Sorry for being so quiet over here lately, but I have been working on a major project... a new blog (which will take the place of this one. So please come on over to Artfully Carin and update your readers. I can't wait to see you over there!
08/06/2012
07/23/2012
Kirby's first painting
I am so happy to show you this masterpiece today! Kirby's first ever painting!
I've been meaning to set Kirby up with paints for a while now, but life has kept getting in the way. This morning the timing was finally right, so I stripped him down to his nappy and let him play. And he sure gave it a good go.
To start off with I only gave him a couple of colours, and just his hands to paint with. He totally rejected the yellow, but asked for the green. And as soon as he saw Aoife using a brush he wanted a tool of his own too, so gave him an old brush and a glue spreader.
He loved it!
(yes, those big brown eyes get me every time!)
07/18/2012
Kirby: 18 months
Kirby, at 18 months you...
are 88.5 cm
take a size 6 shoe
have one nap in the day
sleep roughly from 8 pm to 6 am
have turned into a proper little boy
have started to draw and make your marks
love dancing, climbing, running, and playing chase
love playing with cars and balls (and have one heck of a throw)
LOOOOOVE eggs, grapes, berries, sun-dried tomatoes, and mashed potatoes
say "mamma", "nom nom", "hiya","nej" (no), "ajja bajja" (kind of like "don't touch"), "ta", "ee-a" (Aoife), "there", "Lola" (as in Charlie and Lola), and a few others regularly, and babble lots
have learned to open/ unlock most of the internal doors, plus the side door (which has led to some wet outdoor adventures in your bare feet!)
like helping out (bringing things to the table, putting things in the kitchen/ fridge/ cupboards, tidying up your toys)
are getting more comfortable being around people you don't know (as long as they don't touch you till you're ready)
suck labels for comfort, and sleep with tiger and a muslin square
adore and try to copy your sister in everything she does
give great hugs (very generously)
are a cheeky monkey!!! :)
Love you lots!
07/04/2012
Art on the go: kids art kits
Hello my dears!
It is so good to be back!
Thank you very much for your kind words, thoughts and prayers over the past couple of weeks. Alan and I are very grateful for your concern. We're doing okay and getting back to normal. Aoife still needs to talk it out a bit more, but she's getting there.
***
Today I want to share something pretty fun with you; art kits. They have saved my sanity quite a few times over the last year, let me tell you.
Ready?
Last summer, I started making art kits for Aoife. Kirby still needed a lot of hands on attention, and Aoife wanted to be able to make art at a moment's notice. Art kits seemed the way to go.
And they have been a massive hit!
Aoife loves the freedom of going to the craft station and just grabbing a kit whenever she wants to. And I love that I don't have to scramble to get stuff ready for her, but can do it at my own pace whenever I have a moment. I also love that she uses up most of my scraps, so there is not much wastage.
Better still is that these art kits are perfect for taking on the road. I may have started them for her to do on a rainy day at home, but they pack up so easily that you can take them pretty much anywhere.
The kit:
Last year, I kept our kits very simple. I wanted Aofe to be able to do them on her own as much as possible, so I just put card or watercolour paper and some felt shapes into plastic envelopes. Glue, crayons, pencils and watercolours were close at hand. I used felt shapes on purpose since they don't really tear. A lower risk of tearing = a lower risk of tantrums.
But, there are lots of things you can include:
- paper, felt, or fabric shapes
- buttons
- sequins
- glitter or glitter glue
- stickers
- ribbons and/ or embroidery thread
- old stamps
- scrapbooking or card embellishments
- tooth picks or popsicle sticks
- crayons or coloured pencils
- passport sized photographs or magazine images
The key is to keep them as simple as possible. It will save your sanity and theirs. I pretty much freehand everything (not the giraffe, mind you, I traced that!) and it usually works out okay.
Enjoy!
06/16/2012
06/13/2012
366 photos: day 156-162
Wow! Thank you for all your amazing comments yesterday! I am totally floored by them. They were so loving and supportive. You guys rock!
It feels kind of odd going back to a 366 photos post after that! But here we go...
Week 23 was a bit of an odd week. Alan had Monday and Tuesday off because of the jubilee, and Aoife had the rest of the week off from school because of half term. I loved having them all at home, but it all seemed a bit strange.
Monday: An outing to the Roald Dahl children's gallery in Aylesbury that both kids loved.
Tuesday: A street party for the Diamond Jubilee (Al took this picture. You can just about see me on the left hand side talking with the woman in the white gilet.
Wednesday: Anyone for "sosiyis" (sausages)?
Thursday: Aoife: "Mum, do you like my picture?". Me: "Yes honey, I love it!". Aoife: "Can you not believe your eyes?". Me: "No honey, I can't believe my eyes!". Aoife: "Take a picture of it then!!!"
Friday: currant buns, handmade by the little missy (with minimal help from mummy).
Saturday: One of Aoife's current obsessions... wearing one pink, one purple sock. And it has to be these thick ones cos they slide!
Sunday: Kirby at 17 months, feeding his label addiction.
That was the end of week 23. My mum is over, so I'm going to take the rest of the week off now and enjoy her company. See you next week.
06/12/2012
Holy crap! I AM an artist!
Finding my feet, art journal, 2012
I never dreamed of being an artist. I only ever wanted to be a mum.
Yet somehow earlier this year, my dreams changed. I realised I no longer wanted to be a mum who does art on the side, I wanted to be a mother AND an artist.
That may seem like a subtle change to you. But to me, it was huge. It would mean admitting publicly that I'm an artist. And that was scary as hell.
I needed a serious push.... And I got one.
It started innocently enough (for her anyway!) with Marie calling me a visual artist in a game of tag.
Little did she know her words sent me into emotional turmoil. That my whole life up to that point literally flashed before my eyes. That I bawled my eyes out.
All because she called me an artist.
The second time someone called me an artist, it went out to all my facebook friends, new and old. Someone from the wild art group tagged me as an artist when we became friends. I didn't realise it would change my profession on my timeline. When I did, I seriously thought I was going to be sick. The palms of my hands were sweaty, my heart was beating ten to the dozen, and my head was pounding furiously to the tune of "ohmygod!ohmygod!ohmygod!".
I wasn't worried about my new friends finding out, they all do art too, so they understand. But my old ones...Oh boy, that was scary!
I felt naked. Vulnerable.
I half waited for them to say I was delusional, a fraud, that they remember how crap I was at drawing at school, that my new art isn't any good either, that I should stick to being a housewife because that's all I'm good at (which of course set off a whole lot of mama guilt for even daring to think of being anything other than a mother).
And I seriously I considered changing it back to SAHM. Safe old SAHM.
Instead, I sat with it. I gave the fears, the insecurities and inner critic a chance to speak.
Then this calm came over me. I connected with it. I let it sink in.
I realised I AM an artist. That I have always been an artist. An artist in training at least.
Trust, art journal, 2012
Looking back, I can clearly see how every little thing I have experienced in life, whether it looked art related or not, led me here. That every little thing I have experienced has defined my art. That every little thing I have experienced defines how and what I want to do with my art in the future.
And you know what?
Not only did someone like my new work status (thanks Paty!), but as soon as I openly admitted being an artist, the Universe rose up to meet me, placing all kinds of bold new dreams and adventures in my lap. Like wanting to teach art journaling online in the future, and have my own online art business. Which takes me completely out of my comfort zone (what the heck do I know about video editing, or running a small business???).
But even though my legs threathen to buckle underneath me, I carry on, because I realise there is no other way than forward.
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom" - Anais Nin
***
This post is part of a brave blogging challenge arranged by Liv Lane for the students of her e-course How To Build A Blog You Truly Love.
06/11/2012
366 photos: day 149-155
Last week was pretty topsy turvy because of the Diamond Jubilee and Aoife being on half term, so I never got to post my 366 photos. Which means you get a double dose this week. I'm posting week 22 (the week before last) today, and week 23 (last week) on Wednesday, with a BBTL link party in between.
Monday: Enjoying some beautiful flowers I received over the weekend
Tuesday: Aoife's class assembly. I was so proud of her. She remembered all her lines, and spoke loudly, slowly (!), and clearly.
Wednesday: Aoife was so excited about the upcoming Jubilee and put a crown on everything all week...including her long-suffering brother.
Thursday: One of those days. From start to finish.
Friday: The school had a red, white and blue day, a Jubilee picnic and lots of other fun stuff for the kids.
Saturday: I love this photo of the kiddos watching Mr Maker (an arts and crafts program for kids). Such concentration!
Sunday: A rainy outing to Whipsnade zoo.
See you tomorrow for the BBTL brave Blogger link up.
06/05/2012
My Britain
As the UK celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II with a 4 day weekend,
I was overwhelmed with love for this adopted country of mine.
I may not have been born here,
but this country, with its amazing energy, welcomed me in with open arms
when I was barely 19.
It let me grow and develop into the person I needed to be,
not the one my birth country thought I should be.
It opened my senses,
taught me to trust my instincts, live bravely,
and let my hair down.
It is home.
Thank you! Love you always! xx
05/30/2012
Art for Aoife: dance like nobody's watching
Dance like nobody's watching;
love like you've never been hurt.
Sing like nobody's listening;
live like it's heaven on earth.
~ Mark Twain
Yay!
The first canvas for Aoife's room is done!
I have to admit I was a bit nervous about it. I mean, come on, the girl wanted pink and purple for Pete's sake...talk about taking me out of my comfort zone!
But I did it! So yay me!
Her other stipulation was it had to have a ballet/ dance theme. Thankfully that wasn't as hard because we both share that little obsession. Phew!
In order to make it as personal and as meaningful as possible I used special papers celebrating her firsts for the background (like a certificate celebrating her first haircut, her first drawing of us as a family of four, her first passport, her birth announcement...), the wall paint we used in her room, and the tie- back from her new curtains to create the tutu (we used a different ones in the room), as well as little special symbols dotted around the place.
I love that her drawing of me (from that first drawing of us as a family of four) shows through down the bottom of the painting. I see so much symbolism in that. That is how I want to be as a parent. I want to raise capable, independent adults, who live their own lives and follow their own dreams, but know that I am always behind them, supporting them and cheering them on.
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