I picked up a stray pipe cleaner this week and on a whim made it into a stick man. Then I thought maybe my son would like our who family depicted in piep cleaners so I twisted a few more.
What a Hit. He was so excited when I showed them to him he asked for extended family members and cars and houses.
Wow what a great roll playing tool too for learning manners and behaviour.
How I love that to a child stick men are fully fleshed humans.
So just do simple creative things on a whim.
I was excited as a creative mom when school sent the message out that my little boy needed a hat for an Easter Parade.
“Wow how clever to celebrate Easter” I thought.
Then I googled for ideas.
So oh. Easter Parades and hats are a Western World tradition. Well I feel very Middle Lowwer South World now.
So to join the tradition for the first time this mom took boy’s favourite cap and made it some thing he could recognise.
Sticky paper, googly eyes, pipe cleaners and pen marks = Buck tooth bunny.
Little boy loves it – it’s the ears. Something as simple as wire bunny ears brings him glee.
Planet pregnant that’s where. Three months of bedridden nausea, three months of ADD and three months of fatigue and hip pain ending in a miraculously wonderful VBAC birth through water. A birth that is a whole series of wonderful posts I could write.
Finally my head is settling and I am back to my trick. I can not concerntrate for longer than waht feels like ten seconds if I am just listening to information. My mind wonders and looses it’s focus. But if I employ my hands and create something visual I can recall alot more of what I hear.
Three hours of Church on Sundays and my best way to hear all the upliftment and encouragement is to draw. To make it more specific to the topic and spark my interests, one of which is portraiture, I sketch the speakers.
This past Sunday, with my new cell phone that I can draw with, saw me bringing together images and messages I heard at church.
I felt a design trend bonding my images together in a little collection. Take a look. I have not drawn in months.
I do not always capture likeness of the people to my satisfaction like I use to be able to but my skills were used more regularly in the past. Keep drawing daily is the lesson here and keep your skills sharp.
Creating something everyday uplifts me so I can be a cheerful happier person and a blessing to others – thats my life’s goal.
Creativity in it’s various forms is a blessing.
My little bear was sick last night. Every cold brings the croup making night time breathing a struggle.
I have a deep intuitive desire to sketch more. Still life’s hold no motivation to me. Never really have but figures I love to capture.
Let sleeping bears lie…
Little boys birthday present had to have a pom-pom
hande made humble ornaments to remind us of family, home and faith where our best blessings are. The simplicity in design with hints of Africa in the bead work. Just making items for Christmas and gathering them together for their purposes to be revealed during the season.
Sick. Three months of dizzy nausea and vomiting followed by three months of bright eyed creative frenzy and now an anticipated slower more balanced heavier hotter three months to go. Yip I am pregnant. Second time around with miracle number two. Doctors have told me I can not conceive. Well here is surprise little boy number two swimming in my tummy.
So I have been up to much creativeness so lets catch up shall we.
All natural wreath – rosemary with cut out cork like bark stars. Smells traditionally festive.
Playing Mr Maker with a tot can lead to interesting more grown up paper fold and cut motifs.
Before bed doodle up drawing of and for peaceful sleep
Drawing for a toddler can bring out your brighter side. Meet this rainbow.
Taking creativity and colour to the kitchen with rich moist red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting to Celebrate October birthdays.
Finding sketch treasures from the past as I neatened and organised winter out of my space.
Sewed up some cushions for the Photo and Film Expo – Photocomment stand. Just had images printed on canvas professionally and then cut and sewed them. Just for show and not daily use as I doubt they will wash well. The larger cushions are made from Sunflower Fund bandanas in support of leukemia and bone marrow testing in South Africa.
Sadly I lost this little cat, a companion and great gentle furry comfort so spiritually in tune with my needs. Seen here resting along side my creative actions as my pillar of peace and stability.
Hope to post more.
Candice.
I painted this fast. In a week. Considering I am still painting a painting started ten years ago a week is fast. I don’t think I could give up on decade painting but I like quicker paintings too. More sense of satisfaction.
My Friends new house in the glowing piercing autumn Jo’burg light. This is the world I live in – sunshine and trees.
For a little boys party
Meet Lilly and Daisy the family pets of my friend. She asked me to do simple low detailed portraits of “their girls” for their new little boy’s nursery. The little man’s room now has portraits of these two eager to be best friends.
My son rolled off the bed while playing with my Dad – our 70 yr old teenager.
Little guy only two and three quarters snapped his collar bone in two separate pieces!
All well just keep his arm strapped for three weeks. Come again WHAT?
No school, no bike riding, too cool to swim as autumn is here… So I am in charge of entertainment.
Today is “all go to work with Daddy day” and so Short legs and I have been cutting and sticking and then he cuts for another hour more because he just learnt how.
I got creative with Easter coming I had chicks on my mind. Why? Easter would have more to do with a lamb than any other animal if you went back to the story.
… That I should write about anything but not him. My dad is where all the adventure is though.
I am taking a quiet moment in the car now as I have a hankering to write but type it will have to be.
With my Husband away on business I have been doing the morning school run aswell, to the delight of some children and parents of the school. I substitute at times for the pre-primary montessori – so seeing me every day is some great novelty for the kids. We call out and great each other. I find myself far from an adult on school grounds and now also at home. I was singing ” a zebra’s a horse of course ” in different musical genres in the bathroom the other day. That’s my teacher of little people side mixing with the year of singing training.
Mixing all you have learned in life makes for endless possibilities.
Well I am off to find flannel for my sister’s pj’s another project I am working on.
Check out my latest fix a stained shirt in one hour
Draw on in pencil and then fabric paint. My little guy loves ‘Hellcopters’.
Some of my friends had birthdays and I painted water colour images of them for cards. Hopefully they will keep the little paintings to remind them of this time in their lives.
I was asked to paint a mural for a friend in her little boy’s room. She had seen a simple forest design with a deer in the plascon magazine/catalogue. We used similar soft colours but also made our deer a bokkie – a lifesize impala ! Well we do live in Africa.
I so enjoyed drawing and then painting this. It brought me such peace and added artistic confidence.
Sketching as I am looking for a certain pregnant lady.
What have I been doing to rid my self of the creative juice build up? Sewing.
Me in a sewn head band and long night shirt that I made the pattern for and then sewed.
I’m just gonna make all the styles I like and can’t find.
It is easy to make a favourite desert list but a favourite healthier food list is harder. A required special diet then really needs all the encouragement you can get.
I have battled chronic fatigue – as in crashing every afternoon for a two to three hour nap, crashing every so many weeks so that I stay in bed for a day or two and then more recently crashing for over a month.
A new round up of medicines and vitamins got me more awake but a new diet really helped. Low… very low carb diet. One small slice of very whole grainy dense bread is all I can eat a day. No dairy. No fat. Only two pieces of fruit a day. Plenty Vegetables as many as I like. Protein in the form of lean meat and fish.
Raiding the veggie patch did not seem thrilling at first but I have found some likes their.
Carrot salad (with bit of chopped pineapple and a little orange juice)
Slaw (cabbage, carrots, apples – i cheat with a little dollop of mayo)
Crisp red apples
Water with lemon slices
My body really does better with out having to digest carb sludge at present. I can iron so I know I am doing better.
Taking a photo a day along side my husbands daily quest to do so. It makes an interesting documentary of my creativity and life. Take a look at some so far.
I find myself doing a word search and already in bed.Lamp glows and distant tv echo’s an American conversation that no one seems to be watching. My mom slowly receits the words she types in a business letter as Dad dictates sentances here and there in his cut throat professional tone. He just thanked them for co-operating and so I threw a word down the passage, “assisting” he is thanking them for going out of their way actually and not blackmailing them after all.
I know my husband is somewhere infront of the tv reading a tablet – he has three tablets now.
Hello mosquito – swat swat slap. Mosquitos vampires samething. Half an hour into the evening and Hubby had already made a double trip to the street garden first with the handsized arachnid and then a pious mantis I found praying over me on my shoulder. It was all an act, his real intent was using me as human bait for the above discribed vampires. Well if he thought the females of his manti species were bad, he won’t ever be crossing a human girl with his tricks again. I freaked, screamed, jumped, and got totally creeped out by having his spindly scratchy, flicky and tickle intense touch in my hair and on my skin. To think those crackling wings were so close to my ear no wonder dispite the heat I find myself tucked into my hoodie now jerking with each tiny crack of noise. Complete paranoid person ready for the summer of bugs. Making extra special friends with Moodley Man with the killer paws of stealth. He really enjoys a good crunchy critter that cat.
Amazing how such a small creaper can change my whole mindset and blog post.
What was a pleasant peaceful space of time spent at home changed to a multi legged horror moment. I’m trying to say that I enjoy the atmosphere of my home, even though a few things creap in and disturb the equilibrium, generally home is a place that loves my soul.
