Small things ...

I was asked to head up the PreK class gift for our big school-wide auction [our biggest fundraiser of the year]. I put a lot of pressure on myself to come up with 'the perfect gift'. I think there is already pressure there knowing that the item you create & present is supposed to raise a lot of money. So then it just snowballs from there. There's pressure to come up with an item that would appeal to a lot of people [the parents of the PreK]. Pressure to come up with something that someone would want to put in their home / somewhere. Pressure to come up with something that was worthy of taking up room in someone's home; in this case worthy of taking up precious wall space. Our school is in an old part of Kansas City where most of us have sacrificed indoor & outdoor space for being in a beautiful, established, historic part of town. So again, space is an issue ... at least it is for most of the people I know that live around here! :)

Last year, this grade submitted framed artwork made with the children's thumbprints. It was so darling & perfect for that age. But now that they are getting older, I wanted them to be able to do something themselves. But not too difficult. Which is a very fine line. [And which is why I was stumped for months]

So after months of stressing out & drawing a blank, it f.i.n.a.l.l.y came together. I got a package of 100 4x6 white [acid free, etc] paper, 2 sets of 50 washable [PreK, hello] Crayola thin markers, a package of multi-colored [acid free, etc] paper for mounting, used an acid free Elmer's glue stick & then got 2 approx. 14" x 19" 'multipurpose floating' frames. Originally $35 a piece, I got them when they were on sale 1/2 off. I got thin markers knowing the space they'd be coloring in would be smaller than they were used to & I was hoping it would still give them a chance to get more detailed. I was happy to find the 'floating' frame [meaning what you frame is floating between 2 sheets of glass, you can see through it] because that way you don't have to worry about a mat & there's a better chance that it'll work with someone's decor since their own wall color shows through.

I traced a heart on all the white card stock before taking them into the classrooms. Additionally, I found out how many tables there were & tried to divide up the markers ahead of time, giving each table a good range of colors. I made a few examples to show the kids because as I have learned ... a little guidance is good. So I made a few ahead of time with easy ideas: stripes, flowers, a 'self-portrait', stars, etc. Then I also listed off some ideas to get the kids thinking about what they were going to do before they began.

Above are some of the hearts from one of the classes. I left the teachers with some of the supplies because there are some kids that don't go to school certain days of the week or were absent.

[side note: The one on the bottom left with the stick figures ... that boy told me it was himself & a friend, and 2 people were jumping over them. :) The one above it is of a black dog. After I brought up the idea of drawing your favorite animal or your pet ... a little girl came up to me & shared the story about how she had a black dog that died. Looks like she decided to make her heart a tribute to her pet. :) Sweet ... but definitely one of those 'oh boy why did I have to go there :( sad' moments.]

I played around with different arrangements, trying to separate ones that were similar in color or in design.

Then I picked out a coordinating color on which to mount them.  I'm glad I decided to do this step after all. It definitely finishes off the piece. And it gave me a nice visible spot to put their names on the back. Which ... because it's a 'floating frame' you can see through. I like that the front has some anonymity; they all have a similar shape & size, but the designs make them unique. But for those that want to know whose is whose, they can still see on the back.

This quote came to mind as the idea formed ... all the kids would be doing their own thing. And by itself it might be small & insignificant, but I knew if we grouped them together it would make a nice piece. The uniqueness & individuality all grouped together is what makes it beautiful & makes a statement. Originally, I wanted enough space for all of the quote:

“What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do.

The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things.

But we can all do small things, with great love,

and together we can do something wonderful.” - Mother Teresa

But in the end due to the lack of space, I had to settle on the condensed version. It still means the same thing. :) [fonts I used were 'butterbrotpaper' & 'commercial script'] I mounted it on green because it is our school's color.

Above is Libby's class. Libby's is 4th row, 2nd column ... she called it "rainbow tic tac toe". :)

And here is the other PreK class. I turned it on the horizontal because there were so many, it worked better [again, space became an issue].

Total cost for materials comes to about $25 a piece.

I know I'm biased, but I think they turned out cute. My goal was to have something that could be hung just about anywhere. I thought if I could achieve that, then it would appeal to more people increasing the chances of getting a bigger bid during the live auction! :) I could see this in a hallway, a child's room, play room, entry way, doctor's office, waiting room, etc. Regardless of where they go or how they do in the auction, they're done. The weight has been lifted. My mind is free to put creative thought towards other things. And they turned out pretty darn cute. *phew*

[UPDATE: One of these was bought before the auction began for $500! The other was bought during the live auction & went for $425! Woo hoo! Way to go, little Picassos! :)]