art group :: nature pressing

I could have the art group just paint stuff every week! I think paint is the funnest. But, it is good to branch out a bit, doncha think?

So this week, I grabbed a bag of sculpy stuff (what is that stuff called?) and then Enrique and I collected some flowers, leaves, and sticks from the yard.


We used our treasures to make press marks in the clay.


We had to use a wooden block to press them down, but it worked great!



The kids were pretty captivated trying different things until the rain threatened to run everyone inside.



Enrique got totally into making sculpy people. For the rest of the afternoon and into the night he was at it. Concentrating very hard.

weekly art group :: splatter paint

Summer means messy painting fun in my book, so we did another BIG painting project yesterday with the art group.

I have some large brown butcher type paper that I cut into big pieces and hung up on our clothes line.


I used washable paint this time so the rain will clean up the messes that we make.


I watered down the paint and put out lots of paint brushes for the kids to load up with paint and splatter all over their paper.


This was all I could get Enrique to do.. he just was not interested in art today, too bad..


Because all the other kids had SO MUCH FUN!


Especially Anabel. She was just so completely adorable getting into her project.


She seems to be getting more into art than Enrique these days..


Here is her finished painting.


And some of the other children's masterpieces:




Enrique was then happy that the painting was over so he could PLAY with his friends! He found himself a new pirate buddy!


I am going to need to go searching around the internet for some more great outdoor projects for us to do the rest of the summer!

leaf printing

On a sunny day this past week, we decided to make some leaves for our little nature table tree. Poor thing has been sitting naked all spring, even though the trees outside are full of leaves! Well, you can't stay on top of everything, right?

To do this, we picked a few leaves from our yard.


I mixed up the paint on some plates and let the kids dip their leaves into the paint.


We then pressed the leaves onto the paper, leaving a print of the leaf behind.

I think they look pretty great!

We got better results from putting the leaves on the paper, then laying another piece of paper onto it and using something to roll over the top, like the paint bottles.

After they dried and we cut them out, I hung them on our tree. It didn't come out as pretty or as fabulous as I had hoped. (I had great visions for this project!). You win some, you loose some I guess!


They have all been pulled off the tree in the meantime anyway! 4 year olds..they just want to PLAY with everything.. jeesh! :) But the printing was fun. I am loving seeing Anabel get really into our little projects these days!

weekly art group :: paint bombs!

Oh, yeah, nothing quite like paint flying everywhere to celebrate kid creativity!

We had a small window of nice weather yesterday, so we took our art day outside for some good old fashioned messy fun!

I took some old pantyhose and we filled them with rocks to give them a little weight. It is really better to do this with sand, but we don't have any of that.. just muddy dirt, which I didn't want mixing with and making the paint all yucky. So I used some smallish rocks.


You then need to water down the paint a little to help give it more "splash."

Our yard has 2 levels so I put the paper out down below and let the kids drop the paint bombs from up above.


After getting the bomb really loaded up with paint.. 3..2...1.. BOMB!


Paint everywhere!



And I really do mean everywhere...

It is all over everything.. Next time we do this, I need to remember to cover things up a little better.

Enrique took one of the paint trays and poured it all over the yard..

we now have red footprints as yard art!


And all of us were covered with paint splatter!

A sign of good times happening!

The rain kicked in, but we didn't want the paint to go to waste, so the kids painted our outdoor craft table in the rain.. which led to more paint splashing!!


This was the most fun at art day I think we have ever had!

perfect

My mother's day was perfect! My mom came over and Don made us all some waffles with whipped cream and strawberries.. yummy, oh so good!



Now, the kiddos want whipped cream on something every morning!



Enrique made me a book..






I mean, really, it can't get much better than that!


Oh, and we have some good news! Don found a job doing some granite work. This is really just in the nick of time as his unemployment is up in a few weeks. He started yesterday and really likes it!

It is kind of weird being here all day without him. 6 months of us all together has been really nice. But, it is also kind of great to start getting back into a normal routine with the kids. It has been like being on permanent weekend mode the past few months. And, while I love weekends, my house is not as clean as I would like, I feel a little scattered and I have not done some of the things I would like to with the kids. A good weekly rhythm is something I am really looking forward to getting back into it!

And, in case you are worried.. Don is still totally committed to making toys! It has become his way to stay sane and explore his creativity.. so Chubbas 'n Boop is still open for business! Hopefully one day it can be his full time job, but for now.. it is a fun way for us to make a little extra money and for him to keep his artist self happy.

Life feels normal again, which is kind of perfect!

mother's day crafts

We have been busy around here doing some crafty things. I wanted to make sure and do some fun mama day crafts, both for my own keepsakes and to give something sweet (and made by the kids) to my mom.

For Grandma cards, I had each of the kids make about 4-5 hand prints. I just used white paint on colored paper.



I then cut out their little hands and glued them together in the shape of a flower. For the cards, I used an oil based crayon to write and painted over that with watercolors. I love the effect of that, the oil crayons hold up to the water color, it is very cool looking.



Then we had a little crafty playdate earlier in the week. I thought it would be sweet for the mamas to get a nice little present "made" by their kiddo just for them (and for me too!).

So I bought a few flowerpots for the kids to paint for us..



They were so sweet painting them.



And then I planted a few flowers in each of the pots...



Having these on my table all week has been making me smile BIG TIME!



Such a simple and easy craft to do...

graffiti or art? or both?

The other day, E came up to me and said, "Look at my shirt!" Well, it had marker ALL OVER IT! He was grinning ear to ear so proud of himself. It was a pretty junky shirt anyway, so I didn't worry too much about it.

But then, I noticed this on the door to the craft room..


Then, the next day I discovered all of this spanning from one end of the craft room to the other...




And on the desk:


And around the corner into the living room...


Wow! I was stunned! This is the most elaborate "wall art" that our little artist has ever attempted. I called him over "to have a talk" that went like this:

Mama: "Did you do this writing all over the wall?"
Chubbas: "Yes, I did!"
Mama: "Well, I don't think we are supposed to draw all over the wall are we?"
Chubbas: "No, we aren't."
Then a pause..
Chubbas: Very seriously - "But, mama, do you like it?"

That's my artist boy.. Can't stay mad too long when this clearly was not just some random scribbles, but a true work of art!