kaleidoscoping chaos...: stencils

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Talking About Transportation...

T minus 4 days and counting...

Until Jonah's Official 3rd Birthday "Transportation Celebration" Friend Party

What the hell is that you ask?

It is Jonah's birthday party for his buddies. You have to be either 3 or 4 years old to get an invitation (and you can bring your sibling(s) and parent(s) if you do).

This is our first birthday party just for the kids - so to speak. Yes, there will still be alcoholic drinks available for the moms and dads... but everything else is pretty much geared to a 3 year old.

Jonah picked his theme. He did so with confidence and conviction. When asked what kind of party do you want? how should we decorate?

He announced loudly and clearly, "Mommy, I want cars, trains, trucks, planes, helicopters, fire trucks, garbage trucks, police cars, motorcycles, spaceships-we need spaceships-and bicycles and things that go."

So that is what he is getting. A Transportation Celebration. This Sunday.

The party colors are green and blue. I couldn't find any decorations that really captured what I thought would work, so we are making most of them.

My big idea for the decorations: transportation stencils in blue and green! We tried our first batch of stencils a few weeks ago (pre Jonah's big haircut...) and we used stencils from Dover Publishing, crayola paint and paint brushes. That worked out OK.

Then we bought a bunch of art supplies from Discount School Supply through our buddies over at Not-So-SAHM. Our good buddies, Kane & Cami, are now "affiliates" for Discount School Supply. We buy our stuff through them and they get a small cut - cool deal, and it is the least we can do considering how often we copy their super cool art projects! If you interested in getting any art supplies, just click on the link here to get to their blog and there is button on their blog for Discount Art Supply.

We bought the big Biocolor paint set, the transportation stencil packet, a set of small paint rollers, a large packet of the white card stock, and masking tape. The stencils from Discount School Supply are made of plastic and we really love them! (Although Jonah loves the spaceships from the Dover stencil set!) The paint rollers were a huge hit. And Jonah really enjoys the various blues and greens - I think there are about 5 colors to choose from that are sort of blue and/or green in the Biocolor paint set! Fun!

I still need to organize all of it and figure out "how" to decorate with all this stencil art... but I am sure it will come to me (or my kaleidoscope)!

We are all excited for the big day. Here's hoping we get wonderful weather like we did for Vera's garden party! (see here)

First attempt... why are my kids always eating the paint!!!!

note the hair... awww pre-first-hair-cut

Second try with new art supplies!

loving the rollers!

and the colors...

Today! Still eating the paint...

and now rollering with both hands!

We got lots of stencil decorations to do something with!!!!

http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-5731055-10658019

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Walk like an Egyptian (or dance, sing and paint like one...)

We stayed at the Luxor hotel this past weekend in Vegas. In a pyramid... surrounded by Sphinx and ancient wall paintings... and Blackjack tables and slot machines. Vegas is a city like no other. I must confess I LOVE it! Amazingly, we didn't even gamble this trip... and I completely enjoy hanging and gambling at the Blackjack tables - but we were too busy. This was my fifth trip to Vegas and I have always stayed on the "strip" as they call it. The Luxor was fine. Its spa was delightful. I needed both the massage and pedicure and the steam room, sauna and hot tub were divine!

Still the whole Egyptian theme was super corny (I know most of them are - but for some reason I can sort of go with Mandalay Bay, MGM, or even NY, NY). This whole ancient Egypt was a bit over the top-but it was Vegas!

So I knew I needed to bring the kids home some Egypt stuff... right??? I got them the cutest little shirts. I was paying for the shirts and right by the register are these little stencil books!!! I had a "moment" of inspiration and was totally thrilled that for a mere $1.50 each, we had our Egypt project! Kick it up for me (and for the souvenir shop in Vegas)! The fact that I was able to find a project for my kids while in Vegas on line at the souvenir shop and not find time to at least bet one hand of blackjack... well that is a whole other post...

When the kids woke up today they got their silly t-shirts (which they were supposed to wear to playgroup but missed because poor Vera was begging for her nap and I didn't have the heart to schlep her out and make her miss her nap... although mommy severely missed the adult interaction) Vera also found my sunglasses and loved the outfit. I sang the song for them "Walk like an Egyptian" and they were giggling their heads off. Then I tried to explain Egypt to them without a book (whatever) and after lunch we did Egypt stencil art. I continued with some more "explaining" about the pyramids and art drawings/carvings on walls to tell stories and Jonah stops and looks at me at says "Let me people go! right mom?" - I almost fainted... seriously almost fainted. (Although his T-shirt was a bit reminiscent of the Pharaoh blow up punching bag he thoroughly enjoyed during Passover...)

The painting was a big hit. Vera was totally into it, which is great. She is holding the paint brush and trying to do everything just like Jonah. Jonah finished his first and then "helped" Vera finish hers. I taped the six little stencils onto a big piece of white paper, gave them six colors of paint, and a bunch of different paint brushes. They went at it. When I took off the stencils, both of them were super surprised and excited. Later, I cut up the six pictures and hung them in our kitchen. They haven't seen that yet.

We still have some more Vegas inspired posts/projects to come... just wait and see!