From Farm to Gallery: Creating A Seasonal Still Life

Permanent Marker and Watercolor Still Life

With all the beautiful fall produce this time of year, it’s the perfect time to set up a still life.  We had a bunch of colorful peppers in our CSA box* this week, so I let the boys divvy them up and choose an art medium.  Please note that the peppers in this post are spicy!  I did most of the handling and were careful to have my little ones wash their hands after touching the peppers!  My younger son chose to draw his own rendition of the peppers using an ultra-fine permanent marker and then filled in the colors with watercolor paint.  Some colors were observational and some from his imagination.  I did get him to take notice of the shadows and he added them quite nicely I thought!

Chalk Pastel Still Life

My older son, who can be a bit of a perfectionist, started drawing with pencil so he could erase any mistakes and then filled in the color with chalk pastels.  He added a little surrealist spin by filling in the background with blue so they looked like they were floating in the sky.  It was fun to start from the same subject then branch out, seeing how different each piece of artwork became.  

Never having bought or eaten Hungarian wax peppers I adapted a recipe with things I had on hand.  They were pretty good, a little spicy for the boys, but fun to transform them from the art subject to a side dish.  The recipe for cheese stuffed wax peppers can be found below.

Find some seasonal fall produce and let your creative little hearts set up their own still life.  Pumpkins, apples and mums are easy to find and offer lots of colorful possibilities! 

Our Still Life Gallery

Spicy Cheese Stuffed Hungarian Wax Peppers
Substitute sweet peppers for a milder dish

12 peppers, seed and pith removed
1 c. cottage cheese
¼ c. parmesan cheese
1 egg
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
dash garlic powder
¼ c. shredded mozzarella cheese
drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray.  Cut off the tops of the peppers and remove seeds and pith.  In a small food processor combine cottage cheese through mozzarella cheese and process just to combine.  Place in a zip top storage bag and snip the corner with kitchen sheers.  Fill each pepper and place on prepared sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake 30-40 minutes until cheese is hot and peppers are golden. (notice I didn't say they were particularly pretty after baking;)

* Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer.  Each week CSA shareholders pick up a box of fresh produce.  This creates a closer relationship between the food you eat and the farmer who grows it.  It also sometimes exposes you to new vegetables.  

Wax Resist Watercolor Postcards

I love taking some art supplies when we go on our family vacation each summer.  This year we combined watercolors with a little wax resist to create postcards to mail back to our friends.  It was a hit!  (An added bonus: it gave our budding first grader a chance to practice his writing skills too.)  We drew things we saw at the lake or on hikes using crayon.  Some of our favorite subjects were water lilies, kayaks, turtles, ducks and misty white waterfalls.  Once your subject is drawn (using a good amount of pressure on the crayon to build up a waxy layer) paint in the water using a wet on wet technique.  Just brush a thin coat of water over the whole area where you want paint color, load the brush with watercolor and dab it onto the wet paper.  Then watch the colors spread and mix creating beautiful reflective water without sticking to the wax crayon, it’s like magic!

Materials:
Watercolor Paper Postcards (you can buy them precut or cut your own 4”x6” rectangles)
Crayons
Paint Brushes
Shallow Container for Water
Watercolor Paint
Pen
Postcard Stamps

The Birthday Party Gift Dilemma

Cheetah racer tag was a big hit! 
The kids took home their tails
as a party favor.

Focus on the Fun!

Last year we held our first official birthday party for our son with all his friends from preschool.  It was a blast.  I loved planning it since I had done birthday parties for kids at a local art center before he was born and it was even more fun to do a party for my own child.  But when it came to gifts I had a dilemma.

Like many American households we suffer from an overabundance of stuff.  I struggle to keep the toys from overwhelming our modestly sized home and the thought of bringing more toys into the house seemed distressing.  So we opted to have a “no gifts please” policy, figuring that we needed to establish this for his first party so that he and his younger brother would expect that to be the norm for our family.  I would have loved to have him choose a charity and ask for donations toward that in lieu of gifts, but he didn’t really warm up to the idea and I didn’t want to force it on him so instead we just did “no gifts”.

We had the party in the early afternoon and followed it with a family gathering at our house where he opened gifts from mom and dad and Grandma and Grandpa etc.  You get the picture, the kid was not deprived.  I included him in all the party planning; he helped choose the theme, plan the games, picked out cupcakes with plastic ring decorations he loved, and had a piñata that he desperately wanted. 

I had a few conversations with parents reassuring them that yes, we really did mean no gifts and we really were okay with it and so was our son.  Some thought it was great and wished they’d thought to do it too, others felt awkward.  Some slipped us gift cards which was nice of them and yet, it wasn’t that we wanted to pick out the stuff he got it was that he really didn’t need anything.



I created a "spot $5" graphic in the style
of the theme for the party to go on the invitations.

Then I had a conversation with a friend who had struggled with the same thing and done something different.   She’d seen in a magazine something called a “Spot 5” birthday.  Party guests were asked to bring a card with a five dollar bill inside.  The money given at the party was then split and half was given to a charity and the other half was combined for the birthday child to spend at a toy store.  They sent out a thank you card with a picture of the child in front of the store holding his new toy and a picture of him handing a check to the woman at their local pet shelter, which was the charity he had chosen to give to.  How smart is that!  The guests don’t have to feel guilty for not bringing a gift, the child is not deprived and my house doesn’t explode at the seams!  My friend said she actually had people thanking her since in early grades kids often invite the entire class and going to 20 or even 30 parties in a year can add up to a hefty amount. 

click here for my tutorial on making personalized postcards

We planned a spot five birthday party for this spring and it went wonderfully!  No one questioned our request; no one felt pressure to slip us gift cards.  My son and I decorated a shoebox with a slot in the lid where his guests slipped cards that they had made or bought.  My son had a blast opening his birthday cards, adding up the money and splitting it between his spending fund and his charity.  He chose to make a donation to nothing but nets which provides bed nets to protect families in Africa from contracting malaria carried by mosquitoes.  The trip to the toy store was a blast.  He perused the aisles before selecting a variety pack of hot wheels track and several race cars for it. 

This was a wonderful alternative to asking for no gifts; allowing guests the opportunity to come to the party with something to give to the birthday kid, preventing an influx of toys and giving an opportunity to teach your child about giving to a worthy cause. 

I hope more people hear about this awesome idea so spread the word and perhaps plan a “spot 5” party for your child!  If you do, let me know how it goesJ

Earth Day Themed Lunch

This morning when I asked my son what he’d like for lunch he said, “I wish I could have an Earth Day themed lunch.  Mom, can you think about that?”  At first I thought: what?! I meant do you want grape jelly or strawberry jam on your PB&J?  But this is what I ended up making for him in a pinch.

Ingredients:

I mini whole wheat bagel
2 wedges of spreadable cheese (or dollops of cream cheese)
blue and green food coloring
mayo
turkey deli meat

Reserve a corner of the cheese to be left white for the arctic and Antarctic.  In separate bowls mix in 2 drops of green food coloring into one wedge of cheese and 2 drops of blue in the other.  Spread one half of the bagel with blue colored cheese and then dab the green colored cheese to look like continents.  Dab the reserved white cheese on the north and south poles.  Spread the other half of the bagel with a little mayo and place a piece of deli meat on top – Pack in a reusable container (it is Earth Day after all)  open faced so your child can see the decorated bagel. 

Branching Out With Some Observational Drawing

My son and I set aside a beautiful spring afternoon for some observational drawing.  Our subject: Trees.  Spring is the best time of year for this since the weather is warming up and the buds are just beginning to pop in our neighborhood.  Without the leaves, you can really see the structure of the tree. 

My son chose his artistic media, oil pastels.  I attached a piece of heavy paper to a clip board and we ventured outside with our camp chairs.  If you don’t have folding chairs available an alternative, that also works great for groups, is to put a folded newspaper into a plastic grocery bag and you are good to go!  It’s waterproof, inexpensive and portable!

I sat with my son in our front yard and we talked about what we saw.  Where is the thickest part of the tree?  Where is the thinnest?  Notice how the branches divide and new branches grow?  I keep it light with minimal instruction.  I mostly ask questions to get him started in making his own observations.  I am intentional about pointing out what I see on the tree, not what he needs to do on his paper.  We are not striving for photorealism here.

To celebrate spring, I encourage you to take your little ones outside to observe the wonders of nature and create some masterpieces of your own! 

Sugarless Easter Basket Ideas

 (that are just as sweet!)  

 I’m not a complete scrooge when it comes to candy and sugar, but I know that my kids will accrue plenty of sweets between church and Grandma’s house on Easter Sunday.  They really don’t need me to give them chocolates and candy too.  Do they really need a mountain of sweet treats that will last until Halloween?  There are lots of fun alternatives to sugary treats like outdoor toys, art supplies, gardening tools and bath items.  This year I plan to fill plastic Easter eggs with puzzle pieces in lieu of chocolates. As they find their eggs they can put the puzzle together and when the puzzle is complete, they’ll know when they’ve found all the eggs! (I’ve found that pieces from a 48 piece puzzles are the right sized to fit a jumbo plastic egg.  Oh, and I’m going to put more than one piece in each egg!) 

Below are a few lists I’ve compiled plus some project tutorials for chalkboard paint flower pots and felted soap eggs that you can do to surprise your little ones on Easter morning.   

Felted Egg Shaped Soap

(not for little ones who are allergic to wool)
Felting Wool is fast and fairly easy.  Wool roving is available at most craft stores now, it is wool that has been cleaned, carded and dyed but not spun into yarn.  Felting wool is an amazing process.  Seriously, it’s like magic!  The fibers are transformed by heat and friction.  As you gently rub the wool with warm water tiny barb like structures interlock (think Velcro) and the process shrinks the material until it mats together into an entirely new medium.  I made one on a plain bar of soap for myself and love it!  It’s great for gently exfoliating and I will be totally ready for flip flips when the weather finally decides to warm up!  The felted soap is nice for kids because it’s a little easier to grip and the bright colors make them easier to find in the tub.

I started this project by making my soap into an egg shape.  I grated one bar of my family’s favorite soap.  Then I divided it in half, sprayed it with warm water and pressed it together to form the shape I wanted.  I got two, life sized, eggs out of one bar of soap.  I let my soap dry over night before continuing the project. 

The next day I started by pulling the fibers of wool roving apart.  Do this by grasping the wool with my hands about 5-6 inches apart and pulling.  (If the fibers don’t pull apart easily your hands are too close together.)  Then using small pieces of the wool I covered the soap with thin layers, criss-crossing them in different directions, until there was a layer of wool in an even thickness (about an inch thick) around the whole thing.  (You shouldn’t be able to see the soap through the fibers or you’ll have holes in the felt.)  Then I put my hand into a nylon knee high or cut off portion of panty hose, gripped the wool covered soap gently with my hand in the toe of the nylon and pulled the nylon inside out over the soap encasing the soap inside.  I wrapped the excess nylon around the soap and set in a bowl of very warm water (not too hot to touch) for about five to ten minutes. 

Then I gently massaged the soap, (imagine it’s a fragile egg), by rolling and spinning it around in my palms and changing directions every so often. 

After about 5 minutes I carefully removed the stocking.  Some of the wool fibers migrated through the nylon.  Gently, I pulled them back through and continued the felting process in my hands.

At this point I used more pressure, without the stocking.  Occasionally, remember to dip the soap into the hot water to keep the temperature from cooling too much.  Once it was complete the wool was snug and did not shift around over the soap.  Let it air dry.  This project is easy enough to do with a child or is great as an easter basket stuffer.



Flower Hooded Towel Available at
www.bybrookye.etsy.com

Chalkboard Flower Pots

I tried a fairly inexpensive recipe for chalk board paint and mixed up three bright colors in glass lidded jars.  I used the recipe below to paint 10”diameter terracotta pots.  Be sure to seal the inside of the pot to prevent moisture from seeping through and causing your paint to bubble and peel! (Apply a few thin coats of Thompson's Water Seal which is specifically formulated for sealing terra cotta pots so they can be painted.)  The kids will get these as Easter baskets this year along with a pack of marigold seeds, some gardening tools and cute gardening gloves.  I’m going to write their names on the pot with chalk for Easter Morning, but a swipe with a wet cloth will clean it away and then they can draw and write whatever they choose. 

Tractor Cake Pan Repurposed

Our friend’s son turned four years old yesterday.  When we were invited to the party I asked what we could bring.  The answer: a veggie tray. "And", her husband added, “make it blog worthy.”  I laughed and had no intention of making it blog worthy, until I went to assemble the tray.  My beloved plastic dollar store veggie and dip platter has been MIA since our last youth group potluck and so I had to think of what else I could use to transport it.  Then I thought, he loves tractors… maybe I could arrange the veggies into a tractor shape?  That's when it hit me, I had a tractor shaped cake pan used from my boys first birthdays!  So, I dug it out of storage and got to work.  It was a big hit.  The next time you are asked to bring a veggie tray, consider the shaped cake pan, formally thought of as a uni-tasker. 



Empty cake pan awaiting a new life!



A little creamcheese served as cement to level out the
surface for the container of dip and keep it from sliding




Another alternative would be to hollow out a
bell pepper and use it to contain the dip!




Small black olives make the wheels.




Roughly cut the veggie sticks to fit the space.




Colorful finished product



Dill Dip:

2 1/2 tsp dill weed
2 1/2 tsp dried minced onion
2 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp beau monde seasoning

Mix dry ingeredients with 1 cup mayonaise and 1 cup sour cream.

Veggies: baby carrots, celery, small white mushrooms, small black olives (1 1/2 cans), red and orange bell peppers, grape tomatoes, and cucumber.

cream cheese to hold dip container in place.