Chalk Painting and Hieroglyphs

Back in March, Delaney went to an art day camp hosted by the Museum of Northern Arizona. She learned how to make many things out of natural ingredients like the Native Americans. One of her favorites was chalk paint.

Since then, she has experimented several times, playing with different colors and consistencies.

Directions: grind up chalk with a flat stone until is becomes a powder.

Add water until it is the consistency you desire.

Paint the house until Mom catches you.

Don't worry. It washes right off.

This week, Delaney experimented with her paint until she had created a thick consistency.

Painting Sophie's hands for some handprints

She painted a love notes to Sophie, and a little portrait.

She recently read "Seeker of Knowledge, The Man Who Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphs", by James Rumford.  She decided to paint her own story with original hieroglyphs.

After that, she went inside and did some research on Chinese symbols and Korean symbols. I'm interested to see how she paints her next story.

Meanwhile, this little one is really interested in addition and subtraction.

Eating M&M's is subtraction, right, Mom?

We have been playing lots of games, many of which include making up stories about giving her candy, her sister taking some away, or her mom giving her some more. She adds or subtracts, and figures out the answer.

She also wrote me her first love note.

I wrote her a note, "I love you Sophie."

She traced it. Then she sounded out "I love Mom" (I LV MOM), wrote it independently, and proudly came to show me!

I might have to frame it. <3

Glimpse of the Art Gallery

Delaney has been amassing quite the collection of creative works.

She created a series of paper dolls, which she made with construction paper, glue and markers.

Penguin

Mom

A moon and a space car.

Character from Grimm's Fairy Tales

Howdy the Cowboy

Ninja

 She created these scenes with markers and other paper dolls...

Flounder and Ariel

Silvermist, the horse fairy

African Savannah

She painted an eye...

We follow Javier Perez on Instagram (@cintascotch). He uses everyday objects to make art, and his art is so fun.  Delaney was inspired and made this bug with a wine cork.

She draws every day...I am amazed at her ability to draw eyes that appear to be looking right at you.

Sister Princesses, Good and Bad

Self portrait

I love the facial expression on this one.

This girl is walking and has turned sideways to look at something.

 She made this little fairy house awhile ago.

"Fairys Welcome"

She also fashioned some tiny fairy dresses, but she hid them in the backyard for the fairies to find before I could take a picture.

I love her creative spirit. I am excited to see what I will discover in the art room every day! 

If You Give This Girl Some Paper, She's Going to Ask for Some Glue...

Delaney is constantly making things at home...drawing pictures, putting fabric and paper together, any number of random art projects. I didn't realize how perpetual her creating is until we were away from home for a week for my sister's wedding, and she began to get a little desperate for materials.

She began small, drawing self portraits and other random pictures.

She snagged some ribbon from our wedding materials, found a paper clip somewhere, and fashioned it into a fishing line. She found a discarded box and turned it into a fishing hole.

Then she found her uncle, who was able to discuss fishing and catching worms with her for awhile.

She wrote a recipe for "Banana Swirl", and convinced me to let her make it, then eat it with Sophie.

This recipe later included an ice cream sandwich blended in, and an assortment of other random kitchen goodies.

She made a castle out of drawings of hands and feet, that she cut out and assembled, then drew and cut some dolls to play inside of it.

 

 

And this was all by the fourth day of our trip.

The last three days were filled with wedding fun and lots of driving, and zero time for her to work on projects. When we arrived home, Delaney was so thrilled to have all of her supplies again. Within an hour, she had folded, cut, glued and colored a new masterpiece for her daddy.

This week, she is attending gymnastics skills camp each morning from 8am - 12pm. It has a Harry Potter theme, which is perfect for her, as she is currently reading the fourth book, and loving every moment of the story. I assumed that she would return home tired and hungry and ready to rest.

Silly me. She was tired and hungry and ready to create.

And soon, she was the proud maker of a new wand...

 

 I'm glad the back to school sales are coming up, because we don't dare run out of supplies! :)

An Artsy March

Delaney's creativity was on high all throughout March. I didn't plan any art for the girls, because she had it all under control!


She taught Sophie all about painting rocks outside.

She put together a bakery with a cardboard box, and make lots of very detailed goodies out of construction paper.

The three of us were working on some watercolor scenes for our science story, and that evolved into an entire art gallery, which she is saving to sell for 25¢ each once the weather warms up a bit.

"Paintings for Sale, Real Beautiful. 25¢

Delaney has been showing a huge interest in making clothes and sewing, so I bought her a little starter canvas to practice learning how to stitch.

 

She was absolutely inspired by Fashion by Mayhem online and on Instagram (@2sisters_angie), and designed what I am sure is the first of many dresses. I was merely her taping/stapling assistant.

 

She has a bin full of flannel from some other project, and she designed a dress/shawl with it. She requested that I sew some of the pieces together. I am not good, not good at all, at sewing. but with her direction, it was a very cute piece, complete with a little buttonhole at the back to hold it just right. I think she is going to need this thing soon...

Sew Cool Sewing Machine

And maybe some sewing classes, too, if I can find a willing soul.

I never fail to be amazed by the amount of creativity that a lot of independence and a little bit of materials can bring about.