Modge Podge Hodge Podge

Modge Podge, (a watery glue-like shellac) was the main ingredient behind this week's art project.  These art projects, by the way, haunt me until they finally materialize in my mind.  As organized as this project may appear in pictures below, it actually came together in over the course of five minutes...after torturing me for at least five days before.  I must think of an art project...I MUST think of an art project!  I rifled through my vases to find two that I've always detested for being boring and unimaginative.  Some colorful tissue paper fell off a shelf earlier in the week, so I snatched it up and cut the layers into square confetti.  The last elements were four brushes and three little artists.  The instructions were simple: Swipe a layer of Podge, stick on the paper and then brush over with another layer of Modge.  Repeat!  Samuel had just as much fun peeling the layers of dried Modge Podge off his fingers as he did painting the vase.  The end results exceeded my expectations.  Then again, the creativity of KIDS alway exceeds my expectations.  They go about their work with unreserved gusto, uninhibited by insecurities or preconceived notions of end results.  Amen.  

Every one of Samuel's pictures showed him puckering his mouth in focused concentration.  Cute.

Big Boy Vase

Somewhere inbetween these two pictures, my fingers got too sticky to take any more "process" shots...

A Desert Backyard Makes a Fine Kiln

Modge Podge Vases!

We had the opportunity to steal away to Huntington Beach over the weekend.  It was our first beach trip of the "summer."  Thankfully, Daniel was past the stage of stuffing handfuls of sand into his mouth.  One LOL moment occurred when his beach chair tipped and he face-planted into the sand.  It would have been cruel to grab the camera first, but his sand-caked face was a sight to behold.  James has morphed into a marine mammal.  He cannot get enough of the waves, and his peeling nose is proof positive (ugh!).  Let it be known that we applied at least FOUR layers of sunscreen and it STILL wasn't enough!  Joshua is a quiet soul.  He finds his peaceful projects, be it digging for sand crabs or soaking in the sun like a reptile.  His body fat percentage is -5 right now, so a romp in the brisk waves chilled him to his bones.  His father is in the same category.  Samuel busies himself with snack breaks.  But, I'm HUNGRY still was his most commonly-uttered phrase.  He finally made his way to the waves near the end of the day and even mustered up the courage to do a little boogie boarding.  His method was to lie on the board and let the waves find him.  I promise that I wasn't trying to avoid having my picture taken.  It just happened that my face was behind the lens all day, rather than the in front of it! It  bears mention that my body fat ratio is nowhere near -5 percent...  : )