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Why Grandma's House Rocks!

Another great first for me!   A good friend of mine who also happens to be grandma to 4 little cuties, has a "grandkid room" upstairs where they stay when they visit.  She thought it would be a GREAT Saturday afternoon activity for them to create their own paintings for the room decor.    She picked up a pack of 2 stretched canvases and we scheduled our painting session for when the two oldest kiddos were in town.     We decided the kids would be more comfortable at Grandma's house since they didn't know me at all and were still pretty little.  "M" is 5 and "A" is 3.   I went over expecting to meet two shy little ones, but you could tell they were super excited and just jumped right up and were ready to go!   Because they were younger and eager, I decided to try having them paint at the same time so neither had to wait for the other.   The experience proved to be super fun, but super busy!    Working 2 at a time did mean a less detailed result, but what we lost in detail, we made up for in fun!  And that was what this session was all about.

We started with the blue sky.  Grandma wasn't picky with the design or outcome, so I let "M" choose out the colors she wanted to use, and we knew she loved rainbows and flowers so we went for that for her subject.

 Since "A" was 3, we kept it basic, but super cute!   Here he is working on the sky.   He was so sweet!

Next up, was grass!   "M" learned how to make lines to make it look more "real"  and "A" decided his grass was "a grass pile".   AWESOME quote!   

We are either talking about how to make grass in lines or  where to put the flower stems.

It was in moments like these when I with sister that "A" started taking artistic liberties to enhance his own masterpiece.   But you know what, "rainbow colored flowers" created by sticking your thumb in every paint color was TOTAL genius!

Both kiddos had fun making clouds with the big brush!

What a CUTIE!

 Clouds are ALWAYS FUN!  








When I asked "A" if he liked making circles (for the sun) he pretty much let me know that was a no go!  :)   So I outlined the famous "corner sun" and let him use 2 shades of yellow to paint it.

 This picture allows a good viewing the "pile of grass".   ha ha!  


With "M" I helped her with placement of the flowers, and then made the first small line of the rainbow for her to paint over to get the shape started.  Here she is making the first layer.







I then had "M" work on her flowers while "A" moved onto the highlight of his session, hand painting.  He. Loved. It!   Mom and Grandma both had to come in to see the amazingness of the green hand!   You'll also note the brown line that he painted during the rainbow process and told me it was a flag.   We were totally going to roll with that, but after discovering the joys of painted hands, we changed it into a tree to enjoy the painted hands for a little longer.  

"M" is such a bubbly, happy little girl!   "Look at the paint on my arm!"   I love this picture!

Okay, this handpainting is so amazing....so amazing in fact that this little guy wanted to add flowers and I don't think it was for the art quality.   We were heading down a slippery slope of the joys of using your hands for painting (the rainbow flowers came soon after, and you notice the extra handprints by the trees- this kid moved FAST!  But, they totally work as bushes, right!?)  And you know what, he was having a BLAST!

I LOVE his expression!   Pretty impressive for a 3 year old!

I had so much fun with sweet "M"!  She got to put in all her favorite colors!   She also was very proud of her blue "giraffe flower".   :)  See it?  Great job!

These projects were all about having fun with art, and making a special project for their own room at Grandma's.   I was really able to work with both of the kiddos at their level and just have a super fun afternoon getting to paint with 2 sweet little kids.   They were both so friendly, and talkative, and just lit up my afternoon!   Grandma, you can totally brag about your grandkids anytime you want!   I loved them!

A Pair of Paintings

Okay, these two sisters are simply adorable!   A! DOR! ABLE!   And the paintings they created were PERFECT for them!   Here's the story:

This mom had these 2 framed prints sitting in her basement.   The frames and mat boards were beautiful, but the artwork she liked in her home was more geometric and abstract/modern.  

She also wanted bright color in her kitchen area, so we had some basic ideas to start with.   After viewing multiple images and ideas, a modern art tree caught her eye and after I viewed it, I knew that given the ages of her girls, the concept would be perfect for them.  When people view modern art they so often say, "A kid could do that."   It isn't really true.  If you look at the intricate details/colors/ and techniques used to create those pieces, you would be amazed....the better quote would be, "A kid could create that general idea using the basic shapes and most obvious colors in the picture."   Hmmm...not quite the same ring.   Oh well!  You get the idea!  This project is certainly an example of how 2 very young children could create an abstract painting with some help.

There was only a paper print with this frame so mom purchased two canvas boards for $3.00 each, and then we started with 3 year old "L". 

I wanted to create the look of a stone wall background for these paintings, and figured that teaching a little one to paint (semi) straight lines would be age level appropriate for a 4 year old.  Also, since we were going for more of an abstract look, the stone wall concept worked for her.   I employed a few painting games such as- "have your paint brush follow my finger!" and "red light-green light" with the paint brush.  She was so incredibly darling, and a great listener.  I do think her favorite part was making "little baby lines and dots" on the wall after the lines were painted in.

 
After the walls were ready, I had "L" paint a tree image by herself, but she was a little too small to totally create the tree we wanted, so I did a paint outline, and then she got to overlap it, and add more dimension and colors.  

Little ones like "L" are accustom to coloring and want to use the paint brush like a crayon vs. brush strokes, so we would also "pretend you are tracing with a pencil", to have her create longer strokes.  She did a wonderful job and was such a sweetie!   Here is where her session wrapped up.   Great job little peanut! 

 
Next up was older sister, 6 year old "E".   She would be responsible for adding the circular shapes we would create.   I checked first to see how her circles looked before letting her paint them....she was very good at ovalish shapes when using a paintbrush...sooo...plan b- I added in one circle outline at a time and let her go to town with filling them in.   We rotated from picture to picture and color to color,

and all through the session, this little girl made me feel like I was just catching up with a girlfriend while we painted.   She filled me on the day to day grind of kindergarten, let me know how life is going with friends, and little sister "L".   I was so into our chat that  I kind of wanted to get some coffee going so we could catch up some more after it was finished.  This girl is great company!   But sadly, after we finished up the painting, she skipped off to play her classmate, who happens to be my son.  Bummer for me!   
A great moment with "E" was when I said, "Okay, a really big blue circle here!" and, well, she did what I asked!    See the picture!   ha ha!   So I had a few touch ups to do after the session, but I'm glad I caught it in a photo.  She just did what I said after all!

The finished product of this project was perfect.   Again, kudos to mom for finding a concept that worked perfectly with their skill levels!   I loved what they chose.  And also- because mom already HAD these frames in her possession she only paid a total of $46.00 for this whole project!   Totally worth it.
SIDENOTE:  (Any mom on a budget- TAKE NOTE- because this mom had these frames already on hand- the TOTAL she paid for this project was $46.00.  That included the canvas boards ($3.00 each), and $20.00 for each small painting, art sessions, and re-framing!)

Great Job little artists!

A Family Affair

From the moment this mom contacted me, I was beyond excited to tackle this project!   I found a large, beautiful frame, and we started to create her vision!   To begin, she emailed me her children's drawings (she has 4 boys and 1 baby girl).  She knew she wanted each child to add something to this picture and as we looked at their drawings together, we designated to a different aspect of the painting for each one.  

Managing to meet during the crazy time of Christmas, add on some sick kids, and select dates when we could meet, I think we managed pretty well!  Don't you J?  :)

Our first session began with her oldest...who would be responsible for the people, the most detailed and time consuming of the project.  I had re-painted the picture with a backdrop so it was ready to go.  Here is the picture of the artwork before the project, and then the painted backdrop (the print was removed and painted over). 

The white spot marked the house!

The sketching of the people, and placement, and sizing took patience and "J" did an amazing job of following guidance AND had such a great natural ability.  I was so impressed by him!  We decided to have one of the boys sitting which "J" thought was a good choice because, "He does lay around a lot."   Ha!  Mom, I don't know if you agree, but it made me laugh!  

Starting to paint!

We finished up some painting on our first session.  Here is where we stopped:

Our second session was very productive!   "J"  had such a natural ability!  I was impressed with his use of the paints and his fine motor skills.  He was a very careful artist and able to do everything except paint the eye details, which I added in later based off of his drawings.

Next, little brother "J" came over to work on tree trunks and branches, clouds, and the house.  He was also a quick study, and so smiley!   Here are some of his additions.

I love the look of concentration!

Ready for the little troops!

Now we were ready for the finishing touches, so we called mom and she brought over the littlest 3 artists.   "C" was next and was very excited to paint his beautiful grass, flowers, and the "corner sun" which has been a favorite of this artist lately... I think he nailed it!   Great job "C"!

Nice grass and flowers "C"!

Mom thought up the perfect way to involve the 2 youngest ones....leaf handprints!  Our last 2 artists added the element of drama to the painting, right mom?!   Sometimes when you are little and tired, painting your hand is just NOT the plan you had.   "T", I hope you are not too traumatized!   If it is any help, the handprints are adorable!    Baby sister "E" was more intrigued with the hand painting, at first....then she also decided this hand stamping thing was NOT for her.   But again, those handprints are TOO CUTE!  So thanks for the sacrifice "T" and "E"!  (It was a little crazy at the moment so no pics of the actual "painting" ha ha!)

So cute!  Look at those little hands!

Happy family!

This painting will be so special for mom to enjoy for years to come.  I love that she can see the involvement of all her kiddos when she looks at it!   It is a perfect addition to the family playroom!  Enjoy!  And thanks to this great family for participating in a very fun project!

Just LOVE it!

What a great project, with GREAT kiddos!  

 Thanks to this great group for a wonderful experience!