How'd you do that???

Crafty model extraordinaire.

I hear that quite a bit when people come to my house.  I have an...interesting...home to say the least.  My mother has said that my personality threw up all over my walls but I like to see it as more of a light dry heave.  All that aside, with the constant yet subtle pressure of friends and family, I have decided to share some how-to info on the more interesting projects we've done.  Joined, as always, by my crafty companion "Serene Clean Sapience."










Anyway...this is our latest project.

"Shoeprints"

You'll need the following

Paper...
of the bright colored breed.

Paint

paper towels

Tape.

The nitty gritty.

Gather all your supplies and find a nice area on which you can spread out (we used the dining room table with two leaves). Clean the soles of the chosen shoes. While they dry, get your paint in a relatively thin layer on a large plate, mix with a little water to thin out the paint just a bit.

Once the shoes are dry, paint the soles and stamp them on a sheet of your chosen paper. (It's a good idea to test this on a separate sheet of paper before committing.) Choose any pattern you want and simply repeat the stamping process until you are satisfied.

We removed everything from our frames and tossed it in the recycle bin (so relax). Once our paintings were dry we flipped the frame and taped the finished pieces to the frames. Done!

Shoes

Old, unused frames

Here is our finished product, complete with a mischievous boy!

 

I hope you try this, and have fun doing it. It's a great way to "immortalize" baby shoes that cost too much and don't last as long.

By the way, we made four and plan on hanging two high up on the wall and two on the ceiling. =]

<3 DidSheReallySayThat

Homeschool Happenings - History Project (Vaudeville)

Seneca has finished her lessons regarding the culture of the United States in the first decade of the 1900s, and while she was attentive throughout, one thing really caught her attention.  Vaudeville.  This does not surprise me as anything relating to the fine arts always catches her fancy.  So, I sat down with the hubby and we came up with an end of chapter history project that will really get her psyched.*que the music*

"The Show Must Go On!"

1.  Vauldeville performers.
Select at least two, but as many as five, well known vaudeville performers.  You can find a detailed list of the well known vaudevillians at these websites.
Famous Vaudeville Performers A-K
Famous Vaudeville Performers L-Z
Once you have chosen your subjects, research their vaudeville careers and write one paragraph about each person you chose.  You may include a photo of each performer, should you so choose.

2.  Vaudeville performances
You have briefly read about the acts performed during a vaudeville performance.  Now, read about them more in depth, discover what a typical vaudeville show would include.  Then, you are to describe a vaudeville show in at least one paragraph.  Be creative here, you can pretend that you are in the audience!  You may include a photo of a theatre, a vaudeville advertisement, an actual performance.

3.  Artistic project
You now have all the information you need.  Your final stage of this project is to create a vaudeville performance.  You have complete creative freedom here, kind of.  If you want to use your theatre box, or if you want to draw the stage yourself, the choice is yours.  You must meet the following requirements.

• You must have a stage.
• The performers on stage must be those about whom you wrote.
• The performers must be shown performing whatever feat for which they were known.

Here are some creative tips. 
This does not have to be drawn on a piece of paper and colored with crayons, as a matter of fact, YOU CAN'T DO THAT!  Be creative, make it interesting! 
Include the following, should you choose
Movable parts - attach your performers to straws or strings so that you can act out the performance.
A side stage stand - these were used to tell the audience who was performing and what they were doing.
Actual photographs - there is nothing wrong with printing and cutting out a picture of your chosen performer, as long as that picture shows them doing their vaudeville performance.  (Can't find a proper picture?  Cut out their head and paste it to a hand made body doing their performance.)

You have two weeks to complete your assignment.  Your timing should go as follows.
Week One

1. Select and research your performers.
2. Write your paragraphs about your selected performers
3. Research the actual vaudeville performances
4. Write your paragraphs about the performances

Week Two

1. Plan your artistic recreation
2. Gather all materials needed
3. Create your vaudeville performance

Let's Share A Secret!

Breading breading breading, more often than not, everyone has their own type of breading that they prefer. That standard personalized seasoned breading that nobody can steer us away from. Rock on! Here’s an idea to get you and your breading a little closer together and recycle!

So. You love your breading, can’t get enough of it, right? Every recipe that tells you how to make a breading you scoff, for you and you alone have the perfect seasoned breading.

But there’s a problem. Waste! You go through all that effort to make it just right every time (without the aid of a recipe, because, again, you made it up) and invariably you end up throwing some away, or not having enough, and the whole thing gets very frustrating. Halfway through breading pork chops, your hands are coated and sticky, there are four chops left, and the breading is gone . . . Don’t order pizza!!!

I have a solution!

Have you ever bought the cardboard flavored powdered parmesan cheese? Yeah, that one with the neat little dual speed top? Did you throw it away when it was empty? Do you get where I’m going with this . . .

The next time you have an empty container of parmesan cheese, don’t throw it away. Simply wash it out! Make a batch of your breading, and store it in the revamped parmesan container. You can even decorate it, if you’re feeling saucy. Go nuts with it! Save two or three of those handy little buggers and make a different flavored breading for each. Whenever a recipe calls for any type of breading, measure an equal part of yours and go to town.

You’ll thank me later (hopefully in the form of large stacks of non-sequential 20 dollar bills).