Granny's Homemade Ways: Drawing, No-Sew Sweatshirt Designs and Stories for Boys and Girls-February 25, 2010

Well, we are all thinking "green" meaning that we are trying to look for signs of spring but unfortunately, we received more snow here at Tickle Belly Farm. The horses seem to accustomed to it and just go about running and playing in it. We have had so much snow this year that the horses must be thinking that this is the way it is going to be...forever!

Meanwhile, some of us humans are looking forward to our annual trip to the Illinois Horse Show in Springfield, Illinois. We have about two weeks left to get ready and are mighty anxious to pack up and see the show. Some of our friends are participating in the 4-H horse judging event. We'll be crossing our fingers for them!

I plan on taking lots of pictures which I will post on this site for all of you to see. There are so many breeds of horse represented at the show that it will be hard to decide which pictures to post. Last year, they even had a rodeo which was great fun. It is a wonderful show and the one thing that I really look forward to each year.

Welcome to our "Imagination Station". That's what we call our "craft day". Papa and I set up folding tables covered in plastic, to keep them clean. Then one table is used to hold all the scraps of fabric, buttons, cardboard tubes, old jewelry and anything else left over from other projects. Anyone can take anything to use on their project. This is a great way to not only entertain children on a sunless afternoon but also a good way to recycle and get rid of excess craft items.

Today we are having a group of young friends over that are working on their 4-H projects for this year. They will be presenting their projects at the county fair next July but they are working on them now since most 4-H'ers submit more than one project at the fair.

Some are working on drawing projects; some on photography; others on sculpting and still others on wearable art. Wearable art is creating designs on t-shirts or sweatshirts.

I thought I would share with you some of their projects that you can do at home!

This is one of those projects that you can do at anytime of the year but would make great holiday gifts. You can purchase a new sweatshirt or t-shirt but a used shirt will work as well-especially one that has a stain on it! (The design will cover the stain.)

Things You'll Need:

• Sweatshirt or t-shirt
• Iron-on fusible bonding
• Fabric remnants
• Iron
• Puffy fabric paints
• Coloring book
• Pieces of cardboard (large enough to fit inside the shirt)
• Masking tape

1. Place the piece of cardboard inside the shirt and tape the sleeves and excess material to the back. The cardboard will prevent any paint from seeping through to the back.
2. You can pick a design from a coloring book or make one yourself. Keep in mind that drawings that have clean lines work the best.
3. Cut out the figure and trace it onto a piece of iron on fusible bonding.
4. Pick out the fabric you wish to use and iron on the fusible bonding. When cool, cut out the figure. Follow the manufacturers instructions and iron the figure onto the shirt. You can repeat this process with as many figures that you wish for your shirt.
5. Now pick your "puffy" paint to outline and put details into the figures on the shirt. Be careful not to drag you hand or arm through the wet paint! I've found it best to do the details at the top of the shirt first and then, work my way down the picture.
6. When finished, set the shirt somewhere it will not be disturbed or touched. It can take 24 hours to dry if the paint applied was thick.

Birds seem to hold a real fascination for children and adults alike. Learning to draw a bird is simple and may lead to a new hobby like bird watching.

Try these easy steps and you will not only learn how to draw a bird but you'll learn the body parts of a bird as well!

Here is a bird story from "The Mammoth Book" published by Whitman Publishers, Racine, Wisconsin, 1924...

Bonnie Blue Bell was a little girl who loved all birds. She was always kind to them, she fed and watched over them. Soon the birds grew to know her and would watch for her.

One day a neighbor boy was watching Bonnie Blue Bell. A dove and a robin flew near to her without fear. She stooped to feed the robin some food. The robin hopped close enough to pick he food from Bonnie Blue Bell's hand. The dove lit on her shoulder.

The boy said, "Anyone can do that!" He jumped over the fence and landed beside her. The birds flew away. The boy waved his arms and shouted, "Come back!:

Bonnie Blue Bell smiled.

"It takes a long time to make a bird friendly," she said. "First they must learn to know you are a real friend."

The boy said he never knew that before, so Bonnie Blue Bell promised to teach him how to be a friend to the birds.