Stepping Stones for Mother's Day

Well I'm in the thick of the Mother's Day crush, (it's almost worse than Christmas!).
Grade 1: Frames
Grade 3: Clay Polar Bears
ES2: Painted Scarves

and if you happen to be a mom of a Grade 2'er from my school please avert your eyes.


Here is a sampling of the garden stepping stones they made.

 I did not take step by step photos for this one partly because I was covered in concrete.  Cameras and concrete don't seem to mix well.

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

- concrete, one bag will cover 2 classes, don't use the quick setting, 20 minutes set up, type as you need some open time for this

- water

- a  large pail you are not attached to, I used an old laundry detergent one, or if you are very ambitious a old wheel barrel.

- old recycled yogurt container for pouring

- gloves and mask while you are mixing

- a big stick, shovel, or paint mixing stick to mix up your concrete

- some disposable bowls, I used Chinette and Dixie

- petroleum jelly, especially If you are using Chinette bowls

-  a variety of glass gems, tumbled glass pieces, shells, pebbles,and/or glass beads

Directions:

Prep:  Have the kids draw out a simple design ahead of time.

1) Set out your bowls, if you are using chinette smear a little petroleum jelly in the bowl to keep from sticking.  Set out your materials that the kids will be using in containers around the work space.

2)  Wearing your gloves and mask, pour a little bit of water into your pail, this will help keep the dust down a bit, pour some concrete into the pail.  Add water until it's the consistency of oatmeal.  (Caution: it doesn't take much, it's like making icing, so add your water in small amounts). 

3) Using your yogurt container scoop out some concrete and place in the bowl, leave a little room at the top as it rises up a bit after the kids start placing in their materials.

4) Thump each bowl a few times to get the pebbles in the concrete mixture to settle to the bottom, grab the rim and shimmy it a bit to get a nice level top.

5) I asked the kids to make a design, but some just wanted to stick as many materials into the concrete as they could.  Others started off with a great design but could not hold back from adding "more".  Simple designs seemed to stand out the best.  Make sure the kids push the materials into the concrete a bit.  You don't want to submerge items but you also don't want to have items just sitting on the top especially the glass gems.  You also don't want materials to be to close to the rim of the bowl as they just tend to break off.  Try to leave a 1/2 an inch.   

Leave the stepping stones to fully set up for about 24 hrs.  You can then remove them from the bowls and turn over to get the bottoms to fully dry out and cure for another few hours.

Wrap in newsprint or tissue and you have a wonderful keepsake for Mom!

Mother's Day Mixed Media

If you are in need of a good "Mother's Day" project for your class this is it!

Last year I did a "Captured my Heart" project with Grade 1,( it was originally designed for Valentine's Day but the Grade 1 teacher wanted it for Mother's Day).

At the last minute I needed to do a similar project for the other Grade 1 class but did not have enough frozen juice containers.  I opted for these simple frames....well I never had so many Moms come up to me, thanking me for this project. 

Handpainted Scarves - Easy Mother's Day Project #2

Here is another quick and easy Mother's Day project your kids can whip together.........hand painted scarves...I absolutely love these and they are incredibly easy. This was the project I did with Grade 3. So any grade 3 Moms out there avert your eyes.

You need some lightweight material like organza, silk, lining material....I got ours at Walmart for about $4.00 a meter. White works well so your colors stay true when you paint on it but you could also use a cream or beige.

You then need to cut scarf lengths...easiest way to do this is to measure about 14 inches or 33cm and then cut from the fold all the way to the salvage ends. This way you only have to hem the sides and you can maximize the # of scarves you get. I used 7 metres to get 21 scarves.

Now you can hem your sides at this point...I ran out of time on Sunday night so I had the kids paint first and then I hemmed them after.

Take regular acrylic craft paint...you don't need to buy fancy dyes or fabric paint and water it down to an inky consistency.

Lay your scarf down on top of wax paper. I had the kids working on long tables..we put down long pieces of wax paper on top our our Art vinyl tablecloths...we could get 2 to a table.

Paint on your design..the paints will run a bit together but that is the beauty of this technique..you get a soft watercolor effect. Try to choose colors that compliment each other..no black or really dark colors.

I then hung the scarves from a clothesline which had a tablecloth laid out underneath to pick up drips...peel off the wax paper and let the scarf dry...it will only take a few minutes.

When the scarf is fully dry wash in the washing machine with a bit of detergent and fabric softener. The colors will fade only slightly and you will lose the stiffness from the paint...it will also get rid of that paint smell.

Give one to your Mom or Grandma...and make a few for yourself!

The kids got lots of positive comments from other teachers and visiting Moms as they were working on these..I think they will be a hit.

Give it a go and we will see you next time.

HAPPY MOTHER"S DAY !!

gail

Easy Mother's Day Project-Painted Pots

Here is a really easy Mother's Day art project. I am doing this with Kindergarten this year as we are pressed for time with all the Opera rehearsals.


MATERIALS REQUIRED:

4 inch peat pots, I got mine at a local nursery...they cost 20 cents a piece
white acrylic paint or gesso
tempera paints
paintbrush
flowers
soil




I absolutely love these peat pots from a crafting point of view...I can paint them, decoupage them, color on them (pastels work really well), collage them....you name it. I always try to stock up on them...add a handle and they make great baskets for gift giving etc.

From a gardening view they can be challenging to keep moist and when you plant them directly into the ground you lose your art work so I put a plastic pot inside them to hold the flower.







You need to prime your pots first. I use gesso which is a thick white acrylic paint...you can use plain white acrylic craft paint as well.







Cover the entire pot and leave to dry.




Using tempera paints paint your pot whatever way you wish...for the kindergartners I did not let them use black or brown because the pots end up just black and brown......(they tend to overmix colors and we end up with mud).

Let the pots dry and then plant...if you want to have the pot as a keepsake use a 4 inch plastic pot as a liner. We added a ladybug glued to a popsicle stick and Ta Da...easy Mother's Day Gift.

Have fun!




see you next time

gail