Corralling kids with crafts

     A long rainy weekend sitting three youngsters meant clearing quilting goodies which have taken over the extra bedrooms. Joe took them to see their new empty house where they romped and found nooks and hiding places. He stopped off at Ben Franklin for fill-in crafts. We watched A Dog of Flanders, wonderful movie with a Rubens connection.

      The girls seem to love their portraits. Joe had made and painted 2 1/2" deep frames. They got busy with their bracelet makers:  a Rainbow Loom that uses rubber bands and a Native American bead loom. David zoomed his airplane but joined the girls for a painting session. Joe took them to the park and to feed the bird next door. Tonight we have a pizza candlelight dinner on the deck : o )

 
 
       I chose to string the Native American bead loom for Hannah. There is a certain brand of children's toys/crafts that is annoying for using inadequate materials. However, it was a good lesson in teaching that artists never give up. Not only was the enclosed string knotted up, but the bead loom was braced only by lots of scotch tape. I persisted. Hannah had fun weaving a bead bracelet and taught Erika as well. Erika made the rubber band bracelets on the Rainbow Loom. You can see that Hannah has quite a collection of those rainbow bracelets as well, if you click on the photo to enlarge.

        Then off to the studio. There I accidentally came upon old T-shirts Joe had saved for me to cut up into oil painting wipe rags. They made super comfy smocks. I have always been a sucker for cute little artist smocks but the children love these best. I turned them loose with my acrylics from the Klimt kit, a tube of gold paint,  good brushes, and three canvases each. Hannah and Erika also painted wooden book boxes. I can almost stand up straight. Only one more day and they visit their new schools before returning home to pack.

 P. S. A super painter's tip is find large disposable bed pads and lay the waterproof blue side on the table or across the lap. They  keep the surface clean or waterproof and brushes can be wiped on the white absorbant side! One served three children working at this table in the studio.