Paper mâché is an often overlooked medium, but it’s not just for kids. Try adding paper mâché strips to a painting to create texture. It’s an easy way to make landscapes or clothing stand out. If you prefer sculpting, try to make a person or an animal. It’s harder than you think!
Paper mache is fantastic because it’s inexpensive and easy to acquire. All you need are some paper strips, water, and flour (or you can use a glue and water combination). Simply dip the strips in the mixture and apply them.

Printmaking is a good test for artists. By using only one color it forces them to forget small details and focus on the image as a whole. Shading, depth, and emotion are more difficult to display. Despite this, it’s still easy, inexpensive, and fun. Some people will create a print and use it over and over to decorate custom greeting or business cards. Those who prefer line drawings and sketches can carve one onto a rubber block and create prints to sell at art fairs or give to friends. The potential for custom print blocks is endless. To create a print, you need a blank rubber stamp, roll-on ink, and carving tools. Printmaking kits are available at art stores close to home. You simply carve your design into the rubber block, roll the ink onto it, and stamp it down on a piece of paper. Now you have a print that can be reused as many times as you want!

Sun prints provide the challenge of shape. Sun print paper can be found online or at craft stores. To use it, you put objects on top of the paper and place it outside in the sun. Everywhere that sunlight touches the paper will turn blue, leaving white outlines of the objects you put on top of it.
It’s popular to create sun prints with flowers, leaves, antlers, and anything found outside. Some artists will cut out stencils of people or buildings to place on the paper. However, if you’re looking for a challenge, you can try to create images of people or landscapes using just objects found around the house.

Pressing flowers is a great way to preserve summer memories. There are several methods of doing this. The slowest (but most classic) way is book pressing. Place a sheet of newspaper inside a book, then lay out your flowers on top of it. Put another sheet of newspaper over the flowers and shut the book. If you can, place other books or some heavy weight on top of it. This process can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks, depending on what kind of flower you are pressing. You can check daily to see if your flowers are dry. Another option is to iron your flowers. Place the flowers between two sheets of paper, set your iron to the lowest heat, and gently press down and hold for 10 seconds. This is a much faster method, but you also need to be more careful so the flowers don’t burn. Flowers from the yard, a hike, a garden, or a bouquet can all be pressed and preserved. They can be placed in a glass frame, used to create a sun print, or glued onto other works of art. Jewelry makers will often encase them in resin to create floral pendants or earrings. The potential for these little dried flowers is endless.