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!

Folk Art Houses for the Garden

I always have these grand plans of all these things I want to paint for my garden thru the winter so I'll be ready when the weather cooperates......but they never seem to get done.

So now I am in a rush to get them completed before fall.



We have had such a cold spring but the garden is starting to come together.

We have two squirrels that hang out in our backyard and for the most part don't cause any trouble......until now!




They have been zipping up and down the railing on the deck and have knocked over all my painted birdhouses.

Now granted these birdhouses are not the most sturdy...its hard to get nice solid unfinished ones.....I had filled them with rocks to hold up in our unrelenting wind...but they couldn't withstand the squirrel dancing.



So.......one of my unfinished winter projects was some heavy cedar houses that could withstand both wind and squirrel......no time like the present to get these done.

I purchased a heavy cedar fence post 5"x5". It was 8 feet long and cost me about $20.00. (not bad when you consider I can get about 12 or so houses out of it)

I had my husband cut it into houses of varying heights and roof lines.




I then started to paint. I use Folk Art acrylic paint for these. Out of all the craft paints Folk Art wins hands down.....great coverage and their Artist's Pigment series is great for projects like this.





Here are some others I need to finish.




I added a tree in the back.....



maybe a nice flowering tree.



Some nice details in the front......OK once I get started it just goes on.....

When finished add a couple coats of outdoor sealer in a gloss....I like Duraclear.












Now the squirrels can knock them down but they will stay in one piece...fingers crossed!

Give it a try and let your kids have a go....some great folk art for your garden.

Here is a sneak peek at a new tutorial....I make these mini gardens for my kid's teachers every year...they have become my signature gift at the school....I have 3 to make this year.

This time I remembered to take step by step photos so you can make one too. Stay tuned.

See you next time.

gail

How to make a Mushroom Decoration for the Garden

I want to share with you how to make these Mushroom Sculptures. With all the cool rainy weather its been perfect weather for mushrooms, sprouting up all over the place. About 4 years ago I read about these mushrooms in Family Fun Magazine. They were supposed to be for the kids to play with but I decided to make them into garden decorations. Four years later and they are still holding up strong.

When I used to participate in Farmer's Markets they were always my biggest seller.

MATERIALS:

-set of stainless steel bowls, red spray paint (I used tractor paint and it has withstood 4 Canadian winters), white or cream colored acrylic paint, paintbrush, a good outdoor sealer (I use Decoart Duraclear Varnish in gloss) a drill, a nice log approx. 18-24 inches high (choose one with lots of good bark texture), some heavy duty screws 3 inches or so(don't use nails as they may split your log)

You want to first prepare your bowls for painting. Using Windex or Fantastik, clean the outside of the bowl. You can also handwash in hot soapy water. Sometimes they have an oily film on them and you want to degrease them. Next take some sandpaper and lightly rough them up, not a lot as you don't want the scratches to show thru the paint.

Take them outside and lay on some newspaper. Give them a good spray with your red tractor paint. I found mine in the hardware section of Wal mart. Let dry and then give them another coat. You don't want any drips so watch closely as you spray. While you have the spray paint out take the screws you plan on using a give the tops of them a quick spray.

When dry start painting spots directly onto the red paint. You want to vary the sizes . Let dry and give them an extra coat of paint ( or two).

Let the paint dry for a full 24hrs ( even if it feels dry it won't be cured, if you seal to early the paint may lift off on you ).

Paint a good coat of sealer on. Let dry and then do a second coat.

The next step is to make sure you log is level, you may have to cut the ends until it sits right.

Drill two holes in the center of the bowl, go slowly as you don't want to damage the paint. If you do damage the paint you can do a touch up once your mushroom is put together. Place bowl on log and mark where the two holes are.

Take off bowl and pre drill your holes in the log. Put the bowl on top of the log and line up the holes. Now take the screws you have painted and attach the bowl to the log. Try to get as tight as you can so it won't wobble. Do any paint touchups.

You now have some great mushrooms for the garden. They look especially nice in the fall with all those complimentary colors in the leaves. Make one or three or five. I have kept mine outside for four years thru all types of weather and they still look great!

Good luck mushroom hunting.

see you later

gail