ARTBAR

Revisiting the Mixed-Media Painted Branch Invitation

Barbara Rucci — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:38:45 +0000

I’ve been meaning to write about this gorgeous branch painting for a while now. It’s been 12 years since I wrote my popular painted branch invitation, which is hard to wrap my head around. That means my youngest was eight… and now he’s in college! Sigh. This branch – really more like a driftwood log...

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Freezer Paper Stencil on Fabric

Barbara Rucci — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 17:22:08 +0000

If you’ve never tried using freezer paper to make a stencil, what have you even been doing? But really, I was so surprised by how professional this looked that I was starting to wonder why I wasn’t printing something on every plain t-shirt that I own. The process is very simple, you don’t need a...

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Something New for Art Bar

Barbara Rucci — Sat, 22 Aug 2026 19:32:24 +0000

In a recent Instagram post, I soft-launched a plan that has been percolating for quite some time. I’ve been trying to articulate my thoughts with the right words or medium for the past year, but I haven’t been able to find them. I feel both lost and hopeful. It’s like I’m swimming through a dark...

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11 Summer Crafts for Teens and Tweens

Barbara Rucci — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 15:38:05 +0000

How is it possible that it’s been 9 years since I wrote my first 13 Crafts for Teens and Tweens? I have so many new posts to choose from that it will be hard to narrow them down to 11, so I will split them into summer and winter. The following are 11 favorite summer...

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Shibori Dying Technique with Kids

Barbara Rucci — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Have you tried Shibori yet? We have done it many times, and it is always such a hit. We did lots of Shibori dying with multi-age groups of kids in Art Bar Camp, and they LOVED it!! I did it again when my son was in high school and asked for a tie-dye hoodie. Little...

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Artist-Inspired painting with Liquid Watercolor

Barbara Rucci — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 13:20:01 +0000

This was one of my favorite tables I have ever put together. My idea was to experiment even deeper with “not teaching.” As art educators, we feel like we always have to communicate the subject matter, explain the process, or give directions. But what if the materials became the teacher? What if you set up...

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10 Open-Ended Materials for your Art Space to Nurture Creative Thinking

Barbara Rucci — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 19:03:21 +0000

As I was gathering content for this post, I realized that in the 13+ years I have been writing this blog, I have never written a post about a collection of my favorite materials! I’ve written about liquid watercolor so many times. I’ve written endlessly about recyclables (and in my book!), and many times about...

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Children experiment with wire and threadable materials

Barbara Rucci — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 22:56:33 +0000

I have a huge collection of pinecones because I cannot stop myself from collecting them whenever I see their perfect, symmetrical shapes lying on the ground. Big, small, and in between. I now have to sneak them into the house because nobody can know this collection is getting bigger, not smaller. The pinecone is such...

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Star Punched Paper Chain + More Paper Chain Favorites

Barbara Rucci — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 14:53:09 +0000

As I was making a new paper chain last weekend for my mom’s 86th birthday, I realized that this classic, old-school activity really is my favorite way to decorate a room. And the best part is that you can use any paper you have, and all ages can join in and collaborate. Paper chains are...

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Process Art with Recyclables: Collaborative & Big!

Barbara Rucci — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 22:29:05 +0000

It has been 8 years since I wrote a blog post about gluing recyclables onto a big piece of cardboard and inviting my art students to mix their own colors and paint the structure up on the wall. Since then, I have added this project to my book, Carboard Creations, and seen hundreds of art...

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