Crafty In Cobb

Lewis and I planted some flower seeds 9 days ago and wanted to show off their progess. Look at 'em grow! All it took was a little watering every day and the morning sun. Based on past experience they're going to get bigger but not look especially different for awhile. I'll post next when they're ready for planting outdoors. If you haven't tried planting from seed before it's really easy and seed packs are pretty inexpensive. You don't need a yard either. Just a planter, a sunny spot, dirt, seeds and water. As we all know, in addition to being pretty plants also help oxygenate your home. That's a win-win in my book! Every pod has something growing in it. Very exciting!   These took just over 7 days to show themselves.

Do you like to draw or maybe just like the idea of drawing and don't know where to start? Drawing, like any other skill, is learned. And you have to start from somewhere. I find the best place to start is with simple and colorful shapes. The following post will show you step by step how to make a colorful leaf drawing. There is no pressure to be perfect here. This is a small drawing. It's just a matter of you finding a half hour to an hour of time and some very basic materials. You will need a piece of paper, a ruler, a pencil,  eraser, a black pigment marker (I use Faber Castell but a thin Sharpie is fine) and some color pencils. Do not use a ball point pen as it will smear. Do not use crayons as they will also cause the ink to smear. This drawing will fit a 5x7" mat or frame. Draw a box that's just a bit larger than 5x7" on your paper. Using your pencil draw the shape you see on the left. Erase as needed until you like the shape. Draw two li...

Live in the Atlanta area and want something fun to do next weekend? The High Museum and Woodruff Art Center are hosting a FREE Family Festival from 12-5pm on Sunday, March 13. (Note: Parking is not free and costs $10 if you are not a museum member.) The festival will be celebrating the works of two artists, Vik Muniz and Jean Michel Basquiat. In celebration of these two artists there will a live Haitian musical performance and also Brazilian music (not live from what I can tell, but still probably pretty fun). The live performance will be given at 1 and 2 pm. There will be also be two creative activities for children - art making with unusual materials and kite making. The grounds are quite large and children can fly their kite right on the grounds! Click HERE for the Festival webpage. I don't know much about Vik Muniz but from what I can find his work is quite whimsical and he often chooses unlikely materials to make art. This is something that kids of all ages can wr...

Playing games with your family is a great way to pass an evening. We try to have a "Family Fun Night" once a week, usually on Friday. It usually involves playing games, going out to dinner or watching a movie. Nothing complicated. Yesterday, Lewis discovered the game "Would You Rather..." There are lots of versions of this game and it's easy to keep it age appropriate. Lewis decided to make up his own scenarios and present me and Chris a variety of difficult choices to discuss. Most were totally hilarious and presented the unique point of view of a fairly sheltered 8-year-old boy. I highly suggest trying this. To get you started I'll share some of Lewis' situations. Would you rather get divorced or struck by lightning? Would you rather eat lima beans for a year or be a total moron? Would you rather marry Justin Beaver (yes, that's his spelling) or wear clothes made out of ear wax. (Funny anecdote - Lewis thought Beiber was a made up person...

 I love gardening and want to teach Lewis what little I know about growing plants. I have loads and loads to learn and not everything I do turns out roses. But I keep trying. And what I lack in experience I make up for with enthusiasm. My thought is that I'll eventually get a great garden if I keep working at it. And I'd like to instill the same "can do" attitude in Lewis. Because it's expensive to buy plants that I know that I could very well kill I decided to try seeds last year. Overall I'd say the seeds were a success. Almost everything I planted grew. And now I know not to plant zinnias that will grow 4 feet tall and fall over right by my favorite walking path. So, for the second year in a row Lewis and I are growing seedlings in our kitchen. It's a blast to watch the seeds pop open and then start to grow. And kids love to mist and water seedlings. Lewis also likes a routine and got right into the groove of caring for the little plants last y...

Summer Camp Registration at the Art Place is almost here. As a parent I am a HUGE fan of their summer programs. The summer instructors are experienced and keep the kids busy. The classes are small and often have 2 instructors. Getting in and out of the building and parking lot is easy. It's safe - parents/guardians must sign their kids out at the end of class. There is always some kind of event at the end of the week - either an exhibition or performance so your kids can proudly present what they made all week. Registration for Cobb County residents is March 9. Residents outside Cobb have to wait until March 10. These classes fill up fast. They are very well priced BUT they do not do after-care. If you work full-time these camps will be difficult to coordinate. http://tapmarietta.com/art-camp/ My son Lewis has attended art camps at TAP for the past 3 summers and loves them. Every year there are 3 kinds of camps for children ages 4 and older. Lewis did all 3 last y...

So you have a really good sized picture frame and something to put in... but it just looks so plain. What do you do? You could paint it another color. Easy but still plain. Maybe you want a frame that's more unique but you don't want to pay what a custom framer will charge to make that for you. One very simple way to update a frame is to do decoupage. What is decoupage? Decoupage (pronounced   "dey-koo- pahzh") is the art or technique of decorating something with cut-outs of paper, linoleum, plastic, or other flat material over which varnish or lacquer is applied. (Dictionary.com) Remember this guy?   This colorful collage was demo'd last week. Here's a link to the post: http://craftyincobb.blogspot.com/2016/02/crafty-lion-collage-how-to-make-your-own.html Well, I want to frame it but don't it to be flat and plain. I want it to compliment the artwork. Because it's a paper artwork I've decided to co...