The Artist Meets The Artist

Today was a wonderful day!!! We walked around The French Quarter in NOLA. We went to Jamie Hayes' gallery - one of Jake's favorite artist. And to our delight he was there signing his art. So Jake started talking to him and told him "I am a great artist too!" Mr. Hayes told him to come around and he would teach Jake a new way to do letters. He also wrote a book called Up In the Air with the Mingling Brothers. He signed the book and then wrote Jake's name in the book and taught him a fun way to do letters (see below)

this is Peter the Pianoeater - one of Jake's favorites

If you look close you can see were he wrote Jake's name

here he is teaching Jake how to add color to the letters

here he is PATIENTLY helping/encouraging Jake to write his own name in the book the way he learned. Mr. Hayes spent about 15-20 minutes with Jake. One lady walked up and ask for something and he politely told her he was taking his time with this little man and she could wait until they finished. Well as a momma that delighted my soul. I wish we would have captured the sheepish delightful grin on Jake's face after that experience. It was such a wonderful moment!!!

Tinker Toy Fun

These are some of the boys tinker toy creations from the summer. Enjoy!!!

Rainy Day Ramblings

Ok so I have spent way too much time online today but oh well. I found this blog today and I am completely in love with this idea. She also did one for another child here that is really cool. But I really love this quilt with a collection of her sons drawing and scribblings.
My grandmother taught me how to hand embroider as a child but not sure I remember. April can you do this? If so will you teach me in all our spare time and 1000 mile distance seperation?
What a great way to keep some of those special drawings.

A Work in Progress

This is another playroom piece of art. We have not finished this one but it is probably my favorite. I thought I would share how we are doing this piece so if any of you are interested in doing it with your child you could. It is a process and we have stepped away from it several times but this one is defiantly a keepsake.
1. Jake painted a canvas with a few colors - no rhyme or reason mainly just a backdrop.
2. I cut out 2" squares in some of the scrapbook paper and newspaper and a few are pieces of mail with the stamps on them. I think I also used lined paper for a few.
3. I used glue and water to make a modge podge mix and glued the squares on the canvas. I put glue under the squares and a layer over the squares.
4. I made 2" squares on a piece of white paper. I had Jake draw each letter with a pencil in the square. I told him the letter needed to be big in the square.
5. Next I took a fat marker and traced his letters just so they would be big enough for me to cut out. You can tell they are not uniform. I wanted them to be in his handwriting but I needed them to be fat enough to cut out and glue on the squares.
6. I used the modge podge mix and glued the letters (after cutting them out - which was tedious) onto the squares. You can see how I did every other one and switched each row.
7. The last thing - we are still working on this part - is coming up with an object that starts with each letter. Jake has come up with all of them so far. We have skipped around because he still doesn't know all of the letters sounds. I had him draw them in the 2" squares and then I colored some and he helped with some of the coloring. Some were too tiny for him to color without tearing up so I let him tell me what color and I filled them in. I then modge podge them onto the square beside the appropriate letter.

I love this because he is coming up with the items. Some of the things he has come up with have surprised me like popcorn, lily pad and jellyfish. Sometimes I just think - where did you learn these things. It has been fun, especially since I am not trying to rush and finish it.

Our Very Own Gallery Wall

This is our art wall in the play/craft/school room. I got this idea from one of my new favorite art sites. John bought cheap 1x2's (1.08 for an 8ft pc) and he made me some various size frames. Cheap frames. I sanded and painted them and we hung them on the wall below the fabric letters that spell create. As you can see in this one they have no glass. And in the middle of each frame is a small binder clip on a nail. This allows me to change out the artwork as we do more. This is Brady's ah-pu-tus (no i did not spell it wrong that is how he pronouces it). It is a hand puppet that we made.


I couldn't get a great shot of Jakes superhero drawing. It is a monster about to destroy the world until the superhero flies in to save the day. I love this drawing especially the arm that is out in front of the superhero. You can't see it here that well. The boys really love seeing their art displayed and like showing it to the few visitors we get.
These frames are a great idea and could really work in any room. They don't have to be bright colors so you could blend them into any decor. It is a great way to display and change out art even if you just did a few frames rather than a wall of them. Just an idea I thought I'd pass along. We made all of these frames for $5.oo including the hangers and binder clips.

Birthday Present

We had a birthday party this weekend and I love to think outside of the box for birthday presents. Ellie, the little girl, has a brand new baby at her house (3 kids just 4 and under) so I thought I would give a easy gift that could help mom. I had forgotten about giving craft boxes until my friend Laura reminded me. But I decided to tweak the idea a little because right now mom doesn't have much time for crafting. I created Ellie a box all her own that she could do at the table during busy times like when mom is feeding baby or cooking dinner. I actually find an art tackle box at target that already had some supplies in it. Paint was one of these but I just gave it anyway. Everything else she can use on her own. I then bought some other things. Here is the list:
-clay
-molds for clay
-crayons
-paint, paint holder & stamps
-markers
-stickers
-mini pom poms
-pack of adhesive foam shapes
-foam door hangers to decorate
-pipe cleaners
-glue sticks
-ruler
-scissors
- a small roll of contact paper
-I put a pack of construction paper in the bag
-mini stamps and stamp pads

Then I had the boys make Ellie 2 splat mats using this technique. I rolled them up and tied them each with a ribbon and put them in the bag. I then made a little card using the same stuff and attached it to the bag. Instead of the card being transparent I put the tissue on a piece of construction paper. On the back of the paper I wrote a birthday note and then stuck it down on the contact paper. It was a fun and creative gift and the boys loved that they got to make part of it. Their faces lit up when she opened it.

the card

Jake's - a castle with a sun and sunset and flowers and a tree with a birds nest

Brady's - he did the background and I cut out her name and put it on top of his masterpiece

Easy Art Project

My friend Laura did a post about this easy art project. The next day was a rainy day and I had all the supplies on hand so we went to crafting. Here are the steps for those of you who need just a little more than a picture:

we used :
clear contact paper
tissue paper cut up (I keep a box of scrap tissue paper that I cut up or let the kids cut it up to have for various crafts)
construction paper for the border

you could also use:
construction paper for the center, feathers, etc (experiment)

what to do:
1. cut a piece of the contact paper and tape it down to the work space. I put the white part of the paper that I pulled off under it so the kids could see the clear piece better.
2. Give the kids paper and scissors and let them go to town. I just turned on some music and let them at it.
3. When they finished with their pieces I let them pick the color for their border and I cut little 1/2 inch or so strips and put it around the project to frame it. Don't put it all the way to the edge so that they will seal good
4. Cut another piece and put it over the top. John helped me because our piece was a little big. Then smooth it out and you have a sealed masterpiece.

Brady's work of art

Jake's Dinosaur
- the yellow x over the dinosaur is a jail. The dinosaur is in jail because he was trying to destroy the world.

The kids had fun and then we used this same concept to complete a birthday present. I will post on that soon.
Happy Creating!!!!

Bathtub Art

Jake got some bath crayons from his sweet aunt Kym and they are now our toy of choice for bath time. This was his latest masterpiece. My favorite part are the waves. Enjoy!!!