Monday, February 9, 2015

Paintings as Valentines


I think if everyone always gave each other handmade gifts, the world would be a better place. Think about it...we wouldn't spend unnecessary money, actual thought would be put into each gift, and gifts would mean more than the mere obligation they sometimes are.

I have yet to come up with an idea for my son's daycare friends, but this weekend we did make a few Valentine paintings to send in the mail to faraway family members. These little canvases were bought on sale at Michael's, and I put tape-hearts on them before we painted. He loved peeling the tape off after the paintings dried and seeing the perfect hearts that appeared.

A few months ago I read about painting with kids on the blog Lil Blue Boo. She gave very helpful hints for making the whole process more enjoyable for everyone: I put him in clothes that could get dirty, I spread a huge plastic shower curtain on the table as a drop cloth, I gave him a pallet of colors that were complementary, and when he seemed to get stuck in a rut, I rotated the canvas to give him a new perspective. I love just letting him loose to paint however he wants!

I encourage you all to create something for someone this Valentine's Day. Write a poem, bake a cake, make dinner - anything to show you truly care. It just means so much more.

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