This kid really inspires me

Do you remember the days of free painting you did as a child? This is my son having so much fun! We have been reading The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown. My kids just love it. In case you don't know it the color kittens (Brush and Hush) mix all the colors in the world and have wonderful dreams in color. My son loves to mix colors and goes about it with such excitement. "Mom, what color will it make if I mix this one with this one?". I think it is so great to see him in action. He got a bit upset once the paper was thoroughly soaked and ripped. I told him I love it and I think it looks pretty cool with the rip in it and I will add it to the memory box.

He totally inspires me to be more free. To just try things. I love that about kids. They are pretty fearless sometimes!

I am just popping in today to wish all peace and love this holiday season. We are enjoying these last few days before Christmas. Our house if fragrant with the lovely smell of the paper whites.
We are all lit up with holiday lights.
Yesterday I enjoyed some time with my son painting. He is so sweet and gives me tons of encouragement just when I need it most.
Working with my inspiration boards. I will share them soon.

So wherever you are and whatever you may do this season may it be merry and bright.
See you soon.

How to Holiday: Advent Christmas Countdown

So Tuesday starts the countdown to Christmas. I completely ran out of time to make the little stockings that I intended to use for the countdown. So the other day when I was in the craft store I decided to pick up a piece of foam core board and stickers. I already had the little pegs, the envelopes, and the ribbon. Originally I was going to glue the pegs on but then I thought I would be better off using ribbon and clipping them on. I again got my kids involved. They colored and applied tons of stickers. They loved it. I was going to paint or stamp the numbers on but in the end I just wrote them on with a Sharpie marker. You could do so many fun things with this. Lots of possibilities.

Supplies:

-1- 20"x30" foam core board
-1 spool of ribbon
-24 assorted envelopes
- stickers, crayons, paint, etc. go crazy here
-24 small wood pegs
- decorative scissors, regular scissors, marker, tape
-An awl or some other tool to poke a hole through the foam core board

How to:

1. Take all of your envelopes and lick them shut, fold, then cut in half vertically. You can use decorative scissors or regular ones. Your choice.

2. Decorate in whatever way you choose. Have fun with it!

3. Eyeball or measure 2 inches down from the top and two inches in from the sides and poke a hole with your awl on both sides. Attach a length of ribbon to one side and leave enough room for hanging and attach to the other. I just tied a knot.

4. Lay out the envelopes on your board. I did 3 across by 8 down. I then got out my ribbon and attached with tape on the back while the envelopes were still laying on the board. Just so I made sure they were in the right spot. Repeat up the board.

5. Attach envelopes with the pegs and hang your countdown.

Here are some of the things I am doing for the countdown:

-make cookies
-cut down the tree
-make gingerbread
-make xmas cards
-cut out and decorate snowmen
-go out to dinner
-go out and look at xmas lights
-eat ice cream after dinner
-watch a xmas movie before bed
-make a xmas garland
-decorate the tree
-candy
-go to the library and borrow 2 Christmas books/movies
-sing xmas carols
-attend a holiday event at the school

Cornstarch Clay

We began making some ornaments this weekend to give to teachers, friends and family. I try to have my kids get involved with as many acts of giving as I can. I also love for them to make things. My kids had a blast using the cookie cutters to cut out holiday shapes. I just poked a hole at the top and we let them dry. You could leave them white which I think is pretty and simple or paint them. My kids painted them. They loved that too!
I found this recipe and the instructions via familyfun.go. com. I first read it the magazine while I waited for a drs. appt. and then looked it up when I got home. This clay is easy peasy to make and it hardens up nice to make ornaments or whatever you like. We made 2 batches!

From the site....

Little fingers with limited modeling experience will appreciate this dense, easy-to-shape dough. The mixture's high salt content gives it a grainy texture and a sparkly white color, ideal for dyeing with food coloring or decorating with tempera paints.

MATERIALS

1 cup salt
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Food coloring or tempera paints (optional)

Heat the salt and 1/3 cup of water over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. (An adult should prepare this mixture, which gets quite hot and bubbly.) Remove from heat and add the cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water. The mixture should now look like thick mashed potatoes; stir until it thickens, then let cool for a few minutes before kneading. If the dough feels too sticky at first, your child can work in some extra cornstarch as she kneads. Add food coloring, if desired.

WHAT TO MAKE:

When dry, this dough is heavy and durable, which makes it excellent for larger items, such as candlesticks, small bowls, trivets or a lasting impression of your child's hand. Cornstarch Clay's sticky consistency is also a plus when sculpting figures: A tail or head easily attaches to a body with a gentle push. One batch of dough is enough to make a slew of snowmen ornaments, Noah's ark figures or dollhouse characters.

DRYING TIME:

1 to 4 days

STORAGE:

Cornstarch Clay will keep unrefrigerated for up to 2 weeks when stored with a small bit of wet sponge in a plastic bag or sealed container.
My son painting them.
My daughter painting the freezer paper I put down to protect the table.
Finished painted ornaments ready for giving. I am going to attach them to a potted paper white.
This was really fun and it kept the kids busy for quite awhile.

Please bear with me while I try things out. I am playing. Playing with fabrics, paint, paper, stitching. I have playing with the blog. Trying to learn. I haven't had much time devoted to this playing. Sometimes I get frustrated because I feel like I want/need more time and I don't have it. Sometimes I feel lonely. Not lonely for other people. I am surrounded by someone all the time. What I am missing some days is me. So I won't dwell on it. I will take it day by day. I stopped by my local library yesterday, they have a gallery space. I picked up an application. Am I ready for an exhibit? Not even close. But I will be someday.
I made the above box frame per instructions on Maya's blog. Here is the post. Mine isn't as large. I only had a cereal box to use. I want to try and make more out of larger boxes. The art from school has been piling up. I love the way the pumpkin looks with the brown of the box. Thanks Maya for this great project.

I hope this week has been a great one for you.

Full

Today I am Full...

Full of POSSIBILITY
Full of HOPE
Full of DREAMS
Full of LOVE
Full of INSPIRATION
Full of GRATITUDE

Things are feeling so great right now. I have to say that the e-course In the Fish Bowl has been so great so far. There are so many talented artists out there and they are all so wonderfully kind and supportive. I couldn't ask for a better group of classmates. And it is so nice to see so many artists who are moms in the group.

The above apple garland was created by my children. I cut the apples out of newspaper and they painted away with the tempera paints. We all sewed them together. It was a fun way to mark the season. They are working on pumpkins next. I was inspired by this post
from Maya Made. The kids had so much fun doing. Thanks Maya for the inspiration.

Best,
Dana