* Food. Ah, wonders of elbow macaroni...it's delicious and artistic! Create a dry pasta portrait, or an edible picture with slices of cucumbers or olives for eyes, small carrots for noses, a slice of bell pepper for a mouth, whipped cream hair--anything goes!

* Hands-On. In other words, finger painting! The secret to having fun with this hands-on technique is to use only your hands and fingers--no brushes. Double fingerprints, one inside other, work great for eyes. Apply dark lipstick on your lips and kiss paper to add a mouth!

* Artistic. Object painting can become very addictive once you get started, so go through your garage sale box to find plenty of "canvases." Paint portraits on clear dinner plates, keepsake boxes, T-shirts, tote bags, and any other object that lacks pizzazz.

4. Tin Foil: Create lakes and rivers with flat pieces of tin foil.

5. Cardboard Boxes: Make buildings such as schools, banks and churches from small cardboard boxes.

6. Magazine Cut-Outs: Glue pictures from magazines onto small cardboard boxes to represent type of buildings in town. For example, glue a picture of a store or school onto a box.

7. Thread Spools: Set these in a park area, to use as tables.

8. Cotton Balls: Turn your town into a winter wonderland with fluffy puffs of cotton.

9. Popsicle Sticks: Great materials for building fences and bridges.

10. Kitchen Scale: Bring into play a small kitchen scale to use as a weigh station for cars.