It's been hard lately to motivate myself to blog when I could be out for a walk, or at the ocean or reading in a coffee shop. In Seattle you have to make the most of the nice days and I have been doing that to the detriment of the blog. I have a whole slew of pictures and things I've been up to but I'll start with the murals I did for the family I work for. In Brogans room I did some drawings of dogs from one of his favorite books, it wasn't my original work so I'm not going to post photos of it but in Anya's room it was all my work. Her Mom wanted something that was very girly and that matched her bedspread, something that would be able to work in her room for a few years. So I ended up doing a variation of a painting I'd done a while back for my friend Nathan. Instead of painting a new base colour I decided to work with the existing wall colour. So here it is:
It was super fun doing it, I think I ended up putting around thirty hours into this thing but Anya loves it and it looks so cute in her room.
I also did a bit of work in the playroom. It had a bit of a recycled nursery look so I wanted to do something that would make it more interesting and maybe be something fun for the kids. So we decided to do a chalkboard wall. Once I had painted it and let it cure for a bit I had the kids help me coat it in a layer of chalk. I'm not sure why you have to do this but we followed the instructions and spent half an hour rubbing chalk all over it.
B got bored with it pretty fast and started scribbling but Anya was a little trooper and worked 'til the end.
After we finished we rubbed it all in, took a picture of our chalky hands and then wiped it down for some drawing...
Anya's work...
and Brogan's, he was trying to write his name and for a three year old he did pretty well I'd say. It's been a few weeks now and the kids still use it a lot. Anya practices her spelling on it, friends come over and draw and B practices his name during his quiet time. It's been really fun.
my theory for the chalk rubbing is that if you don't prime the wall whatever you write will still faintly show up after you try to erase it. thoughts?
Posted by: Bethany | July 24, 2011 at 09:23 AM
I agree with Beth. Also, Anya's mural turned out SOOOO good! I love it! I would ask you to do a mural in Grayson's room...but he doesn't have one. Ha. He'll be sharing with me until I start making a fortune! Also we're renting so that would be a waste I feel. Anyways, looks goooood!
Posted by: Becks | July 24, 2011 at 10:31 AM
So fun! I love Anya's mural, too! SO GREAT. I miss blogging you, but understand seeking-the-sun you.
Posted by: kerry | July 24, 2011 at 03:50 PM
I like it. And, I still love mine.
Posted by: Mr. Winter | July 24, 2011 at 05:24 PM
i would like to live in the mural in anya's room. right there on the wall, living in two dimensions. it's that pretty!
Posted by: kim | July 26, 2011 at 03:52 PM