ROWDY GRANDMA

Zentangle Fever

2010-08-06T11:47:00.000-07:00

Have you guys heard about Zentangle? It is a meditative drawing process which can be addicting. I recently sent some Zentangle books to my grandkids in Arkansas, they love it. In fact two of my granddaughters, Faith and Sarah have become very accomplished in this art. They have even begun to add their own tangles to their drawings. The friends and teachers they have introduced it to are fascinated as well. Recently they paid us a visit here in Texas and wanted to try some tangles on canvas. The results were fabulous!!

Both Faith and Sarah took them home to hang on their bedroom walls, they each have quite a collection of their own art pieces hanging in their rooms. I am so proud of everything they have created!

Faith was inspired by circle tangles she saw in the book 'Zentangle 2'

Kids love art materials. I always keep some inexpensive canvas in the studio for them to use. Children feel so much like an artist when they get to put their marks on a canvas. Next time the grandkids visit... surprise them... have their own canvas waiting for them to create art to hang in their rooms. You can always catch a sale on canvas of all sizes at your local craft store, Michaels, Joannes and Hobby Lobby often have 50% off.

Sarah was inspired by the use of color, she loves yellow.

If you haven't been introduced to Zentangle yet you can visit the official Zentangle site for more information. Amazon and Design Originals sell books on Zentangle, or just google Zentangle, there's lots of info on the web.

Opportunities

2010-07-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

It has been a shameless amount of time since my last post, but I do have excuses (I always have excuses). I should probably go ahead and just call it like it is...procrastination. However, I really dislike calling it procrastination, it's not like I am not doing anything...I am usually doing too much (another problem I have).

My studio was in transition for a really long time, moved from a garage studio to one I had built behind my house...which is great. It just happened to be during the rainiest time ever here in Texas...so that took forever. Therefore, not much creating was going on.

I also decided last November to go back to work. Design Originals is a local book publisher based in Fort Worth, TX. They have been publishing fabulous art and craft books for over 25 years, I have collected many, many of them. So this was a dream job..surrounded by artists and crafters and the books they contribute to. Heaven!!

A few months ago an opportunity came up for me to do a book for Design Originals. My own art work concentrates mostly on recycled items. I also absolutely love wine and have collected a ton of wine bottles. I have used them as borders for my flower beds, made bottle trees and created mixed media pieces and jewelry from them. The book Design Originals was putting together just happened to be on Bottle Art...my thing. Suzanne McNeill, owner of Design Originals and a fabulous artist herself, asked me if I was interested in doing the book...and I said you betcha. It was a wonderful learning experience, I am thrilled to have had the chance to do my very own book. It is exciting to see it in print, on the Design Originals website and believe it or not on Amazon. I am an Amazon fanatic...now my book is on there, unbelievable. I sometimes just do a search on Amazon just to make sure it's real.

In the book I do photo holders out of wine bottles and was able to place pictures of the grandkids into the photo shoot. My rowdies have their pictures in my book, my ode to how much they mean to me. Faith and Sarah, my granddaughters from Arkansas spent some time with me last week. Of course we were in the studio all the time. They wanted to make some projects from the Bottle Art book. They did a great job and I wanted to share some of the pictures with you.

Decoupaged bottle and vase.

Sarah creating "Paula in a Bottle".

Since my studio is now pretty much in order, the grandkids and I are back to creating some wonderful things. As they have grown their abilities have also grown. I have always felt I learned a lot from them while we worked together in the studio, I feel that even more now that they are older. We brainstorm about some of my upcoming art pieces as well as how they want to work on their own piece of art. My goal when they were smaller was to acquaint them with the wonderful world of art materials. Now that they know more about the possibilities of these materials they are some of my most treasured critics.

Faith and Rylan.

My youngest grandson, Rylan, is soon to be 8 months old, it will be great to have a tiny little person in the studio with me again showing him all the wonders of art and craft. I have tried putting a crayon in his hand..but alas it still goes instantly to the mouth..so he is not yet ready..but I am...ready and waiting!

Ghouls on a stick!!

2009-10-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

Ghoul-on-a-stick

Halloween is just around the corner, one of my favorite holidays. The rowdies and I have a lot of fun with Halloween projects. One of our favorites is monsters, ghouls and skeletons on a stick. This is similar to the project I posted on January 24th, 2009, the paintbrush characters. We used paperclay as we did for that project but this time we molded it around a styrofoam ball, you can use really small round styrofoam or the really large ones. You can put all kinds of bumps and bulges on it to make it a scary monster.

We put a screw in this ghoul's head (he's got a screw loose!!)

After the clay dries paint them with acrylic paints and apply a sealer of some kind. The stick can be anything from a skewer to a popscicle stick, we also painted our stick. The sticks we used for ghouls-on-a-stick are lollipop sticks, my favorites..they make the ghouls look like lollipops!!

Have fun!!

Art Tip

2009-10-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

Lauryn's art.

I keep a whole section of art materials just for the rowdies to use when they come to visit. Kids do love to paint and draw, but almost all of my grandkids have experienced "artist's block."

They are all set to paint and they ask me what they should paint. I suggest things like bunny rabbits, kitty cats or merry-go-rounds. Their reaction is "I can't paint that", or "I don't know how...you do it for me."

To encourage them to explore with their art I tell them I would like to see how they paint a bunny rabbit, maybe by watching them I can learn something about bunny rabbit painting...things I would never have done...like pink and purple polka dots and squiggles for a tail.

So, instead of me sitting down drawing a bunny and them copying me we sit down and let the grandchild draw and I do my best fo copy theirs. It is a good experience for both of us. Funny thing...I almost always like their bunny best!!!

When life hands you lemons.....

2009-09-19T17:36:00.000-07:00

Rowdy Grandma has been a little self-absorbed over the last few months. Shortly after my last post in July I was diagnosed with severe COPD. It was surreal, I have always been so healthy and active...and very experimental in my art work. One of the biggest disappointments with this diagnosis is what it means for my approach to art. I decided it was best to take a few months off and regroup a little.

Most everything I do in the studio involves harmful materials - I burn a lot of my assemblage and collage work. I use chemicals to patinate metals, aerosal sprays to preserve my pieces. Resins, oil paints, turpentine and paint remover...they are all harmful to the respiratory system.

So, guys let me caution you...when you use questionable materials, either in your own work or the art you do with the grandkids, ALWAYS USE A MASK AND ADEQUATE VENTILATION!!.....IT MATTERS!!

Taylor with mask and gloves...he's ready to create!!
Oh, and of course cool, protective eye wear.

There are so many fabulous art materials to work with, I am now taking classes in drawing and watercolor...although I may never be able to completely substitute fire for water I have found a wonderful local teacher and hope this is an opportunity to turn lemons into lemonade and expand on the art I produce. I have completed some new works for local art shows and have not stopped working with the grandkids on their own art. I look forward to sharing lots of interesting ideas and kid projects with you over the next few months.

Here is a cool idea for displaying the rowdies art. If you are like me the front of your refrigerator is jam packed with art. One day I was looking for wall space to hang more kid's art....couldn't find any so I started tacking it to the ceiling of my studio.....the kid's absolutely love it!! If you don't have a studio ceiling a hall ceiling is a great place for it too...or try a spare bedroom, especially if it's the one the rowdies sleep in when they stay the night. They will love drifting off to sleep while staring at their own little masterpieces.

So many stuffed animals, so little time!!

2009-07-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

Sarah, my 11 year old granddaughter from Arkansas, spent a week with me recently. She adores doing arts and crafts as much as I do, maybe even more.

Sarah with her new collection of creatures.

Everyday we did some kind of project. I taught her to use my sewing machine and together we created a menagerie of cool stuffed creatures.

Sarah, concentrating on her stitching!!

All it really requires is a whole bunch of stuffing material, plenty of old clothes to cut up and a few socks. Sarah made up a lot of her creatures by drawing them on the material with chalk.

Chalked mermaid.

She also looked through one of my favorite books on stuffed animals, Plush-O-Rama by Linda Kopp, and based some of her creature designs on those she liked from Linda's book.

That same week FaveCrafts asked me to submit a craft to their website, this gave me the idea to interview Sarah as a guest blogger and find out how she feels about creativity.

Stuffing a creature.

Here's what she had to say.
RG: What are your favorite colors?
Sarah: Green, blue and purple.

RG: Do you have a favorite art project?
Sarah: Probably stuffed animals, because I got to learn to use a sewing machine.

RG: What is your favorite part of being in the art studio?
Sarah: So many possibilities of what you can do, looking around at everything.

RG: What inspires you?
Sarah: Pictures in magazines for drawing; for stuffed animals just seeing them all in my room.

RG: What do you think is the most exciting part of a new project?
Sarah: Watching it all unfold and come together.

RG: Which stuffed animal is your favorite and how did you come up with the name.
Sarah: My favorites are Polly and Molly, I picked Polly because it's a fun name and reminds me of pink, I picked Molly because it rhymes with Polly.

Sarah, Polly and Molly.

Thank you Sarah, we had a great time crafting!!

Click over to FaveCrafts website to see my latest project called Bling Bouquet.

Trip to Maine

2009-06-23T16:18:00.000-07:00

The coast of Maine is beautiful. I just returned from Lubec, Maine... the easternmost point in the United States. I have a good friend who owns a cabin there, it sits across from the Lubec Channel, and is very close to the very picturesque Quoddy Lighthouse.

Dylan and Taylor in front of Quoddy Lighthouse.

It was a real treat to get away from the near 100 degree weather we are having in Texas. I took a couple of the grandkids with me..(ask me about road trips with grandkids)!!

Rusty, not admiring the beautiful view of the Porcupine Islands as he stands on Cadillac Mountain in the Arcadia National Park...but yearning to play the golf course he can see from the mountain, he played it the next day.

My husband, Rusty, and I survived,(and so did the kids); we had a really good time seeing another part of the country.

Taylor standing on the roots of this wonderful old tree on Sand Beach in Arcadia National Park.

My next trip is to Arkansas for Rusty's family reunion and a visit with the grandkids in Arkansas. Hoping to get back to art making in July. My how time flies!!!

My idea of heaven!!

Flipped out!!!

2009-06-04T16:49:00.000-07:00

As a mixed media artist I play with a lot of recycled objects. I have tons of flip flops in all sizes, each grandkid leaves at least one pair here every summer.

Lauryn and Lyndsey painting their silly shoes.

A couple of summers ago I decided to make a little art with these leftovers. The rowdies have been anxious to make their own silly shoe art so this past week a few of them came over to Rowdy Grandmas and we made an "altered flip flop" which can be hung on the wall.

Lyndsey's flame shoe, Lauryn's buzzin' bee shoe.

For this craft all you need to begin is a flip flop - from there you can add anything you want to it. They come in really cool colors, so you don't even have to paint them. They can be very simple, glue on an image from a magazine, a color book or a piece or two of old costume jewelry.

Colorful flip flops.

My rowdies jump at the chance to paint anything, so we painted our flip flops. If the kids seem a little stumped about what to put on their shoe it's time for brainstorming. What is their favorite insect, what is their favorite thing to do, do they have a favorite doll or sport!!! Sometimes coming up with funny ideas is the best part of the project, it gets them talking and thinking.

Shoes with white primer paint.

Afer a little brainstorming Lauryn decided since she had a friend who likes bees her silly shoe would be all about bees. Taylor decided his dad likes to rides motorcycles so he would make his look like a road, and finish it off with tires he drew on paper. Lyndsey decided her shoe was goin' down in a maze of flames...and...well.... who knows why Lyndsey decides anything.

Taylor's road hog shoe.

All of the flip flips were first painted with a white primer or gesso. For Lauryn's bee we applied painters tape in a stripe pattern. The untaped area was painted yellow. Once that paint dried we removed the tape and painted the remaining areas black. It already looked like a bee!!

Taped shoe, ready for bee stripes.

She then drew pictures of bees, colored them in with colored pencil, cut them out and glued them to her flip flop with hot glue.

Lauryn's bees, so cute!!

Bees like flowers, so she hot glued a big flower to her shoe. We could have stopped there but we decided to take some wire, coil it around a pencil to shape it and add a bead to the end for antennas. The wire very easily slips into the rubber of the shoe, so just poke the wire in where you want it.

Wire for antenna, glued flower.

For all the flip flop projects we sprayed the final, dried paint with a clear acrylic apray so the paint would be sure and stay on. A note of caution, we sprayed Lyndsey's entire shoe with acrylic after we put the flames on. Her flames were drawn on paper, thin cardboard would have been a better choice, the acrylic spray made the paper flames a little limp. Lesson learned, on Lauryn and Taylor's silly shoe we sprayed the painted flip flop before applying the paper figures.

Two types of wire hangers.

There are several ways to make hangers for the "altered flip flip".

1. A length of wire approx. 4" length stuck into the top of the shoe in a loop fashion.
2. A length of wire approx. 2" length with each end bent up slightly and stuck into the back of the shoe, the best alternative if you don't want the hanger to show.
3. Just poke a hole in the back of the shoe near the top and hang it on a nail

So, the next time you are looking for a lazy day, summer craft just pull off your shoe and get to work!!

Sarah's Tshirt tote.

2009-05-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

We've talked about how much kids love getting their hands dirty, and making sure the rowdies wear an old Tshirt or overshirt while they are creating really messy art, (it's all messy!). How about incorporating the two...when my granddaughter Sarah visited from Arkansas we decided to take one of these old Tshirts and sew up her very own tote bag.

Sarah's tote bag.

This is not a new idea, I have seen lots of these done in various ways...just google how to sew a Tshirt tote, and you find all kinds of projects. I like doing these because they are such a great way to recycle and everybody has an old Tshirt.

Yardstick and chalk marking.

First thing to decide is how big you want the bag. Measure it out on the front of the Tshirt with a yardstick,(easy for the rowdies to use) and chalk, you may also want to measure and chalk the back. Sarah cut the front first,layed this piece down on the back and cut around it. Rowdies love to work with chalk, they love tools of all kinds ...so of course they want to do the cutting. If you have a rotary cutter introduce the grandkids to this handy dandy little item...they are amazed!!!

Sewn strap, use a chopstick to turn it.

The straps are very easy as well, make them as long or short as you want by cutting strips from the Tshirt. When you have cut the strips of material place the right sides together and sew a seam. Turn the strap right side out, (a chop stick works really well for helping little hands work the strap back to the right side.) Sarah did a lot of the sewing of the straight seams on her bag, I sewed the straps on for her since it was a rather small area and had to be backstiched.

I am not going to go into detail on how to sew the bag, again you can google tons of ideas for sewing it up. The main thing I wanted to share was the way she chose to decorate it. We had a blast painting her hands in bright colors of acrylic paint and smacking handprints all over her tote, front and back! She then used dimensional paint to write her name on both sides of the bag. (We painted the Tshirt before we sewed it, it might be better to paint it after.)

(Handpainting.

If you have a favorite Tshirt with a cool logo just be sure you cut your bag to incorporate the logo, additional paint may be added...cause they have to paint! When Sarah wanted a second, smaller bag we cut pieces from other old Tshirts and sewed them together before we made our tote. For this bag we used an old sweatpant drawstring for the handle, you could also use shoelaces or ribbon for handles.

Scraps of Tshirts bag.

If the grandboys don't want to make a tote bag have them handprint a plain Tshirt they can wear, make a pillow to sleep on, or do a simple collage on construction paper. I do have a grandson who loves to sew and he has made several pillows, and silly creatures from old clothes.

Moo Cow design.
Acrylic paint on a pair of jeans, may also be done on a Tshirt.

Take a peek next week, I have two of the grandgirls with me for a few days and we are going to make one on our favorite projects......Altered Flip Flops!!!

Thrift store recycling.

2009-05-19T16:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry dear readers I admit to having been in a technology slump the last few weeks. Honestly, I didn't realize it had been so long since I had posted. "My, how time flies when you are procrastinating".

Mixed Media group, hard at work!!

I have been involved in creating some of my own art and have attended a few classes as well. I belong to a local Mixed Media group. A lot of the members of this group are either Rowdy Grandmas or Rowdy Moms and are always giving me great ideas for arting and crafting. At the meeting last Saturday we all made jean purses from our old jeans, (the ones I brought were too small for me, a few claimed theirs were too large...yeah, right!!)

The beginnings of my jean purse!!

During the meeting we spent some time talking about using recycled materials in our art, such as the jeans. Mary Lynn, a fellow Rowdy Grandma showed us some items she has picked up at Goodwill. She purchases old pictures sold at thrift stores and reuses the canvas and frame for her own work.

Carla's purse with a decal she made of her dog and cat...so cute!!!

What a great recycling idea for all artists. In an older post I talked about taking the grandkids on trips to the thrift store and encouraging them to find something to use in their own art. I had not thought of looking through the old pictures..... kids love actually putting their work on canvas....this way it is already framed and if they like they can paint the frame as well!!

Remember bean and macaroni art? My next trip with the rowdies to Goodwill we will seek out a small framed canvas to fill with dried beans and macaroni...it gives them a chance to play with their food.

While at the thrift store pick up an old Tshirt and make a tote bag. My granddaughter Sarah and I did this a few months ago, next post I will share her Tshirt tote bag with you.

Please share your thrift store finds with me...I am always happy to have new things to search for when I make a trip to Goodwill, and would love to post some of your finds.

Chalkboard paint.

2009-05-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

I love chalkboard paint, it can turn just about anything into a message board or drawing center.

Lauryn's jar.

This is a really fun paint to use on the wall in a child’s room or on a piece of furniture.The rowdies painted a storage chest I have in my studio and spend a lot of time drawing pictures and leaving messages there. We love chalkboard paint so much we decided to try it out on a few other projects.

Taylor and Lauryn in the studio.

Old shoe boxes and jars are wonderful storage items, if you paint them with chalkboard paint you can list almost everything you put into them…and if you change your mind, just erase and start your stash list all over again.

A few things to keep in mind when you paint on these surfaces.

1. You will need at least 2 coats, and it is best to let it dry for at least an hour before writing on it.(I sometimes put a coat of gesso on first as a primer).

2. Since you are crafting with the rowdies remember to have an old hair dryer ready so they can dry between coats…they adore this step in any painting project.

3. Brush on each coat in a different direction for a smoother coverage.

4. Wax paper is better than newspaper as a surface to paint on …Lyndsey turned her freshly painted box lid over on newspaper and it stuck…big time!!!

5. You may use bristle brushes, this paint does wash out with water. I prefer inexpensive foam brushes that can be thrown away.

Lyndsey's box top.

The coolest project we came up with is applying the chalkboard paint to denim.

Denim patch. Approx 5 1/2''h x 4"w

I cut up a pair of my old jeans; we made a pin out of one scrap and a big patch from the other.

Denim pin with gesso.

A coat of gesso was applied to the small denim piece used for the pin. When dry we applied 2 coats of chalkboard paint, letting each coat dry. Since the pin is a small area we used chalk pencils which you can purchase at any craft store, they come in a variety of colors.

Denim pin. Approx. 2''h x 1 1/2"w

Attach a safety pin to the material and it becomes a really cute pin. This piece was sprayed with a matte acrylic spray so the chalk would not rub off. Be careful with the spray so the picture is not too diluted.

Denim pin with matte spray.

The big patch was not coated with gesso, we applied 3 coats of chalkboard paint. This piece is large enough to use regular chalk.

Big patch drawing!!

This is a great way to leave yourself a message or even use as a name tag. If you decide to try this project with the grandkids leave me a comment about how you decided to use it. I would love to hear from other Rowdy Grandmas!!

Accidental Art

2009-04-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

Something for you to ponder Grandma...learn to recognize art in the most simple, unusual and sometimes irritating moments. Strive to impart this attitude to your grandchildren (and your adult children). As a mom I remember getting upset sometimes when there was an accidental spill, or clothes were ruined by a good day of unexpected play. It's normal, and you can bet most parents still get bugged when the kids make a big mess. One of my jobs as Rowdy Grandma is to not get bugged, but to pat them on the head and say "that's okay, everybody makes mistakes.....now what does that spilled milk look like to you, maybe a cloud, or a giraffe"??

rowdy handprints

A perfect example happens all the time in my studio...spilled paint. The rowdies and I now call it accidental art and we have fun with it. We have spilled so much paint on my floor it has now become a giant canvas. There are a few masterpieces we don't paint over but otherwise any of the kids can just pick up a paint brush and paint the floor.

Dylan's studio boy

When they spend time in the studio without me I am always pleasantly surprised at all the amazing things they come up with. The best are often the sweet notes they paint to Rowdy Grandma, sometimes it brings tears to my eyes.

studio girl

Now I know you may not have a floor you want painted. My studio was once a garage and I have a concrete floor, (by the way I love concrete floors... four rooms in my house are painted concrete). But take it from me you can also paint a carpeted floor. I know this because when Dylan was younger he was painting his model car in the sunroom and dropped the paint jar. Wow, the pattern it made on the carpet was awesome...and he really dreaded telling me about this major spill....talk about trouble from grandma!! He and I ended up making the most of it by taking some of the other paints and trickling them in similar patterns all over the carpet...he had created accidental art.

Heart America!!

Point being, Rowdy Grandma, try to lighten up and be the grandma who doesn't want to grow up!!!...and have fun with the grandkids!!

Taylor's major paint spill on the driveway.

Chalkboard paint is another really great paint for kids to use, next time I will show you a few projects you can do with the rowdies using this great product.

Planting tiny seeds.

2009-04-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

There is a wonderful little set of books called Elf-Help. I picked up one many years ago in a gift shop. The title is Keep-life-simple-therapy. I refer back to this book very often. A quote I would like to share with you is one which reminds me of the difference we can make in the lives of our grandchildren...after all they are like the seeds we have planted in our life.

"Think small. Planting tiny seeds in the small space given to you can change the world - or at least your view of it". Linus Mundy

Even if I can not change the world I can change the lives of those around me.

I would like to thank Vibrant Nation for honoring me with the inclusion of my garden stake article in their fabulous website for Baby Boomers. If you have never seen this website you need to check it out, lots of good information.

http://www.vibrantnation.com/conversations/4157-garden-stakes-a-fun-spring-gardening-project-to-share-with-your-grandchildren/

Monster root!!

2009-03-31T11:08:00.000-07:00

We have had some big rains in Texas lately. When the rain pours the creek behind my house becomes a raging river. The coolest thing about this is a lot of stuff flows down this river. As the water recedes it leaves behind all kinds of junk, this is where I pick up most of my wood scraps.

cedar stump

This past week the grandkids from Arkansas visted us. While we were scavenging the creek we ran across these wonderful cedar stumps with roots.

cedar stump with gesso

I know I have been a good influence on the rowdies when we all have the same idea.....hey, let's turn this into a monster face!!! So we did. First step was to coat the wood with gesso. The gesso coat makes the paint brighter.

Sarah's monster.

Each kid then painted their idea of a monster on one side of the stump using acrylic paint, it became a three-headed monster.

Marshall's monster.

When the paint dried we applied a thick coat of varnish to protect the paint.

Faith's monster.

And, oh yeah I have two more of these to play with. I guess I will paint my own monster face!!!

I'm a weiner!!!

2009-03-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to get this Kreativ Blogger award from Tina Morton http://thingsandplacesforkids.blogspot.com/ Part of the game is to name 7 things about yourself and name seven other people that deserve the same award.

Seven things about me:
1. I love my bulldog, Cinnabun....even though she snores.
2. I have a pet snake, Diana. I use her skin in my art projects..and share with my other crafty friends.
3. I have a pet rat named Spunkers who makes nests from snake skin and steals my pencils.
4. I recently retired from American Airlines.
5. I love wine and sometimes do wine tastings for friends.
6. I have four tatoos.
7. I in some way burn almost all of my art.

Seven people that deserve this award:

Amy Huff http://lonestarart.blogspot.com/
Mary Perlow http://colormary.blogspot.com/
Livia Hajovsky http://livia-theartjunkie.blogspot.com/
Mad Mary Davenport has three fabulous blogs out there
http://itsmarysmadness.blogspot.com/
http://whatsinyourdrawers.blogspot.com/
http://whatthehellwednesday.blogspot.com/

It's a stake up!!!

2009-03-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

Kids adore gardening. They love to plant seeds, they love to wear garden gloves, and they really love garden tools!! So if you are planning a garden make a point to get the grandkids involved.

I will tell you this (from personal experience)....depending on the age of the kid, planting seeds can take a really, really long time. Patience Rowdy Grandma, patience!! If you plant seeds you probably need plant markers...I have a tough time remembering what we planted where...the older I get the tougher it gets!!

Here's one stuck next to some dill and cilantro...we call him Herb!!!

The rowdies and I have come up with a great little craft to do in the spring when we plant our garden.

Rosemary smells heavenly!!

Plant markers from old scrap wood. The only other thing you need for this project is paint. The markers we have made are from six inches to a couple of feet in height. If you make them small in height they are really cute in potted plants.

This is another craft where imagination is key. The stakes may be painted only in bright colors with the name of the plant on it, or they may like the idea of painting their own plant on the stake. Kids love painting faces so they may want to paint a person or their own face on the plant marker.

People plant marker!!

Another cool idea for these sticks is to paint the face and name of everyone in the family...grandma, grandpa, mom and dad and kids and place them all together in the garden to create a family tree.

Lyndsey's people plant marker!!!

It is a good idea to spray them with an acrylic sealer when dry, they last longer in the garden.

As an alternative to scrap wood you could also purchase a strip of molding or other type of wood from the hardware store and cut it into strips.

After they are painted try wrapping them with wire and adding beads and other trinkets.

These have been in my garden for years!!!

"Make my Day"

2009-03-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

Random acts of kindness....what a cool concept!!

As a Rowdy Grandma I introduced the grandkids to a project which allows them to pass on a little kindness. I call it "make my day", (I always had a thing for Clint Eastwood).....anyway it relates to an article I read a few years ago about a movement called Found Art.

The idea is to create small works of art and leave them in public places in the hopes when found by a stranger it will "make their day".

simple materials

One of the easiest projects we do for "make my day" is also a recycle project. It is simple, simple, simple...all you need is a brown paper bag, a glue stick and an old magazine. You don't even have to have scissors. I love the effect of tearing my bag, as well as the images I tear out of the magazines. Most kids will like the idea of tearing the materials...but there will be a few who really prefer scissors...either something in their little minds just can't handle the randomness of tearing or they like tools!!!

You simply tear the bag into strips the size of a bookmark and find wonderful, colorful pictures from magazines to glue to the paper bag bookmark. Look for fun, inspirational words to tear out and add to the bookmark. If you use white school glue to glue on your pictures you may also add an overcoat of the glue to the finished bookmark, much like decoupage.

paper bag strips

The grandkids and I have added all kinds of extras, such as stamping and embossing powders...but even if you don't have a lot of crafting materials in the house you are able to come up with the simple items for this project. Using pens or crayolas to write words such as "have a nice day" is another option , if the rowdies aren't old enough to write words they may want to use the pens and crayolas for designs...aka scribbles. Construction paper is a nice addition if you want to frame the pictures on the bookmark.

First bookmark has a coat of white glue, the last bookmark has black construction paper.

This is another good project for getting the rowdies to brainstorm. Ask them where they would like to leave their art. A supermarket shelf, a library table.....they will be delighted to help think up their special drop-off spots!! Plan a field trip and take them to the areas they want to visit with their art, it is also kind of a secret spy feeling ...leaving your art piece without being noticed.....plus you giggle a lot.

Another option is to leave a note on the back explaining this is "make my day" art and if you find it please let us know. You can set up an email address just for the purpose of "make my day" responses.

Please let me know what projects you come up with for "make my day " art, I would love to post them.

A walk in the woods.

2009-03-02T16:08:00.000-08:00

I visited the rowdies in Arkansas this past week. They have recently moved into a wonderful home near Cabot, Arkansas. To my delight it was full of wooded areas with ponds and creeks; even an old delapidated house where I was able to collect some rusty metal and bottle caps, broken glass jars and strange nests left by who knows what kind of insect, I guess it is a dirt dobber!! Wonderful material for my next mixed-media project.

update...ain't google wonderful...my dear spouse just told me these are pipe organ mud dauber wasps!!

Paula, my oldest was in the play, Steel Magnolias, at the local dinner theater...by the way she was fabulous!! It was a little snowy and cold so I was only able to take one good walk through the woods but it too was fabulous. Woods and creeks are my favorite types of walks, I love the feeling of being deep in the woods and listening to the sound of the water......Sarah was good company and a good tour guide...thank you Sarah!!

Oh...and who remembers Dearborn heaters, this was in the old house...I actually caught my housecoat on fire when I was a kid by standing too close to one of these!!!

"Go outside and play"

2009-02-23T13:40:00.000-08:00

"Teaching children about the natural world should be treated as one of the most important events in their lives."......Thomas Berry

A swallowtail butterfly I raised from a pupa.

While I enjoy crafting in the studio with the grandkids I also make sure we spend time together outdoors. Funny thing is not all my grandchildren like spending time outdoors.

With all the computers, video games and the urbanization of our communities there is a new term being coined, "nature deficit disorder." A wonderful book about this trend was written by Richard Louv, it is titled Last Child in the Woods.

Most of us Rowdy Grandmas grew up at a time when we either lived on farms or in wide-open spaces or one our relatives did.....so we had plenty of exposure to tree climbing .....and idle time to spend in our clubhouses nestled deep in the vines and bramble bushes in the woods near our homes.

The natural world has a spiritual, calming effect on us. We need to feel the solitude, the wonder and the sun on our faces. But, think about it, constant contact and interaction is available to our grandkids.....can they stop texting long enough to look up at the clouds???......long enough to look out the car window???

I am a grandma so I accept the moniker "old fogey" gladly when I ask the kids to put their Wii, their cellphone, or their ipod down long enough to go outside with me to the creek behind our house and search for minnows, tadpoles and frogs.

No, this is not my creek...just a very peaceful picture.

Look at your own time spent with the rowdies and find ways to incorporate time outdoors....even if you have to yell..."go outside and play."

Jeepers Creepers where'd you get those eyes???

2009-02-16T16:07:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons my grandkids love the studio is because it is a happy place......in fact it's kind of a rule. When they get a little snippy with each other I remind them Rowdy Grandma's studio is for laughing, creating and acting silly ...there's no crying in crafting!!!

A very favorite way of keeping a cheerful mood is to play music, and it is usually the oldies. The perfect tune for the Jeepers Peepers project is Jeepers Creepers by the Mills Brothers....we love it!!!

Lyndsey enjoying the music, and of course kids are crazy for glasses so she is modeling a pair of funky specs!!

Instead of making a pin from an eyeglass lens how about turning it into a necklace. Follow the instructions for the pin, the only difference is instead of adding a pin back twist a piece of wire into a figure 8 and use your heavy glue to attach it to the felt. When wire piece is dry add a leather or satin cord large enough to slip over the rowdies head.

A thin rim of white glue was applied around the rim of these specs and then sprinkled with glitter....when dry a photocopied picture of a peacock feather was glued to the lens.

If the you or the kids don't have the patience to wait for the glue to dry you may add the image to wet glue and glitter. Faith put her image on when wet and it spread the glitter onto more of the pin. It's beautiful.

Crumbled tree bark glued aroung the rim....a 2 part resin was poured onto the lens and the tree bark frame.

The frames of these Jeepers Peepers were soldered.

Jeepers Creepers where'd you get those peepers???

2009-02-13T15:23:00.000-08:00

Anyone remember that wonderful old song...Jeepers Creepers...for some reason it is one of those songs that has always stuck in my head. Kind of like Zippity-do-dah and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

When I wondered what the heck to do with all of the old eyeglasses grandpa and I seemed to be collecting, that song came to my mind…soooo of course that is what I call this project. Jeepers Peepers.

The eyeglass lens generally pops right out of the frame, which leaves you with a perfect little piece of glass which is all ready for decoupage.

Materials needed are:

Eyeglass lens
White glue
Strong glue, such as E2000
Magazine or wrapping paper
Pin back
Felt or acrylic paint ......and a little pair of hands!!!

A lens is a very small area so when you sit down to look through the magazine for images, or select a wrapping paper, be sure and remind the kids to look at how tiny an area they will be working on ….small images may be faces, pictures of toys, flowers or animals. When they find the perfect image cut it a little larger than the lens so it is less difficult for small hands to work with.

For this project the glue is easier to work with if you pour a small amount into a jar lid and use a paintbrush to apply the glue to the back of the lens. Once the lens is covered with glue place the part of the image that will show through the glass onto the glued area and press out air bubbles. Then apply a layer of glue,with a paintbrush or a finger, to the back of the image and let dry approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Once dry, trim the excess paper around the lens with a small pair of scissors. At this step you may simply paint the back with acrylic paint and let dry. The rowdies and I like to use felt. Lay the tiny masterpiece down on the felt and use a sharpie or a piece of chalk to draw an outline,cut this shape out of the felt.

Test it to see how close you came, you may want to trim it a little before you glue the felt to the back, or wait til it is dry and trim.

Spread a small amount of strong glue on top of the entire paper backing, press the felt firmly onto the glue. This stage will probably take a few hours to dry. At this point you may glue your pin back to the felt, again using the strong glue, or you may prefer to glue the pin back on after the felt layer has dried. Note: for the buffalo pin we tried slitting holes in the felt and inserting the pin back through it, we then glued the felt and pin back on at the same time. This method hides and secures the pin back, but is more difficult to operate the pin closure.

If you chose to paint the back apply the pin back with strong glue once the paint is dry. Helpful hint: place the pin back high on the lens rather than in the middle so the pin will not sag when worn.

I have made many different styles of these pins. When crafting with the grandkids this is a very simple way to make them. Sunday I will post a few additional ideas you may want to use for this project….I will also post some pictures of the Jeepers Peepers I have made.

Folksy !!!

2009-02-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting a great group of women, many of them grandmothers and some of them great-grandmothers. These ladies are members of the 20th Century Study Club in Justin, Texas.

I had been invited to their monthly meeting to share some of my pieces of American Folk Art, as well as some information about folk art styles. Wow, was I impressed when I learned this club has been in existence since 1938. This kind of group is what makes American communities so important, for over 70 years these ladies have gathered together to form friendships and to help strengthen their local community. There were some wonderful conversations concerning their own collections and remembrances of folk art that had been produced or collected in their own families. Thank you ladies!!

In an earlier post I suggested kids seem to be natural folk artists, they can turn just about anything into art if encouraged. I would also like to encourage our generation to think in that way. Folk art came about when “common folk” began to have access to mass produced goods. Instead of throwing things away they found a way to make use of them.

An old jar became decorative when it was covered with putty or clay and odd bits of beads, buttons and memorabilia were stuck to the sides.

Bottle caps became kitschy ashtrays when strung together with wire.

Fabric scraps from old clothing became a useful bed covering.

And, as we all know popsicle sticks can be anything!!!

In the next week I will share with you one of my favorite recycled projects. What do you do with old eyeglasses???...you turn them into Jeepers Peepers of course!!!

Here fishy..fishy!!

2009-01-30T16:57:00.000-08:00

One of my passions has always been books. To tell the truth as I get older one of my silly, sometimes worries is where the heck am I gong to keep all these books I keep collecting.

I like all kinds of books, but I am crazy for all the wonderful craft books out there. They are crammed full of good ideas I can adapt in my own art and ideas I can share with the rowdie grandkids.

There are tons of projects using old socks...you know the socks that loose their significant other and are doomed to live out their lives in a big pile of singles. I discovered another great way to use these orphans in a book I read recently, D.I.Y. Kids, by Ellen and Julia Lupton.

Just take an old sock and partially fill with sand or raw rice and tie a rubber band, string or ribbon around it. Once you have it filled it's pretty simple to draw funny faces and figures on it with permanent markers, acrylic paints or dimensional fabric paints. As always ask the grandkids to use their imagination, they may want to glue sequins, buttons or glitter on to their sock creature.

Cute, cute, cute and so easy. Let me know if you and the rowdies make one of these, I would love to post some silly sock creatures on my blog.

Unruly crafting ideas for Rowdy Grandmas.

2009-01-28T13:52:00.000-08:00

Okay Rowdy Grandmas here are a few tips I wanted to share about craft time with the grandkids.

Kids love to wear aprons or one of grandma and grandpa's old shirts, (it's kind of like playing dress up), and keeps mom and dad happy....no paint or glue on their clothes!! Another option is to buy some old clothes from the thrift store; they can wear these while crafting...and everyone loves being allowed to do the unexpected so consider letting them paint these old clothes... and yeah...while wearing them...how fun is that!!!

The grandkids do like to get dirty, but they also think wearing gloves is the best....so try to keep a big box of disposable gloves from the drugstore in your crafting stash.

Another great thing to have in your stash is an old hairdryer...I don't know why exactly but my grandkids absolutely love drying their projects with a hair dryer. I guess it's the immediate gratification thing coupled with using a power appliance!!

Try not to teach perfectionism.....when Lyndsey painted her paintbrush character I had to hold myself back from saying...uhhh...don't you want to paint the eyes and the face to look more like a real person.

She is perfectly happy with her character this way...and that's cool, cause sometimes kids feel blocked in their creativity just as we do, or are afraid of making a mistake. They may ask you to do it for them....it's tempting, but I think it is better not to ....it is what it is.

If you make a habit of applauding them for their efforts rather than their natural abilitities you have a chance of helping them get rid of the little voice inside their heads that says this isn't good enough. I know this voice well!!

Try to always approach your time with the rowdies with a sense of play, kids love music amd movement, so put some silly songs on while they craft their masterpieces.

A great book which is full of silly projects is The Encyclopedia of Immaturity by Klutz. I found some old tricks in this book that reminded me of my childhood, many of them have been around for ages.....but in my maturity I had forgotten about them.

Paintbrush characters

2009-01-24T11:07:00.001-08:00

This is such a great project for old paintbrushes, the characters work best with 1/2 inch width or larger bristles.

The rowdy grandkids and I tried this project with two different types of clay. Crayola Air-Dry clay is easy to mold and comes in a big 2.5 lb. tub for about six dollars. The other product we used is Creative Paperclay, it is packaged in a 1 lb. block for about the same price as the Crayola clay. Creative Paperclay is a little more expensive, but we found it does not appear to crack when dry. The Crayola clay did crack on us. Both clays need to be worked with water, the Crayola Air-Dry clay may have cracked because we did not add enough water. If the cracks bother you try filling them with glue or possibly more clay when the characters have dried.

Supplies you need are:

paintbrush
Crayola Air-Dry clay or Creative Paperclay
water
small paintbrush
acrylic paint
spray or brush on clear coat

1. Grab a chunk of clay and moisten slightly
with water til pliable.
2. Decide whether you want a profile character or full face character.
3. Mold the clay around the paintbrush, leaving the bristles for hair.

4. Shape small amounts of clay for eyes, ears, nose, mouth or even cheekbones or warts.

5. Apply the face parts to the main face surface and blend using a small, wet paintbrush. (You may also use the blunt end of the small paintbrush to adhere the face parts).
6. When the rowdies are happy with the character they have created it is a good idea to have them use a moistened finger to go over the face to further smooth the surfaces together.
7. Let dry (preferably overnight) and paint. Styrofoam makes a good base for drying.

8. Have fun coming up with cool names for your paintbrush guys and gals!!

Tips: For very young kids, 3 to 6 years, an easy alternative to shaping face parts from clay is to use buttons, yarn, toothpicks or anything else you can come up with for the eyes, ears, mouth and nose. They may also use their little fingers to poke holes in the face for the eyes and mouth.

These paintbrush characters are Taylor and Lauryn's, they love using my spray paint, so they painted their bristles with gold spray paint before applying the face. Lauryn used jumprings to give Charley
earrings!! Taylor gave Bob a very red tongue.

Remember Rowdy Grandmas to encourage them to use their imagination, they may decide to make something other than a person...Dylan made one of his paintbrushes into a fish. He used toothpicks to support the fins and tail while it dries, and plans on painting it next time he comes to visit.

Blurring the lines between art and craft!!

2009-01-19T12:28:00.000-08:00

In the art and craft community there is an ongoing debate about what is art and what is craft. I have had my share of these debates. I , along with many other "crartists", would like to have a simple answer. There isn't one, I give up!! This is one of those questions ROWDY GRANDMA does not have an answer for.

Amazingly, in delving into art with my grandkids I discovered the first forms of art/craft children create is folk art. They usually begin with simple materials and shapes, and often pick up the strangest things to create with. Some of our best loved folk artists began this way.

I recently ordered a book from Amazon (I love searching Amazon). The book is American Folk Art for Kids, by Richard Panchyk. One of my favorite artists in the book is Mr. Imagination, he works with all kinds of recycled materials. His old, worn out paintbrush turned into a person is fabulous!! Well, when I saw this the grandkids and I got to work on our own paintbrush characters.

I will share some of these with you in the coming week...oh yeah, and also some of the things that work and some that don't. Here is my experimental paintbrush character......let's call him Hawkeye Mo!!.....ain't he pretty.

Folk art and popsicle sticks!!!

2009-01-14T11:47:00.000-08:00

Have you seen some of the cool stuff made with popsicle sticks? A big box of them is a good way to get the creativity flowing with the rowdy grandkids. You can buy a box at any craft store for five or six dollars.

Popsicle sticks and glue are the basic ingredients, you can also throw in some acrylic paint, beads and fabric scraps to liven it up a bit. White school glue works for some projects, but a glue gun is immediate gratification...and kids are into immediate gratification.

Every one of my grandkids have made stuff with popsicle sticks; from boats and tents to collage pictures. When they are very small, 3 to 6 years, I help them with the glue gun and brainstorm with them for ideas on what to build. By the time they are older I hope I have instilled in them a sense of "what would happen if", and let them experiment to their hearts content. If it works ..great!!!.....if not then try another way.

If you ask me popsicle stick art is a form of folk art and once the kids starting having fun with them I ordered a fabulous lamp from Ebay so they could see how intricate their structures could become. I love this lamp!!

How to make a snake from Grandpa's old tie

2009-01-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

My four grandkids from Arkansas visited us over the holidays. They all have their favorite projects to work on in the studio. Sarah loves, loves, loves to embroider, sew and crochet. Last time she visited she made a belt from one of grandpa's old ties...and boy does he have some funky old ties. This time she did another cool thing with an old tie, she made a snake. She does a lot of crafting and had seen someone make one. When she saw the idea she knew she had to do this with me 'cause ever since she has been around I have had snakes and she loves 'em.

Right now the only snake I have is a 9 ft. Red Tail Boa named Diana, at one time I had four, seems when people find out you like snakes they want to give you theirs, which have usually been housed in a little aquarium for a year or two. So guess you could say I adopt snakes. By the way Diana has spacious quarters, and is taken for a walk quite often.

This project is a great way to recycle grandpa's or dad's old ties and it is very simple.

All you need is stuffing material, we used polyester fiberfill ( same thing you use to stuff a pillow)...you could also try wads of old material, plastic bags or even sand.
I happen to have quite a collection of google eyes, you can get both the google eyes and the polyester fiberfill at any craft store, the eyes may also be painted on or sew on some button eyes.
For the forked tongue we used two different colors of felt which can be glued or sewn on .
Sarah also decided some silver net material I had was perfect for the tail of her snake so she used safety pins to attach it. She also cut some of the length off of her snake because she got tired of stuffing the darn thing. Smart kid!!!!

It never ceases to amaze me how creative kids can be. I mentioned brainstorming in an earlier post, but I would really like to stress how important I feel that is, not only do the kids feel good about themselves because they have such great ideas but it gives you, Rowdy Grandma, a little insight into how their little minds work.....fascinating!!

Lipstick art

2008-12-24T14:14:00.000-08:00

Okay....okay..I used to be a makeup fanatic - any free gift with purchase from Estee Lauder, Clinique or Lancome and I was there!!...so, over these many years I have collected a lot of truly unflattering lipstick shades. Being the pack rat that I am...and convincing myself that one day I will wear that bright Candy Apple Red (maybe it would match perfectly with my Christmas party dress)...I stashed them all. Going through my old makeup hoard the other day I had almost convinced myself I would never really wear any of these when I thought "hold on a minute, these are kind of like neatly packaged oil pastels."

Four of my grandkids were coming over to work in the art room and cook up some fudge so how fun would it be to use up grandma's old lipsticks and create some art. Well as you can see they enjoyed this project. We spent a few minutes brainstorming ways we could create art with lipstick, then Lyndsey ,the youngest, immediately applied a luscious hot pink to her own lips and set about drawing a gingerbread man, we trimmed around the edges with scalloped scissors and pasted it to a piece of black construction paper for a frame. The lipstick picture is sprayed with a matte acrylic so it isn't quite so messy.

Lauryn totally smeared paper with the lipstick and used a toothpick to carve her picture, again it's a good idea to spray with an acrylic spray, otherwise lipstick takes awhile to dry completely.

Dylan took a different route and used the tubes and some clay to make lipstick man!!...and ..well not every kid gets into every project so Taylor took tons of pictures of the group and their art work.

Christmas is a comin'

2008-12-22T13:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas is approaching ..and fast...which is my excuse for not attending to my blog writing. Note to self...the holidays are not the time to begin a new project!!!

With eight grandchildren I have a lot of gifts to buy. It seems the older I get and the more I understand about the world the less I care about showering my grandchildren with more stuff. I am hoping my legacy to them will be more of who I am and how we spend time together than how much money grandma spent on them. Giving them time is one of the most important things we have to give as grandparents. Unfortunately, four of my grandkids live in another state, with the four that live near me we are getting together tomorrow for our usual "bake and make stuff" day.

One of my favorite memories is of my mom making fudge on top of the stove (she did this a lot)....and by the way Mom, I blame you for my thing about chocolate! Anyway, after she took it off the stove she would stand there and beat the hell out of it with a spoon....I mean she could make that spoon move and not spill a drop!! ....so tomorrow we will make a batch of fudge, and maybe sugar cookies with sprinkles of course. There is also a planned art project which I will post on Wednesday.....sneak peek!!!...it involves lipstick!!

How to make a jewelry box from an egg carton

2008-12-06T18:11:00.000-08:00

Know your egg carton.....some are great for this project...some are not. The pink one is your standard styrofoam, the blue one is a lumpy cardboard.

PINK JEWELRY BOX

materials used

egg carton, acrylic paint, pencil with an eraser, circle sponge dabber
acrylic spray or brush on for topcoat, cotton balls, white glue, construction paper

Easy to do - paint the egg carton with 2 to 3 coats of paint and dry. Using a pencil eraser dab it into one of the acrylic paint colors and dot it onto the surface of the painted and dry carton. Add larger dots with the circle sponge dabber. Kids absolutely love dots, and my granddaughters love this pink. Let them put dots everywhere.....on the sides, the bottom....encourage them to use contrasting colors. When dry spray with an acrylic finish for durability. Be careful using spray paint on this type of egg carton, (they melt).......really!!!

My granddaughter added some of her artwork to the inside lid, a special surprise for mom. She used basic white glue to attach some black construction paper to the inside lid and then glued her art work over it. The black paper makes a nice frame for her work.

When all is dry use half a cotton ball and place in each egg section, or you might want to have some without cotton, better for earrings. We also used dry rice in two compartments to place rings so they can easily be seen.

Blue cardboard jewelry box

This egg carton is a little porous so it was first painted with gesso or white primer in order for the acrylic paint to adhere in one coat.
A teal blue paint was applied after the gesso was dry. The center picture is art from Ten Two Studios, the other images are from old magazines. Once the images were applied with white glue we put glitter around them. To finish the jewelry box it is a good idea to spray all with a clear matte acylic. For an extra touch an old costume earring was glued to the center of the lid.

Wow....I'm in the blogosphere!!

2008-12-05T18:04:00.000-08:00

First off, why Rowdy Grandma.....cause kids like ROWDY!!!

My suggestion to all grandmas is become a Rowdy Grandma.
Rowdy grandmas yell with joy and often sing really loud when a favorite song comes on (even if they can't sing)...like me.
.....in fact my family teases me - when my son was small I would sing things like Zippity Do Dah, I don't want a pickle (Arlo Guthrie ...if you don't remember) and Santa Claus is coming to town.

He would say ...stop singing!!! Well, I tried the same thing with the grandkids - they all said ...stop singing...couldn't believe it!!

I am also a crafty grandma, my grandkids have been making gifts for Christmas and other holidays since they were little....one of their favorites is to use an old egg carton and turn it into a beautiful jewelry box. If you have a grandson who poo poos this idea just mention how much his mom would love this gift from him - little boys love making a gift for Mom. Of course no persuasion is needed for the granddaughters...being girls they love jewelry and all things associated with jewelry.

....and, oh yeah....Rowdy Grandmas are messy and let the grandkids get messy.....if you have a grandchild that seems a little nervous getting paint on their hands be sure and tell them that's the fun of arting and crafting - a little paint on your hands. It is also a good idea to have an apron or some old clothes they can wear so mom and dad don't consider you a little too rowdy!!

......tune in tomorrow for instructions and ideas for an egg carton jewelry box you can make with the grandkids.....see ya then