Claire and I made this together. I set it up, she sprinkled stuff on it (confetti, sequins, jewels, feathers), squirted glitter glue, and I finished it off. Contact paper is wonderful stuff!
A few days later I made a quick collage in a few spare moments in my art journal. I call it “Store Up Treasures in Your Heart”; it’s on 7 x 9 inch sketch paper. I’m attempting to make a little time more frequently for my own creating.
We continue to create our way through the alphabet!
Piano and pennies…
Feeling quiet on the blog these days. Did a painting on a 24×36″ canvas — my first one. All that blank white canvas felt a bit daunting, but I did enjoy mooshing paint around. I also used oil pastel on details.
Claire and I are getting into the spirit of the next holiday:
And we are continuing to create our way through the alphabet!
We’ve had an abundant crop of Meyer lemons (as well as other lemons and oranges). I usually juice them and freeze them in cubes. But this time I wanted to preserve some and use them for later cooking. I made four jars. It was simple, and making them was such pleasure. They are gorgeous!
One day, about a week ago, Claire desperately wanted to celebrate a birthday. She wanted it to be hers, and she cried a bit over the fact that it wasn’t. But she wanted cake and to sing the song. So I did a little research for a literary figure born on that day. I found the poet, Helen Hoyt, was born on the day in question. We explored the poetry a little at the Poetry Foundation, and I baked each of us a little cake. We sang happy birthday to her. We’ll be doing that again, I’m sure!
Lastly, I bought fresh gnocchi on a whim. I didn’t have a tomato sauce to use, and I wanted to do something different with it. So I sauteed zucchini in olive oil with basil and a few sliced preserved Meyer lemons. I really enjoyed it, but two-thirds of the household diners did not like it as much. One said the lemon made it bitter. I’ll need to find other uses for the lemon.
So, if you’ve been wondering why I’ve been quiet here since January 19th, this post is your answer!
I forgot to post last week’s alphabet craft. So here are the letters M and N.
M is for mountains and marshmallows
N is for numbers and noodles
Outside my window… The sky is clear and stellar.
I am thinking… that I need to stop procrastinating and clean the kitchen.
I am thankful for… my daughter, who asked to sing along with a folk song CD and book collection today.
From the kitchen… I made white bean chili today.
I am wearing… goosebumps. It’s chilly here!
I am creating… time and space in my life for more art and knitting.
I am going… to start reading a new book, probably At Home by Bill Bryson.
I am reading… at this very moment, nothing. I just finished The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
I am hoping… Claire is well enough to attend preschool tomorrow. She has a small cold.
I am hearing… Stella, my cat, purring in my right ear as she snuggles behind my head on the couch.
Around the house… we really need to vacuum! But ours is broken and at the repair shop.
One of my favorite things… is cuddling with my daughter.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Preschool, crafts with Claire, starting a painting.
Here is picture I am sharing…
Hub gave me a new camera for Christmas. I’m learning to use it, and here is something I did today.
A serendipitous moment last Saturday resulted in this photo of a kiss:
Our Christmas preparations are carried out with great enthusiasm and anticipation. Age three is a wonderful time for the magic of the season.
Friday was a pouring rainy day, perfect for crafts. We did several, including our alphabet crafts. We’re almost halfway through the alphabet. J is for jewels and jaguar!
We made a simple craft today, a list of what Claire is thankful for. I wrote them down as dictated. Note the last item on the list. Also note that if it weren’t for my prompting, “Are you thankful for me?” I wouldn’t have made the cut. (I do feel a tinge of chagrin/shame that I manipulated myself onto the list.)
Earlier this year I made colored rice for Claire to play with. She played with it a lot outdoors last summer, and it had faded and gradually thinned out as it got scattered about. So I made more this week (along with small batches and dyed noodles for crafts). For a burst of color, see below.
Claire started this by drawing branches with a green marker. Then we went to town with glue (I helped squeeze) and she chose what to put where and put stuff all over. We’re doing a lot of crafts lately, especially because Hub is out of town and we are together almost 24/7 (except for sleep).
Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.
–Stanley Horowitz
Leaf turkey with leaves from our yard!
Turkey apple made in preschool!
Letter I (Island) and i (ice cream) crafts…
Indian Corn
Paper Bag Town 1
Paper Bag Town 2
