Coastalgirl

so you want to make a cat?

 So we wanted to make cats for Hallowe'en......we folded a piece of 8.5x11'' construction paper in half, cut out an arch shape, so we had two arch pieces. One piece was made into the head and the other was cut into a tail. Both were glued onto the main body of the cat and then decorated with additional scrap pieces of construction paper. The cat is actually free-standing, but Leah preferred to adorn the fridge and then proceeded to make an additional 3 cats to give to family.

This idea comes from cut paper play by Sandi Henry in the section of 3-D projects for little hands. We've gotten ideas from several of these Williamson Press books. I like that we can start with an idea and never know how it will finish and the result is always a surprise. Projects like these are honing Leah's skills with scissors and glue.

Another lovely figure drawing complete with signature:

This is a happy man with a bubble on his head. I really like how the nose is between the eyes and the smile takes up more than half of the face. This one is going in a frame...it just has to. This one is going out to The Artful Parent who is also enjoying these drawing filled days with her little one.

a few things making our day special

It is this time of year that the creative juices flow, there is excitement in the air, and we enjoy the cool crisp autumn days as they pass into winter. a few special things that are making our day extra special:

1.  I just had a look at the photos from Leah's first costume party. She dressed as a wood fairy and we ventured outside to snap a few photos in the fall leaves.

Here is another while we were getting ideas for fairy houses:

2, We are in love with this book that arrived yesterday via Amazon.ca. We soon will be making thumbprints (aka Ed Emberley), collages, pattern painting, watercolouring...it's a bounty of ideas.

Here's a look at a few pages inside:

3, One of Leah's favourite stories right now is purple green and yellow by Robert Munsch about Brigid, who claims to need 100s of markers to make her creations on paper and elsewhere.

4. One of the most amazing things of the last few months has been the explosion of creativity and imagination I see in Leah. After months and months of scribbles, we finally evolved into figures and animals....I think it's a moment that many Moms of preschoolers secretly wait for with perhaps (I hate to admit it) a touch of impatience. We encourage and praise daily those incessant scribbles, but when a drawing comes along with recognizable features....it's a proud moment!

5. I came across the book the OK book and a video by Amy Krouse Rosenthal that I think is interesting and now it's on our wish list at the local library. "The book's hero is a little stick figure whose head is the O of OK, and whose arms and legs are the K. (Imagine the word OK tipped up on its side.) The scenery is similarly minimal: a black horizon line, a squiggly tree, some grass. I like to try a lot of different things, the OK figure says. I'm not great at all of them, but I enjoy them all the same. On each succeeding page, the stick figure turns in a series of OK performances, roasting a marshmallow, cutting a sandwich not really in half (I'm an OK sharer), and looking at the result of his fishing—a tangle of seaweed and a boot. One day, I'll grow up to be really excellent at something, OK says, while lying in bed. I don't know what it is yet... but I sure am having fun figuring it out." (Reed)

pet week

I have been feeling like death for a couple of weeks now and who would have thought sickness could last so long? Today I am out of bed and with a bottle of water in one hand I'm going to try to post to this blog, but also peek into my favourite blogs and the rest of blogworld. I'm hoping my strength returns with the warm weather and soon I will be able to eat normal food. I guess I am feeling a little sorry for myself, but I know I will feel better eventually...the trick is not to let it get you down for very long. sooooo...

This week is pet week for Leah and she is learning everything about domestic pets. I quickly scanned through our pet photos and came up with these that I printed off and mounted to cardstock for Leah to make into a little book. We have two white kitties, Helen and Clare. They are 14 and 13 years old.

hand painting

water lily , originally uploaded by coastalgirlimage.

I was reminded of kayaking Lake Superior today and decided to go through my photos of the trip. I picked this one to process a little differently and decided to do a little hand painting in photoshop. That is my version of a little daily craftiness in addition to another thank you card using a few of my photos and coloured cardstock.

card making and fingerpainting 101

Today we were inspired by a little craftiness.....first came the card making since I get so tired of lamely searching for storebought cards and sentiments. I have a love for paper like some love fabric, so I search out interesting patterns or make them myself. I have collected stamps for years and I'm always thinking of ways to incorporate them into cards for birthdays, thank yous, etc etc. Here are two recent ones. One is made from lemon slice printing with white acrylic paint (great idea for food printing for Leah too).

   
Our other bits of craftiness took the form of fingerpainting 101. Leah fingerpainted on the easel and mushed the colours together and then painted arms and backs of hands. I don't know if this is an activity we will ever outgrow. I think she loves the feeling of paint mushed between the fingers. Doesn't it look like great fun?

fish magnet for green week

fish magnet, originally uploaded by coastalgirlimage.

This is the last of my photos for green week over at shining egg. This is a great fish magnet that I purchased for a friend as a housewarming gift. She loved it. I bought it in a funky art shop in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. A simply fantastic quaint artsy town on the south shore. I've always been meaning to make funky magnets, but like everything else, there are so many things to make and do, I never get around to it. How hard can it be? Acrylic paint, dimensional paint or glue, corrogated cardboard, and lots of imagination. You just have to love the googly painted eyes! classic!

our valentines cards

valentines cards, originally uploaded by coastalgirlimage.

We spent the week making these and finally I got around to taking a photo. We made 12 of each kind and then they were distributed to family and friends. Leah was excited to give these out. This is our first year doing this as I'm not a huge fan of the over-commercialism of most holidays and events here in North America, especially when you see all the silly Disney and princess valentines galore. We kept the event simple, made simple cards, and kept most of the mushiness out of it.

Nature box

Nature box, originally uploaded by coastalgirlimage.

In a little free time this week, I worked on painting up this empty egg carton and then personalized it with stickers. This idea has been around for a little while in the children's nature literature. It's a fun way for the little
ones to collect bits of nature around the backyard, in the woods, on the beach, in the meadow.....you get the idea. Our first outing with it was a great success. Leah was excited to find things and then categorize them by colour....much like an "I spy" game. We were searching down low, in branches, up in trees. It's so nice to see such enthusiam and spirit when I start these little projects with her. Very inspiring and time well-spent.

Valentine book

Valentine book, originally uploaded by coastalgirlimage.

This was my first attempt at sewing! It took me an hour to figure out why the thread was tangling.....didn't thread the machine properly...duh! I like how it turned out and my little one liked it too. Perhaps now I won't be so afraid of the sewing machine. What has really  turned me off learning to sew was that I hate ironing...you have to iron if you want to make a quilt...I think I can teach myself well, if I can learn to like ironing.There are so many things that would be neat to sew!
Anyhow...I really enjoyed making this book for little Leah and joined in on the fun over at weekend creative from Ali Edwards . Thanks for the inspiration! Ideas for the making of this book are here.

origami stars

origami stars, originally uploaded by coastalgirlimage.

Today I taught a class on star origami. Typically, these stars are made around Christmas time and hung on Christmas trees or around the house, but today I was asked to teach even though it was WAY after Christmas. I've been making these little stars since childhood after I was taught by my German neighbour. I believe they are Scandinavian in origin. These little stars are made with four strips of white paper. I use 8X14 and a guillotine paper cutter so I can cut four stacked pages at once. Then with a little intricate folding and tucking, and pulling...voila...you have a dainty little star. A great website that has a tutorial on making these stars and buying the ready-cut strips can be found here.