The Making of the Boston Tea Party

This weekend was creativity of a scholastic nature.  The Youngest Kiddo has an American History diorama due this week.  He chose the Boston Tea Party as his subject. Since this project pretty much took over my work space, I thought I would share the makings of the Boston Tea Party with you all today.

Scor-tape.  A ship builder's best friend

Notice the concentration.  The tongue makes several appearances, hehe

The Tongue modeling tea boxes out of clay

Yep, this was a two day project.  Inking the raised wood grain embossed paper

Painting of the ship's masts

This Big Shot is harder than it looks

Making funny faces helps!

The tongue appears again while pounding "nail heads"

Such concentration...hehe

This would not be the youngest without some extra "acting"

 Closer shot of the work

Three ships were involved in the Boston Tea Party, the Beaver, Eleanor and the Dartmouth. 

45 tons of tea (or 342 containers) were thrown into the ocean the night of December 17, 1773.

The colonists disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians so that they could say they weren't involved in the protest (even though the British knew better).

The proud artist

I should make it known that the template for the ships came from Brenda Quintana (Qbee).  You can find the template here.  I cut out another of the ship's base and flipped it over to make a platform for the colonists to stand on (otherwise, the boat  was too deep). 

Monday will be another day of a different sort of creativity.  The Youngest is part of the Lego Robotics team and they have their competition on Monday.  From what the Toad has said (he went with the Oldest Kiddo when he was of the same age), it is a lot of standing around waiting.  I guess I need to download a new book!!

Metallic Birthday

Yesterday, while in the middle of the cleaning attack on the house, the youngest Kiddo comes up to me and says "MOM! Where are my pants that I wore Thursday?  You haven't washed them have you?!" Not likely, as that would require the laundry to be DONE.

Come to find out, the Kiddo has in his pocket an invitation to a birthday party for one of the girls in his class.  A party that is TODAY. 

This fact is given to me late in the afternoon.  There is no time to run to town to buy the easy cop-out gift card present as it is about time to get ready to go to the same Kiddo's basketball game.  There is no time to make a card. 

So being the Prince of Toads that he is, The TOAD runs down to town early this am to buy the gift card and purchase a card.

Yes, I sent my husband to BUY a card. 

But then the phone call came.  "Have you seen the cards for girls?  Happy Birthday "Princess" .  Fru-fru stuff.  Not a card here that would come from a boy.  You're going to have to make a card."

Ooookaaaay.  Remembered a card I made in the Sizzix class.  Pulled that out.  It was met with less than enthusiasm.  I will admit, that it was not made from colors or papers that I would have chosen myself.  But I was desperate!

Called the youngest Kiddo into my craft room and started  pulling out dies.  And this is what he and I came up with:

The base is a 5 1/2" square piece of Pure Luxury.  The pink layer is SU's Pink Pirouette. Dark Chocolate and Kiss Me Pink metal were die cut with the QuicKutz cupcake die and embossed using Cuttlebug's Swiss Dots and Swirls embossing folders.  The candle is from the personal baking stash.  I personally would have chosen another color.  But the card isn't from me.  It's from the Kiddo.  And that's how it should be. His choices, not mine.  The sentiment is from an old SU set. 

CAS.  Done. 

I thought I'd share the attempts at getting a somewhat decent photo of the Kiddo.  Yeah.  Let's just say it took about as long to get one decent photo as it did to make the decisions on the card.

Whatever you do, DO NOT crack a smile

But feel free to crack yourself up!

You said SMILE!

I'll get what I can take!

I hope you all enjoy what is left of your weekend.  I'm headed back to the cleaning.  It would seem that two tornados also tore up my craft room. 

Sigh.

"Till then......................Explore some creativity with someone special.  It's sooo worth the mess!!

Cheryl? Cheryl? Bueller? Anyone? And a Big ol' Kiss.....

 Cheryl? Cheryl?  Are you out there?!  It's been almost a week and I haven't heard from Cheryl yet on the blog candy.  Even tried to "trace" her back thru her comment but it didn't link to her blog.  SOOOOO, Cheryl!! If you are still interested in the blog candy, I'll give you until Monday evening to contact me (offroadtoad@msn.com.  Please put "blog candy in the subject line!).  After that!!  RandomKid will pick another name!!

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Valentine's day is tricky when you have boys.  It's pretty much thought of as a mushy, gushy, girly holiday.  My oldest is at the age (12) where you have to be VERY careful at this time of year.  Heaven forbid that someone would get the wrong idea that a) you might LIKE someone in particular  b) that you still think handing out valentine's is "cool" c) what ever else a tween thinks (or doesn't think) about this holiday.  So, instead of adding to his stress of the day, I just bought a huge bag of candy for him to hand out in the classroom.  The relieved sigh that I got pretty much confirmed that is the right choice for this young man.  

My younger son, though, is at a different stage.  HE has someone "special" and liked the idea of making treat boxes to hand out to his classmates.  So, I pulled out my new Sizzix takeout box die.  He helped me cut out the 28 needed cuts, writing down who was going to get what color.  I pulled out my retired SU Toucan of My  Love set (not too gushy for a boy to hand out) and he chose the toucan to stamp.   Then came the HUGE step for me in this creative endevor.  *C asked if he could use my "special markers" (my copics!) to color the stamped images. WHAT IS A MOTHER TO DO?!!  I'll be honest.  My first thought was "NOOOO", but luckily I stopped and thought before my mouth actually opened (for once!!)  *C is very artistic in his drawing, ideas and such. He thinks that his mom can color "the best" (gotta luv him!) and he wanted me to show him how to do "that shading stuff".  In the brief seconds that all this is running through my noggin, one thought stood out:  They are only markers and here is a chance to encourage his ablilities that he is showing in his artistic endeavors.  Aren't a few "special" markers worth that?!!

*C carefully coloring with my "special markers"

I have to say I'm SO glad I said yes to him using my markers!! He was very careful in how he used them (all tips are still intact!) and he has now been introduced to shading.  He carefully colored and shaded the "(wink) "special" image and then decided that maybe he wouldn't put so much detail into all the other ones he needed to make (shading takes too much time! LOL!!)

Here is the final project (please note that the photos were taken Friday morning at 7am!! The sun is not shining brightly enough at that time to make up for my lack of photography skills.  That~and I just snapped a few quick shots....we were on a "get to school deadline, peoples!! LOL!!)

This is the "special" box.  This one got some extra stamping on the box itself and the heart has glossy accent on it to make it dimensional and shiny! This box was filled with chocoate heart candy vs. the mixed chocolate mini bars everyone else got (this special girl is in a different class, so no one will know! hehe).  I'm tellin' ya...this boy of mine is going to have girls sighing over him!!

(*C asked "is all of this going on the blog?! LOL!)

a bird's eye view of the goodies

 *C did all the coloring himself.  He picked out what color of wire handles he wanted for each box.  He started pulling out all the beads to spell out his classmates and teacher names.  Then his older brother and a friend asked if they could play the Wii.  Big ol' brown eyes looked like they were about to become somewhat wet with the thought that he was going to miss out on something more fun than adding name beads to wire.  I, being the wonderful mommy that I am, told him he could go play with his brother.  Let me tell you something:  a big ol' hug and kiss from a 9 y/o boy with the words "THANK YOU MOMMY!! You are the BEST mommy ever!" will make any mother's heart melt even when she is up past her bedtime working on Valentine projects by herself.  AND:  the morning hug and ANOTHER kiss on the cheek with "THANK YOU mom for finishing my boxes for me!  You're the BEST ever" will mean that I will gladly do it again!!

Thanks for dropping by again today!!  I hope that you all remembered to tell someone that you care/love them today!! (even if they didn't bring you chocolate! LOL!!)

Blog Guest

Today is your lucky day!! In addition to my own card (yeah....surprise! I finally got another one made!), I have a card designed by my Blog guest~~my youngest DS, *C (8).

Some artistic background history on *C. My youngest can spend hours just drawing/doodling. Usually his pictures are of some type of battle (Star Wars, dragons vs ???, you know~~dark, lots of blood, swords, light sabers, those types of things that boys love and make mother's cringe when it is done for school projects). But he is very specific in how he wants his creations. When he stamps, he is no different. He gets an idea and that is how he wants it. I will pull out several stamp sets (or he will ask if I have something that is like "such and such") from which he will chose what he wants to work with. He will then pick out his papers and then the color of inks he wants to use. He is also very specific as to where he wants his images and if he "rocks" the stamp or it does not stamp correctly, he ALWAYS wants to re stamp.

*C needed to make a thank you card for his swim teacher. At first he wanted me to make it, but was giving me specific things to include. I asked again and sure enough, he wanted to do it (the first time I asked, it was going to interfere with something else he wanted to do. Mom just had to figure that out and tell him we could make the card at a different time). The stamps had to be something to do with "swimming" (duh). Soo, I pulled out SU's retired Silly Sealife. Then he was telling me how he wanted to use this stamp and that stamp, and make it look like this one was jumping and this one was swimming....etc, etc. Now, all these stamps were not going to fit on a regular sized card. I just happened to have a business envie on my desk and we decided that we would make this card 4x9. Perfect for all the stamps he wanted to use!!

*C does his own stamping (yes, this is the second one, since the first time he rocked one of the dolphins). I only help make sure the stamp is inked well, and give "overpressure" to make a good image (because I finally learned that my help in a good image is sooo worth not having to cut 4 more card bases due to poorly inked images!!) and to make sure he has the image where he wants it (occasionally, I'll make a suggestion as to image placement, but he has the final say. It goes where he wants it). *C then got out his pencils and markers and colored the image (I did make the suggestion that he not use the markers on the main part of the image, as they would cover up the "details"). He borrowed my watercolor pencils so that he could have a different choice in "blues" for his water.
I think it turned out really cute!! He was telling me what the different strokes the creatures were swimming (the turtle is doing breast stroke, the ray is doing the butterfly and the whale is doing freestyle. The dolphins are having fun!)
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My card is a HUGE step for me. Not in the style but in its purpose. I decided to try out for the CAS (clean and simple) Autumn Design Team on SCS. Now DH is dreading this. Not because he feels that I shouldn't try out, but because he is afraid of what he will have to deal with if I don't make it (it would seem that I have had "issues" in the past when I have created what I thought was a WONDERFUL creation and it got no love (or no comments/looks) in the galleries. All I can say in my defense, is sometimes creative egos who are lacking in self appreciation~~need HUGE acknowledgement and must learn to deal with reality. I'm learning to deal with reality), heehee.

This card is for the sketch part of the DT challenge. It's pretty simple. I colored my large Pretties flower with my copic ciao marker (because I really didn't feel like dealing with red reinker!!). I played around with different centers before settling on SEWING a button over a punched 1" black circle. Seriously. You should be impressed that a) I even have a needle and thread kit, b) I knew where it was in order to use it and c) actually sewed. Without someone begging me. Sewing is just something that I personally try to avoid at all costs (let's just say that the 12 weeks of "sewing" in high school home ec were very traumatic and that to this day I wish I had had the guts to take shop instead!!).
I then used the swirl from the Season of Joy set with Wild Wasabi (my favorite green that SU has made!!) and stamped randomly along the edges. The sentiment is a rub on from the Cherished Memories Rub Ons . There are score lines that the ribbon sits between, but you really can't see them even in real life as the ribbon is the exact same size! hehe. HEY!! It only took two tries to get the ribbon to look this nice. I'm improving on that bow tying thing!! Supplies: Paper: SU's whisper white, basic black. Stamps: Season of Joy. Accessories: Clear button (SU), Cherished Memories Rub On, red thread, needle, copic ciao, ribbon (Target)
Thanks for stopping by again today. I'm off to make another card for the DT challenge. (eeeaaakkkkk!!!)

Double Whammy!!

Ok, I promised you a card in the next post and boy!! Did I deliver!! First up (yes....that means there is a SECOND, hehe) is the card my 8 y/o DS made for his teacher. He did all the coloring (with my SU markers) and asked me to cut it out. He then chose the base paper and requested we use the "machine" to make the swirls. He istructed me to put the image at the bottom "because that is the water and the blue is the sky". I think he did a great job!! (and yes, he knows that the second "b" in baby is backwards....adds to the charm!! wink)

Supplies: Stamps: Rubbernecker. Inks: SU markers, Archival Jet Black. Paper: SU's bashful blue. Accessories: Cuttlebug, swirls embossing folder.

Now for my card. Are you sitting down? I actually managed to combine TWO challenges from SCS!! The layout is SCS 225 and I did the WT215 (using all white paper). Double points for me!!

I was introduced to Dustin Pike from Dawn's blog and I fell in love with his style of drawing (can I just say it is a coloring fanatic's dream?!!). I downloaded this cute brave knight on Gina K' 120# Pure luxury paper and colored him and his pony with my copics. I then carefully cut the image out. I hand drew the "castle" walls and shaded them with copics also. The "black" layer is actually whisper white outlined with the broad tip of my black copic marker and the castle is layered on top of that. I carefully added a very thin line of black on the cutouts (what are those things called? Where the hot oil was dumped between or the archer's shot from? Where is oldest DS when I need him?!!) I then popped the cute~~~sorry, BRAVE knight and his pony on dimensionals. Supplies: Stamps: Digi image from Dustin Pike. Paper: Gina K's 120# pure luxury, whisper white. Ink: Archival Jet black, Copics ciao's (the 72A pack). Accessories: Dimensionals.

Well, DH and oldest son return home from Astro camp tomorrow afternoon. I will have to scramble to get DH's b-day card done before then (as his birthday is SATURDAY!!......have I ever mentioned that I'm also the QUEEN of Procrastination?!!) No wonder I whine soooo much!! I bring the stress on myself! (wink) I think I need to find some GOOD chocolate (the Famous Amos cookies are not cutting it!!) so that I can focus tonight and get another image colored!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Finding Inspiration in Reading

My youngest son just finished reading the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney.

Once done, he asked me if we could make him a diary (excuse me~~it's a JOURNAL!). He wanted to use my Bind it All (sniff, sniff, makes a mother proud!) versus just altering an already made journal book. So we got out SU's Small Board Basics and went digging through my paper stash. Now my DS (age 8) is very particular when it comes to his crafting. He gets an idea in his head and that is how it is going to be (unlike his older brother who just kinda shrugs and says "whatever"). He wanted a greenish paper and lettering. So I dig out all my greens. NOPE. Didn't like those. I even told him we could do the ink pad direct to the paper to give it more "texture" like the book. He finally found some double sided paper that he liked, giving instructions on which was to be on the outside, and which would be on the inside. We measured, cut and he rounded all the corners. He also wanted "lined" paper on the inside (like the book) vs unlined (and we had to have just about the same thickness as the original book). Luckily, I had just bought a package of lined paper for his older brother to do his homework on, so I got out my handy-dandy Bind it All book and figured out what size to cut the paper. DP is now glued to the chipboard covers and the inside pages are ready to go.

Then, lucky for me, I decided to do a test run on the holes on some scrap paper before I started to punch. WHEW!! Don't know if there is a misprint in my book or what. But the holes went OFF the cover. Tried it a couple of times on the scrap. Nope. Wasn't going to work. So I played around and figured out that when I move the board for the continuous punching, I just needed to move it one hole vs the two that the book suggested. No big deal, but I will ALWAYS check now first on scrap paper to make sure everything lines up as it is suppose too vs punching on my actual project first!! Then the kiddo went through all my O wires deciding what color looked best to him for the binding. Then it was time for the "embellishments" on the cover. My kiddo decides he wants to use stickers so we dig out all my stickers from a past stint of scrap booking. We line everything up and this is the result

(photo taken just out of the shower getting ready for school) Now, before you think that I'm a terrible mother who has given her kid some complex about his height, let me assure you that he came up with this title!! My kiddo IS short for his age (genetics are not on his side to be tall!) and he informed me that "it's true, you know!!

So far he has only made one entry (informing anyone reading that this is a JOURNAL not a diary!) but he was soooo excited to make this book. I hope he will continue to write in it. Who knows? Maybe it will be basis for a whole new series of kid's books one day! Supplies: SU's Small board basics, Zutter Bind it All, O-wires. Paper from My Mind's Eye. Stickers (?!)