Another Mother's Day Project

A few months ago my mom and I were shopping at one of my favorite stores: TJ Maxx/Homegoods.  I saw a cute sign that said “Artist In Training” with clips on it for your child's artwork.  I decided that I wasn’t going to pay $12 for it and that I could make it myself!  With the many art projects that Derek has been making, I thought this would be a good way to display some of his artwork and it would also be easy to change the pictures out.   

Who else might like one of these?  MY SISTER!!!  My nieces LOVE to paint and to art projects as well.  Naturally, I procrastinated and didn’t begin my project until the Friday before Mother’s Day!

Materials:

A 3’ piece of a 1” x 4”

Sandpaper

Primer

Paint for the background

Paints for the designs

Different brushes

Clothespins

Wood glue

Hooks (which I forgot)

Steps:

First, I sanded and primed the wood.

Next, I painted it a color that I already had on hand.  I used Blue Reflection which is the color of Derek’s room.

Then, I measured the distance between where the clothespins would be going, marking it with a pencil, and I painted designs onto the wood.

Finally, I used wood glue to secure the clothespins to the board.

The finished product.  The one on the top was for my sister and the one on the bottom is mine!

A closer look

As a direct result of my procrastination, I forgot about getting the hooks so that it could be hung on the wall.  But I did manage to make one for myself as well J

Happy Mother’s Day, Aunt Momma! (that is what Derek calls my sister)

Mother's Day Project by Derek

I was trying to come up with something that Derek could create for Mother’s Day.  For gifts in the past, he has created ornaments, picture frames, magnets, and of course cards.  One of my project books included ways to keep your child’s artwork.  Children create so many things in their lifetime it is challenging to keep everything and it is heartbreaking to throw it away. 

I decided to use one of the ideas to create an art book for each of his grandmothers for Mother’s Day.  I simply stapled together four, gallon sized Ziploc bags.  Inside each bag I placed a piece of his artwork.  On the back of each piece, I included a picture of him creating it, the date, and what materials he used.  Each grandmother will get 3 pieces of artwork that he created himself all using a different medium.  I know that they will appreciate this wonderful gift from their grandson!

Cover

inside cover