pen (and lace as my inspiration), I was able to transform a black pleather vest into a totally unique and creative fashion statement!

                                      draw on jacket from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.

canvas car storage bags

When you have a kid, the car is home to LOTS OF CLUTTER so I have been on a mission to find some simple and creative ways to get our car organized! As you all know by now, we love paint and canvas so I thought it would be fun to create some colorful and messy canvas car storage bags for books, toys, snacks and anything else that we take on the road.

This was a perfect project for Lucy to help with! I let her paint the first couple of layers of canvas (letting each layer dry in between) then I went back in and added my own little creative touches to the final layer.

Next, I sewed the canvas into simple bags that were long enough to hang from the seats in the car. 

I added pockets and a strap.

tip: use a denim needle when sewing canvas with layers of paint!

The result is a colorful and funky way to keep things the car a little more tidy! 

And speaking of canvas...I've got a fresh batch of canvas pouches hot off the sewing machine! Head on over to my shop HERE to see the entire collection. They always sell out fast so get em' while you can!

For those new to my blog- A big part of my creative business used to be making one of kind handbags from my canvas paintings (and then I had a baby)! When I have time in my schedule for sewing, I have one of a kind pouches and bags available in my shop. 

5 favorite toddler activities

Truth be told I am LOVING the toddler stage- Lucy's brain is developing and growing by the second and her creativity is EXPLODING! We want to do whatever we can to introduce her to interesting and creative learning activities that are fun. While we do all kinds of cool stuff around here, I've put together a list of our current TOP 5 TODDLER ACTIVITIES.

1. HOMEMADE LIGHT BOX: Grab a clear plastic box, fill it with Christmas lights, turn out the lights and instantly you have a light box. All three of us are having so much fun playing with it! We use it for sorting games (colorful beads and anything translucent), playing and learning shapes (jar lids, bracelets, cookie cutters, magnet letters), a place for drawing and painting and Lucy's favorite- using all my jewelry to create shapes. For some reason a light box makes everything more fun!

2. PAINT WITH OBJECTS AND THINGS: As you know we do a lot of painting and while Lucy loves creating with a brush, I like to mix it up so she can really have the opportunity to experiment with all kinds objects and things. We collect stuff around the house- rolling pins, kitchen utensils, old food box, cardboard rolls and pretty much anything that can be dipped in paint. Then we let her go to town painting with different things. This process is really fun for artists of any age because there is a lot of "creative excitement" when you get to use unconventional tools! Her favorites are sweet potatoes, a whisk and a fork.

3. WINDOW CRAYONS: I actually purchased a set of window crayons for myself to use in a  lesson in my latest online class but when I brought them home, Lucy went wild for them. There is something so satisfying about drawing on things that are normally off limits! We let her draw on the mirror doors in her room and much to my surprise her favorite part of the process is cleaning the crayon off the surface.

4. SPIN ART: I'm obsessed with spin art- it is such a fun process for artists of all ages! Recently I purchased a little Melissa and Doug spinner for Lucy to play with (or you can make your own from a salad spinner). We've had so much fun making spin art together and to be honest I have to control myself when Lucy is creating because I get WAY too excited and want to take over! We have been creating and experimenting with our little spinner and I've got some fun ideas that I will be sharing in the coming weeks.

5. BEACH DOODLES: If you follow me on Instagram you will know that we spend a lot of time at the beach and often we will end the day doodling in the sand with sticks. This activity is a family favorite and something we all have fun with in our own way! While I am doodling flowers, Lucy draws lines around my flowers, Andy draws waves and Gam Gam and "G" (my parents- the grandparents) even get involved drawing funny faces, castles and shapes to jump in and out of. The best part is that you don't have to live at the beach- grab and stick and find some dirt and and get creative!

redefine creativity

Below are the 10 winners for my latest online class Redefine Creativity! Congrats to all of you! Send me an email at alisaburke@gmail.com and I will get you the class information.

driftwood jewelry stand

I have TONS and tons of bracelets that I have been trying to display in an organized way so I decided to build a couple of jewelry stands out of driftwood. Believe me (again) when I say that I love using driftwood in art and craft projects because there are hundreds of ways to put it use and this is just one more!

I started by collecting a variety of driftwood.

I drilled holes in the wood and glued them to each other.

I let them dry and VOILA...a fun stand to organize all of my arm candy!

tide pooling