There are all sorts of good things happening over on my new blog.  Be sure to come over for a visit really soon.  Here's a glimpse of what I'm sharing:

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It's almost time for the new year!  I thought I would share a quick round-up of my most popular blog posts for 2012.  You know, just in case you missed them!

#5 Felt Food Waffles: Get the tutorial here.

#4  MP3 Fabric Sling: A great crafty idea if getting on the treadmill is in your new year's resolutions!  Find the tutorial here.

 

#3 Baked Donuts: This one is also one of my most popular Pinterest Boards! Here's the post.

 

#2 Fabric Draft Blocker: If you are getting Winter storms right now, you may want to check this one out!  You can find the tutorial here.

 

#1 Puppet Theater Tutorial: I love this one too!  Here's the link.

So I guess you like crafty ideas the best.  I'll try to come up with plenty of them in 2013 for you. And you'll miss them if you don't start coming over to my new blog!  Gasp!  Hurry and mark my new page today!
 

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I'm over at my new blog, www.laurabraydesigns.com and I'm missing a lot of my regular blog readers!  I know that many of you remembered to follow me via a RSS feed, will you please come over to the new blog and add me to your list?  Here's just a few things you have been missing!

You can see my living room remodel!

You can get my tips for surviving the stomach flu!

You can get a tutorial to make this cute holiday headband!

There's lots more good stuff over there, so please come over and start visiting me on the new blog (it's prettier anyway). 

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My blog has moved!  I will no longer be posting here.  Please come and visit me on my new blog at:

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Jellyfish Journal Page by Laura Bray

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about my work and creativity.  I've moved into a new phase and I am trying to avoid letting others' creativity inspire me.  I want to be inspired at a more organic level. 

It's a hard thing to do in today's world, to not be inspired or influenced by what everyone else is doing.  Pinterest, blogs, and Facebook are wonderful eye candy, but lately I feel like they are filling my head with too much imagery and, when I go to my studio to create something unique, it takes a long time for me to push through everything before I can find something truly original to create.

It makes me think about the painters and artisans of long ago.  You couldn't see what your crafty friend was up to in Germany.  You couldn't jump on the computer.  Books weren't even readily available.  Nature was a huge inspiration and then there was just pure imagination.  They say nothing is "new" anymore.  Is that true?  Or is it just too hard to get past all the influence we are barraged with on a daily basis?  Or has this always been problem? There have, after all, always been "movements" in the art world, so there has always obviously been influence on artists' works.

Display at Sea World

I'm doing a little experiment and trying to pull in a bit more.  To see what images from nature and my personal life can do for my work.  To see if I can pull out work from my very core rather than from what I'm seeing all around me. With that in mind, I have noticed a lot of jellyfish in my life lately.  A trip to Sea World, science articles, and childhood memories of a summer at Cape Cod when my cousin emerged from the ocean, yelling in pain, because he had been stung.  A stuffed jellyfish pattern is being worked on and sketches are being made.

What about you?  What inspires you besides the usual technology? 

Photo by Laura Bray

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I had so much fun making these pumpkins for Plaid!  They were really easy to make and I think they create a huge impact.  I love black and white for Halloween, but I think you could even put these out for a Fall wedding or even for a New Year's Eve party.  You can get my tutorial on the Paint Me Plaid blog.

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Remember the super cute fabric lunch sack I made my daughter last year?  Well, I didn't want to tell you this, but she lost in only 2 days!  All that hard work and details like pin tucks and fancy lining.  Gone.  Probably in the school trash.  I still want my daughter to have reusable bags, but I need to come terms with the fact that they are probably going to be temporary.  So I decided to make my own version of the lunch sack.  One that is SUPER easy to make, because I have a feeling I'm going to be making them every couple of weeks.

Supplies:

• Two rectangles of heavy fabric cut to 8" x 12"
• Tulip Fabric Markers
• VELCRO(R) Brand Sew-On Fasteners
• Basic Sewing Supplies

Isn't this a cute little tag? I hope it makes my daughter smile at snack time!

Directions:

1. Fold the top (short) edge of the fabric over a 1/4" press, and sew in place.
2. Cut VELCRO(R) Brand Sew-On fasteners to 7" and pin each side of the strip to the top edge of the pieces of fabric.  Sew in place.
3. Using a fabric marker, write your child's name on the piece of the fabric that will serve as the front the bag.  (Hope springs eternal.  Maybe when she loses it this time, it will be returned.)
4.  Place right sides of the bag together.  Make sure the top sides (with the VELCRO(R) Brand  fasteners are together.  Pin in place.  Sew around the two sides and bottom of the bag.  Leave the top open.
5. Create gussets.  (If you don't know how to do that, I'm currently working on finding a link to a video I did about that, so I'll get that up soon!)
6. Turn right side out, fill with snacks and hope that the bag comes home.  Know in your heart that it won't, but relax when you think about how easy it was to make this one! 

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 I think one of the saddest things about watching your child grow -up is the loss of their baby talk words.  "Musmick" for music disappeared ages ago.  The one hold-out I have now is that my daughter still calls pipe cleaners, "piper cleaners".  In fact, a friend of hers tried to correct her the other day and I quickly squashed the correction by interrupting with a snack. I often come up with pipe cleaner crafts just so I can hear my daughter say piper cleaners.  I know it will also disappear soon, so I need to hear it as much as I can.

In honor of Halloween, we made some button and pipe clean spiders. I'm thinking that you could make them in hundreds of different colors.  Maybe string some fishing wire through the button holes and hang them in your trees.  Stick one on top of your pumpkin.

Here's how to make one:

Supplies:

• 1 Pipe Cleaner
• 2 Buttons.  Mine are from Buttons Galore and More of course!
• Aleene's Original Tacky Glue
• Westcott Brand Scissors  

Directions:

• Cut six legs from the pipe cleaners.  Mine measured 1" in length.
• Fold one end of the pipe cleaner legs over a 1/4".
• Lay on button down and squeeze glue over the entire surface.
• Carefully lay one of the folded ends of the pipe cleaner legs into the glue. Continue with all the legs.
• Squeeze more glue over the legs and press a second button down, sandwiching the legs between the buttons.  Allow to dry. Turn the spider over and fold and arrange legs to allow it to stand on its own.

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Geesh.  For someone who claims to not be a soccer mom, I sure have been posting a lot about soccer!  This week, I made a banner for the back of our field chair.  I got the idea from Family Fun magazine.  It's really easy to make! 

Supplies:

• Felt banner
• Tulip Fabric Markers
• VELCRO (R) Brand Sticky Back (TM) fasteners

Directions:

1. Using the fabric markers, show your support of your team or your favorite player.
2.  Using the VELCRO (R) Brand Sticky Back (TM) fasteners, attach it to your field chair.

That's it!  My daughter felt very special at the field, knowing she had her own, personal cheering section.

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My daughter is growing by leaps and bounds.  But only in height. She's a skinny one and I always get frustrated when clothing, like sweaters, could still be worn if only her arms weren't so long!  So I decided to stop fighting it and work with it.  Hop over to the Buttons Galore and More blog to see how I upcycled her sweater.  I love the look so much, I might even slice the sleeves off my own sweaters just to get the look!

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I can't believe September is almost half over!  Halloween will be here before we know it.  My daughter is already planning her costume.  Of course it changes everyday, but the way time is flying, I'm going to have to get a definitive decision soon or we won't be prepared.

Today I thought I would share a few of my Halloween projects, past and present with you.  Hope they inspire you to get the spirit!

Halloween Blocks

Poison Bottles

Poison Apples

Treat Bags

Up-cycled Trick or Treat Bag

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 On Saturday morning, I spent a blissful two hours home alone.  I baked bread and I as sat, writing in my journal, I could small the sponge's yeast permeating through the house.  It was pure joy. Why was I home alone?  Because my husband took my daughter to her soccer game.  Was I enjoying being home alone?  Absolutely.  But this ritual, that happens every weekend during soccer season, comes at a price.  That price is the ugly comments from other women (and sometimes their husbands) who think I'm a terrible mother because I'm not a "soccer mom".

I won't say these comments don't hurt.  In fact, I don't there is anything you can do to a person that's worse then judging their ability to mother.  That being said, I also know I'm a good mother and that my decision to step back from soccer duty works for my family.  My daughter knows I support her interest in soccer.  I pack her excellent snacks and the morning of games we have a session of visualization and chant positive affirmations about how well she will play the game.  I also take her to practice when my husband can't and I go to a few of her games each season.  But I'm not there for every practice or every game and that works just fine for my family.

At our house (and most houses I think) a happy mommy makes a happy family and this mommy needs some time alone for resting.  Sure, I'm home alone during the week while my husband is at work and my daughter is at school, but I'm cleaning the house, running errands and trying to keep my craft design business alive.  The "soccer hours" are reserved for resting.  I read magazines, munch on bagels, or watch an old movie on television.  It's pure heaven and the weekends run smoothly and happily after a few hours of recharging.

Then there's our parenting belief that it's important for our daughter to know that both of her parents can take care of her on their own.  As the primary caregiver, she already knows I can handle her care.  If anything ever happened to her dad, she knows she would still eat, have activities, and be generally cared for and, because my husband takes care of her on outings like going to soccer, she knows that her dad can hold down the fort too.  When I was growing up, my father worked a lot.  I remember feeling that, if anything happened to my mom, things would not go smoothly.  As the oldest child, I often worried that the running of the house and my sibling would fall on my shoulders.  I have no idea if this is really true, but as a child, I had few examples of my dad taking care of us alone so, to me, those fears were very real.

The relationship my daughter is building with her dad during their soccer time together is also important to their interpersonal relationship.  My daughter and I have similar interests and a strong bond.  When the three of us are together, my husband (a quiet guy) often gets overpowered and left out.  When my daughter is alone with her dad, bonding over their common interest in soccer, a space opens up and allows them to connect.  That connection can't always be made when we are all together.

Now, I'm not saying being a soccer mom is a bad thing.  That might be the way other families bond and every family creates a dynamic that works best for them.  I'm just saying that, just because a family does something differently, doesn't mean it's bad.  We are all doing the best we can and we need to support one another, not judge.  I'm stepping off my soapbox now, but want you to know that whatever works for your family is okay.  We are all doing the best we can do and that's all that really matters.

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Just wanted to share a tutorial I did for Plaid.  They asked me to make a pencil holder using Mod Podge and this is what I came up with.  Now I want to make a whole menagerie!  Get the how to here.

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I've been procrastinating on some projects have due, which means that I've been very productive in all other areas of my life. I'll do anything to avoid that looming deadline, including getting my garage and hall closets organized.  On Tuesday, I went on a complete tear and spent hours organizing. 

I took a new angle while organizing.  In the past I would approach organization from a place of finding somewhere to put things.  This time, I gave it more thought.  I approached each shelf from a place of intention.  I thought about how my family wants to live and then I approached the mountain of stuff.  For example, my family has been making an effort to go on more picnics.  So I sifted through our stuff and pulled out the picnic baskets, old silverware, and drink bottles.  They all went on a shelf together and now picnic prep will be a breeze, which will mean more picnics because I won't be overwhelmed by the very idea of getting a picnic packed up. 
Our family is also focused on moving away from plastic storage containers and towards using glass jars to store leftovers.  So, in this week's organization, all the glass jars were rounded up, lids were found, and a shelf was dedicated to them.  This will make it easier to transition towards glass. 
We want to start having a weekly "family game night" at our house, so finding all our games and giving them a home where we can easily access them, became an important task on my to do list.

By focusing on how we want to live, organization became easy and even enjoyable.  I felt like I was doing something that would benefit my family long term.  Organizing was no longer just a task for corralling our material goods, it became a task for supporting the way we want to live. When I thought about the task from that angle it became less like drudgery.  It became a very important and satisfying way to spend my afternoon.

By organizing with intent, I also realized that it was easier to get rid of things. Decisions for purging were no longer about emotional connection to an object, they were about asking oneself if the object supports the way we want to live, not how we used to live or how we might live tomorrow, but how we are living now.   I have to say, I feel much lighter as a result and some charities are going to score big the next time they come by our house!

How about you?  How do you organize?  Do you like the task?  Hate it?  Any tips to share?

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Lemon Raspberry Muffins by Laura Bray

I woke yesterday with an urge for muffins.  Lemon raspberry muffins.  Where that came from I have no idea.  I had no recipe so I just made this one up.  My daughter came downstairs while they were baking, rubbing her eyes and announcing that something smells good. And that makes my heart happy because I hope she will always remember these mornings. Sometimes you gotta love having a well-stocked kitchen, so when a muffin mood strikes, you can whip some up.
Lemon Raspberry Muffins
By Laura Bray

Makes 9-12 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• finely grated lemon rind (from one lemon)
• 1/2 pint of raspberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients.  Use a whisk to combine them-it works just as well as sifting and is a lot easier.
3. Melt butter and stir in lemon juice, eggs and lemon rind.
4. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients. Don't over mix!  Just fold the wet stuff into the dry until it all moistened.  
5. Add raspberries and mix lightly.  You don't want to crush the delicate raspberries.
6. Put into muffin cups.  Use an ice cream scoop & your muffins will come out uniform in size.
7. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
8. Remove from pan and dip in topping while still warm.

Topping

• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 cup white sugar

1. Mix together butter and lemon juice.
2. Put sugar in separate dish.
3. Dip the top of each muffin into the butter & lemon mixture and then in the sugar.

I think the muffins are a hit!

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Journal Page by Laura Bray

It's back to school time.  I have such mixed feeling about it, don't you?  On one hand, I'm looking forward to having more time to work on my business, scheduled days, and more time to myself.  On the other hand, I'm not looking forward to getting up and moving at the crack of dawn, packing lunches, missing my daughter's company, or homework.

I'm feeling the time start to press down on me.  So many little things to get organized before school starts.  Hair to be cut, clothes to be bought, backpacks to be found, lunch supplies to be organized.  All these things need to be done, yet what I really want to do is savor and enjoy these last carefree days. There are final days at the pool to be had, summer movies to watch, and some summer bucket list items that haven't been addressed yet.  Every year, at the beginning of summer, I promise all these things will be done and yet every year, I sit down and August and feel exactly like this.  So today, I'm going to be gentle with myself.  I'll let all this conflicting feelings come and go and honor each one as it appears because, if I have learned nothing else, I have learned that time flies and each moment must be enjoyed.

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Soccer Season 2011-Don't mess with the Dangerous Daisies!

My daughter has been playing soccer in the fall for a few years now.  While she enjoys it, it can be a bit stressful for our family life as we try to organize ourselves around practices and games.  Here are a few of my tips for surviving the soccer season.
Get Organized!
We have a backpack that contains all my daughter's soccer stuff.  It's always packed with her ball, shoes, and shin guards.  It goes in the same place in the garage after every practice.  When I'm getting my daughter ready to go to a practice or game, I just pull out the bag, add some snacks and water and she's good to go.  No searching for shoes etc.

I also have a designated drawer in her dresser for her soccer uniform, socks, and practice wear.  She always knows where to find her clothes when she's getting ready for a game.
Fuel Your Athlete
This year, I've started to take my daughter's athletic nutrition seriously.  An hour before her game or practice, she gets a snack with a protein and some carbs.  Think an apple with natural peanut butter or cheese and crackers.  I also make sure she's hydrated BEFORE she starts running.  Right now, we're requiring that she drink a full glass of water an hour before practice.  I've also heard that using sports drinks beforehand will help them process their water intake better during the game.  I'm not too thrilled with all the sugar in most sport drinks, so I'm thinking of adding a glass of coconut water to her pre-game/practice snack.  It has the electrolytes her body needs to get properly hydrated.

Soccer Season 2010

After her practice, we have been giving my daughter a snack.  I mean immediately after.  I give her a little protein and some sugar for this snack.  Raisins and sunflower seeds work great.  So do berries and nuts. She eats her snack in the car on the way home.  Even though the drive home is only 10 minutes, I've noticed she's a much nicer little girl after practice if she eats right away and isn't as exhausted when she gets home.  This little snack also buys me some time to get dinner ready on a busy weeknight after practice.

How about you?  What do you do to survive your children's sports seasons?

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Sea World San Diego

We snuck away for a few days earlier this week for a mini family vacation.  We only live a little over an hour from San Diego, but we decided to make a vacation of it.  We stayed for three days and came back refreshed and ready to start school in September.

Building Pyramids at the Museum of Man

 Here's a round-up of my thoughts from the trip:

•  Visiting the Coronado Public Library was a treat.  They have a permanent exhibit of some glass art featuring the characters from the Wizard of Oz.  (Did you know Baum wrote some of the Wizard of Oz while he was in Coronado and that some people think the Hotel Del Coronado was the inspiration for the Emerald City?)  Aside from the great exhibits, the children's section was very cute.  I think I'm going to regularly schedule visits to the local libraries when we travel in the future, it's a fun glimpse of local life.
• No more children's menus for us!  My daughter is an adventurous eater and basically told us that she's sick of chicken fingers or macaroni and cheese.  She wants to experience a restaurant as much as we do.  So we took the financial hit and let her order from the main menu. Lobster bisque is a new favorite.  (I told you she was an expensive date.) Why don't restaurants offer child-sized portions of their food? 
• We had a great time dining at Il Fornaio.  My husband and I ate at the Pasadena location on our first date.  We had dinner at the Coronado restaurant this trip and had fun telling our daughter about our first date.  My husband told her about ordering the rabbit and then thinking he completely blew it with me when I promptly told him about my pet rabbit, Bunny Head.  It was nice to look across the table at my husband and think back to that night.  Who knew we would be here, with our daughter, 18 years after that night?  I guess the bunny thing didn't bother me that much!
• We were underwhelmed by the Hotel Del Coronado.  It was crowded and looking a bit worn.  I'm glad we didn't shell out over $300/night to stay there.

Sketching during lunch in Balboa Park.

•  One day isn't enough for Balboa Park and all it's museum goodness.
• I was amazingly inspired at the San Diego Museum of Art.  My daughter and I loved this exhibit.
• Sleeping masks are very good things.  Is it just me or does it seem like hotel rooms are lit up like Christmas trees anymore?  The glow of alarm clocks, HD TVs, and the light that peaks through curtains is enough to drive any light sleeper insane.  I brought a sleeping mask and it worked like magic.  I'll be sewing up more so that I never leave home without one!
• If you take your child to the pool every evening, between your day activities and dinner, you will have a relaxed dinner and a little person who will fall asleep immediately upon return to the hotel room.

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I still have some videos of the segments I did for PBS' Creative Living with Sheryl Borden show!  In this episode, I show you how you can use Tulip's Fashion Art products to get super glittery fabric for your next craft or sewing project.  You could apply these techniques to jazz up store-bought fabric, make your own fabric or even just make some old jeans look new.  I hope you enjoy the video!

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School's almost here.  One of the things I dread the most about the school year is packing lunches.  After a few months it becomes drudgery. I begin to feel like I'm packing the same thing every day.  To try to cheer myself about school starting soon, I've gathered some links that I hope will inspire me throughout the year and I thought I would share them with you.
Personalize Lunch Bags with Scrapbook Supplies
I wrote this tutorial for the Buttons Galore and More Blog.  Hop over to see how I dressed-up plain brown paper bags with my supplies from my studio.
Sew Your Own Lunch Bags
Last year, I sewed a fabric lunch bag for my daughter. 
School Lunch Ideas
Check-out the Pinterest Board I created to inspire myself during the school year.  (I'd love it if you would follow my boards while you are there!)

Do you have any ideas for school lunches?  Links?  Inspiration?  Please share them in the comments. I need all the help I can get!

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Tea in the Garden

 “And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles.”

This year's little kitchen garden is probably our best ever.  We seem to have magically crossed over into being successful gardeners and I'm enjoying cooking with the herbs and the few vegetables we planted.  I don't know why we have been so successful.  Because we have gone completely organic?  Because of the compost tea?  Because of the herb water we spritz on the leaves?  Because my daughter whispers sweet nothings to the plants when she's playing in the yard? Or simply because we are actually remembering to water it?

Kitchen Garden March 2012

Kitchen Garden June 2012

Whatever the reason for this year's bounty, I can't help but enjoy wandering into my backyard every morning and finding something new everyday.  I love feeling like I'm taking homemade to a whole level. I'm also proud that we can produce this much in such a small space and in containers.  (To be honest, I'm wondering if we even have the time, energy, or desire to grow any more than this anyway!)

Kitchen Garden August 2012

The First Tomato

I hope your garden is growing too.  Do you have any gardening tips?

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Macaroni and Cheese

I love macaroni and cheese.  In fact, it was the first meal I ever learned to cook.  Of course it was the kind from a box, but I was so proud of myself.  My mom was pretty smart to walk me through the instructions, because once I knew how to do it, I would whip up a batch of easy macaroni and cheese whenever she needed some help getting dinner on.

A watched pot never boils.

Following in that tradition, I taught my daughter how to make macaroni and cheese last week.  Being the cooking fool I am, I taught her how to make macaroni and cheese from scratch.  She's seven years old and now knows how to make a roux. I can't wait to see what she will be capable of making for dinner in a couple of years.  I don't think she's as impressed about the roux as she was about putting chunks of cheese into the food processor to shred.  (I hate to admit it, but I often buy the bags of shredded cheese and I think she didn't realize how shredded cheese "got made".)
We made our macaroni and cheese using The Barefoot Contessa's recipe.  It makes a ton and our little family of three people ate half and then froze the rest for one of those crazy nights in the future when there's no time to make a proper meal.  I feel good knowing it's in there, waiting for us.  Or maybe I'll cut a square and stick in my daughter's school lunch (cause school's coming up).  I can probably put it in when it's frozen and it will be ready to eat when lunch time rolls around.

What's the first meal you ever cooked?

Psst....If you are a regular and observant reader, you may have noticed that my counter tops got an upgrade from white tile to granite.  We are, ever so slowly, upgrading our kitchen.  These are changes I've wanted to make for 15 years!  I'll be sure to share the before and after shots once it's done!

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When I was a little girl, my dad has a large garden and grew many, many cucumbers.  My mom would make pickles and can them.  I remember days of canning.

Now, I'll admit, I'm a bit afraid to can food.  I'm sure I'll get over it eventually, but until then, there's no reason my family can't enjoy homemade pickles.  Any canning recipe can be used for a refrigerator recipe.  You just can't keep it the cupboard.  It needs to be eaten with 2-4 weeks and needs to be kept in the fridge at all times.

When our farm basket was filled with pickling cucumbers and dill last week, I searched the web, found this recipe from A Couple Cooks, and made a batch of pickles.  They were so easy to make so delicious.  I made them on Tuesday and they are already almost gone.  Something tells me there will be a lot of pickles in our future.
When I was composing this post, I was wishing I had some photos of my mom's pickles and of her working on her pickles all those years ago.  That's the great thing about digital photography now, we take so many more pictures.  Pictures of every day life.  Pictures of things we craft and cook.  When our children are adults, remembering a favorite everyday moment of recipe, many of them will be able to pull out one of our photos.  At least they will if their moms were bloggers!

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I'm starting to feel those end of summer blues. Those days when you wake-up and realize and that the month of August is flying by and half the things on your summer bucket list haven't been done.  The feeling that time is going by too quickly.  At the same time, feeling out of sorts and almost looking forward to a bit more structure in your days so you can actually accomplish something.  Yes.  That's exactly where I am today.

So, at the spur of the moment this morning, my daughter and I picked up our breakfast dishes and headed to the yard.  I told her about my summer vacations at my grandparents' house and how we always had breakfast (and every other meal) on their screened porch.  I told her how we would run out to the blueberry bush in the morning and pick berries for our cereal.  I told her about flying through the air on the tire swing.
 Then we talked about some of the things she'll always remember about her childhood summers.  I have to say, hearing her list of memories made me feel much better.  I realized that I maybe I hadn't failed.  Some of the big things on the bucket list didn't get done, but those aren't really what you remember anyway.  It's those little moments-like the smell of coffee, mixed with the smell of tomato plants, as you sit outside and eat a simple summer breakfast.  That's all that matters today.  I'll worry about the end of the summer later.

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My daughter and I love to read, and one of our favorite books is Mary Poppins. As the summer wears on, I'm finding it challenging to keep things fresh around here, so I recently decided to combine our love reading with our love of crafting.  A range of Mary Poppins themed artwork was the end result.  Want to make some art based on your favorite book?  Here's how:

1. Read the book.
2. Sit down with your child and brainstorm words and ideas that come from the book.  For Mary Poppins, our list consisted of things like: A carpet bag, an umbrella with a bird's head handle, and raspberry tarts.  The tarts are something my daughter pulled from the story and desperately wants to try.  That's the great thing about the brainstorming session-you get to see what they retained from the story and what impacted them the most.
3. After you have your brainstorming list, gather up some paint and canvases in various sizes. Then use the list to come up with subject matter for your paintings and get to work!

TIPS:

• If you are doing this project with your child, I suggest keeping a similar color palette.  The finished art then looks cohesive despite two artists working on it.  We used Martha Stewart's Craft Paints for this project.
• Run photo copies of some of your favorite quotes and add them to the paintings, or have your child write them onto their artwork.

Hang up the art in a grouping and enjoy remembering your favorite books whenever you look at it.  If you hang the art where your visitors can also see it, your child will have the opportunity to tell friends and family about their favorite books and stories too.Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer
Ripping Things to Do
*Please note this post contains affliate links.

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