Spring Rain

The spring flowers are abundant this year and it makes for perfect practice using a macro lens.

 

Obi

I'm always thrilled to be sewing something, anything! I love fabric and continue to add to my already huge collection. When a dear friend asked me to help her alter one of her skirts, I thought, "Yay! A wonderful excuse to sew and especially with a friend".

As the day approached, I began thinking about what I would sew. I have a few pieces of clothing that need alteration too and kept that idea on the back burner.

Though, I really wanted to make something beautiful using the fabric I already have.

The day before, when my son and I were at a library, I checked out the sewing selection of books and one caught my eye.  I paged through it and noticed a project that reminded me of my friend.

On the day, I still didn't know what I wanted to sew, so I thought to make my friend a reversible obi to warm up a bit and asked her to choose the three fabrics that she liked. I also helped her daughter with a plush project.

It was so much fun that I was already thinking of sewing an obi for myself and made two! 

Clay

We have a wonderful opportunity to create art with a local artist. She is open to any of the students' ideas and will guide them in creating the projects they want to make.  

My daughter and I searched for fun projects on Pinterest while my son's ideas came to him as he started playing around with the clay.

Graffiti

Yep, when someone has an idea in our home, we go for it! 

We've read about famous graffiti artists years ago, Bansky being one of our favorites and more recently viewed spectacular works in a couple large cities, Paris and New York.

Now it's time to make one of his own.  He knew the image he wanted to create,  the supplies he needed and decided on the steps to take for a finished piece. 

 

 

He was more than satisfied with his work!

Ukrainian Eggs

I love traditions, keeping the old ones alive and creating new ones. My mom introduced the art of Ukrainian eggs when my sister and I were teenagers. We all cherish the eggs that we decorated all those years ago. 

 

I had the desire to begin this tradition with my family too. So, when my daughter was around five or six years old we created some together. Then I invited our friends over to share in experience of this special technique of egg decorating.

I look forward to making them year after year... buying more supplies from the jovial man at the local Ukrainian shop... preparing the dyes... the smell of melted beeswax... well, the entire process.

 

My son decorated his first egg when he was four years old. This year he began a design over and over again before he was happy with it. Well, his art is in an egg carton waiting for the wax to be melted off. I wasn't sure what design or idea I wanted to create yet, so I used the eggs that my son discarded and began to create designs from his first marks. 

 

I was also inspired by my sister's patience and decided to create a more detailed egg along with a few other designs.

 

We had many opportunities to decorate eggs during the week before Easter. The following were created by my daughter...