Felt Pumpkins

Recently I was perusing some wonderful entries in the blogosphere, and found a post by Nicole on Frontier Dreams about making felted pumpkins.  It's from a magazine called Living Crafts.  The pumpkins looked really neat, and when I was at the co-op the next day, there was the magazine in the checkout line.  I looked at the instructions, and thought I could probably do the project, so the magazine came home with me.  We've never tried felting before, so I had to get the materials for it.  I finally got to a yarn store on Monday.  Annika helped me pick out the colors to use.  Of course, I forgot one crucial ingredient, and had to go again the next day to get it, and then on Tuesday we were able to make the pumpkins.  

We started by rolling the wool roving around a ball.  Then we tied the string around it to make the pumpkin segments and keep it together.  We did the wet felting in the bathtub.
 Next time we felt I think I will use the sink or a washbasin, because it was hard for the kids to bend down and reach into the bathtub.  Annika kept threatening to fall in.  We didn't have a washboard, so I used a broiler pan and a cookie rack.  The broiler pan worked best.  The kids liked playing in the soapy water.  I was having my doubts at this point, because the pumpkins looked like drowned orange hairballs.  But eventually they began to take shape.      

A little rinsing was next, then forming the stem.  We put the pumpkins in the dryer for a few minutes, then took them out when they were mostly dry.  They turned out a little lumpy, but the are cute.  We cut the tops off and I sewed the stems on.  They now reside in a place of honor on the dining room table.

Gabriel took his pumpkin to school on Wednesday, and I heard that it was a hit.  All the kids were entranced by it, and kept asking how it was made.  I think more felt crafts are in our future!  

Artful Parenting

I came across a new blog today, called The Artful Parent.  It looks really fun and educational!  The writer, Jean Van't Hul, encourages her daughter in various art projects, and gives parents tons of advice about pursuing artistic endeavors with their own kiddos.  Check it out! 

Red and Orange

Last Friday Gabriel had a day off from school.  I felt like we could both use some time together, so I promised him that during Annika's nap we would do something special.  I gave him a choice of activities, and he chose to do artwork together.  Of course, he wanted to use my special scrapbooking supplies.   We gathered our art stuff at the dining room table.  I thought that I would like to start with pastels, which Gabriel had not had a chance to use yet.  He was interested in them, so I showed him some techniques for drawing with the chalky sticks.  He really enjoyed being able to meld the colors together with his fingers, and made two or three paintings with them over the course of our time together.

We have been trying to encourage Gabriel to use art as a way to express his feelings, to externalize the difficult emotions.  I worked on a piece about how I felt about being laid-up after my recent surgery, and he imitated me, using red and orange.  He wrote underneath the picture, and I was surprised by what came out:

He said, "Red and orange are very vibrant colors.  They are warm and cosy."

My little boy has an artistic soul.  He picks up vocabulary words and remembers them.  Have I ever explained "vibrant" to him?  I don't remember.  But he tucked the word away somewhere, and pulled it out when he needed it.  How cool is that!