I am not crafty. I’m just not. I try. I try really hard. Art class was never my favorite. I still cannot cut a perfect circle. I have half finished scrapbooks and supplies for well intentioned projects that just never seem to happen. But I also have 2 little girls who like to draw, color, paint, and make crafts. So while I may not be the best at it, I still try.
Recently I decided I want to finally get working on decorating some unfinished places in our house. This includes the kid/guest bathroom. I don’t have a “theme” or design in place but I want it to be colorful and fun (and cheap). So I thought it would be fun to let the girls use some fun right colors to paint on some canvas I had and then I would write Bible verses on them. While doing this I thought back to all the other projects I have done with the girls and realized some things I had to remember and I think is important to all craft/art attempting parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends to small children to remember.
1. Let go of what you think this is going to look like. My girls are 3 and 4, and both have a mind of their own. They want to do what they want. And truthfully they create much more beautiful things when I let go of my perfect image of what it “should” look like if I just step back and watch. There are times I give direction, but if I can I try to let them figure it out. (My only requirement this time was that they could have a gray filled canvas. Somehow they mix all the colors together and I turns into this yucky muddy gray color, and it drives me crazy. Weird, I know.) 2. If possible do it outside. Or cover your floor, chairs, table, anything you don’t want glue, sparkles, marker or glitter on. 3. Get all supplies out and ready before calling them over to do the project. 4. Remember they are going to get messier than you thought. Seriously, Brynn ended up with paint in her hair. But it all washes out and didn’t hurt a thing. 5. Tell them it is beautiful, hang it up, and let them show it off. We have very little art bought in a store in our house. I can’t find anything I like. But we do have drawings, paintings, and crafts hanging. And in this stage in our life, that’s the kind of art we enjoy. And it gives the girls a big self esteem boost to see their paintings hanging in their bathroom.
And for those who are curious I discovered this week that I am not a treadmill fan. I would much rather pound the pavement and endure the hills than deal with running and getting nowhere! But I did run 1.3 continuous miles on it, so maybe it has some benefits.