Living Creatively

Sketch book re-intro

2010-06-08T15:04:00.002-05:00

Reposting, just as a back-up of my reglar site. If you are seeing this, you need to come on over to the Home page. :-)

During that period of over-activity, I neglected my sketchbook (and my downtime.)

For the last few nights, I've been happily penning away before bed, just drawing anything that comes to mind, or any object that strikes me as inspiration.

It feels good to have a pen in my hand again.

These are the latest (click to enlarge):

Building on the Rock

My coffee press (which, yes, deserves its own picture.

I plan on adding watercolor to this one soon.)

I truly believe...

Just draw. Paint. Sew. Make music. Cook. Create. We were made to.

Sketchbook

2010-05-19T17:47:00.000-05:00

Basic, quick "from-life" sketches with the kids today. I'd like to start adding watercolor to pictures, as time allows.
We've been working on mini-books and homemade tags, cards, too.

Stay tuned for more art and activities.

This is a double-post. Blogging on the Main Site now, with this only as a back-up.

Loving People

2010-04-28T12:46:00.003-05:00

"Contentment," I call it.

The kids and I were talking today about love. Why? Naturally because sibling rivalry reared its ugly head, and needed to be dealt with. Nature Man (2nd grade) and Dash (pre-K) have very different personalities. Simply put, they drive each other nuts.
I console myself with the fact that they are getting early lessons in important matters:

1) not everyone is like you;

2) not everyone should be like you;

3) just because someone is not like you, does not mean they are wrong or strange;

4) the people who are distinctly different than us can often teach us the most important lessons;

5) Loving God helps us love others and, in turn, the love pushes out frustration. It's a beautiful overflow effect.

So, we drew Loving People in our art journals (and more art journaling.) Nature Man's people look a lot like mythical nature fairies to me.

I love them.

He said, "they love animals, they help things grow, and they give beautiful gifts." I enjoyed his description ...summed up: "Love, Encourage Growth, Give."

Perhaps because of his influence, my loving people followed the same theme. I love learning from kids. (Dash is not done with his People, and did not want me to take picture yet. I'll add his in when/if he wants me to.)

So, Nature Man and Dash, how can you get along better with your brother?

"Love God, love him [my brother,] help him, give to him."

Bingo. Give of time, encouragement, positive words, hugs, consideration, gifts...
Good lesson for me, too.
Of course, my husband I get along perfectly ALL THE TIME (*cough*)...but on the occasion when I feel entitled, demanding or unappreciated, that's when I can Talk, Love, Give, Pray, and Encourage...
We are near-opposites, so I'm quite sure our character-development is growing by leaps and bounds and *hopefully* we can be great examples to our children of how to deal with difficult people. ;-)

I made our People into cards. Of course.

After this post, I'm going to be primarily blogging on my main site. I'll use this as "overflow," additional pictures, etc, but not as a different blog anymore. Our lives are creative in every aspect, and I can't even attempt to compartmentalize certain areas anymore. :-)

Labeling Plants

2010-04-13T23:44:00.006-05:00

We had a wonderful, jam-packed day, lunching with cousins at the lake, learning about power, and planting. This year we decided to get a little more creative with our plant labels.

Painted extra-large Popsicle sticks painted clothespins

small rocks, labeled with permanent pens

itty bitty hand-painted signs

house objects, labeled and put to good use

more clothespins (this was the easiest one for the younger kids to do)

clothes pins, painted and put in the soil upside-down to hold the plant placard

and, one of my favorites, nestled eggs with special messages.

We have many more things to plant, including our raised garden this week. Let me know if you have suggestions for other fun, artsy tags.

The Painted Sandals

2010-04-11T21:59:00.008-05:00

My parents always led us to believe that we could accomplish anything we set our minds to. They had no idea what sort of things I would set my mind to do! Alisa Burke at Redefine Creativity painted some fabulous wedge sandals. Totally inspired, I went hunting through my closet for shoes to paint.

Because I'm absolutely normal, right?

Wishing I had taken a "before picture." These were solid white, leather sandals. They were my Mimi's years ago, and she passed them on to me. They are quality shoes, and in excellent condition, but the leather on top was beginning to show signs of wear. I love these shoes and had no plans to get rid of them, so they were chosen for a make-over. I used acrylic and fabric paints, with a spray for whatever-it's-called over that to protect them.

What do you think? Would you paint your sandals? Check out the other amazing created wearables at the Train to Crazy's Make It, Wear it link list!

simple "pop-up" cards

2010-04-08T22:39:00.005-05:00

These are truly the fastest and simplest "pop-up" cards you can make. It's wonderful, because ALL ages can participate.

All you need is paper, stamps and scissors....and maybe those tiny fingernail scissors, if you have some.

Just have the kids fold their cardstock. Then unfold and lay flat, right-side up. Next, let them choose a stamp, and decorate the front of the card, with one or more images going above the fold-line.

Older kids can then carefully cut around the part of their stamped image that goes above the fold line. Younger kids will need some help with this part.

Store-bought cards are super sweet, too, and hand-written notes are always fabulous. It's a disappearing treasure. Every once in awhile, though, we just like to do it ourselves, for the fun of it. I'm not a "Super Card Maker" like some of my amazing friends. In fact, one of the first cards I ever made and gave out had squiggly eyes on it. ;-)
I'm much more comfortable with the quick-and-crafty elementary-age approach!

The "house project," stage1

2010-04-04T23:04:00.003-05:00

We've been painting houses, planning to do this project by Alisa Burke. With no ocean nearby, we'll be taking our village traveling to the Falls, and perhaps even on a camping trip this summer.

Painting from magazine models

2010-04-04T22:59:00.002-05:00

I sketched out this woman's face...easier to do, when it's a black-and-white picture.
Next modge podged it to a small 8x10 canvas, and painted over it all with watercolors.
It's not done yet, and I'm just enjoying the process. I plan to add the title somewhere:

Be Yourself.

3 Steps to Painting Wooden Plates

2010-03-29T23:13:00.004-05:00

1. Grab your wooden dishes and add a solid coat of acrylic paint to each one. Kids can do this at almost any age! This step takes about 2 minutes for older kids, and about 10 minutes and 2 shirts for younger kids.

2. Add simple stripes along the edges and polka dots to the middle, (by dipping the eraser of a pencil in paint.) 5-10 minnutes, depending on who is holding the brush.3. When that dries, paint or spray a layer of varnish over them for durability. You are done. In 10-20 minutes, you have a new set of whimsical dishes!*Use clear glass plates on top when you eat.

Sorry for the gross hot dog picture; we had a firepit night tonight!

Poetree

2010-03-27T12:05:00.006-05:00

The kids and I have been working on "poetrees" to aid our writing on certain subjects. It's a fun way to encourage artistic brainstorming, for kids who aren't old enough (or excited about) outlining or list-making.

Choose your topic, which can be written on the tree trunk, and brainstorm on the leaves or branches.

The Artist-child decided to write a poem about herself. Her leaves were descriptions about her appearance, personality and interests: natural, horsey, artistic, and so forth.

For our sketchbook work, we did "free draw." The Artist chose horses. Again. NatureMan and Dash drew monsters, using a library book as a guide. They claimed their pictures are not yet ready to be "published." I worked on the human body.

Desert Landscapes with watercolor and black crayon

2010-03-26T18:23:00.003-05:00

These scenes are extremely easy, and you need only a few basic art supplies:

white paper

red, orange, and yellow watercolor

black crayon

Paint a simple sunset (which can include the sun, or just layers of red, orange and yellow.)

Draw cacti and other small plants, and then go over all of the foreground in solid black.

(Below, one of my children, who shall go unnamed, could not stick to the color scheme. He is a *unique* little rascal!)

It creates a beautifully contrasting landscape.

Magazine transformations

2010-03-23T22:34:00.005-05:00

Today we did a magazine transformation challenge.

I cut the heads off (or faces out of) magazine pictures (it's as fun as it sounds) and then let the kids "fill-in-the-blanks."

Before

After

The other magazine transformations are here. I also used the chopped off heads on other papers, for the kids to draw on hair and bodies. It's a good get-you-started art diving board. The artist got fairly elaborate with hers, even drawing in background scenes and writing a story to go along with it.
Little Lad's Before shot

and After (uh oh, my little man looks like Hitler!)

Several more "After" products:

Have fun with your kids every day!

mixed media painting on canvas

2010-03-22T17:24:00.004-05:00

Just experimenting with mixed media

For Art Night awhile back, I had bought several extra canvases on clearance at Hobby Lobby. I've decided spring break is definitely a good time to get workin' on them.

I like the simplicity of this. I drew and painted the face and neck, and used layered paper for wings, and a paperdoll body. Anyone who feels the need to create will understand..

I cut my books

2010-03-21T22:12:00.003-05:00

Okay, yes, we've been through this before.

I. Cut. Books.

Yes, yes, I do.

I've heard people say before, "I really wanted to make an altered book, but when it came right down to it, I just couldn't slash the pages."
Well, I don't have that problem. I rip, slash, and gouge out whatever I don't want. And, before you see me as a merciless book-killer, let me justify myself. The book below was lovely, old and torn, fraying apart and worn. It may have been loved...but then was left, abandoned, forgotten. It was crammed with many other treasure-books into a plastic tub at a thrift store, and sold for a quarter. So, I could cram it right back into my bookcase and leave it there, soon-forgotten (too many pages were torn to actually read the book,) or I could give it new life and purpose. This is its second chance, people!!
I call it "Youth." You can see that Youth, of course, has wings. She sits seemingly bored where she is, hair carried by the gentle breeze...while the real treasure lies just beyond, in Home and companionship. Yes, I'm just that deep.

shoebox dioramas

2010-03-21T21:55:00.003-05:00

The older kids have been working on the dioramas of their latest stories . As always, The Artist wrote hers about horses. No surprise. :-)

Nature Boy's story is about pirates. I suppose the lighthouse and flamingos are all wrapped into the story....? We'll see. He isn't finished with it yet, and I'm curious what else will be added. They had to finish and revise the stories before starting on the dioramas (I didn't want them finding a cool picture of a Disney character and sticking in the box, just for the heck of it.) Dash has also started one (dictated to me) that is about aliens in outer space. Don't the stories match their personalities so well??Perhaps I should write my own story and make a shoebox. It's tempting!

Making a mini-book from an old hardcover

2010-03-08T15:30:00.008-06:00

Have you ever come across an old classic, worn and falling apart? I loved the front cover of this book, and picked it up at a flea market. The pages were falling out, and the spine was destroyed. It could have been kept, untouched, on a shelf for display, but I believe this book deserves attention.

So I cut it up.

Yes, book-lovers everywhere, you can cringe. I LOVE books...in all forms.

I cropped the front and back covers into perfect little squares, cut pages from the book the same size, along with some scrapbook paper. Then I poked holes through all and bound it with ribbons, a charm and button.

Naturally I had to paint on a bit, too.Voila. Beautiful mini-book.

This one was sent off to live with another mixed-media-art-fan-friend. :-)

Time Flies

2010-03-08T15:25:00.004-06:00

Sometimes I get the urge to alter something other than books and clothes. This goes hand-in-hand with art therapy... how do you express what you're feeling? Words can't always do justice.

Altered couture

2010-03-06T18:33:00.005-06:00

After looking through Somerset Altered Couture, I was inspired to reuse some embroidered fabric. One evening I whipped up some small bird embroidered pillows. The lace edging is actually a pocket. Small pearls and decorative buttons are sewn here and there, and one clump together in the corner. I like how it turned out, so it flew off to live with a friend.

Art Journaling, the newest hobby

2010-02-25T22:40:00.003-06:00

Have you caught on to my pattern yet? I get interested in something new, and it becomes my all-consuming every-late-evening new hobby. I've gone through sewing, book-altering, lapbook prep stuff for the kids, sketching, etc etc and now on to art journaling. This one is easy and natural, as it can combine some of my greatest loves: color, art, photography, journaling, books, prayer...

Anytime I start sharing something new, my confidence falls down a few notches. It's hard to put yourself out there, especially when presenting something new and rather nontraditional. So, like a coward trying to be brave, I stick my head out of the hole, glance around, toss my artwork up on the grass, and skitter back inside to wait. Then, a few days later, I work up the nerve to lay some more stuff out on the ground.

Here's the "stuff" I set forth:Sketching

Painting: These pages are "art-extending"...
magazine or calendar clips taken,
extended, added to, layered on the page.

I can process so much better using multiple methods. At least two of my children are also very much like this. I think everyone benefits from artwork, period, but also from combining methods to learn. The primarily auditory learner may still remember best by listening to AND writing their speech.

Art Journaling take 2

2010-02-22T20:09:00.002-06:00

And, again, an overlap... because art and prayer can be consuming. So, for the latest art journal entries, you can go here for mine, and here for The Artist's.

And then there was...

2010-02-20T10:12:00.003-06:00

The Art Journalposted here. Inevitably, my blogs will overlap at times.

Painting with acrylics

2010-02-08T21:43:00.007-06:00

I mentioned that several amazing artists inspired me to start focusing on art. I believe God has given us each certain talents, and expects us to use those to glorify Him. Well, I'm like Moses I suppose, and I like to make excuses for why I can't use my gifts.
It takes courage to try new things.

"What would you dare to accomplish if you knew the only possible outcome was success?"

One thing that I hadn't dared to try was painting. You know I paint walls and furniture... but I was too scared to try a REAL picture. Sure, that may seem strange coming from someone who will paint the entire living room on a whim. The truth is that I was intimated by having such a talented family. Bleh-- I know, ridiculous. I'm truly so amazed and thankful for their abilities. And I can't expect to start off with the experience and talent that they've acquired over a span of 10+ years. Everyone has to start somewhere, and now is the time for me.

So, without further ado, I give you my painting:

Beginning: (yes, I'm painting on a book)

Making some progress:

Finished product:

The plan was to have her holding a flower, but I couldn't get the hand right, so she ended up with a blue gown. ;-) Gotta do what works.
It's not perfect or professional, but I'm thrilled that it's a real picture. And, like Nester says, it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful. It makes me happy!

And, by the way, I rearranged my entire bedroom in order to have the art table, easel, and sewing machine set up in a functional space. October, thanks for your help with that on Friday night!! This area just draws me in. I know where I'll be every evening when the house goes to sleep. :-)

Check out the other things people are creating at...

Persimmon Perch's Made It Monday and

handprints

2010-02-08T09:56:00.002-06:00

We just came across this picture, that T and I colored a year ago. Sweet memories.

"Cold" Sketchbook Prompt

2010-02-05T10:08:00.004-06:00

Nature Man's "cold"

The Artist's "cold"

My "cold" prompt

I find it funny that The Artist and I both drew a "cold" woman. ;-)

Two -faced Sketchbook Prompt

2010-02-04T11:24:00.005-06:00

One of the latest Sketchbook Prompts was "Two-faced."

Nature Man's artwork below:

and flipped:

Another of his:

The Artist's picture:

And hers flipped:

My artwork:

Mine flipped:

I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying these afternoon art sessions with the kids!!

Art Prompts

2010-02-01T23:21:00.007-06:00

The kids and I have started The Sketch Book. Every afternoon (after schoolwork, so we don't become consumed,) we'll do artwork, using different prompts. It may be an artist study, word, photo. Most recently we did the word "stretch." Whatever they wanted.

I did a freaky stretchy face. Trying to get back into art, and think outside the box. If I do these lessons with them, it holds me accountable to my art time, and encourages them as well. And it helps me let go of perfectionism. I'm not exactly a perfectionist type person anyway, but I often hesitate sharing my art because there are so many dang-good artists in my family, and I feel my stuff pales in comparison. That's the point, though, isn't it. I'm wondering if I measure up... and that's not what it's about.

The artist drew a "limo car," and even used "stretched letters" to label it. hee.

Nature Man drew people stretching out rubber bands.
Dash decided not to participate. No pressure on him. I want him to love art, not think of it as a chore.

Body Snatchers

2010-01-13T11:15:00.002-06:00

This homemade "switch-the-bodies" book is purely for fun. I can't think of a single educational lesson from it. oh, well. Sometimes it's okay to have fun for the sake of having fun!

We glued pictures from magazines, coloring books, and photos onto card stock, and then attached them to a manila folder with key chains.

Fire

2010-01-04T13:47:00.007-06:00

This was Trevor's idea, and he completed it with minimal help from me.
Yes, seems rather scary for a just-turned-5-year-old to do a lapbook on fire. However, his Papa is a fireman and he hears about it often, and visits the fire department about once a month. Better to be prepared.

Side flap:
Top flap:On right side flap:

Bottom left side flap:
Middle fold out form:Flip-up firetruck booklet:
There's also a pumper truck underneath, not shown.

Under the firetruck booklet:
Top right flap:Back of folder:
And, because we included the firemen "puppets," I'll tag this as toddler-friendly.

Space Travel

2010-01-04T13:45:00.008-06:00

This one is Ethan's. It wasn't assigned, so he worked on it during his free time and over Christmas break:

We've really enjoyed this site about the International Space Station.
The videos are great!

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/ISSRG/

Is there life on other planets? Ethan thinks so.
A UFO is lifting the house off the ground.
(This picture of his is a flap that lifts up.)

And, on the back, is his alien:

Egyptians

2010-01-04T13:43:00.007-06:00

We did many of these lap books at the beginning of winter, and finished several up over Christmas break.
When we were studying Egypt, weeks ago, the kids did this lapbook:

Front

Inside main flaps:

First flip-top flap:Symbols of Egypt mini-book:

Pharaoh with crowns of both upper and lower Egypt:

Maps of Nile River Valley:

A page on King Menes and one on mummies:

Sticker Art/ Writing prompts

2010-01-03T23:29:00.002-06:00

Lapbooks? Well, no. Folder games? Well, no. More like a paper game. Still counts.

Telling Time

2009-10-18T18:36:00.006-05:00

This lapbook is used with a dry erase marker. The clock on the left flap is plastic. The pages in the center are in page protectors, and can be used and then wiped clean again.

Behind the page protectors, there is a mini book and a Time game.

Match the digital and analog clocks to the correct written time.
Game pieces are kept in a plastic baggie, stapled to the top of the page.

Mini-book and area behind the Time game. Mini-lift-the-flap quiz about time.
On the back of the folder,
is another folder,
which opens to another matching game.

Everything is more fun with books and flaps, right??
Have a grand time!!

Frogs

2009-10-18T18:11:00.007-05:00

Special sections from Ranger Rick added to the lapbook.
Plus a froggie craft!

Descriptions of the stages, with laminated pictures inside each envelope.

Froggy facts on the flaps (try saying that 10 times!) that the kids cut out from Ranger Rick.
The orange envelope unfolds to show drawings of a frog's life cycle. Aaaand I forgot to get pictures of that. Phoey. Maybe later. The Artist did those pictures and they are so cute.

In the baggie, there are Velcro frogs and the froggie songs.

Below, Velcro glove, which is kept at the front of the lapbook box.

Halloween for the preschoolers

2009-10-18T15:24:00.009-05:00

I've given my scrapbook tub over to the kids.
Nature Man colored and cut out these pumpkins.

Flip open the first flap to reveal a page protector full of coloring sheets. The first one was completed by Dash.
Past the coloring, there's a baggie of Velcro spiders and accompanying songs.
Each spider has been glued to card stock and cut out. Then we attached Velcro pads to the back.

Put the spiders on the Velcro glove before you begin the song. With each line, you remove a spider. The little kids love it. (Math before they realize they're learning.)

The next flap opens to reveal a pumpkin sequence game.
The tots put each laminated card on its matching picture.

Last flap is a Halloween sticker matching game. I just stuck the little stickers on the folder, laminated it. Then stuck and cut out the matching stickers and laminated those. Viola-- cheap and easy matching game for Little Lad.

The Mouse and the Wizard Hindu fable

2009-10-06T19:57:00.002-05:00

Human Body

2009-10-06T19:42:00.006-05:00

Okay, this isn't a lapbook or a folder game. It's being included on this site simply because it has flaps (and I make up the rules anyway.)
We traced Dash's body on a long roll of easel paper.
We add body parts as we study them. I had some of these to use, from our science workbook, and I'm just drawing the others. Click on a picture for a larger view.

The ribs flap open to reveal what they protect inside.

We wrote information about each body part on the back, before taping it on to the figure.
I suppose I should have traced his facial profile, rather than a full-front view, huh? ;-)

Numbers, the folder way

2009-09-16T22:20:00.005-05:00

This is very basic. Just match the objects or numbers to the corresponding card.

The bunnies can be matched to either the numeral, number word, or matching bunny card. Little Lad (2-years) matches to the bunnies. Dash (4-years) matches to the numerals and words.

The laminated cards are stored in "pockets" between the folders.

This book goes up to 30.
On the last page there's a little, simple balloon-making game.

The Artist's All-About-Horses Book

2009-09-16T22:11:00.003-05:00

This was done completely by The Artist, on her own free time. She used pictures from a horse coloring book and magazines. She looked up er information using an Animal Encyclopedia and the computer (with supervision.)
Inside flap... I love that she used a bucket to store information about the horse's food and water needs!

Inside...

Mini-book of her favorite little cut-outs.

True or False Game (she came up with some awesome questions!!
Did you know that acorns are dangerous for horses to eat? I didn't!
And can you see her cute little pictures that accompany the answers?

Envelope mini game. "How to shoe a horse" Put the pieces in the correct order.

Another mini-book, describing breeds and horse markings.

Yep, my girl is horse-obsessed! And she is mighty creative!

The Ultimate Color and Shape Lapbook

2009-09-16T22:00:00.009-05:00

The kids and I made this, little by little, after school each day. It's our gift to Little Lad.

Matching color shapes...
More color matching... chart style.
Flip pages to reveal "happy sayings" matching and dry-erase marker pages.
Flip again for color and shape mini-book, made by Nature Man.
Robot matches color, shape, and word names. Flip up to reveal...
The Artist's sticker color game...
Close one page, and this is one the other side...
more color shape matching...
Turn page and you have colored bears to match.
Flip another page for the crayon matching game.
The end. The pieces are in little sandwich baggies that are stapled to the tops of each page. We didn't use any envelope or pockets, because that could get frustrating for a 2-year old!
Happy learning!

Matching Months Folder Game

2009-09-14T22:38:00.005-05:00

Yes, the months should be going the other direction. I had a gluing error when I was tired the other night. So I worked with it. Reading right to left for one game hopefully won't mess them up too badly!

These are the simplest games to make. Get two copies of anything: stickers, magazine pictures, drawings, etc. Glue one set on, and let the kids match with the other set. These are laminated for durability.

Colors Game

2009-09-14T22:34:00.005-05:00

Make two of each color. Laminate. Cut apart the second set. Let the kids match them up & spell it out.

Volcanoes

2009-09-14T22:24:00.008-05:00

Mt. Rainier is a volcano that we've actually seen "in person," so we added these postcards that we brought home from our Washington vacation.

This lapbook, that the kids finished up today, is made with two file folders, three mini-books, magazine fold-outs, a little journaling book, postcards, etc. The kids and I had fun with it!! I'm hoping that, by integrating all learning styles, the information will really stick. Plus they can revisit it at any time!