We might be reading Hera too many books (just two or three a day) as she has started narrating what she is doing! The last couple weeks, Hera has been ending most things she says with “said Mommy.” She says things like: “Have a glass of water, said Horton the Elephant?” or “I go to the library, said Mommy?” Hmmm, might have to crack the playdough out more often.
Eeeeee! So excited, my copies of Riley’s Lost Tooth (Written by Diane Cantrell, Illustrated by moi) arrived in the post! Hera was right into them, opening up each one up, flipping through the pages, then declaring “The End.” I’m really pleased with how they’ve turned out, Brown Books did a great job. Riley’s Lost Tooth now available online at Amazon.com. Book launch party in San Antonio is planned for March 27th… I’ll post details later!
I’ve just started on a new painting for our living room from a photo we took in Mumbai, India three years ago (below.) I’m working with acrylic as they are safer to work with around my toddler than oils. And we can share so setup isn’t a big deal – a squirt of paint for Hera, and a squirt of paint for Mommy! The only challenge is keeping Hera from helping me paint my painting, hee hee. The lovely thing about working in acrylic is it dries so quickly, so I’m able to hang it right back up on the wall and be able to consider my next “moves” between paint sittings.
As you can see, after about 40 minutes Hera was tuckered out, so was a very short & sweet painting time!
Tip : Something I learned from Kiff Holland while in college, painting your canvas a bold colour to prime it gives you a fun surface to work on. As you paint over top, leave little flecks of the original bright colour peeking through here and there to give some zing to your painting!
It’s Hera’s 2nd birthday today, and we celebrated with a Mad Hatter style Tea Party this past weekend. During the week Hera & I had fun getting ready for her party by making the decorations and games together. You forget how much fun it is being a kid, and preparing for the party together made for a fun week of baking and crafting!
(P.S. For parents out there looking for gift ideas for 2-year-old girls, tea sets are a hit!)
There are some amazing ideas out there for Alice in Wonderland themed parties… Lenny’s Alice in Wonderland site is where I got most of my ideas from, and has soooo many more ideas for Mad Tea Parties and games, it’s well worth a look through for any Alice fan! And The Long Thread has some more beautiful tea party ideas, and has downloads of old-school Alice in Wonderland graphics made into party hats, invitations and garlands.
To share the love of Mad Tea Parties, here are the games we played and how we made them…
Deck of cards party hats : Decorate party hats by taping on cards from an old deck to the fronts. Green Tip : Save the party hats and cards and use them again!
How to make tissue paper roses : This was surprisingly easy. Simply cut out from tissue paper small hearts (about 2.5 inches tall) and larger hearts (about 4 inches tall.) Take 3 small hearts and twist them together, fluffing a little. Repeat. Then add 3 large hearts, twist together, and shape with your fingers. Repeat. When they are large enough, hold the rose and use a pipe cleaner to twist around the base of the heart. Crepe paper also works well, though the tissue paper is a little translucent so it makes them look more real. Green Tips : This is a great way to use up ripped or leftover tissue paper from gifts. And save the little trimmings for stuffing gift bags.
Pin the Grin on the Cheshire cat : The silly grin of the cheshire cat floating around in the air is captured aptly with this blindfold game! Draw the cat on craft paper that has been taped down to a board, and let your kids colour it in before the party (or even during the party!) Then draw some silly grins on printer paper and cut them out. Make sure to make any adults at the party play a round!
Painting the Roses Red : This game is based on the story where the Spades accidentally planted the wrong coloured roses, and the Queen likes them red… so they’re painting the roses red, or it’s off with their heads! This is a messier game, but a lot of fun. To set up and play : Draw the roses on craft paper and tape them down to a board. Then let your kids colour them in before the party. At the party, divide the kids & adults into teams, give them each a can with a little watered down red paint in the bottom, and a few paint brushes… and have fun! You can even send the finished masterpieces home with your guests. Green Tips : Wash the paintbrushes well and reuse the paintbrushes and cans again and again.
We often go camping on the Murray River in Berri, SA at Bookie Cliffs… the water’s as brown and murky as can be, but being the only fresh water to swim in around here, not to mention the beautiful red and yellow cliff face, it’s a welcome change of scenery. Last weekend when we made the trip again, I brought along my watercolours and managed to squeeze in an hour long study of the cliffs. I don’t get many chances to study landscapes on site, was fun making the most of Hera’s naptime! After that, Hera was very keen to “paint” with mommy on the beach, and that I paint “e mama bear e baby bear” holding “hands.” I even had a bit of fun sketching her while she enthusiastically flipped through my Australian bird guide…. until she noticed that what I was doing was more interesting than what she was doing and insisted that I draw her “hand,” which I was all to happy to oblige.
Hera has been thoroughly enjoying her new Honeysticks, one of the earth friendly crayons on my eco-art supply list. You can’t go wrong with crayons that smell like honey! A box of 12 Honeysticks is available for AU$12.95 over at TreeFrogToys.com.au (who, by the way, shipped surprisingly fast and provided friendly correspondence.)
What makes them environmentally friendly? “They are handmade made from New Zealand beeswax and non-toxic pigments so they are natural and safe for children. The beeswax used in Honey Sticks is a natural by-product of honey production. The sustainable process causes minimal impact on the environment and gives the crayons a wonderful scent of honey.” –TreeFrogToys.com.au
For Kids : These beeswax crayons are a joy to use… my toddler loves to smell them, stand them up in a row (they are very chubby!) and scribble to her heart’s content. The colours are bright and easily colour (i.e. obliterate) anything you have delicately drawn below. And because they are so chunky, they don’t break like regular crayons easily do… your kid would have to bash them with a hammer to do any dammage… which I think makes up for their higher price point.
For Professionals : Hmm, any pros out there who use crayons in their work? If so you may want to give these a go, their width makes them easy to hold and colour on their wide edges.
I finished colouring a few more ink illustrations for my diary of Hera’s outfits. Enough distractions, back to drawing turtles for Spotty & Eddie!
A month on from first introducing pencils, crayons & markers to my little girl, I’ve realized I’ve created a colouring monster! Last night I first noticed that she hasn’t played with any of her toys for the last four days… just happily sits and scribbles. Funnily enough, when her crayola markers aren’t out she gathers to herself all the graphite pencils, leaving the colourful ones scattered about. It’s been intriguing watching a little one learn how to use the pencils… progressing from side to side scribbling, to big round circles around them, to carefully drawing little circles imitating mummy drawing on the paper (bottom).
Here is another of the new illustrations I’ve completed for my diary of Hera’s outfits… a simple graphite pencil drawing, with a colour layer tinted over top in Photoshop.
I’ve been busy the last few weeks working on revisions for Spotty & Eddie’s latest adventure, as well as designing the layout for Riley’s Lost Tooth. In between my creative banter with the two lovely authors I’m working with, I’ve been doodling a few more outfits for my diary of Hera’s outfits. More to come!
