Modern Art Toddler Style

So, this past week my little girl has been dealing with Hand Foot Mouth Disease and it has been a bit of a challenge finding activities at home that would keep her distracted and happy. Thankfully I remembered we have paint. And then I remembered some of the painting activities I saw on Pinterest. I decided we should try a bit of modern art. So, the supplies you need are paper, paints, containers to hold paint (like lids of plastic containers or plates or something similar), clean empty jars (mason jars, pasta sauce jars, etc.) I only had one empty jar so we also used clean, empty pop cans. :)

So basically you just pour some paint into the lids and then, turning the jars/cans upside down, dip them in the paint and then stamp them on the paper. Oh, if you're wondering, those are those lovely vinyl outdoor table clothes that are under the table to protect the rug and floor. :)

Annalise gets very intensely involved in activities like this and it's very hard to pull her attention away from it. :) This might be a good thing, and it might prove yet to be a not so good thing. :)

This is mine (but I forgot to flip the picture so you're getting the wrong view). :)

Very intensely stamping the can ... you can see she added her own touch to it too by adding a bit of finger painting.  :) Whatever works! :)

This is a finished product. She made about 4 of them! :)

It was a very fun time, painting with my daughter. Of course, I forgot about the clean-up involved and the scrubbing of paint of her hands which, when you have Hand Foot Mouth, does NOT feel good!

This is the original blog that was linked to Pinterest: http://salsapie.blogspot.ca/2011/09/mod-dot-art.html

Animal Collage

This was not recent, nor was it something I found on Pinterest (it was found through Living Locurto) but it is an example of some creativity that keeps me sane so I figure it's applicable. After all, I did say that sometimes I'd post about other creative things I've done, not just Pinterest ideas. :)  This was done in early July and it was quite enjoyable. It's a great, creative way to re-purpose canvas art that just doesn't fit with your home's decor. :) It started with an old canvas painting I found at Value Village a few years ago when we needed some not so pretty decorations for my husband's 70's themed 30th birthday party. Really, what am I going to do with a nasty, outdated painting that doesn't match ANYTHING in our house? I was going to donate it back to VV but then I saw this idea in a Living Locurto newsletter and thought I'd try it. So, you need canvas (old and used or brand new ... although old and used is much cheaper), scrapbooking paper in coordinating patterns/colours, and templates for the animal (or plant or shape) of your choice. Oh, and modge podge and a sponge brush to apply it.

Here's the picture, then I'll explain how I did it. :)

So, you take your base coloured/patterned papers (and I think next time I will use a less busy base pattern at the top). Modge podge the back of it and apply it to the canvas, keeping in mind that you want to go over the edges (so that if you're using a used canvas, you don't have the ugly art showing at the sides). I started with the solid colour at the bottom and the I added the patterned background (overlapping the solid bottom slightly). Next, you cut out your templates (I found the giraffe and elephant on Martha Stewart's site - she's got some pretty awesome creative resources there for free!). I first cut out the giraffe shape, traced it on the back of the scrapbook paper I wanted to use, cut it out of the scrapbook paper, modge podged the back and stuck it on the canvas where I wanted it. Then, using the same template, I cut out the giraffe's spots on another coordinating colour and modge podged them on, one at a time. Next I did the elephant, similar method. Once you have everything modge podged onto the canvas and it's relatively dry, you need to go over the entire picture with modge podge, spreading it evenly. This will ensure that is stays stuck. :) Do this 2 or 3 times, letting it dry between each application. Once the last application is dry, spray it (outside or in a well ventilated area) with clear acrylic sealant spray. This will preserve your creativity much better and give it more of a glossy finish. It will also protect it a bit more from moisture.

Once all that is done, you're art is finished! :) Be sure you choose your colours and patterns wisely. You can see that my background is a bit too busy and, as I said, I'd have chosen a different pattern if I'd do this one over. So, the next time I do this, I will choose more wisely. :)

Footprint Butterflies

Our 2nd Instalment of Pinterest creativity is all about painting. I discovered that 15 minutes of painting with an almost 2 year old is about all I can take. It's exhausting! :) But we had lots of fun making butterflies with our painted footprints on Tuesday. This time, I just painted various colours on Annalise's feet and then stamped her feet on the canvas. Next time I think i will get and ice-cream pail lid or something similar, squirt paints in there, let her step in the paints and then step on the canvas (although, due to the potential mess that could create, I might wait with that method until next year)! Hey, if we do this every year, it could be quite the interesting development - seeing how her feet grow every year. :)  So, here are pictures of her feet and mine (yes, I made a footprint butterfly too as Annalise insisted that Mommy do it too). :)

It was lots of fun and I think Annalise really liked the ticklish feeling of having her feet painted. :)

Ice Cube Painting!

Ice cube painting is one of the more recent ideas I found on Pinterest and, with the crazy heat we've been having, I thought this would be a great way to introduce Annalise to painting. She LOVED it! :)

Here's how it's made: take old ice cube trays and some tempera paints. Fill the tray(s) with the paint and freeze it overnight. Take it outside when you want to use it! :) The heat and body heat from the munchkins will make the paint melt as the kids paint/draw with it. If you want a little more watery paint, you can mix it with water before freezing.

Here Annalise is working on a painting with her cousins. She loved getting messy, loved how cool the paint cubes felt and loved the messy art that resulted from her fun.

Annalise kept painting even after her cousins quit. She needed to be hosed down to get a lot of the paint off before she could rinse off the rest in the wading pool but we got her clean eventually. Trust me, the mess was totally worth it!

When iPhoto starts cooperating with me again, I'll post a picture of the finished project. :)

I like to give credit where credit is due so, this is where I learned about Ice Cube painting after I found it on Pinterest: http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2012/07/summer-fun-ice-painting.html

Welcome!

I have started a new blog in an attempt to keep a bit on sanity while being a pregnant stay-at-home-mom of a 2 year old! I love Pinterest. In fact, I love it so much, I'd say I'm addicted to it. I pin a lot. And I love looking at other people's pins - whether I repin them or not. I recently decided I need to actually do something with my pinning addiction so I concluded a blog would work. I plan to go through my pins and try some of them out. After I try them (on my own or with my daughter), I will blog about them. Shoot, if I feel creative enough and/or get inspired, I might even blog about something I did that I just thought of, rather than only blogging about things I've learned on pinterest! :) Here's hoping this blog will grant sanity to me and entertainment to you all! :)

On Hold

Soooo ... I haven't written on here for ages. I know. Life gets busy and this is one of those things I forget about. So, this blog will be on hold for a bit. I'm going to be starting a new blog "Confessions of a Pinterest Addict". I decided that instead of just pinning things to my boards, I should actually try some of them out! So I'm going to do just that and then blog about the results! :)  Hopefully people will read it and enjoy it. And, who knows, maybe it will inspire me to come up with my own creative activities that I can also blog about! :) Here's to creativity and blogging!

I wonder why...

I wonder why women are so cruel to each other. We spend our growing up years fighting the cliques, trying to fit in, bemoaning the fact that girls are so mean to each other by leaving each other out and by criticizing the things in others that we feel insecure about in ourselves. We hate it when others do this to us but it doesn't stop us from doing it to them. And we vow that we will be different. We strive for that as we get older ... and what do we find? We leave childhood and find that women are the exact same as adults as they were when they were kids. They still leave each other out. They still form cliques that only a certain type (whether judged by look, work choice, or family connections) are allowed to join, They still criticize ridiculously. They cause SO much hurt to each other and then wonder why they themselves hurt so much. Get it through your heads fellow women!!! We are our own worst enemies but we can also be our own best supporters! You don't need to be best friends with every single woman, but do you HAVE to be rude and cruel to the ones that aren't?!?!