Reminders at Christmas ...

Long time, no blog. I might have even had to google how to write a post - well, how to find the screen that allows me to create a post. I couldn't find it. Sorry blog ... but Instagram is just so easy. But I'm back to share one of the most fun projects I've done - and one we're about to start during this holiday season.  

I'll start with the one we did this spring. For the past few years, the 3rd graders had done a nativity scene made of clay as their class auction gift. Me and clay, however ... do not mix. My mom has a bird at her house that I made in about 3rd grade. And I remember trying to construct it carefully & artfully as shown by the art teacher. But the clay was dry & when it all fell apart, I panicked. I believe it had to be finished that day. So I just smashed it all together in a hurry so it could get fired. My mom still has it in her basement on a shelf. And I wince every time I look at it or touch it. It has so many sharp edges, it's not only ugly, it's hazardous.

So ... when I was asked to do the nativity scene with the 3rd graders, I knew it would not be made of clay.

I had just made the tree for the school & had gotten pretty well acquainted with papier mache. And I knew it was pretty forgiving. I know people thought I was crazy. I was even a little embarrassed to tell people what I was doing because I know they had visions of  absolute miserable failure in their heads. And papier mache I think is one of those things that you even doubt yourself until you are just mere minutes away from being done.

I began by asking the students to raid their recycle bins at home. They brought in newspaper, magazines, boxes, toilet paper & paper towel rolls. I bought rolls of masking tape, flour, plastic white trays for the papier mache project and some plastic totes and bubble wrap for them to be easily transported and stored. I already had all the paint and another family at the school generously donated the wooden stable. I can't remember my grand total exactly, but it had to be about $30 - $15 a set.

We made 2 scenes, 1 for each class. Here's how it was broken down:  Joseph, Mary, Baby Jesus, Manger, 3 Wisemen, 2 Shepherds, 2 Angels, 3 Sheep, 2 Camels, 1 Donkey, 1 Cow, 4 Trees, 1 Star.  I know we had some last minute changes to this line up, but this was at least the start of breaking down the parts for 23 kids.

We started out just balling up newspaper & taping it up. The people standing up (wisemen, shepherds) were a full size toilet paper roll, the ones kneeling and the angels we had cut down to a smaller size. The sheep were just balls of newspaper. The cows, camels & donkeys were all full size toilet paper rolls. The trees were paper towel rolls cut at various sizes. For the mangers, we cut the ends off a box from a bar of soap and stuffed it with newspaper.

We had the kids come out in small groups, grouped together by what part of the nativity set they were. 

To keep the pieces straight, I wrote their names in permanent marker on the pizza box or on the paper in the space where it was drying.

There's a whole lotta imagination that is used in the beginning. Was I worried? Heck. Yes.   Nah, what can go wrong?

We covered the pieces in newspaper strips dipped in the flour & water paste. After spending 2 1/2 long days at school, I decided it was time to take the pieces home and give them all their finishing touches. Mostly, this just meant more layers of papier mache. But I also needed to put staffs in the hands of the shepherds and gifts in the hands of the wisemen.

Originally, I was going to have the kids paint their pieces. But. I had already spent 2 1/2 school days on this project, pulling the kids in & out of their classroom. And I knew it was going to take up way too much time for me to load it all back up, set up the tables, paints & bring them out in small groups. I knew I wanted a very minimal look to all the pieces anyway (no faces or details), so I thought for the minimal painting that needed to be done, it was probably not worth me loading it all up, setting up camp & dragging the kids out of their classrooms for another day or 2. 

I really loved watching the pasty looking newspaper 'blobs' come to life. It is amazing what paint can do. I wrote the names of each student on the bottom of their piece once they were all dry.

Below are the two finished nativity scenes (*the stars were then wrapped in wire so that they could be attached to the stable). I really love the way they turned out.  Together they raised almost $1,500 for our school. As I told the teachers after the auction was over ... "Not bad for recyclables." :)

I think they are a beautiful reminder of what the season is really about.  The birth of Jesus to show God's love for mankind. Appreciating the simple things around us and using them for good. This was made mostly with things people no longer wanted. Yet for our project they allowed us to create a masterpiece and allowed families to be generous with donations to our parish school. Sometimes so much more can come from giving up what you don't need so someone else can treasure it. 

Just last week I found this project called "Light 'Em Up" which gives some ideas for random acts of kindness you can spread around your city, family and friends. If you have ever been on the receiving end of a random act of kindness, then you know it doesn't take much to have a huge impact (here is  what $10 once did for our family). I love that it helps teach kids that the focus on the season should be about the giving not the receiving. We picked out some stars off the "Giving Tree" at church, but I [mom] did all the shopping for it.  So this week, as a family, we're going to pick out a few items and help bring some "goodness and light" to Kansas City. 

"Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go."- Mother Teresa

THE TREE.

Better late than never, here is the post with some photos of the TREE! :) This is the tree I worked on this summer for our school. My talented architect friend, Dana, used her skills to make some layout changes to our school. In doing this, she found this little room under the stairs (by 1st, 2nd & 3rd grades) and knew it could be better utilized as a reading room. This tiny little room had 2 windows which we all know are a commodity. I never saw the "before" because quite frankly, the windows on the door were literally boarded up with paneling. I never knew this room existed. I believe it was just being used to store some things. (But when my husband went there it was the room for the school nurse! And when the school was first built I believe it was the principal's office!)

Earlier in the year, my friend & I had chatted about some ideas for the school library. We discussed a papier mache tree. So when Dana discovered this room & took on the project of converting it to a reading nook for small reading groups, she asked if I was interested in constructing the tree for this room. Of course I was ... I was just nervous. Because. The only papier mache thing I had made was {this eagle} with Brett for a school project. But I knew that was easy enough. And I figured this would just take longer. Which pretty much was the case, but when you're talking about a floor to ceiling sized tree that's covering up pipes & getting fitted into a corner where there's trim at the bottom & a metal cord cover on one side up on the wall. And knowing kids are going to be in there. Stepping on its roots. Punching its trunk. Okay, of course I hope those last 2 things don't happen. But. I have 3 kids. I know the potentials. And I wanted to be prepared. So besides all that, it was JUST like the eagle. :) *wink*

(Above) The pipes we were wanting to cover. But not permanently. So the structure has been adhered to the anchored wood strips with industrial velcro tape.

More of the room. Pre-tree. :) But my friend Dana had already gotten started painting.

Trying to figure out my plan of attack working around the awkward base trim. 

I was nervous. So I did a lot of stalling ... like taking on the fun & easy part of the project! Picking out the fun paper for the leaves! :) I decided to go with a mix similar to these {other tree projects} I've done. Apparently, that's my style & I'm sticking to it. :) I not only went for papers that worked with the colors in the room, but I also chose some alphabet letters, sheet music & shamrocks (our school is "the Irish") to go with the school theme. 

I can't tell you how long this structure (above) stood like this in my garage. Stalling. Big time. See, when I get scared ... I wait for panic mode to set in. Because then & only then can good things happen. 

Finally, I had Kyle help me anchor the sides to these bases as an attempt to keep its shape. Trying to fit it into its corner remotely (I built this in my garage) was difficult. But, I had 3 kids at home with me this summer. Besides, I'm a night owl & this worked well for me to just go out at 9 PM & work 'til I couldn't work any more. 

Then I started to add on some branches & roots. The trunk was made with really thick wire & I used chicken wire that was more pliable for the branches & roots. Then I snipped up (using tin snips which I also used to cut the chicken wire) bits of wire & wired it all together. I believe I took this photo above to show that I used some pieces of my white garden fence / stakes for support in the 'branch armpit'. I just used my trusty staple gun (which I also used throughout the project) to fasten the chicken wire to the wood.

When I felt confident about the structure, I wrapped the whole thing in brown kraft paper with masking tape. I might have overdone it. :) That happens when you don't know what you're doing. 

These supplies were my friends for about a week straight. These and a box fan to help with drying. I made small batches of paste at a time. I used 2 Panda Express take-out forks so that I didn't have to ruin anything of mine. :) And an old ice cream bucket & a dixie cup cut down for measuring the wall size powder. Oh this brings back memories!

I papier mached for 5 or 6 days. And usually I worked 2-3 hours in the morning, then a 2-3 hours again at night. Definitely time consuming & messy ... but exciting to see the tree start taking its shape & firming up!

When I was satisfied with the strength of the papier mache, I painted it using a semi-gloss. 

The kids were all over helping me paint it. But all were grossed out by the papier mache process. Davis helped me for about 8 minutes, then asked if he could be done. :) Not as fun as it looked, I guess.  But I did like involving them because Davis (3rd grade) & Libby (Kindergarten) I knew were going to be using the room. And I figured if they had invested some time in the project, they'd help preserve it once it was in the school. 

Finally it was time to move the beast up to school. My friend Dana came with their truck & we strapped it in for its short journey up to school. :)

Still nervous (paranoid) about the trunk's strength, I did decide to zip tie this little piece in there. Probably unnecessary, but it made me feel better. 

I had already planned on this happening, but I went ahead & had finished off the roots at home knowing there was a small chance it'd just "work out". It didn't. :) The roots needed to be rebuilt once it was in the room. Not a problem, I just mashed up more chicken wire & wired them onto the roots I had already built. Then spent a couple days papier maching over the bottom portion.

I loved the way the leaves turned out!!!!! I had bought a box of joint biscuits at the hardware store! Cut out a leaf shape in all the paper then used mod podge to adhere it to the wood piece & a coat on top to make it glossy & seal it. I loved these little guys. 

Dana had painted the walls a darker green, the ceiling a pretty robin egg blue & then I used the light green to paint out the tree top. Then I used 3M strips to adhere to joint biscuit leaves to the wall & ceiling! In this photo above, it's not quite finished ... I see a piece of newspaper where it looks like I did a patch job. And it's not fixed to the wall just yet. But my friend's husband did come in & anchor some 2"x8' strips to the walls. They matched the 2"x8' strips that make up the tree's frame, so when it was all done we used industrial strength velcro tape on the 2"x8' pieces and sandwiched it all together.

I mixed together another batch of the papier mache paste for the leaves that went on the tree. Took two cut out leaves (paper only, no join biscuits) & chose a thin part of a branch and sandwiched it in between the wire.

Originally from St.Louis, I'm a Cardinal fan at heart. And I thought it'd be fun to have a little 'life' in the tree. So I hot glued this little guy to a branch up above. 

As an afterthought, I tried out this little treatment on the bark. I just haphazardly dry brushed on a dark brown. It was really just an experiment, knowing if it didn't work out I could just paint over it. But I loved the results. It picked up on all the little rough edges underneath the layers of paint, it looked like real tree bark. SO COOL.

And here is the tree in its corner & two bean bags waiting to be opened. This was a fun surprise for the students, families & teachers at the before school open house.

I love this view. The school carefully cut out the panels in the top half of the door that had previously sealed off this room. Can't remember if it's just open or if there's plexiglass in there. Such a happy view.

It was definitely a labor of love & well worth it. I am happy to be a part of the team that helped bring such an inspirational space like this to our school. My elementary school had so many fun little elements that I still remember to this day. And a few of them were in the Library. I hope in 20-30 years the kids (as grown ups) include this little reading nook as part of their magical memories. Whether it's that they remember dreaming under the branches as they listened to or read a book; or that they remember being cozy in this sunny room on days that it was cold, snowy or rainy out; or even just being inspired by the artistic element & process of making the tree.  As a kid, I know I would have loved all 3. :)

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! :)]

Fundraiser wrap up ...

Real quick because I'm supposed to be packing. But, just wanted to send out a final tally for my Autism Awareness Fundraiser for my son's Resource Center at school. My goal was to raise $500 in order to purchase a Language program & together we actually raised $700! :) AMAZING. Thank you! So so much!

I am off to spend a few days with some old faces. One of my Mother's Day gifts was a shiny new red suitcase with a flight reservation in it.  Had to suddenly break some plans with some peeps here & have to suddenly make some plans with some peeps there. Say a prayer for me ... I'm not used to operating solo. It's already feeling weird! :)

The Imperfect Nest ...

Print found here.

From now until 4/30, in honor of Autism Awareness Month, all proceeds from this and the rest of my prints will go  towards purchasing a Language program for my son's resource center at school.

This is one of my favorite quotes. I have done a few paintings of it before [as seen here] ... but ironically enough, I couldn't get a photograph turned into a print that I was proud of to save my life.    The irony, of course - that they weren't "perfect" enough. :) I tried twice to get prints made and came home with new batches of both ... but never put them in my shop because I just wasn't happy with the product. There's perfection & then there's the fact that you are a shop owner creating a product that you want to stand behind whole-heartedly. I didn't want to sell something to somebody that I would not buy myself. But my fundraiser had to have that quote.  So third time was the charm. I painted an entirely new nest with new colors, new angle. Literally and figuratively. :)

When I paint, I think [& sometimes listen to Pandora or watch the Barefoot Contessa]. This time, I got to thinking of the previous night's special on Autism.  It's an in-depth look into a retired PBS news anchor's new world of Autism. Robert MacNeil's 6 year old grandson has Autism & as the grandfather, he is intrigued & heartbroken. He basically came back to reporting just to tell this story.  I think he's doing a fabulous job covering all the bases, one of which was interviewing his 10 year old granddaughter. He asked her questions about what it's like to have a brother with Autism. She got choked up as she talked about how sometimes she longed for the perfect life ... she sees others not have to struggle with Autism in their family & it didn't seem fair.

I was heartbroken for her. I've had similar conversations with my middle 'neuro typical' child, Davis, who often thinks life is unfair & that as his parents we're unfair. And you know what? He's right. It is not easy to be a sibling in an Autistic Family.

I've heard him say that we're "only proud of Brett". Of course that is not true, but in actuality, we probably are more vocal in praising Brett because after correcting him or asking him to do something 473 times, NEWS FLASH: he finally did it! However, now that I am aware that it might seem skewed, I do my best to praise fairly.

I spend over an hour every weekday night with Brett on his homework, but Davis can do his one math sheet of homework all by himself in less than 3 minutes.  I don't even have to go over it and check for mistakes. It's almost always all right. I feel bad I'm not more involved with Davis when he's doing his homework, but it's so d.r.a.i.n.i.n.g to do it with Brett I almost have nothing left over. I know I take for granted that Davis is so smart and self-directed.

Recently, we started an incentive program for Brett here at home. If he got all stars for good, cooperative behavior at school for 10 days, he got a prize. We were trying to undo a pattern of bad, uncooperative behavior and thankfully, it worked. Well, Davis wanted one, too. He told me "I know dad says I'm always good at school, but I want a chart, too".  I am aware that some children could have used this as an opportunity to act up at school, in order to create a need for a chart themselves.  But thankfully, not Davis. So, I asked him if he wanted to start a chore chart.  Luckily, he was okay with our modification. He loves chores. Last night he earned two stars for cleaning up his & Brett's room and for helping Libby clean up hers. Such a great kid.

Since Davis was born, he has spent on average an hour & a half per week either in a waiting room or somewhere waiting for Brett's therapy to get out. We started therapy with Brett, when Davis was just about a week old. He is 7 years old now ... so if my math is right, that is approximately 546 hours of Davis's life spent waiting. Just on his brother's therapy.

We don't have as many play dates after school because quite frankly, I'm exhausted just taking care of my own and there just aren't enough hours in the day. Our evenings are so busy between winding down after school, getting a snack, sports practice, speech therapy, making dinner, eating dinner, doing homework and showers, that there is not much more I want to take on. I know this is no different from other parents with school age kids, but ... it just is.  I know it is.

We also know Davis gets embarrassed by, frustrated with and angry at his brother. We have sibling rivalry to the umpteenth degree.  I have had a few heart to hearts with Davis. About Brett. And we both usually wind up crying. I start it and I think he then feels so bad that he starts in as well. I think so much is said between us just in our tears. I know his life isn't easy. But neither is Brett's. Neither is Libby's. Nor mine. Nor Kyle's. So I'm led to believe that no one's is. We all have our things that make life seem unfair; small imperfections in the nest that has been made up for us. Some are more apparent than others, some are well hidden, but we all have them.

Our children live in a nest that apparently is more noticeably imperfect than others.  As the mother bird, I am aware. But I hope and pray that one day, they will look back on it all and realize all those colorful pieces that were woven into our life story, is what made ours beautiful.

[To view the PBS News Hour segment, on Autism, click here.]