black, white, red, giraffe

At the moment I have a lot of black, white, and red happening in my house. 

I think my favorite thing from the garden this year are those twin-cherry tomatoes, so perfectly colored and shaped. Little gifts from a poorly tended garden. 

I almost didn't eat them they were so cute... but I did eat them. 

They were tasty.

This is a commissioned tea cozy, meant to be finished late last week. I'm struggling with the flowers. Not with the making, but with the size, the placement, the kind... it'll all come and fit together like it wants to be, but in the meantime I'll fuss... and then set it aside. Rearrange... then put away.  I know the moment will come, when I'll put it together and it will all be right... perfectionist? Nah. I like to think of it as art.

Speaking of art...

As a family we are working on a project this year that will require each of us to keep a composition book.

I've never liked composition books because they are so drab looking... so I've decided a little decoupage is in order... but first I needed to get the cover looking like I wanted it to.

Have you ever used Graphite paper? Its one of my very favorite crafting supplies (you can find it in the drawing and painting sections of craft stores.)

I used scrapbook paper to make my numbers and background, then I found my favorite computer font for the written word 'thanks'.

Then I placed the 'thanks' where I wanted it on the cover with the graphite (black side down) in between. 

 I traced over the letters with a pencil, checking twice that I'd gone over all the lines, its impossible to place in the same spot once you remove the graphite.

The graphite leaves a faint line.  I traced over the line with my favorite permanent marker (the one I hide in my office where no one can find it... I'm not even kidding.)

Then I used a glue stick to place the cover over the composition book. After I've given it a little time to dry I will Mod-Podge the cover so it all stays in place.

As a non-black/white/red side note:

You can also use graphite paper to trace onto canvas.

I am not the only one in this house that L-O-V-E-S graphite paper. The Girl is a big fan too. 

She is painting in the kitchen as I type.
I offered to put the easel on the floor so she could sit in the chair.
She declined.
Artists.

Last year a friend recommended the Color-Me-Online website. They have all sorts of printable animal drawings and famous masterpieces geared toward teaching your kids about art (and its free!) It is really a great website, good for artists of every age.

The Girl's first project was to print out  this black and white giraffe. 

I helped her transfer the giraffe with graphite paper and she set to work painting.

Isn't that fun?

Happy Tuesday!