Watercolor Egg Garland

Let’s squeeze one more themed project in before the season is over. And this project comes with a confession. Here it is:

Doing art projects with my children is not my favorite thing.

Start throwing things at me if you must.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy their company or being creative with them because I do. Being creative and doing things with my hands is my thing and I so hope that I can impart some creative thinking and joy in doing to my children. What I don’t like is the management of the process, meaning, being the adult is not fun. I’m in charge of prepping, cleaning up and keeping paints, markers, pencils and chalk off the walls, tables and carpet. And if you’ve ever done projects with children, maybe it’s just mine, the materials don’t stay ‘materials’ for long. Oftentimes, markers become creatures in an elaborate drama and paints become day wear. I dream about a work room with a wipe-able floor and its own sink in a future house for things like this. I am so looking forward to summer so we can do some things outside, like paint.

I feel bad that I don’t bask in the joy of being in the process trenches with them at this point in time. I don’t feel the way the moms look in project books and commercials. I don’t feel serene. However, I do feel like I should get credit for repeatedly and willingly engaging them in such projects. I am predicting that one day, down the long road, when they can wash their own brushes, keep marker off their faces and not eat chalk, I will be so very happy that we did creative things together, even if it made my blood pressure rise a bit. :)

With that in mind and with Love Bug getting older and being more interested in art materials, we worked on this project together. After seeing a craft store flyer for a Valentine heart project (after the fact) with a similar grid, I thought it would work for eggs just as well.

Before the walls were painted, Bug and I spent a few hours with my watercolor set, painting in grids I’d made in Photoshop. (If you’d like to try this, here is a printable 1/2 inch grid and 3/4 inch grid.) Despite my knowledge and skill with watercolors being very limited, I really like using them. And I enjoyed sharing it with Love Bug. We did a little color theory talk, using similar hues and tints on a grid. Bug loves purple so she worked on that one.

After our papers dried, I scanned them into the computer and edited them in Photoshop by cropping out the wrinkled edges and turning it into a printable PDF.

Once we printed our painted papers, I gathered a few other supplies for our garland.

-scissors
-string
-needle
-awl
-a cereal box for the cardboard
-glue stick

I cut out eggs from the paper and the cardboard. I totally cheated and used my Cricut to cut out the paper ones though I had to cut out the cardboard with scissors. The Cricut saved me hours!

I used the glue stick to connect the paper to the cardboard. I stuck the colored paper on both sides of the cardboard so it would be pretty from all angles.

The cardboard keeps the paper from curling and gives it some weight.

Then, after making holes with the awl, I strung them up.

The weight of them with the cardboard makes them hang just right.

As you saw above, I used some more of the painted paper to cut out letters. We are headed to Iowa this weekend and I wanted to bring something festive.

Think I nailed it. :)

Take care.

P.S. Please take my stuff! Enter yesterday’s giveaway here.