A year without posts...

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I've posted anything on this blog. It's definately time to add some more pictures. ;) I don't have many to share of any artwork I've done with my neice or nephews, since they've been in school lately and too busy to do much art with me. However, Valentine's day is coming up and I decided I would make them each a little something special for it this year. :)

Here's a breakdown of what I used and how:

For the buckets, I purchased those from my local department store, filled each one with some grassy type of decoration found at the same store in the craft department (they were next to the fake flowers and floral accessories), along with some bits of red crinkled paper that was somewhere else down that same aisle, although if you wished to make these yourself, you could easily make the crinkled paper out of whichever coordinating paper you have on hand. The grass I used could also easily be replaced with easter grass or some other basket filler. I also purchased some black crepe paper which I then glued and crinkled around the top of each bucket, making sure not to hinder the movement of the handle. Additionally, I added a small floral butterfly to each pail (I used different colors to let each child know which one was whose). I used a hot glue gun to glue the heart sucker into each pail since they tended to make it very top heavy. If you fill the bucket with some other candy or small toys or use a smaller center piece, it would no doubt prevent that from happening. For each child, instead of making each a standard greeting card valentine, I decided to make each one of them a sort of puppet wand that they could play with instead. I digitally scanned and printed some of my recent clowns and cut out their silhouette which I then attached to a crepe paper covered bamboo skewer. A small plastic bead was attached to the other end as well. And from there, each child has their own, personal Valentine's day pail. :) It was extremely fun to create these and I'm hoping they will all be as equally excited and delighted to receive them. This idea can be used for any season and can by created with almost anything. It makes the gift both very unique and equally very personal to the receiver, which makes it even more special. :)

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

*All artwork copyright Mindy Lou Hagan, not to be used without written permission.