Be Ready to Answer When Opportunity Knocks at Grandma's Door

It doesn't happen to often.  Getting the cousins together and building joint memories with Grandma.  Busy lives and 450 miles a part add to that challenge.  I think Grandmas are a vital part to having fun with cousins time.  After all, Grandma's house is a common destination.  A place where a bond can develop that can result in  your grandchildren's hearts tightly tied together.
I had 8 first cousins and all were from my dad's side of the family.  My brother, sister and I were the youngest of my Granny's 11 grandchildren.  Looking back, I feel there were so much more that perhaps could have been done to develop a bond between us.  I regret as adults we didn't share more of our lives together.  I'm not saying that my Granny was at fault but she just didn't seem to be a unifying force.   So last week when the opportunity presented itself for me to have my beautiful granddaughter visit from out of town, I was ready to seize the moment and make that grandma memory.  The secret here is preparation and a plan.

I had done my research and had picked out an art project that I thought would be perfect for this age group.  I had even done a practice run on this little project I had in mind to make sure that I had the confidence to pull it off with 4 years old x 2 and I am so pleased at how the final art project turned out.  You can see when you look at the photo of these precious little one and the happiness and pride they feel as they hold up their finished artwork.

My kitchen table offered the perfect art room because it was large and there is plenty of light.  I made sure to spread out an old vinyl tablecloth that it would matter if a little more paint got applied here or there.  I pulled out some old T-shirt of mine to cover their clothes because Grandma doesn't want to get on their parents bad side.  Finish it off with a mug of hot chocolate complete with marshmallows and we were ready to get down to making art!

I let them pick their color schemes and just helped put out the paint for them on their paper plate palettes.  We used 9 x 9 stretched canvas that I had taped their initials and made a border around the edges.  All they had to do was dip their cotton Q-tip swab paint brush into the color of their choice and dab away.  When the canvas was sufficiently covered with paint we only had to wait for it to dry.  The kids really looked surprised as they pulled off the tape to reveal a clean, crisp edge and a sharp border.  When they completely dry I applied a coating of acrylic varnish with a foam brush to seal the canvas and give it a shiny appearance.  We then installed d-rings and hanging wire to complete the project.


These great pieces of personalized artwork look great when they were finished and were all ready for dad or mom to hang in their rooms.  I made sure and wrote on the back, "Made art with Grandma on 12/28/16".

Intently focused on adding his second color choice

For the best result the edges of the tape need to be completely covered with lots of pink!

Grandma Let's Make Art Together

WHAT AN AWESOME AND EASY ART PROJECT.  

Staying true to my blog focus on Embracing Your Creative Side, I am so pleased that I was able to complete my first planned art project with my 4 year old grandson and it was SO easy.  Having projects planned in advance allows me to be ready and seize those precious opportunities when presented.  Today was just that kind of day.  With only a few supplies and a bundle of Q-tips as an awesome paintbrush I was able to make a memory.  Here he looks so proud of how the finished piece turned out.  I would say this grandma should get an A+ for effort.

Here is a list of the materials we used for this project:

* white card stock

* Apple Barrel Acrylic craft paint (4 colors- yellow, orange, bright green and cobalt blue)

* Blue Painters Tape

* 20 or so Q-Tip Swabs

* Paper plate to use as a paint palette

 First, I taped a plan piece of white card stock to a paper grocery bag but cardboard or poster board would even work better.  I just wanted a surface bigger than the 8.5 x 11 piece of card stock in case my little artist got carried away in his painting exuberance.  With preschoolers you can never take enough precautions.  Note that my little art student is wearing one of grandmas very bright orange t-shirt to protect his clothing and keep grandma out of hot water with mommy.  

Using the painters tape I also formed a large letter "N" in the center of the page.  I did use some scissors to straighten up the three sides of the letter and to make them even.

Our pallet was a sturdy paper plate in which I poured out a small amount of each of the colors of paint.  We made our Q-Tip brush by grouping together about 10 or so Q-Tips in a bundle and with another  piece of painters tape I secured them together.  With two bundles we were then able to apply all four colors because we were able to use both ends of the Q-Tip swabs.

With very little intervention on my part, My grandson was able to dip his Q-Tip brushes in the paint and cover all of the white areas of the paper with a fun dabbing motion.  Once the paint dried I removed the tape to reveal a very nice piece of art that could be framed or hung for his room.  With it being of his initial it really makes a timeless piece that he can appreciate for years to come.  

One problem I did encounter during this project was that the tape seemed to want to tear the paper a bit. I thought I wouldn't have this problem using the blue painters tape but I did.   I think that to improve on this project, next time I will use small stretched canvases.  I think that a canvas will give the piece a more art quality and less likely to get torn.  I can also apply a coat of varnish and a hanging wire so that they are ready for mom or dad to hang.

I actually am anticipating a visit here real soon with my 4 year old granddaughter and can't wait to include her in our painting fun.  My plan is to do a repeat of this project with both of them together.  I'm certain that there will be more blogging about that in the near future.

My main objective was to keep his sleeves out of the wet paint

He is having so much fun covering all the white area with the colorful paint