a while back i posted a blog about making impressions of natural objects in sculpey after a nature walk. it was one of my favorites…
since we discovered that sculpey is fairly toxic when baking, i decided to try this out again, but this time using crayola model magic
then we let it dry for 24 hours, and strung it on a leather cord along with a few earthy wooden beads we had in our stash. and there you have it – our ode to california farewell gift.
here’s another one of those art activities that starts out with the best intentions, and then falls sort of flat in the end. though, it is my aim to share all of our art-experiements with you, dear readers, so that maybe you can try it with better luck, perhaps, and learn from our mistakes.
my sweet husband brought home two dozen beautiful red roses a while back. we’re not big fans of purchasing cut flowers over here (lovely as they are, they are kind of a waste of money and our cats usually just eat them, knock over the vase, and later vomit flower-parts up onto the rug.) regardless, the roses were romantic, and quite pretty for that temporary while. and husband assures me they were on sale. hopefully this blog comes at just about the time when your valentine flowers are dunzo and can begin their second life. when my roses’ vibrant petals started dropping, i thought there must be something we could do with them.
a zillion things came to mind from rosewater to rose baths (but who am i kidding? i hardly soak in a bath anymore and who knows if there are pesticides on these) to potpourri (but that just collects dust at grandmothers’ houses, right? gross.) so i googled a bit, and found out about rose beads. alright, cool and useful recycling, i thought. i’m a long-time beader… and maybe N will enjoy this. i figured i could make a meaningful, very personal mala from these… so N happily helped me to pick off the wilted petals.
then i followed the instructions for rose beads that i found on learn to know, and ground up my limp (but not dried) petals in our food processor until they were couscous-like.
the next step was to simmer the petals in just enough water to cover them, using a cast iron pot. i don’t have a cast iron pot, so i just used a regular one. the thing i read promised that our house would smell delightful. WRONG! it started to stink. i am not sure why, but it kinda grossed us all out.
after a few sessions of boiling, we squeezed out as much water as we could (through a screen strainer) and let the pulp dry by keeping it out for a couple of days. after it was a tacky consistency, we were able to pinch off pieces of it to roll into little balls. if it’s still really wet at this stage, the balls fall apart easily, so i’ll forewarn you that your little friends with tiny fingers can get easily frustrated by this. make sure it’s kind of like paste before you begin this step with a kiddo-helper. (i regret not taking a lot of photos of this as we did it, but i didn’t really know if it would be blog-worthy at the time. honestly, i still don’t know that it is, but i do know that it was a lot of effort expended… read on…)
so we placed our rolled rose petal balls (which smelled a bit putrid, i have to admit) onto a piece of cardboard and let them dry out in the garage for days.
the thing is, i was supposed to wait until they were mostly, but not totally dry, and stick a pin or a stiff wire through them to make holes in each bead (to string it!) but i neglected to do this, as i forgot they were out there. weeks turned into months. uh oh. now we are left with some hole-less, spheres of dried rose petals… i imagine i could put sturdy beading wire through them and still string them as a mala strand or even a mala bracelet… but i may just chalk this one up to an art-gone-wrong activity. somewhat due to the stench (why?! maybe they had pesticides on them?? they were grocery store sale roses afterall…) and mostly due to my negligence in attending to them at the proper stage for piercing.
we’re open to suggestions… what should we do with these little floral orbs now?
we are feeling springy over here this week… the trees are already pink and white with blossoms and it’s been in the mid to upper 60s this week. yesterday N and i went for a long afternoon walk around our neighborhood, looking for treasures and for signs of spring.
we meandered through streets, ducked through bushes, gazed up at trees… we collected all sorts of nature’s gifts, like leaves, sticks, berries, acorns, seeds, flowers… the sweet friends the earth has put in our new california neighborhood. we are still acclimating to our new digs, and feeling our way through the scenery out here. the specimens we gathered were like evidence of our move; like clues to our new surroundings. we studied them.
getting personal with a palm tree
when the sun was setting and we made our way home, i remembered a cool project i’d just seen in a very cool book N got for her birthday last month called nature’s art box
bag of goodies
when we got home, we looked over each treasure while putting it into a bowl on our table. we talked about what it was and where we found it.
then, i busted out our trusty box of sculpey, and we went to work making and squishing little balls of the polymer clay.
then we pressed some of the objects into the clay to make textured discs. like little thumbprints from mother nature.
granted, scupley is not my most favorite clay to use with kids, as it can be toxic while baking. so, i made sure to do that part after N was asleep on the other end of the house with kitchen windows open and her door closed. (next time, i may try my trusty model magic and see if that works…)
after the discs were baked, i put them onto a pretty plate that we often keep on our nature table or altar.
i wrote with a brown sharpie on the backs of them what the object was, the city, and the date. N is enjoying examining them and guessing what made the print. they’re a good size for her to carry around and be proud of, too. it’d be nice to poke a hole in the top of some (or all) of the discs with a straw before baking to make pendants or ornaments out of them, too. i enjoy the white of them, but they may also be nice if painted (a light watercolor wash, perhaps) or glazed.
i loved doing this activity – mostly the walking, talking, and paying attention to so many intimate details. seeing the world through N’s big, new eyes always keeps things fresh for me. i’d love to repeat this activity in different places, like on a beach vacation, almost like a 3-d photo album from a trip, without the photos.
one of N’s little friends is totally into all things outer space. she adores planets and rocket ships, so this was the theme for her third birthday party. we decided to make her a gift that would be outta this world!
solar system on a string
N and i started by making beads with sculpey modeling clay of different spherical sizes to represent each planet. (i added a ring to saturn.) we poked holes in them with a paper clip.
then we baked the sculpey in the oven while opening all of the windows. (as i read the box afterwards, i realized that this stuff is kinda toxic while baking and probably isn’t the greatest material for younger kids. N colored by a window across the house while it baked.)
once the beads were hardened, we painted the planets all different colors, (and realized that at their most basic hue, many the planets almost follow ROY G BIV!) also, we opted to include pluto in the line-up for old times sake…
carefully painting the beads
after the beads were dry, we strung them onto a soft black cord (like outer space!) and made it into a very cool birthday necklace!
in a ring around the sun
okay, so this isn’t totally a kid-made craft like my other offerings, but little ones can certainly help with this one, and should! so, unfortunately my little peanut has a severe nut allergy (nuts, nut butters, nut extracts, nut oils.) since she’s almost three and is going to (a super-allergy-conscious) preschool these days, the chances of her being in someone else’s care without mommy and daddy around are becoming greater. so i wanted to share this little idea for a safety bracelet with you all who might have kids who need something similar.
all you need are some alphabet beads to spell whatever you want (no nuts, no shellfish, no dairy, diabetic, vegetarian, OR just do something fun like your kid’s name or a fun word instead!) then find a few other random beads from your collection at home (or cheap ones in the craft store.) i used some stretchy beading cord that i tied together (as seen at the amazon link below,) but you could also use beading wire if you wanted your bracelet to have a clasp.
then enlist the help of your child to string beads onto the cord or wire. using the letter beads can help with alphabet recognition and spelling, too – bonus! while we made ours, we talked more about N’s nut allergy, to make her more aware of it. (whenever she eats something new, she already asks everyone, including me, “does this have any nuts in it?”) i recommend making your little one fully aware of their allergy so they don’t need to rely on a bracelet, but it’s a good additional precautionary measure.
then you’ve got a little safety bracelet that your child can wear to preschool, playdates, etc. where they might have snacks out of your presence. hopefully this will signal to the adults around to be mindful of what they’re feeding your child, in the event that your child doesn’t speak up right away.
many of my closest friends are having/have had their second baby this year. to celebrate these new little people entering the world, we have held mother’s blessing ceremonies (or blessingway ceremonies) in lieu of the traditional baby shower. with an older sibling in the mix, it is essential to include them in the celebration, as this is a huge rite of passage for them, as well.
this spring, i prepared an intimate blessing for a dear friend of mine, where her son (then 18 months) participated in an art project for his little brother to be. first, i gathered the prayers, wishes, and blessings from the family’s nearest and dearest via email, and i wrote their words on pretty paper. i cut the papers into small strips. then i painted a mandala for the growing family. in the mandala i painted a symbolic, abstract portrait of the soon-to-be foursome. after that, i visited the family and engaged their son in a fingerpainting project, which he really enjoyed! his mom and dad also helped with the painting for the new baby.
big brother to be
after the finger painting was complete and dry, i glued the mandala to the center of it with the blessings radiating out from there. i put it into a simple frame, and the family now has it hanging in their sons’ bedroom. the energy of this piece encapsulates the words of the family’s family and closest friends, and the marks of mom, dad, and the big brother, with an image from me, as well.
framed blessings
at another blessing ceremony for another girlfriend in her second pregnancy, the group of us created a beaded necklace to bless the big sister to be and honor her new role. first, i handed out small pieces of pretty papers to the group of gathered family and friends. on these papers, everyone wrote sweet wishes and notes to the eldest child. each participant brought or selected a bead to offer, as well.
beads & blessings
we went around in a circle and read our wishes aloud to the child, and offered our beads. after the ceremony, i strung the beads onto a necklace for the big sister to wear, and pasted the blessings into a small book that she can forever cherish.
big-sis-to-be with her necklace & blessing book
there are so many art projects that are involved in mother’s blessings; however, here i chose to share just a few artful ways in which i have honored these joyful new beginnings for the eldest sibling in a family.
a few months before our upcoming loooong flight across the country with our toddler, i saw a great idea in cookie magazine, dog-eared it, and executed when the time came to whip out a fun mid-flight snack… a crunchy, tasty version of the candy necklace — a froot loop necklace!
all ya need are dental floss and froot loops (or any cereal with a hole in the middle, but froot loops are nice and colorful. uh, admittedly not the healthiest choice.)
morningtime materials
just string the cereal on the floss and tie it around your little one’s neck. the smaller the kid, the bigger i’d make the loop for ease of use and snacking.
on the second leg of our flight, i brought out the rainbow treat and she crunched away, smiling at the novelty of eating a necklace!
flying high on a rainbow of froot flavors
