3-D Painting Inspiration

While doing some "research" on YouTube for a flamingo painting class I taught last week, I stumbled across a fantastic idea from Monte Mart; painting in 3-D. How did he do this? By literally opening the tube of paint and drawing with it on his canvas to create texture that sat on the canvas in the form of painted poppy stems. What a mind blow! Plus, who doesn't feel inspired when you hear that accent (swoon)?

While I didn't use this technique for flamingo legs, it did get my wheels turning... and then lo and behold, my online pal and Community Manager for Education.com, Jessica, sent me this awesome project for creating Salt Dough Paint. What a co-inky-dink! So, without further a-dough (!), here are the instructions Jessica sent me for how you can get busy getting funky as a flamingo yourself:

Activity: 

Salt Dough Paint

 

Looking for a dazzling and unique art project? Here's one you've probably never done before. It's a new twist on painting that will add a little sparkle to any art project. Use a few kitchen ingredients to create a paint paste that glitters when dry and is easy to use. This nifty paint works well for school posters, but it's also great for making funky pieces of art to hang on the wall!

What You Need:

• Tempera paint
• Measuring cup
• Mixing bowls
• Spoons
• Flour (White, all-purpose)
• Salt
• Water
• Poster board
• Plastic squeeze bottles

What You Do:

1. Have your child (or the child within you) mix together equal amounts of flour, water and salt in a bowl to create a paint-like consistency.
2. Now pour equal amounts of this mixture into several bowls. Each bowl should contain a different color of paint.
3. Add a different color tempera paint to each bowl and mix it thoroughly.
4. Pour each color into its own squeeze bottle, making sure the nozzles are replaced securely.
5. Now you and your children can create your very own dough paint designs on the poster board, creating any picture he likes! Remember, it doesn't have to "be" anything... the interest is in the artistic endeavor!
6. After painting, have him set his poster aside to dry completely. Then, hang it up to share with friends and family!

You can find many more amazing activities at Education.com, be sure to check them out!

Push Weeks

About once a month or so, I find myself feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of planning I've compiled into one week. This week is definitely one of those "push weeks!"
Yesterday, I proudly took my first shipment of handmade greeting cards into a local vendor, Purdy Cost Less Drug & Pharmacy. I'm thrilled to be offering my one-of-a-kind greeters within my own neighborhood out here on the Key Peninsula. It's hard to believe I've been in the greeting card sales business for about three years now! But, I still love it, so what can I say, I'll stay in :-)
Tonight I'm hosting a CraftWithAnna fundraiser for the Red Barn in my booth at the Key Center Art Walk. It's my first time participating, and actually, my first time attending, too. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited. I had grand intentions of filling up my 80 card space rack and making a bunch of planner-journals to sell... well, that didn't exactly come to fruition! However, I've got lots of cards to display anyway, and a few other handmade things that I can offer up to interested shoppers. The most important part of tonight, for me, is getting involved with my community crafters and raising funds for more art classes at our local youth center <3 I love seeing what people make and knowing that in some way, I've inspired them! Paychecks of the heart are so much more rewarding, right?

Then tomorrow the girls and I will get to play with a large amount of our friends during a few hours of showers at a nearby park... with record setting heat to deal with, an outdoor shower would be pretty pleasant, but this one will be a baby shower for wee August, due at the end of October. I'm considering wearing bikini top and skirt, lol cause "baby," it's gonna be HOT! I can always come home and jump in the horse trough pool we cleaned out last night though :-0

Friday I'll get a little break-maybe. We're in the process of shopping for an rv, and that's where a lot of our family time has gone over the last month or so. It's interesting to say the least. We finally put a deposit down on "the one," only to immediately reconsider, which is basically the story of our life lol. Perhaps by the end of the weekend I'll be figuring out how the heck I'm going to pull one of those busses into our twisting turning pot holed driveway though. I'm pretty sure the air conditioner unit being below the floor would be a bonus, considering the amount of low limbs we have around here and my inability to clear them while preggers! "Whoops" is not a refrain I want to adopt when driving a big rig, you know?

Saturdays are reserved for fun, and I'll be teaching a painting class this coming Saturday afternoon~  in my previous blog post, you can see an image advertisement for that. Should be a lot of fun, but I always try to test out my classes on my own children first, and thus far, I haven't squeezed that in... Hay, I've been a busy gal! Oh, well, we can't always work so hard, and after all, there are a lot of people who don't get to spend their time making as much art as I do, so I'm not complaining. I have complete access to enjoying my family, healthy snacks to consume when I'm getting low, and not many of my friends get to go about their work in their bathing suits!  Besides, Saturday night I'll get to unwind with a round of karaoke, celebrating my mom's birthday with a large glass of kombucha, my new go to for when I feel like I need to have a festive beverage.

So what's taking up your last month of summer (gasp- did I really just write that)? I hope it's something fun... even better, something crafty!

A New Wrap On Kids Activities

We have been raising poultry for about the last three or four years at our house, and you know what? As a result, we have a TON of feathers floating around the yard. Whether it's by unfortunate bird snatchings by coyote, dive bombing by ravens, or just plain molting, birds tend to shed feathers the way toddlers shed clothing; here, there, and everywhere, and especially when you've just gotten them cleaned up :-)

Feathers hold a certain fascination for me. As a craft embellishment icon, they are wings down one of my faves. In fact, I rarely use them, and just look at how pretty they are still in the packaging most times- gah! Native and First America cultures have long used feathers for symbolizing a connection to Nature, and even adorn  their outfits and costumes with Spirit Animal representations of their strength and power

Figuring on my desire to inspire others and get more kids interested in artistic expression, my internet friend Jessica Lightle, Community Manager for Education.com,   sent me this amazing post to share with you, and lo and behold, it puts to use all those beautiful, fancifully enticing feathers!

Activity: 

Branch Weaving

Combine nature and art with this creative craft idea. In the process your kid will learn the art of branch weaving. This fun project is easy to do, and it will get your child out of the house, exploring nature. She'll use mostly natural materials to make her new, original piece of artwork. In the process, she'll practice her fine motor skills, and learn a little about weaving while she works.

What You Need:

• Twigs
• Leaves
• Rope, or raffia
• 1 Liter bottle, clean and dry
• Optional - feathers or beads

What You Do:

1. Ask your child to hold a twig in one hand and line it up with the mouth of the bottle. Tie the twig to the bottle using the rope. 
2. Holding the twig and bottle with one hand, ask him to hold another twig up to the bottle, lining the base of the twig to the mouth of the bottle. Help him tie this twig in place, weaving the rope in and out of the previous twig.
3. Repeat this process with at least one more twig, or as many twigs that will go around the bottle.
4. Encourage him to add in feathers and leaves into the rope weave, adding more rope as needed.
5. Tie additional rope at the top of the twigs for hanging his branch weaving from a tree.

Ta-Da! You've just created a masterpiece! Adorn your front entry way, line your driveway, or give them away as dream catchers to your older kids heading off to college.  However they turn out, you'll have a few less floaties around the house to pick up this summer <3 Thanks, Jessica!
If you enjoyed this activity and want to see more incredibly inspiring projects to keep your kids busy this summer, follow THIS LINK ...and let the creativity abound!

New School Field Trip

This week, I have the pleasure of vacationing with my family aboard Holland America's Amsterdam on a cruise through Southeastern Alaskan waters. Our destinations so far have included Stephen's Passage and the capitol city of Juneau, where we walked about town and happened upon this incredible spot just waiting for a #CraftWithAnna event to take place.
Ok, so I didn't break out my to-go-stamping kit and teach a class to the strangers out walking past our photo op? Well, no, but you can bet I thought about it! Because, when you see a desk marked "free" beckoning from a hotel parking lot, you take advantage of it, right?!

This is our second voyage with HA over Alaskan waters, and this time I brought along a few items that have certainly made waiting around watching scenery pass by with little ones a whole lot more pleasant. Not just for them, but for me too, I freely admit. We have amongst our generous helping if supplies in tow a set of watercolor pencils, pre-cut sheets of watercolor paper, assorted other papers collected along the way being repurposed for painting-on materials and a spritzer bottle for water.
Experiments of pencil on wet paper, penciled pigment being picked up and applied by brush, and even finger painting may or may not have taken place. Subjects such as waterfront views, tabletop floral still lifes, and even carpet designs have thus far been studied as inspiration for our creativie passions.We are having fun passing the time and capturing a bit of Alaska to take home as well.
I must say, though, as much as I love our little canvases, seeing Rainier being so generous and thoughtful while gifting away her original artworks to our good natured servers has been a gentle reminder that, as much as we cherish the moments that make memories, if we do not share them, they remain only with us. So, thank you, dear reader, for allowing me to share a bit of my mothering, teacher's joy with you in this post...

Now, who's interested in a REAL CraftWithAnna on location amongst Alaska experience?! Leave a comment below and let me know where your "bucket-list" cruise would go, and for bear's sake,
Stay Crafty!

String Your Heart Out

This class will definitely be making it's way to the Red Barn this summer!

Memorial Day Mini Albums

Spent the evening out with the kids over with the Red Barn youths, creating fun fast and fantastic mini albums just in time for Memorial Day. With just a few scrap papers and stickers, chipboard, and staples, we all made interesting little booklets. There was a place for family, a couple that celebrated military careers, and even just some little sketch books.

I've taught this class a few times this month now, but it never ceases to amaze me what my students come up with when they are handed a stack of scraps and a sticker sheet :-)  Thanks to the Two Water's Arts Alliance, who sponsored this Tuesday's CraftWithAnna class.

What to do with those Christmas cards!?

Our classes at the local youth hang out, Key Center's Red Barn, are always a lot of fun! There were four girls who sat down with me and my two assistant crafters to repurpose old greeting cards into new ones. Boy, did they ever create a ton of cards. They really seemed to enjoy the creative process and listened attentively to the tips and techniques presented while we brainstormed from card to card. I would have liked to involve more kids but there was a lot going on; at the Red Barn, kids can play foosball, ping pong, billiards, basketball,  just sit and chill with their friends, or, get involved with a cool art project.  

The project was to use old greeting cards to make new ones. We used a manual due cut machine (gifted early to me by Ray- my very own Big Shot) which they thought was pretty cool. Also, used a new product gifted from the generous folks at Queen & Co.:  tensile -not tinsel- string to make Christmas light strands. Lots of Bling being used! And, as always a delight to give permission to play with product with abandon.

Along with the tensile string, all of the glue, stick on rhinestones etc was donated last month by Queen & Co. What a blessing, huh?  The greeting cards were donated in part by our own Key Center librarian, Dorothy, and another local photographer in Gig Harbor, Nina Barcott. Cardstock was supplied by Two Water's Art Alliance.

Another tool we used which was a big hit was the Wink of Stella pen. This is a brush tipped bottle of glitter water. It's amazing lol. We also added some vintage to our cards by distressing with chalk ink pads.
With all the fun we were having, and the big pile of Christmas cards being created, I wondered, who would the girls give these beautiful new cards to for the Holiday Greetings.... It really was neat that almost all the cards made were donated for Red Barn's managing director, Laura to use as thank you's ♡

Next week we will use the tensile string and the greeting cards to make ornaments... I have green glitter paperclips to use for hanging - maybe we will even string them about the Red Barn?!
So, I'm wondering, what do you do with your old cards each year. Do you still send out holiday greetings, or is an email or text, or a general facebook post sufficient to extend your well wishes? And then, what about birthday cards.... I'd love to read your comments below!

 

Lest We Forget: Veteran's Keepsakes

  Last night the Friends of the Key Center Library sponsored another CraftWithAnna class: Veteran's Keepsakes. All anyone had to do was stop by with a photo or a story to share and I brought all kinds of crafty goodies for participants to create with.
We even had special guest stop by, a member of our local Key Peninsula Veteran's Association that I'd met earlier in the day at Evergreen Elementary's assembly. He and our Storytime librarian, Carol, shared that although they did not fight over seas during their service years, they were still honored that the youth was showing their appreciation for the sacrifice of time away from their family. A lot of times the glorified versions of Hollywood war times don't match up to the real life experience of estrangement from loved ones, the fear of the unknown, and of course that drill sergeant barking orders at you. Ok, maybe that last one the movies usually DO do a pretty good job of showing.  I made sure to give the layout I had made to our librarian at the end of the night; I was so touched by her sentiments, and it's always interesting to find out something new about a person you spend a lot of time around.
As usual, my students for the evening showed me a thing or two as they made their tributes. We talked about what service to our country means, and I think I made a good point when I mentioned, how much can change in a person's life in just four years. How many moments with our family we would miss out on if we didn't live with them, or maybe lived nearby but not close enough to come home every night. We talked about how the families left behind make sacrifices for our country too. Moms and Dads alike take care of families while the other parent works over seas for undetermined amounts of time.
Another point I made is that, sometimes Veteran's don't want to talk about their experience. What a treasure their words are when they choose to share them, and how, as the recipients of that knowledge, we should honor them by not forgetting their stories and the lessons they contain. We talked about how those stories are actually part of our family's legends and history. And how we can document that history in all sorts of ways! But, that just like a soldier returning home may have a hard time "putting it all out there," we may have a hard time expressing what it really means to us that they did all that they did in the name of God, Honor, and Country.

Enter one of my favorite techniques: hidden journaling!  Using an old greeting card with a ship on the cover was an excellent place to write a note to grandpa in appreciation for his time in the Navy. This wall hanging features anchor print paper, gold chevron washi tape (donated by Queen & Co.) and Amy Tangerine thickers that spell out Grandpa. What a neat way to show some love!

 

Thank you to all the families who made their way to the library and stopped to CraftWithAnna! Our next event will be Saturday, December 19th from 2-4pm; I'll bring everything we need to make some awesome Holiday Greeters. Could be a card, could be a wine bottle topper- it's up to your imagination :-)
To my friends and family who have served for us all, thank you for your time and dedication. And if you have any pic of yourself in uniform, I'd love to scrap 'em! Happy Veteran's day.

Winter Warm Up of the Heart

Family and Friends traveled from afar to Warm Up with me!

Towards the end of Summer I received an email inviting me to participate in the annual, Winter Warm Up and Chili Competition at our local Civic Center. The booth fee was reasonable and I figured it'd be a great way to help people remember that I'm a local craft diva lol. I procrastinated quite a bit until a retreat I went to at the beginning of October, when I realized how much I needed to get done to be successful. After a couple more weeks of pro-craft-inating, I had over 80 cards, 7 mixed media canvas, 10 paper crafting kits, and some personalized notebooks for sale, as well as notecards that read the card types I have, plenty of business cards, next-event flyers, and this really cool sign that my family and I are holding in the picture above.

I ended up securing two tables to use in my perfectly placed window space- the one I'd hoped for, thanks Patti! I decided to use the stash of supplies I had packed along with me to set up a make and take station and collect donations for our local Youth Center, the Red Barn of Key Center.  What a hit that table was! A lot of students I've met from the library or Home School or the Red Barn or our Preschool stopped by and made something, and I got to interact with some new faces too.
 



Why, hello friends!

Oh you little monkey...

Favorite Student Alert!

"Chris" was SUPER helpful <3

The family that crafts together...

A card for a buddy

Waiting in line to CraftWithAnna

Right when I was setting up I spotted a familiar face- one of my best friends from High School was there for the day as well. What a treat to be able to spend time catching up with her. It was interesting because the day before Ray heard from someone very important in his life after over a decade of not hearing from each other. After the coincidence of me and a friend both losing our family dogs this week, this similarity was noticeable but much more refreshing and a lot more smiley :-) My friend's two daughters were my last students, and just when it was time to clean up, my family arrived and introductions were made all around. Just before they came in, my good friend and fellow scrapbook and stay up all nighter, Becca made an appearance. I also saw some customers of mine from when I worked for the bank in Port Orchard. What a neat day of reunioning, and in such a festive atmosphere.
Can you guess I would say it was a success, especially since I earned back my booth fee- which paid for the purse I bought from my neighbor booth- raised funds for the local youth center, and sold 12 cards and a canvas. I'd also go so far as to say I got a big fat paycheck of the heart!

Crafter's Retreat

I finally used that cork! and those stickers! and it looks
AWESOME

bonding with grammaD and increasing flexibility too



Rainie, my mom, and I were able to attend our first overnight crop together. My friend Lynn from church got me in with this group and this is the second time I've taught at their retreat. Now that my oldest daughter is nearing 5, she's to the point where an all day, 24 hour craft sesh (or two) is not unappealing to her, and with her level of endurance I knew she'd be up for it if the other ladies wouldn't mind her being there. After we got the okay, sent in our reservation fees, and confirmed our plans with dad, it was all she could talk about. In fact she was so excited that it made me excited to go all over again each time the subject came up. The idea of letting grandma make us breakfast while we made cards first thing when we woke up in the morning just delighted her (and I). 


CraftWithAnna TP Roll Mini Album by Barbara

I had also sent out an email offering the recipe for a fun CraftWithAnna class. I kept it a surprise, but it turned out to be Toilet Paper Mini Albums. These are really cute, economical to make, and hey it's fun to save the toilet paper rolls and pretend you're going to do something with them. Rainie would be teaching her first public class, TP roll Owls, made with a variety of circle punches and those same multi-purpose  cardboard tubes.
Her class was a hit, but her favorite students arrived just after it concluded- so she got to do it again! My aunt Lisa and her mom, Ivy made the trek to join us at Valley Camp above North Bend. The scenic location offered us some beautiful fall backdrops and we went on a family photo shoot walk before lunch. All of us out enjoying the brisk breeze as it swirled cascades of autumnal toned maple leaves in every direction. Now that we are all sporting less than shoulder length hair, that didn't bother us too much but Rainie's long strands kept blowing around her face. Coupled with her bright blue eyes and the corduroy jacket she sported, the photos I took are going to be really fun to set on patterned paper. Hmmm, maybe the left overs from the upcoming November EmbellishKits.com 2, double paged layout kit will find a home? I've got pictures in mind for the two pages that directions are provided for, but before I get into November's goodies, I'm going to make some wedding cards with the August 2014 cardmaking kit, which features beautiful black, white, and woodgrains from Simple Stories. I've been doing a fair amount of facebook stalking and unauthorized saving of pictures of my families when they post, and I hope to use that kit's dazzling array of die cuts to embellish a wedding themed mini album for my cousin Lori.
I'm falling behind a bit on my project list as I anticipate an upcoming craft fair I've committed to. Good thing I've got those handy planner pads and note pads from WriteItDesigns.com to keep track of my obligations! I finally decided it must be the pressure of having my art judged under holiday wanderers that keeps me from getting anything done... but I was able to create enough cards this weekend that I no longer feel the need to make my products fit witin a 4.25x5.5" perimeter.  After today I'll be focusing on getting the tools part of my display set up, the card rack I've never used, packaging all my cards and stuff like that, so I'll be hard pressed to finish the edit on my kit preview videos. But if you're a subscriber on YouTube, you'll get first rate notification on all my latest releases. So just do yourself a favor and hit that red rectangle next time you're watching a CraftWithAnna video.
I hope to find a few moments to dabble in Mixed Media canvas'... as if my list of to-do's isn't long enough, I want to throw in some modge podging lol. I'd better get started for the 15th time today...Until next time, friends~ Stay Crafty!

 

We're crafty and we know it!

 

 



Here's a paper sampler that's so cute, it's SCARY

DIY Door Decorations

Fall is a fun time to decorate your entry way, right?  The Friends of the Key Center Library sponsored a fun, free, Family friendly event last weekend, and we had a blast creating our own door decorations. With the generous donation of supplies from one of my favorite scrapbook suppliers, Queen & Co., we were all set up with patterned papers, twine, and washi tape galore to decorate with.

Just look at these smiles! And imagine my own :-D

My older daughter Rainie was along to assist with any of the younger kids, and we were having quite the time by ourselves, waiting for our first victims er, participants :-)

Soon enough, our first family came in and we all got down to the business of crafting up a storm! Then I had the pleasure of a repeat CraftWithAnna student, and his sweet enthusiasm for repeating back info he'd gleaned from other classes was the cherry on top of a really fun filled afternoon.

I'm always surprised by how unique everyone's projects turn out. Actually, I always hope they will look nothing like my examples, because then I feel like it's really theirs.

The other part of this class that I got a kick out of was using more of those donated Queen & Co. supplies. You'd never know it, but those are all summer papers we're using! So, take a look through your stash and see if there are some "B" sides that can be used throughout the year. You might just make a surprise discovery of a really right now piece that just has to be used tonight... or maybe that's just what I'll be hoping to do myself~ so go ahead, get crafty!





Mixed Media Masters!

My last teaching session, I taught our local Homeschool Association youth the joys of mixed media. I wasn't sure how the lesson was going to go, but I knew we would all enjoy the thrill of a new project... I wasn't wrong. In the first session, a mixed group of ages 4-16, we talked about the colors of fall, what this time of year reminds us of, and how all of that information can be transformed into a piece of home décor.


Teach 'em young and learn in return <3

With that in mind, each kid began with their background. I encouraged them to mix colors, add texture with their paint brush, or even move the paint around with some paper towels crumpled up.

In our second session I was working with the older half of the group. As they entered our classroom, I could sense their excitement and that always makes it more invigorating for the teacher (me). Some of the students had already started building a scene with images from old greeting cards I'd brought along. Others were starting from their backgrounds. Each canvas transformed into works of individual expression- a win for everyone!
Below are some links to media mixing youtubers that I have watched and learned from.

A work of mine still in progress.
After shading with some markers,
this jar will jump off the canvas!

http://www.kwernerdesign.com Amazing stamping techniques and interactive die cutting.
http://www.jennifermcguireink.com The sweetest guru for all things amazing- and do-able.
http://www.clips-n-cuts.com Inspiration awaits on this site! 


Rainier's little canvas surprised us all

 

Birthday Card Bonanza

Just had to share these coordinating birthday cards my family created this morning. My cousins son is celebrating his ninth birthday at a football themed party this afternoon. With a couple dollars tucked inside, I'm sure he'll appreciate these even more :-)

Not every family has the time or desire to get scrappy so early in the morning, but my girls and I have no such restriction ideas. Dad, on the other hand, is not so generally inclined. I was happily listening as he misinterpreted my prompt to assist Rainier with her desire to draw a wolf... help her, I reminded him when I saw his hunched form and tightly clutched penciling! She and I were pleasantly surprised by the outcome. He thinks it looks part coyote, but we say, it's 100% awesome!
Her card at top left is turned out so great- I love her use of the sticker at the bottom, the tilt of the vellum birthday cake, and washi tape border with twined buttons layered at the top. Rainie has learned how to interpret the designs of cards she likes pictured in magazines... a great skill for getting past that sometimes monumental task of deciding, What To Make? How many times have we let that question stump us huh?
For my card with the purple background, I turned to a design I use often- that look of a polaroid photo through matting.  I then had the amusing idea to place a square of matted football print paper over a background image of one of those persons. By mounting that scrap in the place of a belly, I was able to tie in with my sentiment inside about not knowing what the future will bring when we hold our children within. This card is for Lil B's mom and dad; I think the parents need to be honored for their dedication to their children as opposed to the kids getting a prize for staying alive another year lol. Both can be considered feats of accomplishment though, of course!
Now we're off to pick up my grandma, who the kids call GG- great grandma :-) She's really excited to join us for the festivities. Getting older, giving up her car, becoming more forgetful... as we celebrate the advncement in age for one member of our family, we remember that she is traveling cautiously but continuously down the other end of that road we call Life. We cherish the times we can spend with each other so much, I know this day ahead will contain fits giggling, barely contained joy, and a lot of hand holding hopefully.
Enjoy your day of Labor free loving!

Friendly Lessons in Key Center

An Alpha Artist Attacks An Alphabet

 With my lovely assistants in tow, we returned to the Red Barn to teach some more paper crafting fun to the teens who came in. We brought along plenty of TWAA's colored cardstock, already cut to standard card size, as well as a heap of coordinating envelopes. This time, I had made the examples for class with more time to spare- at least a few hours more anyway :-)
With those samples on the table, there was an atmosphere of excitement as I described how to assemble each card with the majority of the kids. Just like adults, there were a couple who were more inclined to take creativity into their own hands- this was highly encouraged by their teacher! And just like classes I've taught to adults; when given a choice about whether to do the card everyone else was working on or venturing solo on a card they'd rather start with, there were a few takers for that too. Hey, maker's gotta make!
Even within the standard format of the design, there was plenty of room for personalization. A few of the tips shown here: if your stamp doesn't work perfectly at first, consider markering over those imperfect impressions to form an alphabet style all your own! Even if you don't have a friend in mind, make the card anyway, and by the time you're done, you may have made a friend to give your card too :-)  Personalize your card with a special sentiment inside- smiley faces share your excitement! Even if you don't consider yourself an artist, you can always surprise yourself (and your teacher)!  Embellish to your heart's content. And this was a favorite tip that I rarely implement: Take your time. Don't feel obligated to create yours the same way you've been shown, or how everyone else does theirs. Okay, that last one I don't have any trouble with at all lol.


Now, To Find A Friend to Befriend

Partay Harday Everyday- Doi!

 

 



Do I look like an Artist?! (YES!)

Take Pride In Your Creativity and Shine!

 



 

 

The best classes I've taught have been the one's where I get to learn something too, and in this class I was fortunate to be invited to learn more about a student's home life. Our final cards were dedicated to the idea of Grandparent's Day, and M____ here lit up at the idea of a personalized, handmade thank you for his grandparents, who had just gifted him a new pair of desperately needed tennis shoes. At first, I just made the usual non-committal, non-intrusive responses that most adults give, but something about his sweet voice and the enthusiasm of his heartfelt appreciation gave me reason to pause cleaning the table and sit down to give him my full attention. How often does that happen, huh? Our sharing resulted in a nice reminder to me how important an adults attention can be; whether it is an off hand remark to our children meant to "inspire" them (sometimes the opposite is the result), or how just a simple, I Believe In Your Potential from an advisor can influence an already bright kid to continue reaching for the stars... heavy stuff for an afternoon of fun!
The next time we go back for crafting with teens at Key Center's Red Barn for Youth, we'll have our scissors and patterned papers in tow, and maybe even our gardening gloves- you never know what chef Susan's going to pluck from the garden for our taste buds to relish! If you're interested in donating your time or funding to this community treasure trove of young minds, check out their website, http://www.redbarnkp.org/

Show Quality Crafts

I've been spinning a few plates more than usual. Sometimes as a parent working from home it can be harder to remember to make time not dedicated to housework and catching up on all the tasks one could do during downtime at the office (if they had one to go to. Or time to waste there). To really focus on engaging my kids in an activity not pertaining to their food consumption or the rituals of bathing. To turn off my mental task checker and turn my attention on the loves of my life-and well, I can't help it that they choose papercrafts for fun can I?

Yesterday we followed directions housed within the Disney-riffic pages of one of the library's borrowed magazines. I guided both girls through the process but tried really hard not to tell them just where to apply adhesive, stickers or the bling that transformed their discarded cardboard forms into stunning treasure keepers!

I love that Rainier is building scenes with her embellishments now. She explained as she added crowns to each character that the lion is the king, the ladybug is the queen, and the snowflake is the judge...of the pageant! Hmm is it time for another of those productions already?

 Rainier's meticulous placement is so different from Sunday, who I believe delights in the textural pleasures that come from stacking stickers oh, 15-20 deep in about a one inch square area! Although, sometimes she decontructs a completed project and disperses the sticker stack amongst other creations... she may have seen a few of my finer repurposed constructions, hmm?

Whatever our day brings, being able to spend a few peaceful, MOSTLY non-squabbling moments together doing what we all love is bliss in itself; it is the art of living well that we are practicing. 

Since practice makes perfect, I've now got a lifetime of fallback excuses er,  reasons to put off all those other obligations!

Letters to Santa

 This week's Christmas festivities included a visit to Santa! While shopping at Michael's the day after Thanksgiving, Rainier started talking about writing her letter to Santa, a task she has learned about through the reading of the Berenstein Bears series. Explaining to little sister that, "we don't put a lot of things on our list, because Santa doesn't have a lot of time to read."

!!!

I don't remember reading that part but of course I thought it was a darling statement. There were many things in the store desired, but we also talked a lot about how useful certain items are, decided that we would carry an item around until we found if there was something we'd rather have. Great advice- if only I could follow it myself!  (I've tried going in without a basket, but that just results in arms overloaded with precariously balanced what nots. Inevitablely the pile collapses to the floor just as it's my turn to pay.)

Sunday was really struggling to let go of a little monster truck she'd snagged from a basket of kids toys. As much as I'd love for her to vroom it all over the house, without knowing where the toy was made, toxicity of the paint etc, she needed to leave it behind! Rainie comforted her by promising to write it in a letter to Santa. A little more than a week later, she still remembered how much her sister wanted that miniature four-wheeling machine, and included it as "truck toy."

Now, some of my readers know that we do a lot of card making in our house. I can't recall a time that we have written a letter as a family... so of course Thursday night she presented Santa with a beautiful card, printed in her mix of caps and lowers, and a cute sticker grouping on the front. She really amazed me with her talent for design balance.

So how many of the Michael's items did Rainier put on her list? Not a single art supply mentioned! The one and only item she wanted was the coral pink dress I did not get her from Kohl's that day. What a surprise! And now I am experiencing that long felt mother's guilt of, do I need to go and get it for her? It's the only item on her list! Or does she learn now that sometimes, we just don't get what we want.

While that is an important lesson, I'm pretty sure this mom will be finding herself in line with a pretty pink dress for a very thoughtful little girl this afternoon :-)

What are your thoughts? Do you remember "the gift that got away?" Ever wish for something so badly you could just not stand to consider that it might not appear under the tree (or on your ring finger!) Leave me a comment and let me know, what's on your wish list this year!

The littlest entrepreneur

WA State Cinderella Preliminary Pageant Bound! 

I've been nearly bursting with pride this last week as Rainier put her energy and efforts into not just creating a dazzling variety of sticker laden cards, but took them another step and sold nearly everyone of those darling handcrafted gems.
Last month she and Sunday  competed in the Miss Puget Sound Pajama Pageant (find a highlight video in my YouTube channels listings). My normally shy girl loved the experience so much that before it had even started, she was asking to do another...hmmm my wallet can't really support that habit!
She thoughtfully proposed selling her own handmade cards "just like ma" and has hardly been able to meet the demand, whipping up 2-5 cards a day. I guess I am most excited that she was able to achieve a goal like this at such a young age, as well as learn that valuable lesson of hard work=dream can come true. Not all of us have the opportunity to grow up with that kind of monetary confidence gained!
She did in fact meet her goal and will be participating in the Washington State Cinderella Pageant Preliminaries October 12th. I'm taking the camcorder along and hope to capture and publish another video for those unable to attend. Maybe some family will be able to learn more about pageants as well from those... I did a lot of searching online myself, trying to get a gist of what we could all expect from the events.
I guess I have been a little surprised by the adult reactions related to hearing that I'm "putting" my kids in pageants. It's kind of like direct-marketing myths; someone who knows someone had a bad experience/remember what happened to Benet?/those are just popularity contest and promote self loathing. Those are pretty standard responses, and there were a few more vehement responses as well. To me, over the head of my 3 year old.  After she's asked with all the confidence she can muster if they'd like to buy a card...
Honestly? I don't want any of those experiences in our lives. It's all too easy to fall into the societal commercial imagery of what girls "need," I.e. clothes, makeup, and a husband! In our house we emphasize confidence, how beautiful a winning attitude often is, and above all, enjoying the experience whether or not we win (or a man is there to watch us).
To me it's just like ballet or football in that there is hard work/practice, uniforms, and photos of the recital/tournament/ stage debut of course. Hopefully I'm Mom enough to guide my little blossoms with enough love that they will navigate the winds of adversity with grace and the desire to do their best and give God the rest :^) Who knows, with all the scrapping I'll need to do as they grow, I may need to call on Rainie's entrepreneurial talents to raise a little money for moms paper and sticker collection -er, supply!