The Hunt for Chestnut-ctober

 'The last three years, we have gone down the road to our pickin' grounds to see what we can forage from the underbrush. Poking about is so rewarding!" 

 

My Library Peeps

 The Friends of the Key Center Library sponsored another #CraftWithAnna class on Monday and it was SO much fun! The theme was Faux Batiking, and the idea I had was that we would use bleach on fabric with wooden block stamps to create some unique impressions.

The images were decidedly not distinct, except in their originality! There was hardly any way to predict what would happen. Depending on the fabric, the amount of bleach and water ratio'd, the quality of the stamp and or the image of it, they all created something! I made sure to caution each participant that the most important thing to remember was that the goal was to experiment, and have fun, not to expect perfection, and to enjoy the process.

Judging by the feedback, I'd say those goals were achieved!

 

MOPS Make and Take Mini Albums

My local MOPS group which meets up the street at the Lakebay Community Church during the school year contains some of my favorite people. As we gathered for our first get-together after summer, I was more excited than usual because I had the opportunity beforehand to assemble paper bag mini album kits for everyone.
 After a good bit of socializing over a provided dinner, and a tiny amount of business-ish information, we were all set to start gathering the precut papers and assemble our mini memory keepers. As I looked around at my friends intently glueing and cutting, my heart was truly full. In fact, I enjoyed commenting on everyone's joy so much that I didn't even sit down to make one myself!
 

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!

Mixed Media Class

 

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!

Hay There, Paint-er!