Eye Can Art Review

Art is such an important part of childhood, homeschooling, and life in general. It too often gets low on a priority list, though, as we are all so busy.

My girls in particular love art and craft projects, and I'm always on a look-out for ways to incorporate art into our days. Usually, as the girls start on a project, the boys end up joining in on the fun.

A new to us way to create is various art kits. Today we are excited to review an Eye Can Art Layered Wax Drawing Kit with you all.



Our kit arrived in the mail, including all we needed to do two layered wax drawings. Normally $28, we were provided a free can for an honest review of the product.



We read the instructions, including a brief history on this encaustic technique to make beautiful art. Missy started on hers, by drawing directly on the wooden frame with oil pastels.




Once she had finished her drawing, we placed the wax layer on top.



We had preheated the oven to 215F, and placed the wooden frame (with wax) on a cookie sheet, covered with aluminum foil. We baked it for a little more than 15 minutes, until wax had melted, and all bubbles popped. After coming out of the oven, it needed to cool for about 15 minutes.



While Missy's drawing was baking and cooling, Little Miss and I started on our joint project. We had first sketched our drawing on paper, then on the wooden frame.



We wanted to fill the entire frame with color.



Since Missy had used the one natural color wax layer, that came in the can, we used the three smaller colored wax pieces.



Then baked ours.



Once Missy's picture had had a chance to cool down, she continued to draw on it, creating a depth to her piece. Her red flower popped out of the picture, while the greenery in the background was softly muted, thanks to the wax layer on top of the oil pastels.



While our can didn't have enough wooden frames or wax for the boys, they started to experiment with the oil pastels.



By making a colorful image, then covering it with black, and finally drawing on the black with a toothpick, revealing the colors underneath.



We had a great art lesson! The wax layered drawings did require quite a bit of adult supervision and help, at least with Little Miss (age 7). Missy (age 14) could have done the whole process by herself.



Such beautiful creations! We still need to finish Little Miss' lake drawing, but we had some trouble with the green wax spreading on the lake. (Totally a mom fail, trying to also answer a phone call at the same time.) I was able to re-melt the wax, and tilt the frame slightly, which helped.

Eye Can Art has several different kits of art projects, which can be purchased here. We highly recommend trying a Layered Wax Drawing Kit!

Thank you, Eye Can Art for providing us with such a fun project!

Walk in April/Kävelyllä huhtikuussa

The setting sun lured us out on the ice yesterday. The Captain and I.



The thaw has started, but the ice is still thick. Nevertheless, we stayed close to shore.

 

And enjoyed each other's company.



Walking by this one camp this one wooden fella always startles me.



A true sign of spring! Pussy willows!




But Spring in (northern) New England is very fickle. T. S. Eliot wrote: "APRIL is the cruellest month..". Snow storms and ice storms are still expected. Still, we'll enjoy the warmer temps and sun shine whenever we can.

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Huhtikuu (pohjoisessa) Uudessa Englannissa on hyvin paljon samanlainen kuin Suomessakin. Aurinko alkaa näyttäytyä, lämpötilat kohoavat, mutta lunta ja jäätä riittää, ja myrskyjäkin vielä odotettavissa. Nämä kuvat otimme eilen jäällä kävellessämme.

Did You See This Yet?

Check out our teens' homeschooling curriculum AOP Monarch! An extra bonus, it's 20% off all month! If you didn't receive this email ad, this is what it also said:

“Our family needed a homeschool curriculum that was comprehensive, light for traveling, easily customized, and with automatic grading. We found all that, and more, in Monarch. Whether we’re on the road in our RV or at our camp in Maine, we can homeschool without interruptions. Monarch allows us this crazy, nomadic lifestyle.”

See more here!


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Kotikoulumateriaalimme mainos ilmestyi tänään, ja sieltä löytyi tuttua porukkaa:)

Desert Botanical Gardens

The Captain and I went to Phoenix, Arizona, on a business trip this month, and had a great time. We missed our kids, but they were in good hands back at our camp with our friends (Thanks so much, B&P!!!), and it's always wonderful to reconnect with your spouse without the distractions of children.


We didn't have a lot of time for exploring, but managed to go to Desert Botanical Gardens for an evening stroll and sunset. And thanks to Groupon, got two tickets for the price of one, yay! (One adult admission is regularly $18.)

Phoenix has had quite a bit of rain this spring, so the desert was surprisingly green! So stunningly beautiful. (Embarrassing tidbit: this was my first trip to Arizona, and my geography skills are a bit rustic. I didn't realize how far west we were until we sat on the plane, and I saw the map! Good thing we are homeschooling, so I can learn along:)


The cacti and various plants were so different, and we also spotted various wildlife. Can you spot anything in the two photos above? (My apologies for photo quality - I only had my iPhone.)



'Tree' hugging discouraged.


Wish our children had been there to learn along. Hopefully the RV Mothership will head west soon!




Such a romantic place to watch the famous Arizona sunset. We counted four weddings, and this one cute couple who didn't even realize their picture was taken and posted online.

Desert Botanical Gardens were the highlight of our trip to Phoenix. That, and the rooftop pool in the hotel. If you have a chance, definitely go tour the gardens!

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Työreissulla Arizonaan Kapteeni ja minä vierailimme Phoenixin kasvitieteellisessä puutarhassa. Aivan mahtava paikka! Neljännestä ja viidennestä kuvasta löytyy kaksi eläintä, jotka näimme kävelyllämme - löydätkö?

Good Friday/Pitkäperjantai

 

 

Picture from Proverbs 31 Facebook page

“What is good about Good Friday? Why isn’t it called Bad Friday? Because out of the appallingly bad came what was inexpressibly good. And the good trumps the bad, because though the bad was temporary, the good is eternal.”
-Randy Alcorn

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Hyljeksitty hän oli, ihmisten torjuma, kipujen mies, sairauden tuttava, josta kaikki käänsivät katseensa pois. Halveksittu hän oli, me emme häntä minään pitäneet.
Ja kuitenkin: hän kantoi meidän kipumme, otti taakakseen meidän sairautemme. Omista teoistaan me uskoimme hänen kärsivän rangaistusta, luulimme Jumalan häntä niistä lyövän ja kurittavan,
vaikka meidän rikkomuksemme olivat hänet lävistäneet ja meidän pahat tekomme hänet ruhjoneet. Hän kärsi rangaistuksen, jotta meillä olisi rauha, hänen haavojensa hinnalla me olemme parantuneet. Me harhailimme eksyneinä kuin lampaat, jokainen meistä kääntyi omalle tielleen. Mutta Herra pani meidän kaikkien syntivelan hänen kannettavakseen. Häntä piinattiin, ja hän alistui siihen, ei hän suutansa avannut. Jesaja 53

Kiwi Crate!

Today Little Miss and I are SO thrilled to review a Kiwi Crate with you all!

My sister told us about this fun way to crafts. Kiwi Crates are filled with craft projects, all needed supplies, and instructions on how to do them. They are geared toward 3-7 year olds, but in my opinion even older children would enjoy these crafts.

You can sign up for either a regular monthly or gift subscription ($19.95/month + free shipping) or if you just want to try one crate first, you can buy a single crate ($19.95+ shipping) from the Kiwi Crate Shop.



The crate was beautifully packaged and put together with quality supplies. Even the instruction pamphlet was printed on a thick paper. The scissors that came with our crate were nice and sturdy.

Our crate had three projects:

Project One: Spinning Colors 

Design and color different patterns. With a spin of your top, observe new colors and patterns.

Project Two: Stained Glass

Make a colorful stained glass, hang it in the window, and watch it catch the sun.

Project Three: Tissue Tie Dye Bag

Create a colorful tie-dyed bag. Perfect for toting books and snacks.

For our review purposes we chose to do the stained glass project.



On her own, Little Miss (age 7) organized all needed supplies out, and got to work.





Each craft project came with clear instructions, even telling us how messy it was going to be (this one low on messy scale), and how much parental help was needed (this one low).



And we are done! Stained Glass art by Little Miss! She was so pleased and proud of her accomplishment.



The kit came with this super cool blue glasses that made looking at the stained glass very interesting.



So much fun! Little Miss has now tried all projects in our crate, and loved each one. And even the one that required more help from an adult and was high on messy scale wasn't really.

If you have multiple small children you can either make them share various projects in the Kiwi Crate, or order sibling add-ons.

While you can find all the instructions yourself, and either go buy supplies or order them online, and maybe save some money, I have to confess I know I wouldn't. Most of us are busy moms, whether we homeschool or not, and having a crate like this shipped to you every month is a huge blessing - to you and your child/ren.

Also, if you are a traveling family, like we are, you can pause your subscription while on the road, and continue again when you get back home.

Which all is enough for us to want to sign up! (Sign up through this link for $10 off!!)

Kiwi Crate and Polarn O. Pyret have a Spring giveaway going on right now. Check out details here. Good luck!

And a huge Thank You to Kiwi Crate for sending us a crate to review! We loved everything about it. All our opinions are entirely our own.

Seven/Seitsemän!!!

Such a special day!


Little Miss turned seven today.



We had a fun day celebrating with cousins and friends. Birthday waffles, Chinese food, cake and treats. Games, gifts, and building with legos.


Happy Birthday, Little Miss!! We love you so much!

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Pikkuneiti täytti tänään seitsemän vuotta! Serkkujen ja ystävien kanssa juhlimme koko päivän. Onnea rakkaalle Pikkuneidillemme!