Annual Art Contests for Kids

One good way to encourage your child to develop their imaginations and to get them away from the television is to have them enter an art contest. There are many different types of art contests that are designed for kids. Most will revolve around creating a poster for a themed event, or creating some sort of narrative art that teaches a lesson as well as entertains. To find these contests you will want to look for annual contests and for new campaigns offered by federal and state agencies as well as nonprofit organizations.

Children’s Art Contest Number One – The Annual Tar Wars National Poster Contest

The Tar Wars National Poster Contest is an annual art competition for kids. To qualify for this competition the child needs to be in the fourth or fifth grade, they must have had the Tar Wars presentation given to them in school, they must create a poster based on this year’s theme, and they must submit their entry by their state’s deadline. If you are a teacher and would like your class to participate in this anti-tobacco art competition you can contact your state representative to get the materials needed. To find the contact information for your state’s Tar Wars representative you will need to go to the Tar Wars homepage located at http://www.tarwars.org/poster.exml. Art work will be judged on creativity, originality, interpretation of the anti-tobacco theme, and the clear and positive message that it depicts. Posters will need to be between 9 inches by 12 inches and 22 inches by 28 inches, and they must use two dimensional art mediums only. The deadlines for entries will vary, however, mid April is a good estimate. Posters that win at the state level will be entered in the national competition held in May.

Children’s Art Contest Number Two – Youth Wildlife Art Contest

If your child is interested in hunting or wildlife then they may be interested in entering the National Rifle Associations Youth Wildlife Art Contest. This is an annual event that accepts entries from kids in grades one through 12. Students can attend private, public, or home schools and still be eligible for this contest. The deadline for entries is the beginning of October with the 2006 deadline being October 3. There are four age categories for prizes. Category I will be for 1st through 3rd graders, category II for 4th through 6th graders, Category III for 7th and 9th graders, and Category IV for 10th through 12th graders. Several cash prizes will be awarded in each category.

Students are only allowed to submit one entry. The artwork can use any two dimension art medium, as long as it is on an 8 ½ inch by 11 inch paper, or on an 11 inch by 14 inch paper. You don’ need to mat the art but you can if you want. Art work will be judged on its composition, realism, creativity, and effort. For more information about this competition you can visit the following website: http://www.nrahq.org/youth/wildlife.asp.

Children’s Art Contest Number Three – Annual Arbor Day National Poster Contest

The National Arbor Day Foundation is another organization that hosts an annual poster contest intended to inspire children. This competition is open to fifth graders across the national and last year more than 75,000 fifth graders participated in this event. If you are a teacher or a home school teacher and you want your class or child to participate in this event you can request a free Activity Guide for this year’s poster contest from http://www.arborday.org/kids/postercontest. This free guide will include lesson plans that center on the importance of tress, and they will include lessons for the following subjects: art, geography, social studies, and national science. Prizes for this contest include Savings Bonds, awards, teacher prizes, and a trip to Nebraska City, Nebraska for the awards ceremony. For more information about this contest please visit the National Arbor Day Foundation’s website.

Christmas Light Photography Tips and Advice

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We're out taking photographs of Christmas lights. There are so many beautiful displays, and we want to capture them on film. So as we prepare to take our pictures of Christmas lights, we back away so that we can capture the entire magnificent scene within our frame.

Correct. But also incorrect, if that's all we do. And this leads to our first Christmas photography tip for illustrating Christmas light displays.

(1) The best Christmas lights photography captures not only panoramic scenes, but also close-ups of the highlights within the panorama. We want both. Let's say that on the sprawling front lawn of a suburban home, we see Santa on his sleigh in one location, and a Salvation Army bell-ringer in a second spot, and a nativity scene someplace else. In addition to our distant Christmas photograph, we can also zero in on each of those three highlights.

(2) Opt for a high shutter speed. We want to illustrate the lights, not the light that they emit. A wide angle lens is for the panorama, and a macro lens is for the close-ups.

(3) Those Christmas light displays are so brilliant in the deep, dark, Silent Night. Maybe so, but our Christmas photography will be lousy at that point. Our photos will show the lights, but not the property in the background. Or, we'll see the property but we won't clearly see the lights, so to speak. Our best bets are at dusk or at dawn, and overcast usually is better than clear sky.

(4) If we're really dedicated and sticklers for perfection, we'll shoot our Christmas photography both at dusk and at dawn. Great photography of any sort is trial and error. Furthermore, if we show up maybe a half-hour before the optimal time, then we can plan our logistics and our camera angles, so that we're ready when the time is right. Extra time = excellence in our Christmas photography.

(5) Let's see here. We have the lights. We have the various props that go with the lights, such as the nativity scenes or Santa on his sleigh. We have the property in the background. Aren't we forgetting something? Oh yes, the sky. The sky! Look at examples of Christmas lights photography that impress you (or even thrill you) the most, and odds are that the sky will play a prominent role. Seek an angle at dusk that shows an afterglow in the evening sky. To include more sky, shoot from a low angle, upward toward the Christmas lighting display and toward the sky.

(6) People. Where are the people? Just because your subject is Christmas lights photography, that doesn't mean the scene must be devoid of people. Have some children pose in the scene, or better yet, just tell them to go ahead and frolic. This can add a unique element to your Christmas lights photography.

SOURCES

http://www.intofotos.com/photography/2007/11/10/how-to-photograph-christmas-lights/

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/12/how-to-photograph-christmas-lights.html

http://www.slrphotographyguide.com/tips/christmas-lights.shtml

How to Make Baby Crib Sheets

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The great thing about making your own baby crib sheets is that you can choose from thousands of fabrics available, rather than settle for the few choices at your local department store. The sheets are very easy to make, especially if you have a serger, or over-lock machine.

If you'll be using regular cotton fabric, cut the material 68" long. For flannel, cut two inches longer, since flannel will often shrink. If the material is pre-shrunk, cut to 68". With flannel, however, after being washed once, it's often very noticeable, so if the sheets are a gift you may consider cutting the flannel extra long rather than pre-shrinking.

Lay the fabric out flat on a table and cut an 8" square off of each corner. The easiest way to do this is to cut a piece of cardboard to 8"x8", then use it as a pattern to cut around. Lay the cardboard on one corner and cut around it, then move on to the next corner. After cutting the block out of each corner you are ready to stitch.

On each corner, fold the cut portion, right sides together, and angles aligning. Serge or stitch across to form a pocket. Do this for each of the four corners. Use quarter-inch elastic and stitch it to the entire perimeter of the sheet. Pull the elastic slightly, while sewing around the corners, then just stitch the sides without tugging. When you get to the second corner, again pull the elastic slightly, all the way around the corner.

If you're using a serger, the elastic can be sewn in while stitching, but be sure not to get the elastic too close to the knife. If the elastic hits the knife just once, you'll have to reinstall the elastic. To prevent this, especially if you are a beginner, serge around the perimeter, then use a single-needle machine to attach the elastic.

If you're using a single-needle machine for the entire job, you can do the elastic a couple of different ways. One way is to sew the elastic into the sheet with a zig-zag stitch, then call it finished. Another way is to fold the edge of the sheet over the elastic, hiding it as you stitch. A third way is to stitch the elastic all the way in, then go back and fold it over, stitching it again. That technique will hide the elastic and is easier for some beginners.

It's not entirely necessary to place the elastic all the way around the sheet. Many people simply sew elastic into the corners. To do this, cut four pieces of elastic, each 9" long. Find the center of the elastic and place it at the corner seam. Stitch half of the elastic on, pulling it slightly as you sew. Now go back to the center and sew in the opposite direction, tugging the elastic slightly as you sew the second half. After putting in all four pieces of elastic you can then go back and turn the elastic under, if desired, and stitch.

If you're wanting to make sheets for a toddler bed instead of a crib, use the same method but measure the mattress of the toddler bed, from the underside of one end to the underside of the other end, and use that measurement instead of the crib sheet measurement. You'll find it very easy to make the sheets and the little baby will enjoy them tremendously, even if he can't tell you personally.