The Artful Parent

Fall nature suncatchers

Just a quick post to share some fall suncatchers we made today with autumn leaves, chrysanthemums, and zinnias. Just the beginning of some fall crafting and decorating that we have planned once this book is out the door...

The paper plates work so well as frames for the suncatchers! I wish I had thought of this idea years ago. We've been taping ours to the windows forever. But this way, I can just hang them from a hook. And of course the frame sets them off nicely and offers a further canvas for decorating (Maia and Daphne both drew on theirs with markers).

The circular format is perfect for mandalas, like the flower petal ones we made a while back, but we didn't create the concentric designs this time. Just abstract arrangements of fall leaves and flowers to bring a touch of the season indoors.

And now, my dears, I must scootch back to the book. Only a few more days and I will send it off!

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Update: The center is made from transparent Con-Tact paper. Click through to this post to see photos of how I cut and attach it to the paper plates.

Pyramid bean bags for little hands

I sewed these little pyramid bean bags for Daphne's birthday, inspired by Vera's at Make and Play. The original tutorial (they are meant to be pattern weights!) is here at Five Green Acres. The small size and pyramid shape make them just perfect for little hands. I've been trying to show Daphne how to toss them, using a paper plate on the floor as a target, but so far she mostly just likes to carry them around either in her hands or in a little bucket.

By the way, I'm used to posting almost every day, but haven't been able to do that lately and feel bad about it. Birthdays and feverish toddlers are one reason, but mostly it's my book that's keeping me from this space. Right now all my extra time and creative energy is going towards finishing it up and making it the absolute best I can.

I'm trying hard to finish it up this month and get it off to my editor. The manuscript is finished and now I'm mostly just sorting through a lot of loose ends and final details. I'm also sorting through hundreds of photographs and choosing which ones to use (and realizing there are a few I still need to take!).

Please be patient with me. I'll check in here as often as I can, but it will probably be less frequently than usual for the next two weeks. I plan to be back up to speed beginning in October with lots of fall crafting and fun kiddo art projects!!

Happy Birthday, Daphne!

It's Daphne's birthday today. She's two! And such a little person now. I was looking back at pictures from when she was born and marveling at how much can change in two short years. We had a small party with the toddler art group this morning and one of the mamas shared a quote she had heard recently -- that having kids was like having your heart walk around outside your body. So true.

Actually, I just looked up the quote. Here is the exact wording:

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. -Elizabeth Stone

Right now my heart is curled around a sleeping toddler in the next room and also reaching farther afield to walk the hallways at grade school with an independent six year old. This growing up business keeps me on my toes. It's not always easy, but what can I do but celebrate each milestone, each change, each passing year?

My plan was to post a few photos from Daphne's birthday party but I have somehow managed to delete them all from my camera (insert several expletives here). So instead I'll share photos I took before the other families arrived.

I hung balloons from the ceiling for the toddlers to play with (as I did here) and had paper plate and popsicle stick paddles for them to decorate and use (although they mostly played with them with their hands this time).

We also did shaving cream drawing on the window (like here).

And ate apple cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

Of course, in the manner of our family, we will be celebrating Daphne's birthday all week, so I'll have more chances to take photos... We're planning another round of cupcakes when Maia gets home from school. I'm telling myself they're healthy -- whole wheat, apples, applesauce... (Before you know it, I'll be justifying serving them for breakfast tomorrow morning.) And a family celebration in a few days.

Happy birthday, sweet Daphne!

Inspiration goes both ways...

I love to see these two girls of mine interacting. They play the funniest made-up games and give the sweetest hugs (and know how to push each other's buttons, but we won't go into that...). They also inspire each other, whether in play or art. Usually it's Daphne who is learning from and emulating Maia, but the inspiration goes both ways.

Daphne has been obsessed with scissors lately (thanks, Marin!) and has been spending a lot of time cutting bits of construction paper over the last few days. (Note: I periodically show her how to hold the scissors most effectively, but then she goes back to holding them any which way.)

Maia has caught the paper cutting bug and has been cutting little bits of paper alongside her sister.

And then using all her colorful paper bits to make collages.

I love how she glued her paper shapes to the white paper then went to find a large piece of black posterboard to continue the piece.

And here she drew a spiral then began filling it in by creating a pattern within the lines.

Daphne started doing some collaging as well, because Maia was, but soon went back to her very important work of learning how to cut. I think I'll try letting her cut playdough snakes today...

How about your kids? Do they inspire each other artistically? Or, if you have an only, does he seem inspired by the art that his friends make?

A new handbag and some ongoing SouleMama inspiration

On Wednesday, I posted about freezer paper stenciling, something that I first became obsessed with after reading SouleMama's first book a few years ago. Today, I'll post about a handbag I sewed this week from her second book, Handmade Home. It's called the mama's bag -- just what I need!

For materials, I chose a grey wool skirt and a colorful silk scarf, both from the thrift store. The total cost was $4.75 and there's plenty of material left over to sew something else.

The instructions were simple and the bag came together nicely.

I LOVE all that color peeking out of the gray wool!

And look what I'm carrying around in my new handbag--Amanda's latest book, The Rhythm of Family: Discovering a Sense of Wonder Through the Seasons! It's lovely; simple yet profound. Essays by Amanda and her husband are matched with seasonal projects and activities. I read it through quickly and am now on my second read-through. I'm going slower this time, savoring the wisdom and contemplating our own family's seasonal rhythms and pace. For someone who has a small problem with wanting to do everything (Pinterest Pinner's Anonymous anyone?), this is just the sort of antidote I need to remind me to slow down and savor the seasons with my family.

Freezer paper stenciling (yes, again)

It's been a while since I've done any freezer paper stenciling. Really. Quite a while. But it's still just as fun! We did some for our mamas' art night earlier this week.

I especially like this one, above, that I made freehand with freezer paper and scissors (usually I use an x-acto knife to carefully trace and cut out an image). Not only does the finished shirt look good, but the technique was quick, easy, and liberating. It was kinda like cutting out paper snowflakes. Snip, snip, snip... I definitely want to explore this a bit more. And perhaps involve Maia as well, since it involves scissors rather than an x-acto knife.

Here are the freezer paper stencils before I pulled off the freezer paper (well, except for Harry's octopus in the center).

And here are the stencils without the freezer paper. The 2's are for a couple of little ones who are two this month. Daphne, of course (in a week!). And also Juniper, one of the toddler art group kiddos (today!).

This is the shirt that Daphne and I delivered to Juniper earlier. I used a mix of freezer paper stencil and applique, sort of like with the girlie dump trucks and other shirts I used to make for etsy.

Have you tried freezer paper stenciling yet? If not, maybe you can get a few mamas together and take the plunge together. (Don't forget the wine and chocolate!)

Thinking ahead...

We're keeping our eyes open for leaves that are changing color and beginning (just beginning!) to press them.

I love the cusp of a new season and am ready for this one.

There are so many reasons to love a new season of course, but right now I'm mostly thinking about all the lovely crafty things we can do this fall. I've created an Autumn Fun board on Pinterest (did I mention that I'm addicted to Pinterest?) with all kinds of great ideas from around the web.

Last year we drew and wrote on our fall leaves with metallic pens, and we'll definitely do that again, but I'm also thinking of what else we can do with these. Some people dip leaves in wax to preserve them and some people use Mod Podge. Maybe we'll try both techniques, just for fun. I'm loving these foliage candleholders and am also wondering what else we can do with our leaves. Any ideas?

Bubble dancing and the end of summer

It's September. There's a nip in the air when we wake up and a few leaves are beginning to turn. I think of them as the advance guard. The rest will follow soon enough along with all that autumn heralds. But not yet. For now, we're enjoying the last of the summer weather.

And doing things like bubble dancing.

Leaf and fern print t-shirts

Our toddler art group is pretty amazing. We get together weekly for kiddo fingerpainting (or whatever), but we've also been meeting for mamas' art nights. The idea is to do some sort of art or craft, but really we're getting together for a little wine, chocolate, and chat time. So necessary! And a month or so ago we did leaf and fern printing on fabric at my friend Meg's studio (using the same technique Maia and I used last year). I'm a little tardy in posting about it, but here goes...

I made fern printed t-shirts for myself, Maia, and Daphne (something I've been wanting to do since last fall). I'll probably have to turn Maia's into a dress just to get her to wear it though.

I also made leaf prints on muslin and have been meaning to turn these into napkins by sewing them onto a fabric backing. But any sewing time I've had lately has been hijacked by Maia's birthday (making rainbow bunting and dress-up play fabrics) and now I have to think about sewing for Daphne's birthday (bean bags, skirt, etc). So the napkin idea may have to wait a little longer.

I really love the detail in these leaf prints though and especially like the ones that have more than one color of fabric paint. Leaves are just so beautiful!

Have you tried leaf printing? It's one of my all-time favorite artful activities -- on paper or on fabric.