Crafting in the Spring

I'm not the only one in the family bent on creating this spring. The wee ones have been at it with their usual zeal and then some. Yup. in these parts the creative juices are flowing right along with the sap.

~Our favorite smocks= Daddy's old shirts~

We kicked off our celebration of the coming of spring with a full day of spring inspired collage making.

I had plans for a collaborative effort between Galen and I, but he basically told me to bugger off, oh, about a minute and a half in.

~Galen's~

And so I remained a spectator on this one; fetching fresh washing water from time to time and settling the occasional dispute when everyone *needed* the exact same bird. All in all as mediation gigs go, this wasn't a bad one and I got a kick out of watching each child's work of art evolve.

~Elijah's~

and

~Iain's~

Elijah has been working on designing the quilt that he wants me to make him. We recently made the joint decision that he was really getting too old for the quilt that I had been working on for him (already! so soon?? too big for kittens and story book pictures??? Yes, yes, I see it is so, but surely I though it would suit him for a little while. Ah, but this year has been one of a great many changes...and at that this mama sighs, just a wee bit wistfully). So I'll be finishing that one up for Galen (including taking it apart to remove the embroidered section on the back that reads 'Elijah Rain', ahem. Suppose I ought to get on that before he grows out of it too!) and starting from scratch with Elijah's.


This boy has a vision, I tell ya. I only hope that I can live up to his expectations! Of all my kids, he is by far the most critical of my work. He tends to know exactly what he wants and how he wants it and deviation from the plan of any kind is strongly discouraged. He wants me to make him things, he just wants me to make them his way. So do wish me luck on that endeavor!

He and Iain are also back to one of their old standbys: making paper models of family members and characters from books, most of which stand approximately 3 feet tall (i.e. involving lots of gluing or taping and many pieces of paper). I'm not sure where this little craft idea of theirs came from, but it's one that they come back to again and again; an all time favorite. We have areas of the house with shelves full of stacks of "people". I wonder if they will ever go back to making paper models of stringed instruments? That was one of my favorites. They were 3-dimensional and included the tiniest of details. Are my kids the only ones that will get into a groove and make and make and make the same sort of things, in all of it's variations, for weeks on end, until they have thoroughly exhausted it?

Goosey-Boy has been keeping busy with designing the garden he plans on planting...just as soon as the ground thaws.

Every day as he sees the snow melt a bit or hears us talking of warm temperatures and the coming of spring, he says "and NOW we can make my garden?" Spring is a long time coming when you are three. For the record, it's pretty darned long in coming at 28 too. And so to tide him over, I've been giving him gardening catalogs to cut up and glue, showing me just how he wants his garden to be. Collage suits him. Really anything involving scissors and glue makes for a very content babe. He's churning out extensive, and I do mean extensive garden plans on a daily basis. FYI, I have no hope what-so-ever of making good on this one, not being in possession of acres upon acres of sunny fertile ground. Thankfully, I think that this boy will be satisfied with just being able to get out and dig in his own little patch of dirt, with the occasional bit of green to show for his efforts.