Pressed into service

"This crayon just might be turning me into The Hulk."

"Now that's what I call a green thumb!"

Our children are funny. We've been working on art projects that will be auctioned this weekend at a fundraiser for Friends of Montessori (an organization that serves as our Montessori booster club).

A parent donated a quilt kit from Oriental Trading. At first, I was thinking we would batik the quilt pieces. Then I envisioned the hazards of hot wax in the classroom . . . with fifteen first graders. Next, I found a method similar to batik but using glue gel. Perfect and no (well, lower) risk of injury! But this project specifies cold water dye rather than the hot water dyes that were the only ones to be found when I arrived at Hobby Lobby thirteen minutes before closing time (and after closing time at Texas Art Supply--of course). Aargh! Then I read that only specialized hazardous-chemical dyes will work on fabrics with high polyester content. Uh, oh. When Mrs. D pre-washed our quilt pieces (to remove any sizing or finishes from the fabric), they did not wrinkle at all. Looks like polyester to me . . . What to do?!

Then, I discovered this little gem of an idea. Fabric crayons (which work best on synthetic fibers)--used with leaves and feathers acting as resists during the dye-transfer process. Very much like sunprints. Hooray! Third try's the charm.

We cut paper the size of our white quilt squares. Each child chose a fabric crayon and coated a square of white paper with a single solid color.

The child then arranged leaves or feathers on a white quilt square. (Note: It is difficult to iron around feathers with thick quills.)

We placed the dye-coated paper over the fabric (and leaves), dye side down, and then ironed . . . and ironed . . . and ironed. (Note: Due to the iron, this project is more adult-intensive than I like, but I discovered that it works best to leave the iron in place on the fabric for a minute or two and then return to relocate the iron. Though, you'll need Mrs. D around to remind you to move the iron to a new spot!)

The results have been fabulous---and we discovered that when re-used (and flipped over), the dye-coated leaves can add additional colors to the fabric. A happy accident!

Some of our girls have also been busy with a cottage industry, constructing origami ornaments with wire and beads.

They're beautiful and we got to use the adorable child-size pliers I found on sale at Hobby Lobby!

We also produced a few origami & paste paper cards,

along with some Bogolanfini cards and bookmarks.

Lots of beautiful art to buy! Happy shopping!