Seizing My Day

I can’t take all the credit…
I found the idea  in a magazine

Family Fun magazine I think?

I’d have to get up off the coach to confirm that…

and I am just too darn lazy…

do y’all know that one?

It is great for Families who want to have fun!

Don’t laugh… its True!!

I love it… full of fantastic ideas..

always leading to family fun!!

I spied this project a couple years ago…

tore it out and have waited years for the perfect chance to try it.

or maybe it got lost

in my giant piles of crap stuff I keep for “one day”

and I finally found it again

at JUST the right time!

either way…

Abby’s teacher asked me to pull another art project out of my pocket

A Christmas/Winter theme

Maybe a Christmas present for the mommies and daddies!??

and then I re-found this!!

Whaoooo!!

Wait a minute …

Those are Fall  leaves!

No worries!

I am a rule breaker remember!~

sh…

don’t tell anyone this part…

I don’t break important rules…

breakin little rules like that makes me feel like I am a real rebel!

A rebel without a cause!

anyway…

Pull out some white paper and a marker

Draw a rough sketch of a Christmas~y or Winter~y picture

very very simple picture!

if you are in a hurry trying to make an example

for your kids class the next day because you waited WAY too long

to give it a trial run…

then draw something really half hearted like I did!  =)

I have done a few prettier ones now…

but you will have to wait to see those…

sorry!!

Cut some white fabric …cotton  muslin works great!

Next…

Pull out your glue gun

and “trace” your picture onto the fabric

with the hot glue

Fat glue is better than skinny glue…

this guy had skinny glue…

I think I prefer to lay it on thick!!

Now for the fun part!

Paint.   Acrylic Paint. and Water.

Add water to the paint to thin it

I put my first painting on my cookie sheet…

because the next step is a little sloppy!

The problem came  when I lifted it…

the paint ran a bit…  oops!

so the next few I painted on a brown paper bag…

and never lifted them!

Leave them flat on that brown paper bag

(don’t try newspaper… that could get ugly!)

flat.. from the minute the paint hits the fabric

until they are mostly dry!

TRUST ME

It worked beautifully!

SO ~

Put your hot glued fabric onto the brown paper bag…

and wet it down with your paint brush…

the whole thing…

Water color it with just water

Once it is wet… Start adding  color to your picture!

The colors run into each other a bit

not to worry … they look intentional!

Beautiful Water Color Charm!

I put fine glitter in the white paint…

It helped the white to pop on the picture

I loved it!

Glitter was a huge hit with the girls and the BOYS in my daughters class today!

Um… CONFESSION…

the magazine article actually said to use school glue

I did do one with clear elmers glue….

but then you have to wait 24 hours to paint it!!

and

the article says you soak off the glue after the paint has dried

I didn’t want to risk it.. soaking the finished art?!

and frankly… the hot glue pulls off nicely when the fabric drys.

Hot glue does NOT require  soaking your art in water to scrub it off~!

yikes?!  =)

SO… I left the elmers glue on this picture…

it looks cute with the glue!

Abby made an adorable penguin for her daddy today

when I guided her class through this art project…

if you are fairly new to my blog and you are confused …

I only home school my son…

My little girl is thriving in the public school down the road…

for now!  =)

My pictures do NOT do this art project any justice…

they are Fabulous!!

The 5th graders had a wonderful time ~

despite my nervous teaching that left them all clueless…

In the end I think they all loved the project

and each walked away proud of their fabric water colors!  =)

and teachers were coming in from the halls oooo~ing and aaaah~ing over them!  a couple teachers may steal MY idea *cough* cough* and do it in their classes too!  ha ha!

Can you believe I didn’t manage a single picture while stressing out teaching these 5th grade youngsters this cool art project!?

I will have to sneak back and try to capture a few images!!!

Though I am NOT a teacher of large groups of children… and I am not perfect standing in front of 30 critiquing little minds… and I DO get all nervous and stressed… and I nearly faint when another grown up is listening to me try to fumble my way through instructing a HUGE group of little humans…

I can tell my little girl loves having me come in to “teach” something to her peers…

She has this proud little smile…looking around her classroom… watching them  get excited about something her mommy  showed them…

Rewarding!!  =)  Melts this mommy’s heart!

I prefer small groups…

instructing these art projects are Out of my comfort zone…

but Man Alive… I feel blessed when I am done !  =)

It was a Fabulous way to spend my last day in my 30’s…

Yep…yep… yep…

Its official now…(since I am awake after midnight again!!)

I am cruising down a new road with a new speed limit now

why is the road so dark??   =)

ha ha!!