The Artful Year Book Review

Explore this wonderful new book The Artful Year by Jean Van’t Hul for plenty of creative and art-filled ideas for the whole family to enjoy!

I am delighted to be featuring the lovely Jean from The Artful Parent and her brand, shiny new book The Artful Year! We have already reviewed and loved her first book The Artful Parent and you can read all about the types of activities and crafts that the book contained.

In this latest book, The Artful Year: Over 175 Family- Friendly Activities: Celebrating the Seasons and Holidays with Crafts and Recipes, Jean offers a wonderful collection of  art-based activities to be explored throughout the year, divided conveniently into seasons and holidays. Added to those are some wonderful, tried and tested family favourite recipes for cakes, snacks, treats and light bites which all tie in beautifully to the seasons too and all look delicious! We are adding many of them to our must-try list and look forward to spending some quality time in the kitchen together.

Buy your copy of The Artful Year here!

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My children have already pored all over this book the moment that they ripped it free of its packaging  and they have bookmarked multiple pages for things they want to try immediately! Thankfully we have the Easter holidays starting tomorrow for two weeks, so we shall be picking this up and using it as a guide book for each day.

There is a healthy balance of art processes and techniques as well as more craft-centred projects, which are all child centred and age appropriate. I love the emphasis on using nature as a guide and as part of the art process, even incorporating natural materials into many of the projects too.

One of the most beautiful projects contained in the book is an idea from Jean which I have been wishing to try for a while, using sand and plaster of Paris to make stunning sand-casted models and candle holders! I love the idea of strolling on the beach to find shells and precious trinkets, which we can then add to these to make a really special memory art work together of our holiday time. We are hopefully visiting the beach next week so this has moved to the top of our Spring bucket list!

[Images From The Artful Year, by Jean Van’t Hul, © 2015 by Jean Van’t Hul. Reprinted by arrangement with Roost Books, an imprint of Shambhala Publications Inc., Boston, MA. www.roostbooks.com]

This book would make a wonderful end of year thank you gift for a teacher, or a fantastic inspirational gift for a new parent. Or as a special gift to yourself as a helping hand for summer break and beyond! There’s enough here to keep you and your little ones entertained for a long time and I am so glad to have it on my shelf for quick reference and inspiration every day!

Would you like to WIN a free copy of this wonderful book? Hop on over to my Facebook page right now and enter your name to win, in my  competition! Entrants from UK, USA, Canada and Australia only.