Marshmallows!

Ben started Kindergarten this week. He loves it, but is having to make a huge adjustment to being gone all day. I miss my little guy. With our last few days of summer break Ben and I started a little project in the kitchen. We made home made chocolate bars one day. Messy! They turned out OK. Another day we made home made marshmallows. So much fun and they turned out perfect. Tomorrow Ben and I will make home made graham crackers. Can you guess what we'll be having for dessert? SMORES!! Why in the world would we bother to make all these things from scratch? I used to bake/cook with Ben all the time and missed those kinds of activities. I also wanted something fun to end his summer break with. I think he was really interested in seeing how these fun foods we usually just buy are made. Can't wait to put all the pieces together and see how they taste.

Beach Vacation Mermaids

I've had a pretty good June this year. Kicking off the month was a relaxing trip to the beach for a week. Jeff and I joined my parents for for some summer fun at our traditional on the beach cabin. I brought along Bristol paper, color pencils, and my microns. Drew and colored lots of paper dolls. Obviously the beach inspired me to make mermaids. Lots of mermaids. These two are Topsail Tammy and Tabitha.

I also have Surf City Sally. I was drinking pina coladas at the time, so she may be a bit off.

And there is this one. I've got nothin' for a name on this one. Feel free to suggest an idea.

Now I'm off to hibernate in the house for the day as we're getting way TOO much sun this week. 106 for today. Baah!

A Few Fun Animals

I found a paper art doll swap that is a continuous thread at ATCs for All. Who ever is up writes a list of paper dolls they would like to receive. You pick one to make and mail to this person. "I'll make you a ______. Now can someone make me a ...?" and so on. I love this. I can make one doll and then go back later and make more if I like, whenever I like. An easier fit to my busy schedule. I've made two now. Here's one. This is Catnip the cat fairy. The plant design on his wings is catnip, cause... you know... cats like that stuff. I haven't made an animal paper doll since I made those rabbits in my header. That was over a year ago. I drew Catnip at the beach and had so much fun I made some bunny fairies as well. No names on these guys. If you have some good ideas, feel free to share.

A Quick Sketch

I should sketch all the time. Just for the practice of drawing. I don't. Instead I get too obsessed with making some perfect finished product. Last night I pulled out a sketchbook and gave myself a couple minutes to draw Kate while she was sleeping. My goal was to not over think what I was doing. So here it is. My not perfect sketch of my 3 month old that doesn't look much like her. I give it a C-. Regardless it was fun and I know I need to do this a lot more often. I'm allowing my busy routine with the kids to become an excuse not to workout that artistic side of my brain. This would have been easy not long ago. Now I'm getting rusty. I'm going to be better. Really I am. Kate is wearing a hat (in the summer - boooo) to keep her grabby hands out of her hair. She keeps pulling it and making herself cry. Then she looks at me like I did it. It's pitiful, but not surprising considering she's a three month old with lots of long hair.

Birthday Crown

I actually have several fun art items to post about, but tonight I only have time for the one. Baby is cranky and I've been hopping busy, so I'm a bit tuckered out as well. I like making crowns for friends' big birthdays. A good friend of mine turned 30 in February and I made her a wire and bead crown. It was awful. There is something about being pregnant that saps that creative part of my brain and I just can't visualize what I want to make. Her birthday came and passed and now, 3.5 months later, I have finished and mailed out my second attempt. (I was hugely pregnant and then busy with a newborn so I refuse to feel too bad about being late) I thought a crazy quilt crown would be fun to make. It turns out making a crazy quilt crown is a LOT of fun. I liked the idea of making a crown that sat on top instead of around one's head. There are jump rings sewn in four places along the bottom for hairpins. I would like to make more. Especially since I figured out how to work around some of the problems I had last time. I'll make a few and have them on hand for the next big birthdays that come along. Wont it feel good to be prepared?

Bittersweet

B had his last day of preschool today. Another 6 weeks and he'll be going to kindergarten!I'm going to miss his company once those half school days turn into full days, but I know he will have a blast going to school with the big kids. B made some really nice friends this year. We wanted to make the last day of school a little more fun for everyone. B made beaded name necklaces and I made a paper action figure for each student in his/her likeness. When I make dolls with B we have to call them "action figures" as the word "doll" offends his sense of boyness. I'm fine with this as "action figures" make them sound more exciting. This is how Ben took his paper friends to school.

Here is a close up. The paper action figure of Ben was made two years ago. Eventually I'll make a new one for Ben. I added this Ben to the bag just for the photo as it didn't seem complete without his likeness.

Enjoying a Pretty Spring Day

Here is baby Kate. So very worth the wait.