Kid Art~Masterpieces of the Home

Sometimes the kids bring home pictures from school that just speak to me....I thought I'd share a few of my favorites that I've kept and had framed.

This first one was made last year by my oldest daughter, Sarah, for Mother's Day. Sarah is my kid with special needs. She is 23. She is mildly autistic and is moderately mentally handicapped. In short, it's like having an 8-year old with 23-year old hormones! She is in love with the Jonas brothers and Hannah Montana. She loves boys and is not afraid to tell them so. (I must admit, she has very good taste in boys). Our community is very small and very close knit. One business person in town told her she was famous because everyone knows her. (I don't know if that's good or bad :) )....No, I know--it's good. She is much beloved by most people and everyone always humors her. People are constantly asking her who her "boyfriend" is....it's always changing, but she knows that he's the one she's going to marry! The boy generally changes weekly. We take her with us everywhere we go. She usually takes along a bag of "stuff to keep her busy". One thing she does out of the goodness of her heart is color pictures for everyone. Sometimes she approaches complete strangers (at ball games) and says that she's colored a picture for them. She tells them it's for their "frigerator". It always brings a smile. She has her moments....but don't we all? Overall, she is just a very sweet and thoughtful person. Who could ask for more?


My son, who is now 18 and a senior, made this picture when he was in 4th or 5th grade. I just fell in love with it (even though cats are probably my least favorite animal). One of the things that endeared it to me is, if you look closely, the cat is holding a football.....his favorite sport! We decided to frame this one and he entered it in the 4-H fair that summer...he received a state fair entry. The Judge at the State Fair didn't like the fact that the drawing has silver accents and we chose to put it in a gold frame.....the gold went better in my house, and I didn't care about the silver, it was made by my son! Sometimes you have to overlook things like that!

My youngest daughter drew this fabulous snow-girl when she was in 1st grade. She brought it home somewhat crumpled up from school, but we pressed it and there was just something about it that spoke to me....naturally, I had to have it framed, as well. Even though it is definitely a winter drawing, I leave it up year-round!



I've saved my favorite for last....This tulip was made by my youngest daughter when she was in 4th grade (I think). She absolutely did not like it at all....she thinks it looks like a birthday cake. I can see why she thinks that, but I immediately saw it was a tulip...she was shocked that I actually knew what it was supposed to be! Being the flower-lover that I am, of course I knew what it was! This painting still remains her least favorite, but my very favorite....so far.....you never know what masterpieces they may bring home! This was also a painting that I encouraged her to enter in the 4-H fair (against her desire), and it received division champion and state fair entry.

Of course, all the kid art in my house is state fair quality in my eyes! They're all masterpieces. ...even the coloring book pages that end up on the fridge. Lots of people have Sarah Art on their fridges and if she gives you one, and then we visit, it better be hanging up or she'll ask about it!

Cherish all the masterpieces from your budding artists....they are truly priceless and some of the many things that make a house a home.

Talk to you soon,
Kelly

Late Night Design Session

I had a couple of arrangements that needed to be delivered first thing on Thursday. I procrastinated getting my components picked up, then the weather got icy, so I ended up getting these things done in the 11th hour...it's a good thing I work well under pressure!

The kids were to return to school after the holiday break yesterday (Tuesday), but we had ice and school was cancelled. My daughter's basketball game that was scheduled last night was re-scheduled for tonight. So after I left the office, I went and got all the components and then went straight to the game. It was after 10:30 when we got home, so whipped together these pieces. The first one has hydrangeas, artichokes and ferns...I almost hate to part with it!



The English Garden Urn smells sooooo good! It has hyacinths and roses as well as several other blooming and green plants. After I picked up the flowers, I was afraid to leave them in the car for fear of them freezing during the game, so I decided to just take them into the game with me! The hyacinths smelled so good in the gym....I think I looked pretty silly taking them inside, but I figure everybody thinks I'm half crazy anyway so I'm just giving them more reason to think so! Hey, you do what you gotta do!


I'm going to add some curly willow to this in the morning...I need to cut it off my tree, but it's clear in the back yard and it's late and dark and cold....I'll just wait and get some in the morning....unfortunately, it''ll be early (and dark and cold)!


Well, it's almost midnight so think I'll sign off and go to bed.
Until next time...

Kelly

New Year, New Beginning

It's been many months since I've last posted...where has the time gone? It seems like I just got started blogging and then before I knew it, was too busy to come up for air.

Not to mention, since we FINALLY got high speed internet in our area...now it doesn't take an hour to load images, which really, who has time for that?

I just finished packing up my Christmas decorations and now my house looks naked. I've decided to leave the wreath on the front door until I can get a new one made for spring.

I think this can be left up for a while...

Since it's right after the holidays and we're all slowing getting back into a routine, I thought I'd try posting again. Try a new routine...not just read blogs but spend some time and work on mine!

Read any good books lately?

My friend gave me this after a basketball game and said it was the funniest thing she'd read in a while. I finished it in record time and have to admit, it was pretty funny! Living in the sticks of Indiana, I guess we're pretty NC around here...but that's just fine by me!

Winter projects....

Since it's cold and we're staying inside by the fire to keep warm, I'm going to be making more caterpillar bracelets. I made several last spring and summer, so thought I'd get a head start. This is a good project to work on while I'm watching (or rather, just listening) to t.v.

Here are several different ones I made earlier:

A work in progress.....

Well, I guess that's it for now. I'll try to post more regularly--hopefully at least once a week. I really like this on-line diary. It will be fun to look back over the year to see what all has been accomplished. (Or not!)

Keep warm!

Kelly