Art Class #2

Sorry this post is so late--had a bit of a crazy week, because my husband left suddenly for a business trip and to take care of some family stuff. (As such, I haven't yet taken pictures of all the different pieces I cut out of magazine for this project, but keep an eye out for an updated version of this post that includes them!)

My art class theme from last week was Going Green in Art, and involved making a mural out of recyclable goods. (I think the only materials we used that weren't specifically recyclable were glue and markers/pencils/pens.)

Before I go into details, I will say this: This project was a little too complicated and detailed for the age group I was working with. The oldest of the group, a nine year old girl, did pretty well with it. But the younger kids--youngest being five, I think--1) lost interest and got distracted pretty quickly, and 2) had a lot of trouble doing this project without a lot of help. I think this project idea is cute and fun, but maybe for an age group more like 9-13.



















Before this class, I had cut out all the needed pieces from magazine. I cut out petal shapes for the flower petals; different sized circles for the flat birds; pieces for the leaves, stems, and tree trunks; pieces for the sky; pieces for the feathers; and pieces for the bottle cap birds.
I put the different pieces on different paper plates so the kids could get to them easily. I also had a plate of just all different shapes and sizes of magazine scraps and clips.

Petals

Scraps and pieces of sky

Leaves

To begin, I gave each child a piece of cardboard from some boxes that were being thrown away.
There were so many different pieces and components, that I decided to do each part step-by-step. I had the kids start with the trees and backgrounds. Again, the majority of kids in my class were too young for this project, and became bored and restless quickly.





As you can see from the pictures, most of the project was basic gluing of magazine scraps to make a mural. I will also explain how to make the nests, and the bottle cap birds.












Nests:

The nests were fun and simple (though not really simple enough for my class's age group, again).

Some fruit comes packaged in clear cartons with indentations for the fruit to sit in, much like an egg carton, but for fruit.
I was originally going to use actual egg cartons for this project, but someone gave me an old fruit carton, and I used it instead.
For either type of carton, you'll need to cut out each individual "cup." These will be the bases for the nests.

Side view: The "cup" is clear. 

Next, use a glue stick to spread glue around the whole inside of the cup. Glue in strips of magazine or newspaper. (After the first layer, it's difficult to use the glue stick to add more paper shreds, so I switched to liquid glue: a swirl in the middle, on top of the shreds already glued in. This can be repeated for as many layers as you want in your nest.)
After the strips have been glued in, you can glue in a bottle cap to be the "egg." I used a glue stick to put glue around the bottom edge of the cap, and then just stuck it on.
Then all that's left is to swipe some glue onto the bottom of the nest cup, and stick it onto the cardboard wherever you want it.


Bottle cap birds:

I pre-measured and cut circles and strips out of magazine.
To start the bird, use a glue stick to put glue all around the outside edge of the cap. Stick the long strip of magazine onto the edge, so that it goes all the way around and covers the sides.
Next, glue the circle to the top of the bottle cap. This is the beginning of the bird.

I had cut out small "feathers" from magazine (which were used for the flat bird as well), and used these for the wings.

 I placed a small amount of glue on one side of the "bird body" and used three feathers to make one wing. (I found: If you want yellow wings and one side of the magazine feathers is yellow, then glue the feathers on so that the yellow side is facing in. Then, the "wings" can be folded down slightly, to make them stand out straight instead of standing straight up.)
Repeat the same for the other side.
I used a larger, more blocky single "feather" for the tail, gluing it to the back of the cap.
For the "beak," I cut a small diamond shape out of yellow from a magazine. I then folded it to form an opened beak, and glued it on the front. I drew the eyes on with marker.

(This might be slightly confusing without more pictures to illustrate with; if so, bear with me until I take and upload more pictures of the process!)

You can find other fun ways to use the bottle caps as well, such as the middle of the flower (pictured above), or even something like a sun shining in the sky. Be creative!

The sort of "theme" I was aiming for in the murals was one of life and renewal, since it has to do with using old things that would be thrown away, to make new things.

And, of course, here are the pictures of the projects the kids made:

Six year old's project

Eight year-old's project

Seven year-old's project

Nine year old's project so far; she plans to work on
it more during the coming class.

Five year-old's project

In...

Nailed It

Excellent quote from the movie "Just Married," starring Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Murphy.
While I'm not a huge Kutcher fan, I found this movie to be brilliant--a must watch for married couples (especially new and young!).

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any of the clips I wanted on Youtube, but here's the advice from Tom's (Kutcher's character) dad when it seems like the new couple is going to get a divorce after getting back from their honey moon. His dad totally nails it.

Tom: I just don't know if love is enough anymore.

Dad: What do you mean, "enough"?

Tom: I mean... Even if Sarah and I do love each other... maybe we did need more time to get to know each other.

Dad: So...

[clears throat]

Dad: What your saying here is... you had a couple of bad days in Europe and... it's over. Time to grow up, Tommy.

Tom: Hmm?

Dad: Some days your mother and me loved each other. Other days we had to work at it. You never see the hard days in a photo album... but those are the ones that get you from one happy snapshot to the next. I'm sorry your honeymoon stunk but that's what you got dealt. Now you gotta work through it. Sarah doesn't need a guy with a fat wallet to make her happy. I saw how you love this girl. How you two lit each other up. She doesn't need anymore security than that.

Tom: Thanks, dad.

Hopefully Coming Soon!

Keep an eye out for mini-books I hope to get started on soon!

Combat Clutter

This quote is a follow-up to my last post, The Empowerment of...Organization?
I just found it; it's from the woman who made the Daily Docket that I am loving.


"But I've come to realize that those things are just things, and that while they aren't inherently evil, they can actually erode my family's purpose in life--or at least water down the potency of our choices. They can multiply the surfaces I need to dust. They can dwindle my checking account. They can even cause stress. And they can keep my family from living life to its fullest, because we've slowly allowed our stuff to own us."

--Tsh Oxenreider, Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living

(I don't actually have this book; I just read the above from the preview on Amazon.)

The Empowerment of...Organization?

Being organized is empowering.

I am an extremely unorganized person, generally speaking.
It's not that I (entirely) lack the capacity to be organized; I'm generally just lazy and unmotivated about it. And I'm involved in so many little hobbies and interests, that I mess things up pretty quickly even when I do try to stay tidy and orderly.
My husband once lightly remarked that it was like a hurricane had come through my area (either he said that, or I was thinking it about myself--I don't remember). Whatever he said, I hopefully responded with an endearing smile "But I'm cute, so it's okay."
(Bless my neat-freak husband, he's so patient with me.)
Seriously, though, it's just the two of us, but sometimes my mess seems to be proportionate to five people!

However, last week, I focused the entire week mainly on just the theme of Order.
I went online and found things that I felt would work specifically well for me (such as the Daily Docket).
(There are other versions of the docket, as well.)
I designed my own monthly calendar pages on calendarlabs.com.
I wanted to make sure to make it was all fun and pleasing to the eye, so that I'd be more likely to use all of it. All of this went into a binder and formed an "organizer."
And throughout the week, I used a quote about order to inspire myself, and help me focus on my goals.

(I am a bit of a perfectionist when I actually really fully involve myself in something, so I allowed myself to spend hours filling out my monthly calendar on my computer. I changed fonts and sizes, color coded, high lighted, etc. This was a way I compromised with my creative side--as I'll explain further below.)

In the little organizer I made, I listed in my daily activities and tasks. But I also came up with extra organizational projects to do, one for each day of last week.
One day was for organizing my kitchen cupboards; one for cleaning my bathroom; one for my closet; etc.

While I didn't get to all of them in that one week, I did get my cupboards organized very neatly (complete with cute purple baskets for food storage containers, utensils, etc)! I also organized my closet (which was a decent amount of work, going through and properly storing all my clothes).
The fridge wasn't on my list, but I started it after the kitchen cupboards, and I'm really pleased with my new method of fridge-procedure so far. (It's not finished yet because I have to buy more supplies!)

Now whenever I open my kitchen cupboard to get a spatula or a pan to cook with, I feel a sense of calm and control. It's extremely pleasant to find everything organized so nicely, and it makes me feel good about myself.
I'd never imagined that just organizing a cupboard or a closet could inspire such a feeling of well being and strength! But it reminds me that I am the woman of my home, and I am in control of how it is run. I run it, it doesn't run me. 
Finding things in that kitchen cupboard no longer runs me; it's no longer difficult or time-consuming.
My affairs are in order; when my life is in order and control, I feel more in control of my life (the parts I do actually have control over, at least).
When I walk into my bedroom, an avalanche of clothing no longer spills out of my closet. My room is less busy with a mess of objects, and thus more tranquil. And when I open the closet door, it's neat and tidy and reminds me that I am a strong and capable woman.
And hey--there's nothing like walking into a a sparkling clean kitchen and knowing that you have space (both to do and think!) to make whatever you want for yourself--and it's because that's how YOU keep your kitchen.
(Now you just have to train your husband to follow the structure you've set in place. ;) )

I bought bins, buckets, and storage containers from the Dollar Tree, which was pretty cost effective--everything was just a dollar, or less! And it's summer, so they currently have a surprising amount of storage stuff, in really fun colors. (If you have to organize, it should be fun and expressive, right?)

Being more of a relaxed, creative person who's not so good with schedules, I have to find ways to maintain order that are my own.
It's sort of the compromise: Yes, I will try to have more structure and routine, but I'm doing it in my own way, so that my creative side doesn't rebel and prevent me from making progress. 

I'm not entirely finished organizing yet, but I'm already loving the progress I've made. I plan and hope to continue, even though it's not my main theme of the week.

When my home is organized and clean, I feel proud to have people come over; it's a reflection of me. And when I complete a task on my daily docket and check it off, I have a lovely little feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment to carry me through my day. (Not to mention, it helps me remember all the things I want to do and get done, since my mind is constantly on fifty things at once!)

Now please excuse me--I have to go check off some of my accomplishments today in my organizer! ;)

Art Class #2a

For now on Mondays, I have two kids who come back the next day as well--so today I did a very simple "recycle themed" project, saving the main one for tomorrow.

If you're looking for something quick and easy, you can try this.

I cut the flaps off of some boxes that were discarded. Then, I drew the outline of the caterpillar and the chrysalis on the flaps.
I cut butterflies out of a thinner cardboard (I used a box that had contained popsicles; same as a cereal or cracker box). And then I found an old magazine and cut pieces out of it to use for decorating.

The picture was supposed to represent taking something old, and giving it "new life." (While I technically haven't gotten organized enough to actually separate my recycled goods and put them in the bins, I do use recyclable materials frequently for projects and things around my house.) The caption on the picture says "Recycle, ReLive."

I had the kids decorate the caterpillars and chrysalises, as well as the butterflies. We folded the wings up, and only glued the bodies of the butterflies to the flap. This gave the picture a tiny bit of dimension.

I had two boys today, and they were not entertained by this butterfly project for very long! They came up with adding string to hang the pictures from. They then got very excited about all my other materials, and began to make their own creations.
(I was hoping they would get a little more involved in decorating their butterfly murals more, but alas--their art is their own. ;) )

One of the boys wanted to use part of a produce storage carton to make eyes
for this cardboard man.
It's nice to give them some leeway to channel their own creative ideas and see what works and what doesn't. 

As I mentioned in my previous post about my "art classes," the theme of the entire course is "Exploring Different Textiles." I just ran across this article, and it amused me in reference to that theme. (I do not plan to share this as an example with the kids, though.) This article does actually have some health-relevant info that is categorized usefully.

You Can Pee a Rainbow: Click here to read article.

Awesome Printable Daily Planner

I'm trying to get more organized, and I found this website with printable PDFs of schedules. I printed out a bunch of the Daily Docket 2.0s, because the layout is fantastic--fun, organized, and practical. I generally have problems following schedules and planners, but I can actually see myself using this!

  Check it out for yourself:

                                                     http://simplemom.net/downloads/

Here's a preview. :)

Summer Project: Art Class #1

My latest little creative undertaking is hosting "art classes" from my home during the summer. My first program I've dubbed "Exploring Different Textiles," and it consists of five classes. I host each class one per week (but three times a week so more kids can come). These are the classes I'm planning on doing:

• Art in Tissue Paper
• Going Green with Art (Art from recyclable goods)
• Going Green with Art pt.2
• Art of Food: Lentils
• Art in Melted Wax

I'll try to keep posting updates about our activities.


For this first class, the kids came in and sat down at a place on the table that already had supplies laid out.
I talked to them briefly--sort of an intro--about different kinds of art: how art is really virtually limitless. The kids had fun coming up with examples of different kinds of art--one of them brought up a hotel made of ice (which I said that yes, architecture can be considered a form of art), another child said that art can be made out of metal. We also talked about pottery, glass work, sidewalk art, and so on.

After this, we began the activity. I generally don't like crafts that are too authoritative in telling you exactly how to do something; I think it defeats the purpose of doing an art project. If I'm telling you exactly how to do something, how is it really your creation? However, the kids I'm working with are ages 6-9 and need some structure, so I couldn't leave it entirely free form. I did try to stress that the project example I made was just that--an example, and that they should decorate the fish in whatever ways they thought best, because it's their project.

My sample fish

Our first class was art with tissue paper. I ended up settling on fish for this project, because I really liked the idea of the tissue paper scales. I went online and found a fish story to go with the craft, and I told them the story while they worked.
(The story is called "The Fisherman's Wife," and the moral of the story is that you should be grateful for what you have, and--as one child put it when we were discussing it afterwards--not be too greedy. Our fish represented the enchanted prince fish from the story.)

Telling the story, I found, was a great way to make the fish project more relevant. It also entertained the children, and gave us something to talk about. After the story, the kids asked questions such as

• Was it a true story?
• Was the fish really a prince, or just an enchanted fish who said that so he could escape?
• Was the wife happy or sad when she lost all the things she'd wished for and went back to living in the little hut?

These were all fantastic questions that gave me an opportunity to ask them what they thought. For example, one boy of a pair of brothers thought the wife was sad, and the other happy. I liked how they had a creative outlet in which to think, as well as to do something creative with their hands.

We taped a piece of yarn to the back of the fish,
so that it was like the fish the fisherman caught. Also,
now the kids can hang it up at home if they want.

For the project, I drew a fish outline based off of pictures of beta (because they're beautiful and seemed fun to decorate). I cut it out and made a "stencil" from it, and used that to cut duplicates when I was sure the project would work with the one I'd made. I cut the fish out of cardboard I had from a leftover lamp box.

I cut scales out of four colors of tissue paper (my work was made faster by layer multiple pieces of tissue paper, so I got more scales for each cut).

I also cut regular squares of each color, as well as strips to use for fins, and the head shapes.

For my sample fish, I folded these with a fan fold for the tail
and lower fins. 

I used pink strips for the top fin of my sample fish.

I think we ended up with some pretty good fish! Here they are:

I didn't get a finished picture of this one,
but the boy who made it colored each section red or blue.
Pretty cool!

Any Marriage Advice?

Photo source:http://www.partystop.ie/
products/foil_balloons/wedding/18ihwedding_doves/

I was at a party last month that was celebrating another young couple getting engaged. I'd gone to school in the same class as the girl for a year, and I was (and am!) beside myself with excitement for her.

My sister-in-law and I finally got a chance to approach her through the crowd of well-wishers, and we hugged her and congratulated her and asked her questions about the upcoming wedding.

At a certain point, she asked if we had any marriage advice for her. I said with a laugh, "Well, we're not entirely experts since we haven't been at it for so long!" (My sister-in-law married my brother three months after I got married, and I got married at the end of last year.)
But following this, it only took me a few moments before something popped into my mind that seemed like something everyone has to deal with.

The advice I gave her--the first thing I thought of--was that no matter how close you are to another person, it takes some adjustment to live with them.
Beside me, my sister-in-law sounded her full-hearted agreement.

No matter how long you know the person before hand and no matter how much time you spend with him/her--living with said person is a whooole different ball game.

It has nothing to do with any kind of deficit on the part of either party; it's just human nature. Getting used to such a huge life style change takes time, growth, and patience (with yourself as much as with the other person!).
 You both came from different households and different lives, and are now teaming up to make your own household.
What is as normal to you as breathing in how you live in the privacy of your home might shock your new spouse--and vice versa.
If the two of you find yourselves on each other's nerves frequently, don't fret: It's normal. 

If you grew up with siblings, this should make sense to you: Remember all the times you and your siblings fought  growing up. You were in each other's space. Now imagine if you'd only seen your siblings for lunch or for an outing a few times a week. You might still not have agreed on everything, but you probably would've been a lot less tense with each other!

Even still, adjusting to living with a spouse is obviously different than living with a sibling. For one thing, as I pointed out to my friend, you can't just punch the other person in the arm when you're frustrated with him/her (though it might be tempting sometimes!).

 I had brothers growing up, so adjusting to living with a male in general (while still an adjustment!) wasn't quite as difficult as it could have been.
For a heterosexual gal who only has sisters, living with a man for the first time might be shocking and horrifying at times: He got what on the bathroom floor?! 
It takes growth, compromise, and effort.







And you're now around the love of your life probably a lot more often and longer than you ever used to be. Don't feel like you have to be cooing in each other's arms every moment, 24/7--and that if you're not, there's something wrong with your relationship.
It's good to have the occasional "me-time" and get together with the girls or just have some time to yourself to relax and unwind.

Feelings of irritation and frustration are normal in the process of getting used to living with another person (even if that person is truly your soul mate).
Try to find ways to deal with your frustration that are constructive for both of you. But even if you slip up once in a while and are slightly less-than-constructive (and we all have those moments ;) ), apologize and make up with your spouse--and try not to be TOO hard on yourself.
And don't act on your feelings in a drastic way; everyone goes through this, and you have the strength to work it out.

7 am

Photo source: http://galaxyninja108.wpengine.com/wp-content/
uploads/2012/12/i-hate-everything-cat-meme.jpg