First Craft Show

In the past two year, I have found that having a child has totally changed my view on art.  I no longer yearn to paint for hours in a studio or spend my afternoons in solitude throwing on a potter's wheel. Now my life revolves around my Charlie and I am consumed with making art with him and for him.  Pintrest and other blogs have been inspirational for me and give me so many ideas that I want to "pay it forward" and share our artistic adventures with others.  After all, I am an artist, art teacher, crafter, but most importantly a Mom.

I started my own little pet project of a company called Big C and Me which is entirely dedicated to promoting family engagement and exposing children to various art mediums.  That means having kids paint, cut, glue, and create things!  Everything I do is success based to build young confidence and is success based.

Please steal my ideas!  I am putting them on my blog and going to craft fairs to promote the arts with children.  If you want to buy a kit, great! Really this is more about fitting a niche that I love and we will see where it takes me.

I would love to get into providing materials for Birthday Parties, family get-togethers, Pinterest Parties, or a Girls’ Night In where we create something. Basically, I want to be that “go-to crafty friend” who can help facilitate your artsy side.  Who knows where Big C and Me will go, but I have to give it a try because it makes me happy and fulfills that part of me that yearns to promote the arts with all children.

With all that said, I have my first craft show on Sunday, November 3 at Southside High School in Elmira from 10-4. If you are in the area or stopping by the show, please stop by and support me (I am a bit nervous).  Below are some of the things I will have for sale. 
 
 

Tree Tote Bag Kits

 

Childrens Apron Kits

 

 

Cinnamin Dough Ornament Kits

Letterboxing Starter Kits

Watercolor and Wax Resist Paintings

Melted Snowman Project

Felt Christmas Tree Decorating Kits
 

Recycled Art Boxes (Easy to Pack)

 

 

 

 

Ombre Tote Bag Painting Kit

 
 
....and much more....
 

 

Getting Ready

My first craft fair is coming up. I am in the messy middle of getting my kits made. Details on the art kits soon to follow :-)

Apparently Berger (my cat) is helping :-P

Create Photo Hanger

Charlie and I made this by melting crayons over a piece of scrap wood and putting cup hooks on the bottom. Now we can hang our recent art making memories with a progressive frame!

The Charlie Cam.

We bought Charlie a Fisher Price Digital Camera for his 2nd Birthday.  I read a lot of reviews and this one was the most durable and kid-friendly digital camera based on consumer reviews.  Well he LOVES taking pictures and I just loaded the hundreds of pictures he has taken throughout the last few months and they are hysterical!  Lots of blurry legs and feet, but some fun pictures too!  It is great to watch him tell the dog, cats, his toys, etc. to say "Cheese!".  I am sure I will have more to come.

 

Donate a Photo

Donate a Photo is an app by Johnson and Johnson that donates $1 for every photo taken. How easy is that? You take a picture with their app and chose the charity you want the donation to go to. I think this is a very cool program and had to share it! Here is info about the app and my first picture. 

Finger Print Tree

This was our morning project today. I drew the tree and had to make a copy to bribe Charlie to follow directions. He did one with me (he did not really like that and still went a bit crazy) and then did one by himself. I bet you can guess which is which ;-)

Have a Colorful Year!

I put these homemade tags on goodies to brighten a few people's days at the start of school :-)

Cork Wine Charms

These were so easy and fun! I cut a cork into 4 sections and painted them. Then I stamped a motif in black and added a loop (little screw in loop hooks from Lowe's). I made a heart shaped wire to go around the stem of the wine glass, but you could just hook them on pre-made ones. I think this should be a ladies craft night!

 

T-Shirt Scarf

For those tees that you still want to wear, a T-Shirt scarf! I love how soft and casual it is. This will be my new staple this fall!

DIY Totes Class

I am teaching my first kids class today to make a summer project.  We are painting tote bags using pointillism and the eraser end of a pencil.  The kids can chose what they want to paint and their color.  I will draw their outline.  Then they add dots of their color starting at the bottom (or top) and add little bits of white creating a lighter tint as they go.  If they want to add a word or some text at the end they can.  Keeping my fingers crossed they enjoy it!

T-Shirt Bags

I love this idea and have been using them all the time.  I even made a few out of Charlie's old shirts and he carries his toys around in them.  Throw them in the wash when they get gross and they hold up wonderful! 

 

Fast Recycled T-Shirt Bags

 

These are Charlie sized and they hang in his play room.

Green Busy Boxes

We are constantly needed to find things to do with Charlie when we are out and about.  This was a quick idea I had using all recycled items to throw in the diaper bag and car.  The box is an old VHS case that I took the cover sheet out of.  I drew my own and slipped it in there. I found some fun flash cards and put them in the box with stickers, a small box of crayons, and a little drawing book made out of copy paper stapled in between cardboard from cereal boxes (I love these little recycled sketchbooks, they are perfect for kids).  I am going to have Charlie color the cover too, but for now, it works!  It might buy us 20 minutes here and there and that is worth it!

 

First Faces

Charlie just came running over to me with an uncontainable level of excitement with a drawing in his hand.  He pointed to all of the faces he drew and told me who they were as proud as can be. This is his first recognizable drawing of faces and it's "Mamma", "Matt", "Kyle", and "Jul". This is a huge step in Lowenfeld's levels of artistic development and cannot believe that my 25 month old son has such skills. He asks to draw all the time (I am really not a Tiger Mom forcing it on him). Anyway, this proud Mamma just had to share! Can you find the four faces? Give you a hint, Kyle has a hat!

I taught Charlie to draw faces by drawing the face and having him add hair.  He loved drawing wild hair on people, animals and monsters.  Then I would draw the circle and he would try to fill it in.  We started taking turns doing features and now he wants to do it all by himself (I am very proud of that).  I made this book for him because I could not always be there by his side.  He really enjoyed filling in the faces.  This is a great link: http://dabblesandbabbles.com/blank-faces-drawing-page/

 

Dandelions for Mom

“One time when it was spring, I picked some dandelions for my mom, and she put them in some water, and then she smiled at me as if they were the best gift ever.  Now that I have kids of my own, I know that they were.”

Making Memories Quotes

Well I let Charlie go crazy on another canvas then sprayed painted over some foam letters I found around the house. Had to add some glitter! It is a good way to keep in mind what is really important. 

Car Painting

Charlie had race fever and is painting with his cars this morning.

I drew a track and taped the paper to the floor (don't want the cars skidding out). What fun in anticipation of Watkins International this weekend!

Growth Chart

It is not hung yet, but here is a easy growth chart that can move with us and isn't too tacky :-)  Just a 1"x6" with marks and the words "Look How I have Grown".  I think I would leave off the text in the future so I could hang simple black frames with his picture every year next to his height.  Big C just measured in at 33"...Ahhh!  Growing up too fast!

Ticket Shadow Box

I saw this idea on (of course) Pinterest and did my own spin.  Rather than "admit one", I wrote "Tickets" because our dates are for two (I typically don't go on solo dates anymore....however, it would be nice to have some alone time and catch a chick flick).  I bought a shadow box and drilled two holes in the top then cut out the rectangle with a jig saw.  It chipped a bit so I sanded it and painted the top black.  I put a piece of scrapbook paper in the back and printed out my text.  Every once and a while I catch my husband being sentimental and shaking it up to see all of the places we have been.

Giving Plate

I made this plate with a saying I found on a plate at the Christmas Tree Shop.  I used an oil based Sharppie marker and baked it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  That actually worked!  (Regular sharpies do not, despite all the popular Pinterest posts). 

I might make a series of three of these to spread some random acts of kindness :-)

The Giving Plate

"This plate belongs to everyone, wherever it may go.  With each new sharing of its gift the love and blessings grow. So fill it up and pass it on to family and friends to start the circle one more time. Love's journey never ends."