steampunk chamelions made from polyclay

Yesterday we had some awesome art time. Both kids and I sat down for about an hour-and-a-half and made polyclay figurines.  Do you know how rare it is for ALL THREE of us to be engrossed in the same activity for that long. Like so rare it has never happened kinda rare. LOL! I felt so energized by it. And the kids still want to do more! ME TOO! All kinds of ideas are flowing. And… after Monday’s science flop session it was a revitalizing!

The catalyst for all this was, Steampunkery by Christi Friesen. We each gave a try to making steampunk chameleons. Okay. Typing that just makes me wanna giggle. Never thought of putting those two things together. But hey! It works. So you can bet we’ll be buying lots of polyclay for a while.

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Here are drawings from both Jessie and Sam for week 7 of Wildflower Morning’s Wildflowers in Winter blog-a-thon. (click them to see a larger version in a new window) I didn’t expect Jessie to draw for it but she heard Sam and I talking and wanted to join in on the fun.

Sam’s drawing is from a flower seen in the front yard last spring. Jessie’s flower sprang from her fertile imagination. Both are done with Derwent watercolor pencils. We just got some. I love how the colors intensify with a little water.

This week’s activity includes a contest too! Here’s the info from WFM’s site:

on Wednesday, March 5, we will open up the voting, which I will keep open until Thursday, March 6, at 6:00 P.M. PST. take time to look at all the week 7 entries, choose your favorite and then send me an email with your choice to: joyinthemorninglight at yahoo dot com. (Remove the spaces and fix up the email so it will work.) The winner will receive a really cool Dover Publications Wildflower Coloring book and a neato set of Prang watercolors, some watercolor paper and a piece of graphite paper.

So, please vote for Sam or Jessie if you get a chance.

But alas, QT is over and I must jump back into the thick of things. But do go over to Barb’s blog and check out this week’s Sketch Tuesday, Sam and I are in it. (we’re the first two listed)

This morning we were treated to a gorgeous sunrise. It was so freaking orange you’d think it was sunset… after a huge fire or something. There was even a rainbow.

After lunch we went on a listening walk. That was Jessie’s idea. We caught a leopard frog. Or at least I think it is. Could have sworn I ran across an entry for a frog that looks very similar… somewhere. The kids climbed the cedar tree. I’m going to make rabid tree climber out of Sam yet. I really enjoyed watching them climb. I think every kid should have a tree to climb.

Read a rather disturbing post today about the NEA (National Educational Association) and their current resolutions against homeschoolers. There is an online petition here that gives some of the details.

“The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. “

There sure is a lot of evidence to the contrary. Colleges are actively seeking homeschooled kids too. The petition link above includes a link to some impressive stats and more information (that I need to read).

Not exactly sure why this NEA resolution bothers me so much. I’ve seen other such things and ignored them successfully. Will have to spend some time thinking and reading more on it. Exactly WHY do I homeschool…? What makes ME think I AM qualified? Stay tuned….

Sam and I made these cut paper decorations today. They’re sandwiched between wax paper with melted crayon shavings. I didn’t have any contact paper. Thought they came out kinda cute. They remind me of Magic Windows/Ventanas mágicas that I checked out from the library not too long ago. (just not as detailed as hers )

This link for Halloween lesson ideas is what spurred this craft. There is some pretty neat stuff there. For instance, there is a good reason why the sky is a livid red in “The Scream.”

Jessie made a hand print bat with red glitter decorations. I forgot to get a picture! Will get one tonight or tomorrow morning before she destroys plays with it.

You can’t tell through the paint, but it is a little crispy around the edges. Sam said no beads on this one; he is sending it to Grandma.

Here are a few I tried. I’d love to do more in different colors. The paint is acrylic in none other than “leaf green.” LOL! I just happened to have it on hand. (and now on my fingers )

Today, as promised, we did the fall banner from the Fall Art Kit.

The kids were excited to use the “special markers” we bought just for this project. LOL! Yes, we have other washable markers but these were speeecciiiiaaallll. *giggle*

Sam and I painted the glue solution while discusing the nature of a “solution.” (Who knew science was involved in this!) We had trouble getting the canvas to absorb the solution though. The first time we peeled the transfers and plastic off the colors didn’t transfer too well. So I painted the areas on the canvas where the transfers where and reapplied. The second time was a little better. I am wondering if prewetting the canvas would help get a more even transfer…? Not sopping, just slightly damp.

These are the “transfers.” I am letting them dry and thinking about hanging them from the banner! I could have so much fun just painting coffee filter leaves and decorating the house with them. LOL!

Here’s my first attempt. It looks much better in person. I used colored pencils to bring out some of the details.

This is my second attempt. It looks better ON SCREEN than in person. LOL!

Last, but not least, here is Sam’s drawing on the warm colors worksheet.

Tomorrow… fall leaf banners!