Children and Art

This is my daughter. This is my daughter with a box of her tiny glass beads making bracelets. She just turned 4 but she has been stringing beads on wire since she was two. (No worries I was always with her around small bits.)

I could have gotten those chunky blocky bead toys that help kids learn fine motor skills and not that I don't like those kind of toys or kiddy things, but I see parents just stop there. Little children are like sponges and the learn by doing things hands on. Give children crayons and markers are woderful, but have you ever wondered what they do with more real art supplies?

When I was 8 I asked my mother if I could learn to paint. Everyone told my mom to get me a little paint set and paint by numbers. Which those are fine, but I wanted to learn, really learn how to paint. It took a long time but eventually my mother found me a classes. I remember going to the store to pick out my paint brushes and choosing my real oil paints. It cost a small fortune, but I loved every brush and tube and pencil. I had my ups and downs with paint, but it has been something that stuck around with me and will for the rest of my life. If mom had followed what everyone did by getting cheap paints and paint by numbers I would never had the skill I have today.

My daughter may not become a famous designer of jewelry, but she could if she wanted too. She may make her own jewelry, or become an artist. Or maybe this stringing the beads is starting her skills to be carpenter or a surgeon. Who knows she has a whole world before her. All I know she has finer motor skills working with something that is real.

Don't be afraid to give your kids the real tools to try something.

Until another day

Toodles

Cupcakes!

Its simple. Buy or make your own cupcakes plain and go all out with decorations. I bought mine and just put simple sprinkles on them and played with some ribbon and plates to stage a pretty tasty looking cupcakes.

If you have little ones like I do be aware they will watch you snap pictures of a cupcake like you are an idiot, because cupcakes are for eating, as my little girl repeatedly told me. :P

Don't worry about perfection when you are searching for inspiration in the little things. Find the joy in the little moments, like sprinkles on a cupcake or swirl of the icing. My favorite is the icing on the tips of the noses of my children. :)

Stay creative and inspired!

Mason Jar Centerpieces

Nothing can brighten up a table like a well put centerpieces. They are the center to the wedding tables, the conversation starter in your living room, the piece you give to a friend as a get well. The easiest way to start is with a vase.
But sometimes these centerpieces can be expensive. A pretty vase alone can cost you an arm and a leg. But what do you always have around? Jars. Jars are awesome because they can be created to be wonderful centerpieces for any table.

Recently my local area had me put together the centerpieces for MOPS Extend Your Reach program. With 80 women attending we had to think of something that we could easily put together, that was pretty, well put and didn't cost an arm and leg. Bring your jars! Mason jars or Prego jars or even baby food jars. These glass containers have many uses.

Nothing a little painting change up. Take your brush and some cheap paint and have at it. Pinterest is chock full of ideas. These jars I simple got cheap paint from Walmart. (The 50 cent stuff.) With a brush I painted on a few layers and got beautiful colorful jars. Some of them I got spunky enough to put a layer of Mod Pog over it and sprinkled glitter all over it.

But don't just stop at the jar add something of interest. Use fake flowers or make your own with coffee filters. I did this one with coffee filters I dyed pink. (Watered down cheap walmart paint.) Then I took an old book and painted it to give it characters. Don't be afraid to try something like painting the covers of old books as well. If you have the tools I would slice your own wood pieces and paint those as well.
 Have fun with it.

Until another day.
Toodles.

The Finer Things

At my little shop we have a man who comes around in his red truck selling different things on a daily basis. He is quite a character and he says the most catchiest (is that even a word?) phrases. One of those phrases is "Remembering the finer things in life." 

Something about that phrase keeps popping in my head. "The finer things in life" are things or situations we take advantage of  and forget about...well finer things. Like how we are so used to fast or instant food, we forget how tasty a home cooked meal can be. The finer things are the little things in life we rarely see. A well make quilt, a family heirloom, wild flowers in jars, just the simple things.

My husband and I escaped from the kids for the weekend to Branson, MO. The town is wonderful. The food delicious and shows amazing. Yet the one thing that bothered me were are the "touristy" type stores. "Branson" t-shirts, mugs and magnets hidden away in large buildings that advertise "Souvenirs" with a neon sign. While I enjoy the cheesy souvenirs, I was determined to find something a little more special to remind me of our weekend trip. Staying at a Victorian inspired hotel that served afternoon tea, I wanted to find a tea cup, a real antique tea cup. 

After many shops, it wasn't until we found a little thrift shop on a back wood road did we find the tea cup. 

Of course I had to take a picture of it with flowers! I wish had taken good pictures with me using it, but I sadly didn't get any. :( But it is just as pretty without tea. Its a delicate cup an saucer, gilded with gold and hand painted tiny roses. Today we grab our paper cups from Starbucks and off we go ignoring the finer things in life. 

We forget how beautiful use to serve a purpose. Use to be enjoyed instead of stored in a back closet or behind the glass in a china cabinet that is never opened. 

Not that we can suddenly stop time and go back to the past. But maybe do something in your daily life that slows you down and enjoy some of the finer things in life. Enjoy some fresh brewed tea in a tea cup. Go out and pick fresh flowers down the street, or just go for a walk, when you usually spend time on Facebook. 

Stay Creative and Inspired.

Nata

Escape to Art

Everyone had some darkness in their life. Sometimes is small and short lived. Sometimes it can consume their entire life, or maybe it was an epic battle that left you with deep scars. As a child growing up I faced many dark places. I wish I could go into detail. I wish I could share more of my child hood, but parts of me are not ready for that yet. Just know that their were certain areas that I wish could have been different. I wish they could have been better. However, those rough areas of my life growing up, help mold me into that person I am today. They pushed me to the world of art, which became such a huge part of my life.

As a child, I couldn't control much of my life. I was pushed in directions, that I knew in my heart was not meant for me. Yet when I was able to paint, it was my escape. I could make and create anything with my own hands. Yes, I still had rules, but rules on how to create something for the effect I wanted in a painting or how to properly secure a necklace. There were not rules on what I could not create. I could go anywhere, I could make anything.

When the world I lived in seemed to be crashing upon me I would turn my blank canvas and paint something else. For a time, my family fell on hard time. They could not afford to by me canvas. So what did I do? I went a found wood boards and kept painting. I took every blank of piece of paper I could snatch and paint something.  Now that I am older and look back to those dark places, I know they help create me.

In a painting, you can't have have all bright colors and light without the darkness to form the details. You need the harsh lines, or the shadowing, or the opposite color which makes the light brighter. The details fuller.

These are just my thoughts for today.

Inspire and Create