Rainy Day Crafts

     Oi! What a day! I know things could be MUCH worse for us weather wise- at plus 6 with rain we are far better off than any of our fellow countrymen to the East- and still I complain. I was not designed for weeks of grey sky or what is commonly known as winter here on the coast- I think I was born in the wrong continent- I possibly belong in Australia. I admit this is the toughest part of the year for me- the aforementioned rain makes me just want to hibernate and eat large amounts of bread smothered with melted cheese- sounds good right? 

    The only problem with this plan is these children of mine will not allow this to happen- stay inside? Yeah right I have a better chance of bumping into Jason Priestley- which actually just happened to my friend Kim Manky who lives in L.A. You can also forget about the large amounts of bread smothered in melted cheese- any indication that I am about to eat anything they are at my heals claiming to be starved- apparently I don't feed them enough! At any rate the option of me reclining on the sofa for the rest of January is non existent and so into my studio I go- on the hunt for something- anything that will engage them for longer than 4 minutes( the amount of time it takes them to eat a purloined cheese melty).

     This project could not be easier- it is a project that even my sister might attempt to do with her wee ones- that easy! Today we are channelling warmer days and creating a wall full of spring butterflies- a pop of bright colour and a spot of hope on an otherwise grey day! Our jumping off point was these awesome bug bodies that we found at Collage Collage a few weeks ago- I only bought three and immediately wished I had grabbed a few more- enter in the clothes peg bodies.

      As you can see the pre-made bug bodies have slits into which you slide your wing selection, all one does is accordion fold a few pieces of tissue and slide them through the slot- finish it off by fluffing up the wings and adding pipe cleaner antenna. The clothes peg is even easier- all you do is gather a few pieces of tissue in the middle, along with the pipe cleaner for antenna and clip with the clothes peg! How easy is that? Of course from here you can decorate the wings with watercolour paints or markers- we also painted the clothes peg bodies to make fancy butterflies!

      Once we had enough butterflies we had to decide where they would live- we have this dull grey column in our living room- it is supposed to keep the building up or something but man is it ever ugly! It was decided that the ugly grey column needed a face lift and so up went our beautiful spring butterflies! We are very pleased with the result- not only did this project manage to engage us all for an hour or so but we have the added bonus of a new art installation to brighten up a dull corner of our living room. A promise of spring and with it an end to the rain!

P.S. I am not sure what this guy is- The Boy made him at school today- but dang if this isn't super awesome!