Hey Homeschoolers! How about Art?

left to right: my 7 yrs.old, my 10 yrs. old, and my 13 yrs. old

Hey fellow homeschoolers! I thought you might like to see what we have been up to in art. I have to brag on these three kids of mine- I am so in love with their artwork. Each one put such care and effort into making these masterpieces! Don't you just love them?

We are studying 3 artists every six weeks. This first one I'm sure you can recognize ...Vincent Van Gogh. We created 2 of his paintings trying to emulate his techniques. Wheat Fields and Cypresses was done in acryilic paint and texture medium and Starry Night was done on dark navy color paper and oil pastels.

Girls Gone Thread Wild project #2

Prayer for a Cure

I had the greatest time this week. I love it when an inspiration finally becomes the tangible! Often when I create I see it in my mind's eye, I like this process and I am given many good ideas
this way. However, it does have a downfall, sometimes it is hard to get away from this idea too.

I have had the materials for this project from Monica Magness for a while but I sat ruminating on these "other images" for a few months, needless to say life got in the way and I wasn't able to get to my idea right away.

This really turned out to be a blessing! Because what I had in mind was completely different than what I ended up with! Gotta love that! This 10in. x 10in. block has a totally different color scheme, less complicated design, just enough detail. Frankly, I like this creation much better than the original inspiration!

Detail of tag with glitter

This not only has material but also paper decoupaged to it, a paper tag, ribbon, scraps of lace, and buttons, a safety pin, stamped material(wings and crown) glitter, beads and trim.

I also discovered another thing... I have been missing my sewing machine! Boy was it fun to get my stitches and threads out and start playing. Different materials and textures! I really like velvet and canvas together, who knew?

Girl Time Tidbit #5 Making A Doll's House

This summer I have had the great pleasure of watching myself create as a little girl. What do I mean by that? Keep reading and it will become clear. My daughter was inspired by a book I had purchased for summer reading. A Doll's House by Rumber Godden, this book was the inspiration for a great adventure: she began the wonderful project of building her own doll house.

At first, I began to hear hammering and pounding and all sorts of sound coming from the back porch. I realized that it was my daughter and when asked what she needed a saw for she sweetly replied," Well, to cut the eves for the roof to my doll house." To which I casually answered," Oh but of course, wait...WHAT?"

So, using the time tested tactic of diverting to a higher authority, I sent her on to her Dad, obviously. Tools of that nature are his and permission must come from the top. Being a clever man and knowing his daughter very well, he had the good sense to urge her to unite her efforts and use a much better material for doll houses...cardboard boxes, what a brilliant man!

It was a hard sell, but she complied after working pretty hard and conning her littlest brother into helping, like any good Fore-woman will do, to hold the board she was trying to saw. Finally, she decided that maybe cardboard would be a better option and really, it had already been two days and not much progress had been made on this wonderful design.

That's when it happened for me. Sometimes we forget the simple joys of our childhood. Our memories are clouded with the worry and obligations of adulthood. Then when you least expect it, a memory is triggered and you transport to the recesses of your mind to a place of joy and creativity.

There I was on my four poster bed with scissors, tape, crayons, material scraps, and found treasures, creating and sewing. The autumn sun streaming in the upstairs window of my pink carpeted room. There in that place, wonderful things were imagined and all things were possible. And yes... I was making a doll house!

Mine was smaller in scale and used only one shoebox. I created mine with the opening up so that you looked down into the rooms from the ceiling. I made little towels for the bathroom and use tinfoil for the mirror. There were curtains on every window and a golden bead for the front door handle. I used matchboxes for drawers and spools with a cardboard cut circle glued on top for the kitchen table. It even had a table cloth on it where acorn cap bowls were the table setting. In the living room there were rugs on the floor and chairs made from bottle caps and twisted wire. There was even a fireplace in the corner, which looked more like a bonfire pit than a fireplace, how sweet.

What wonderful things to remember.

I love to see the Lord bring me full circle in that way. Often it happens when I am too serious about things. If you know me well, you know I love a good surprise and this is one that caught me off guard. It warms my insides and makes me smile really big, to know that my daughter is experiencing that wonderful time of life, just like I did, called girlhood.

Father in Heaven, thank you that I have eyes to see your lessons for me. I am so grateful for the pleasures you brought to me as a child. Thank you for reminding me of my girlhood and all its sweetness.

You are a wonder to me Lord, Amen