31 October, 2011

BOO!

Ok. I don't like Halloween. There I said it.
I don't like ghoulish costumes, and I don't like scaring children.
I am not a mean Mommy. I like be involved, and encourage Little Bear to be as well.
I still allow Little Bear to choose a costume, with some strict guidelines. I take treats to school for the little party, and I even allow her to go out with her cousin and get too much candy.

I am pretty sure I have the cutest little "Hermione" around.


26 October, 2011

First attempt

So. Paint chip art. I am sure you've all seen it. It's everywhere.
Lately I have been finding and coming up with a bunch of "make it my self for pennies" ideas, from things I've seen online and things I've seen other do. So, paint chip art. Pretty simple. I wanted to make a really big one, so I gathered my stuff. After trimming my paint chips to size I had a container of narrow pieces, and not one to let things go to waste, I decided to do a trial run. Boy I am glad I did!

You will need:
*A canvas, any size will do, I used a 12x12
*Paint chips, I got mine at Home Depot, you may want to make several trips to get yours. I don't have that luxury  living where I do, so I am the crazy lady at the Martha Stewart Paint display with 122 paint chips stuffed in my purse. I got the Martha Stewart chips cuz they are 5 inches by 2.5 inches. Big means less cutting!
*Mod Podge, I got the glossy kind, cuz I like shiny stuff
*Time - do not start this 12 minutes before a wild baby comes over. It will result in a lovely art project glued to the carpet.

To do this:
Paint your canvas. ALL of it. Trust me, you do not want white canvas showing between your paint chips. I only painted the sides, and a bit of the surface, I wish I would have painted it all.


Cut your paint chips to whatever size you want. It helps if you live with a mathematician, so he can do all the fractional crazy math. My paint chips very from 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch wide. Glue the chips down in any order


Cover with at least 2 layers of Mod Podge


Hang! Which I haven't done yet, I am waiting for the Engineer to get home so he can make sure it goes up straight!

21 October, 2011

More Art

More ideas. 
More things I've seen. 
More desire to create and explore mediums. 
This pile of beauties will be something very awesome in a few days. 
Stay tuned! 


19 October, 2011

Warm

With the coming of fall comes cool weather, and chilly nights. Our new home came with a wonderful feature, that Papa Bear has been dying to try out. a few nights ago, he declared he could not wait anymore! We must have a fire, so we did.


13 October, 2011

Books

Books, Papa Bear says we have to many. I say - not possible! Books, my escape, my alternate reality, my education. I learn things when I read, things like the names of some characters aren't just weird words like "Regulus" or "Sirius", they are the names of stars. I love books, and I have tried very hard to teach Little Bear to love books. Not just any books, but books with soul. Books with depth. Books that will uplift and teach. That is why today I am filled with happiness. Yes, happiness over books.

Today was the start of the book fair at school, we always go and we always buy something. Today as we prowled around looking at everything I noticed something. Little Bear would only hover for a second at books with pink covers, or ones that had fairy's on the cover. She drifted past all the .50 cent items, and silly trinkets. I found her in the back corner, in front of a shelf of books that had no pink, no fairy's. After several moments of deliberation, she made her choice. When she showed me her choice, I was impressed. Books with soul. Books with heart. Books full of history. Instead of fluffy books (as I call them) a trilogy of books about the Titanic.


12 October, 2011

Thankful


It was Thanksgiving on Monday, and I am grateful for many things. We had a nice dinner with Papa Bears family, and while we were eating we got to talking about things we are thankful for. Little Bear was grateful for: clothes, food, shelter warmth and family. Papa Bear was grateful for his job, and us. I am thankful for all of those things, plus running and a few other things.

I am Thankful for dirty dishes, because it means I have food to eat.
I am Thankful for laundry, because it means I have clothes to wear.
I am Thankful for vacuuming, because it means I have a home.
I am Thankful for all of those things, because it means I am healthy, and have the use of my limbs.

What are you Thankful for?

08 October, 2011

Crayons Again

So, I loved making my crayon art so much I wanted to make more, but who really needs to have 12 canvases with melted crayons on them? Well......Nobody. I bought the supplies to make a bunch more anyway, and took them to my sister's house. Sister1 has 4 children ages 7-15, and they all got a kick out of making something fun for their rooms. We had quite a good time making these, the children got to chose their crayons, and they glued them in the order they wanted. So without any ado I give you3 of the 5 we made. Sorry for the completely junky cell phone pictures. Some of us forget our camera when we go on a trip.

Chachi:

Hammy:

Little Bear:

04 October, 2011

The Other Canvas

So in an earlier post I used a canvas to make some cool art (here) and I had an extra canvas leftover. SO! What does one do with a 16x20 canvas? Well, we find another idea we can copy and make it for super cheap! So, here is another project that whips up in minutes and is just the right size to fill that empty spot above my bed.

You will need a canvas, I used the extra one from my crayon project.
You will need some chipboard letters, or I bought thin wooden ones at Wal-Mart for $3.
Craft glue, which I had & Spray paint. I used glossy white, also bought at Wal-Mart for $5.

Super easy directions. Glue letters in desired phrase, in desired location on canvas.


Sprat paint it chosen colour, I used 2 coats.


I wanted mine to have a splash of colour, so I bought a flower stem from Michaels when it was 40% off, and took apart the flowers, I had these rhinestone brads kicking around, and used them to secure the layers of the flowers together.


I then trimmed the stem, and shaped it the way I wanted it to look, and glued it to the canvas, then glued the flowers in place and TA-DA!




01 October, 2011

Pumpkin Patch

I have never been into decorating for Halloween, never been into Halloween either. This year, I really wanted to decorate for fall, but not have an overly Halloween themed house. Now, this craft is not one of those super cheap ones, but it is one that I can use over and over. I wanted to celebrate fall, and the harvest, and Thanksgiving. Since Canadian Thanksgiving is squeezed into the beginning of October before Halloween, I think it largely get ignored. I mean, it's not as though we delicate an entire month to decorating and celebrating it. This year, I decided that I was going to make something that incorporates both days. So was born my pumpkin patch.


I don't like pumpkin as a general rule. Not in pie, or muffins, or the like. I don't carve pumpkins with Little Bear because I cannot stand the smell. So, I saved my pennies and waited for those fake pumpkins to go on sale at Michael's (Canada's version of Hobby Lobby).

I then picked out a sweet font, and made the type huge, I think it ended up being 460 or something like that.


Then I traced the letters onto my pumpkins.


Used some craft paint to fill them in.


And set them up outside, where, in this crazy wind they promptly fell over. So I drilled a small hole in each and put a few rocks inside to help them stand up. Not the cheapest craft ever, but one that I can re-use.