Picture Perfect Party Linky #69 ~ Amanda's Books and More

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Picture Perfect Party Linky #69

It's time for another Wordless Wednesday (with or without words) link party! Check out my pictures and link your picture post below.

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Christmas watercolor fun for kids

I got my watercolor paper and watercolor paints out for Amanda to use. I'm usually very protective of my things and save stuff that eventually perishes, especially when it comes to good quality posessions like my art supplies. My paints and paper are from my teenage years living in Germany.

As you know, little kids use up stuff really fast, so it doesn't always make sense to give them something like real watercolor paper. Scrap paper is the norm around here. However, what's the use of having nice stuff when no one uses it or keeping it "safe" for so long that it perishes and becomes useless?

I don't think Amanda would have had nearly as much fun with crayons and paper. And yes, she does use up the good quality paper really fast, but the experience is worth it. She's also gaining knowledge about how to work with watercolor.

Here's a break down of what we used:

Watercolor paints

Watercolor paint-brushes

Watercolor paper
A pencil

Wrapping paper to copy from

Art masking fluid to make dots for snow-flakes

Permanent markers to outline the pictures

Stencils for the candle shapes

This is what we did:

I used the wrapping paper to give me something to copy from. I don't draw anything well from my head. I used permanent marker for my snowmen as I didn't want the marker to run when it got wet from the paint.

We applied lots of large dots with masking fluid that we later rubbed off after all the painting was done. The masking fluid puts a protective barrier on the paper that the water color cannot penetrate, leaving the paper white in those places.

Amanda did most of the stenciling of the candles with a pencil. I drew over them with permanent marker. She had the challenge of painting the background around the candles, so I helped her. I could have used the masking fluid to protect the candles until it was time to paint them.

She painted in the snowmen, but she wanted it to be a shared project, so I painted with her.

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I took Christmas themed photos

of our sleeping cats.

Sheela sleeping among the Christmas bears

Sheela sleeping with her head hanging over the back of the couch

Sheela and Prince

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I have an awesome Christmas giveaway that's open world wide. One lucky winner will receive a beautifully illustrated children's edition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Since I will be posting it from South Africa, it will probably arrive after Christmas.

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Take a look at my Bergsig Wine Estate - Part 1 post.

I've got lots of new photos to share with you.

The American and South African flags
flanking the Bergsig Estate flag

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