paint cut paste

spring has sprung, and with the new season comes freshness and color all around our home. from mantel decorating to watercoloring wooden easter eggs and greeting cards to ink painting on beautiful smooth stones, it has been an artful and colorful spring so far around my home. my favorite hue is the inspiration for our spring mantel…

i used elements i saved from N’s nest-themed baby nursery to adorn the mantel, like the distressed iron bird candle holders and this robin’s egg blue nest plate.

isn't this beeswax egg candle beautiful?! it was a birthday gift from N's friend. (click photo to find one on bella luna toys for your home! nope, i don't get paid for that.)

N even made a spring “mantel” of her own on her bedroom dresser, just like she did for valentine’s day and st. patrick’s day.

we’ve been playing with watercolors a lot more since spring began… maybe it’s all of the rain that’s putting us in the mood for them. march showers bring… april showers…?

N's weather paintings on a rainy saturday morning

N is enjoying our annual spring tradition of watercoloring wooden eggs that we get from casey’s wood. i’ve posted about it twice, so i’ll just mention it here with the link to say, yep, we’re doing that again. they make for sweet spring gifts for little friends.

all our eggs in one basket

N has also been playing with liquid watercolors in the afternoons… mostly doing some wet-on-wet watercoloring and making sticker resist greeting cards.

i’ve been dabbling a bit in my acrylic inks, taking inspiration from geninne and inking some smooth stones we found on the beach. (i’m looooving the pale green stones!)

i’ve also been having lots of fun beading, needle-felting, and doing some light sewing… nothing to write home blogs about really. just the usual that i’ve blogged on before, but loving the rebirth of creativity i’m feeling this spring!

and i love that we got to bring out the spring placemats we made  – snaaaaails and flowers!

in the photo above you see my  sunday breakfast i saw on dr. oz – a 5 minute microwave muffin. it totally tasted like sand until i added the butter and honey, but gosh, i felt healthy! click the link to try it out. (i may add a little cocoa powder to mine next time.)

what sort of colorful inspiration is springing up around your home? 

as many of you know, our family has entered the world of waldorf… and as a new waldorf momma, i realized i might need to figure out this whole needle felting thing that always looked so fabulous from afar, but seemed so out of reach for me, somehow. i think i’m intimidated by fiber arts in general, but am warming up to it. alas, i’m here to happily report that needle felting is *not that difficult!*

N and i received a really great needle felting book for christmas that captured her heart right away because of the cute little wooly animals featured throughout. teeny. baby. animals. her weakness. so i knew it was time to get a needle and some wool and get stabbing, which i attempted for the first time a couple weeks ago.

when flipping through the book, i asked N what she would like to make first. if you are a regular reader of my blog, i bet you can guess what she chose — a fox, of course! (i’d recommend beginning needle felting with animals or objects that do not have legs, but this wasn’t all that bad to get the hang of.)

it really is a cool way of sculpting with wool. i was amazing at how the material responds to the needle and changes shape and texture quite easily. i found this to be incredibly satisfying.

i did poke my finger twice with the very sharp needle while doing this, so i was glad i tried this as a momma art project first. (still sore!) however, i have learned there are kits you can get for young children who want to learn to needle felt, and N certainly does! the magic onions also provides a nice post with ideas for safe ways for children to practice needle felting. i think i’ll open it up to be a mommy-daughter activity as soon as my own comfort level improves.

the fox in progress...

N was there beside me every step of the way while making this, cheering me along, “you’re doing great, mommy!” (seriously, it kept me going.) and also gently pointing out that, “this fox is looking kinda long… more like a seal. um, but that’s okay mommy. it’ll just be a long, long fox. i’ll still love him.” haha!

regretfully, when i made this fox, i didn’t yet have that large foam pad ($6) you see just above. see, you need a piece of foam to poke into. for the fox, i just used that teeny gray square of foam that came with my needles, which you can see two photos up. it was tricky, but doable, with the small foam pad.

N is LOVING her new fox pet, and has already asked if i can now make a smaller fox “because he’s ready to have a baby.” i’m psyched, because having made this fox shows me that you don’t really need the book or a pattern to do this. you can totally make it up as you go, but for me the book helped to give me the confidence and a reference and a good look at the materials. i now have two more projects in the works (from my mind, not the book!) so i’ll just be over here, poking away. hopefully not into my fingers anymore.

over the weekend, we had the absolute pleasure of celebrating N’s fifth birthday with a bunch of woodland creatures! our little fox/owl/deer/bunny/bear-lover requested a “forest animal” birthday party this year, so i did my best to interpret N’s request and had an awesomely artful time doing so!

you know how we’re big on birthday themes over here. first we decided to ask my friend, meredyth hite, the one-woman show behind the amazing vegan bakery in the bay area, bliss bakery, to create nut-free, gluten-free, vegan cupcakes (to accommodate all of the dietary restrictions among N’s friends and ourselves!) after i perused pinterest for ideas, i asked meredyth to create fly agaric mushroom cupcakes, displayed in a rustic wood setting — and WOW! she sooo beautifully and deliciously delivered!

mushrooms are foresty, sure. but now i had to figure out how to incorporate the forest animals into the party, since that’s what N had specifically requested. i asked my talented friend, chris willow, of the mamaroots shop on etsy and of the inspiring mamaroots blog, to create five candle holders for my five year old — each a different woodland creature. i order her sweet candle holders as birthday gifts all the time for friends, so it was time that N got her own.

forest friends enjoying the party

our custom set of cute candle holders by mamaroots

and for some more forest animal action, i decided to make 36 (yes, thirty-six) felt animal masks to give to the children at the party. instead of sewing them all, like my mom and i did for N’s halloween owl costume, i used craft glue to afix the features onto the felt, and just sewed the elastic bands onto each one. muuuch easier for a bulk order like this. (reminder: you can click any of the photos on my blog to see them enlarged.)

the bday girl selected these for momma to make: bear, owl, deer, fox, raccoon, bunny

mask basket at the party

the masks were a hit — what a fun party favor!

in addition to the mask party favor, i decided to create some magical acorn necklaces with allll of these acorn caps N collected at the park one day. i just hot glued felted wool balls (here’s a nice video tutorial on how to make them) into the caps. next, i hot glued baker’s twine to the tip of each cap to make them into necklaces. in hindsight, i should have drilled a hole into each cap before putting the wool ball into it so i could thread the string through, but this worked out just fine and was (i imagine) easier to execute.

they looked so cute pinned to a giant redwood tree for the kids to see and select.

there's even a creek babbling by this woodsy park - perfect setting!

for decor, i wanted to keep it earthy, and decided to sew some fabric scrap garland to string between the trees. i used scraps of fabric i had leftover from my bean bag project, and cut them into circles. then i just fed them through the machine, double-sided (right sides facing out.)

strung between the redwoods

the party was basically a playdate in the park from 2-4pm, so being so brief and in between meals, we just served hot apple cider, water, popcorn, fruit, and of course, those adorable cupcakes. to keep things simple and eco-chic, i used compostable hot beverage cups, cloth napkins from my fav cloth napkin etsy seller – love for earth, and no plates. (who needs plates with this light fare?)

i even used our rustic rock picture holders for display signs around the party.

despite the chilly day and the muddy park, the birthday girl and her friends had a blast! N barely stopped chasing her friends around the playground for a sip of apple cider – but she did brake for cupcakes! also, can you tell i had a good time pulling this one off?

we created such beautiful memories of N’s fifth birthday — and now we get to celebrate again on january 26th, when she actually turns FIVE! i know people always say, “where does the time go?” but i feel lucky (and friggin’ tired!) because it seems like i’ve been there for every minute of it all. happiest of birthdays to the sweetest and most energetic woodland creature i know!

this year we decided to forego our old advent calendar (which was a wooden box of doors filled with tiny toys, tokens, stones, and activities) and instead do a purely activity-based advent calendar. of course doing memory-making things together is much more lasting than having more trinkets littering our carpet. besides, that’s what stockings are for, right?

i purchased some red envelopes and a pack of stickers at michael’s (gotta love coupons) the other day. that night i set to work on decorating them after N was asleep. i figured this would be a mom-project, since it’s all for her to enjoy.

ugh, more dark nighttime-crafting photos

my husband and i brainstormed 25 things that we’d like to offer for her to do in december, and here’s what we came up with, listed here in no order at all:

• Tonight we’ll only use candlelight after the sun goes down
• Tacky holiday lights tour of the neighborhood
• Cut paper snowflakes and decorate the windows
• Let’s go ice skating!
• Today we’ll drink hot chocolate with marshmallows while making ornaments
• Family movie night with popcorn
• Make candles
• Decorate Christmas cookies
• Give a gift to a child who needs one
• Get a Christmas pedicure at mom’s spa!
• Make and hang bird/squirrel feeders in the backyard
• Bring a gift to a neighbor: card, ornament, and cookies
• Family game night
• Go to a holiday faire
• Go on a Starbucks date with mommy
• Family storytelling with cider by the fire
• Go to a special holiday show (the velveteen rabbit) in the city
• Fly on an airplane to see family!
• Visit your first home (while on vacation)
• Enjoy dinner with [her favorite babysitter] and give her a special holiday gift
• Dress up for a fancy family dinner
• Sing carols together
• Unwrap a new book to read at bedtime
• Hear the story of the first Christmas at bedtime
• Make a snowman (craft, because we don’t have real snow here.)
• Ho ho ho – open gifts!
  

i printed them out onto little cards and put one in each envelope. then strung them across the balcony in our hallway.

when N saw them in the morning, she was so excited, and is now counting down to december beginning on thursday! (that’s also when our elf-on-the-shelf, jasper, returns from the north pole.) N can’t read everything just yet, so i know that even if she peeks inside these low hanging envelopes, the surprises won’t be spoiled.

please share: what types of activities or things do you include in your advent calendars?

this is just a quick little (momma art) entry about what has become a bit of an obsession of mine in the past year and a half… painting with white ink on smooth, dark stones.

stones i painted in july 2010

i first fell in love with this idea when i saw them on genine’s art blog a long while back – if you have not yet visited this amazing blog, check it out! sooo inspiring! although little rock paintings are not a new idea and they’re all over the internet. i figured i’d share them with you here regardless. mostly because i love creating them — even though it’s intricate work, i find it very relaxing and soothing. i love to look at the stones and let them inform me, by their shape, color, and texture, what sort of image might live on them.

i like to use white acrylic ink and a script liner brush when i paint mine. recently, i purchased some different inks in sepia, gray, and turquoise, so i’ll experiment with those on rocks soon. (N and i have already played with inks on red clay pottery.) for some reason, N has yet to paint with the inks on rocks with me, but i imagine she’ll join me soon.

these make for easy and personal gifts for birthdays, thank yous, hostess tokens, etc. and it gives me something fun to do with all of the lovely stones i can’t stop picking up along the pacific coastline.

as you have seen on the blog lately, i’ve been trying to spruce up my autumn mantel. i think it’s an ever-evolving process, but i do want to share a little creation i made at the suggestion of one of my readers – thank you anna lucia – felt leaf garland!

after creating the autumn wreath and the BOO halloween pumpkins, i did feel that something was missing in tying it all together. i was anticipating N making our favorite real leaf garland for the mantel or using our paper roll pumpkin garland again this year, but instead it seemed my mantel needed another touch of felt to bring the look together. i cut (freehand, be nice) various leaf-like shapes into the same colors of felt we used in our wreath. (you could trace real leaves for shape accuracy, but i was just freestyling it while watching tv the other night.)

i pinned them together, slightly overlapping, and set out to sew.

the sewing was quick and painless (even for a beginner like myself!) i just had to lift the pedal foot sometimes so as not to have a leaf’s tip get folded onto itself. no biggie.

the garland looks pretty cute on our halloween mantel, and it will likely stay there beyond the halloween decorations and until thanksgiving.

i’m not totally loving the mantel’s fall face, but there’s always next year to try something fresh, like maybe this amazing green autumn mantel. okay, now back to the KID ART, right? (sorry for the mom-tinkering and home decorating as of late – i’m a little preoccupied… and inspired!) do you create seasonal mantels in your home?

you may remember our watercolor silhouette father’s day gift from this summer… well, we did an acrylic version most recently that i wanted to share with you.

i used much the same process in making this one that i used for the watercolor version. i printed the same silhouette (from photo i took in spring – see instructions on the father’s day blog entry) onto contact paper. then i carefully cut it out with good scissors.

after peeling the adhesive off, i stuck it onto a pre-gessoed square canvas. (this one is 12″ x 12″.)

i mixed up a lovely neutral cafe-con-leche-esque color of acrylic paint and covered the entire canvas with it, including the sides. after the first coat was dry, i repeated with a second coat.

once the entire thing was dry, i carefully peeled off the silhouette sticker to reveal a white outline of my daughter’s cute head.

i then sprayed the whole canvas with clear acrylic coating to seal it and give it all a shine.

we gifted it to my mom (N’s “gwee”) for her birthday, and she loved it!