Budding artist

I know that I have mentioned in the past that Zion colors very well for her age, but I don't think that I have mentioned the fact that she also draws very well for her age.  Actually, I didn't realize how well she drew until spending time with other three year olds.  She doesn't draw all of the time (she prefers to color), but when she does I am always impressed.  Here is a drawing from a few months ago.

She was driving me batty that afternoon, so I let her loose with a dry erase marker and a white board.  She got quiet, I finished what I was doing and when I looked up again, this is what she's drawn.

This is a drawing that she did today.  She said that is her in her wedding dress and the figure to the right is going to be her husband.  Unfortunately, her husband will have to wait until tomorrow because it was time for her to go to bed (she was not happy that I wouldn't let her finish it).

There really was no explanation for this drawing, but I thought it was pretty darn cute.  It's on the back of her wedding drawing.  Maybe it's the flower girl, but I think it looks very super hero-like.

All in all, not too shabby for a three year old, right?

A Quick and Easy Kid's Gift

A friend of mine has a son who turned six over the weekend and she decided to throw him a little impromptu party at the playground. I, having had four daughters, have absolutely no idea what to get a six year old boy for his birthday. So, I figured I could probably whip something up on the fly before the party. Here's what I came up with.

It was super simple (and free) to make. I just used a Sharpie pen to draw the heads, noses and mouths onto white card stock. I laminated them with some clear contact paper that I had in the craft room. I also cut some mustaches from black craft foam. Then I stuck some magnets (the kind with adhesive on them) to the back of each facial feature (notice the big googly eyes, too). And Voila! Funny face refrigerator magnets! Just tape to head to the fridge and make as many silly faces as you want. Apparently he (and his brothers) are having a grand time making silly faces at home.

Ballet Drawings

So I was asked to do some ballet inspired drawings to have at the girls' ballet performance. Ballet art is not really my thing, so I scoured the internet for some ballet inspiration and did a few drawings. Here they are (I did take them out of the sketchbook to display).

Wooden Block Upgrade for the Kiddos

Our house has an abnormal number of wooden blocks. I think it may be some sort of obsession on my part, but I'm trying to get it under control. It's one of those toys that the kids play with, but not often. So I decided to give some of the plain blocks a little makeover. Here's what I came up with.

I added very simple architectural details with black sharpie. Nothing too complex and there wasn't a lot of emphasis on straight lines or perfect circles.




Maybe the blocks will get a little more use now. They did, at least, play with them this morning.

Future Architect

Anyone who know us, knows that my girls love to draw (and paint and color and make things). Lately, Jena, my eight year old, has had a growing interest in designing her future home. It started with cutesy little drawing of A-frame houses with trees and flowers. This morning I awakened to, "Mommy, this is going to be my house!"

I'm pretty impressed by her floor plan! It will be interesting to see how her architectural skills develop.