paint cut paste

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 novi 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 novi got for her birthday last month called nature’s art box. (i also recognized it from the artful parent blog as well.) the project was about making a clay fossil to preserve the textures and shapes of natural objects in sculpey.

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 novi 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. novi 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 novi’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.

this activity isn’t so much about making art and more about appreciating the cycles of nature… it just takes about 50 cents to do it. this time of year, nurseries are bursting with buckets of bulbs for all kinds of flowers. one of our favorites (all winter long) are paperwhites (narcissus) because they are such fragrant flowers.

i brought a paperwhite bulb home for novi so that she could watch it grow and learn about flower bulbs. watching a bulb produce a flowering plant is a good lesson in patience for a young child, yet they grow relatively quickly so it’s not such a drag.

we happen to have a vase especially for bulbs, which has a little cup shape at the top to hold the bulb with a small neck so the bulb doesn’t fall in, but if you don’t have this, just push toothpicks into four sides of the bulb and balance it on top of any glass cup or jar that you have. i recommend a clear one, so that your child can see the roots as they begin to shoot down.

it was fun for us to keep our bulb in the plant window in our kitchen. we made a ritual of checking on it each time we washed novi’s hands in the kitchen sink. she looked forward to this time.

it only took about ten days for the bulb to shoot its roots down and stems upward, and bloom into lovely little white flowers. now our whole kitchen smells amazing from these tiny blooms!

next we are going to watch an avocado seed sprout… then maybe garlic… and sooner than later, perhaps another trip to the nursery for some spring tulips for our outdoor garden.

a good friend introduced me last year to what has become one of my favorite seasonal crafts – festive leaf garland! each is so earthy and naturally lovely!

all you need is wire (any bead or floral wire will do,) assorted beads (i love wooden and glass beads for this project,) beautiful fall leaves, and just about 10 minutes of time.

materials

then just string the beads onto the wire (i loop the wire back through each bead a second time to keep the bead in place) and weave the leaves onto the wire, too. easy as pie!

we had a little craft brunch for some friends, and the kids and parents made theirs together. (it’s good to have parents’ help for little ones, especially if your wire has sharp ends.) kids like to choose which leaf and bead goes onto the garland next — they make fabulous designers!

little leaf stringers

so cute to hang across doorways, hearths, on fences all season long!