Have you ever been bamboozled? You know, agreed to something before you even knew what was happening. I got bamboozled and I've been feeling the pain over it the last couple days.
I was approached a couple months ago by a very nice lady at our school who said she heard I was pretty crafty. My first instinct was to run - would have been the best thing to do, instead I stood there like a deer in headlights. First off, how did she know I was crafty (I found that out later) and secondly, what exactly did she want (boy I'm getting awfully suspicious in my old age.) She asked if I'd be interested in doing a couple craft projects in my children's classrooms, I didn't think much of it and agreed, assuming it was all low key and no pressure. We could do home made paper or make beeswax candles or something - she just gave me this funny smile and nodded.
A couple days go by and I start to learn the whole story - first in bits and pieces and then like a giant tidal wave. Funny none of this was told to me before. First it was - oh by the way, we need a finished product. Then we went to - we need a finished product to sell at the school's fundraising auction. Then I got, we need a sophisticated yet cute yet age appropriate crafty finished product for the hoy-tie toy-tie school auction that raises in my opinion a ridiculous amount of money each year. So I went from homemade paper to some elaborate and amazing art piece created by 3 and 4 year olds. Holy crap!
Amelia's class went surprisingly well and I'm rather pleased with how this turned out - the pictures really do not do it justice. I can actually envision a couple smaller versions of these, maybe picture frames, going out as Christmas presents, so if you any of you have questions just drop me a line. The tiles were super easy to make and doable by most ages - even the real young ones could help out. I used polymer clay, let the kids roll it and out and then had them stamp designs into it using some random stamps I had lying around. Then, they cut out "tiles" using square cookie cutters from the craft store and finally brushed their finished tiles with mica powder to give them a sparkly sheen. After a quick bake in the oven, I glued them onto a largish photo frame and had a mirror cut for the middle. I used seed beads for "grout" and lastly sprayed the whole thing with polyurethane to protect it. I really am thrilled about how it turned out and hoping it will be a huge success.
The second project..was a little more stressful and definitely came down to the wire. It consisted of hand prints of all the children in the class - the children themselves punched them out using their little punching needles and pads - a lot of patience on their part. They then painted them with water colors and I sprayed them with a sealer. I painted the canvas with the background, border and heart and then glued the hands directly onto the canvas. I then used decoupage medium to "paint" over the whole thing and seal it in. The stars were punched out and also decoupaged on. I'm not sure if it's legible but it says "With heart and helping hands, a child can accomplish anything." Many of the auction projects are donated back to the classroom so I'm kind of hoping this will end up back in the class. Once again - picture really doesn't do it justice.
All my frustration melted away when I heard the oohs and ahhs from all the children. It's fantastic to see the delight on their face when they see something big and beautiful that they created. And it was actually a a great opportunity to spend some quality time in the classrooms getting to know the other kids. Biggest lesson learned - to just let things go and let the children's work stand. On a number of occasions I wanted to help "fix" something but I realized it wouldn't be their work if I tampered with it. I've been down on myself lately for my lack of self control in a number of areas but this really took a tremendous amount of willpower to not be anal. I feel pretty proud of us all.
Heather, they're gorgeous!!!!!
What kind of paper did you use for the hand prints? I would love to do this with my students this year and give it to our principal, as she is retiring.
Posted by: amyh | April 16, 2008 at 02:54 AM
Wow! Those are amazing... as a teacher in a private school I knot first hand what a pain these auction items can be. I also know what wonderful things the cash can do for a school. Those are amazing, people with more money than sense should pay tons of money for them!!
Posted by: BethC | April 16, 2008 at 05:28 AM
Well, you may have been bamboozled, but you did an amazing job! The projects look terrific and I too, would have a difficult time letting the kid's work stand. Good for you!
Posted by: Becca | April 16, 2008 at 05:29 AM
They both look great! I bet the kids had fun working on both projects.
Posted by: Trish | April 16, 2008 at 06:10 AM
Those two pieces are utterly amazing. They certainly knew what they were doing when they approached you to help with the art pieces. I'm still in awe.
Posted by: Macoco | April 16, 2008 at 06:33 AM
Those are both just gorgeous!
Posted by: trillian42 | April 16, 2008 at 06:43 AM
oh WOW! You're a much much better woman than I am - I probably would have gotten to the finer details about the auction and suchlike and simply brought in some fabric paint and blank t-shirts and a bottle of tequila and let the kids go. (The tequila being for me, of course!)
LOL.
Well, okay, maybe not, but I would have pondered it as a somewhat viable option for *far* too long before moving on to a more proper option. :)
The mirror is BEAUTIFUL - when I saw it my first thought was "hey, could I ever make one that good???" - and the handprints are brilliant. You do very very good work - even when under massive pressure.
Posted by: Susan B | April 16, 2008 at 06:45 AM
Absolutely amazing *jaw drops* just georgous! Your creativity and you love of children really show in these pieces! You will make such an awesome teacher! :)
Posted by: Ruinwen | April 16, 2008 at 07:30 AM
Now you've done it - you'll be doing this every year for decades! Great job!
Posted by: Kim | April 16, 2008 at 11:31 AM
BEAUTIFUL!!!! I absolutely love it.
Posted by: Jen | April 16, 2008 at 12:03 PM
I LOVE both projects, but the mirror takes the cake. It is stunning! You went a long way from beeswax candles. :)
Posted by: caitlyn | April 16, 2008 at 04:03 PM
Those are awesome!!!
Posted by: Zonda | April 16, 2008 at 07:55 PM
These are fantastic. You are a very talented lady to be able to create such beautiful things. What a wonderful opportunity for the children to be able to play a part in producing these.
Posted by: happybunny | April 17, 2008 at 02:16 PM
They both look so good.
Posted by: Mama Urchin | April 18, 2008 at 09:29 AM
Our school auction was just last month and, yes, some crafty mom (not me, thank goodness!) got bamboozled into making a tiled birdbath--which the parents all chipped in to buy for the teacher as an end-of-year gift. I'd love to know, however, is how you grout with seed beads? What a gorgeous mirror!
--Amanda
amanda AT the-woodruffs DOT net
Posted by: Amanda | April 18, 2008 at 11:41 AM
Those are FABULOUS! I love the hands beyond words. Good for you.
Posted by: Nancy | May 13, 2008 at 09:35 AM
I hope you don't mind, but I am "borrowing" your hands idea for our classroom project for our Foundation auction. I'll let you know how it goes!
Posted by: Cheryl | April 29, 2009 at 04:53 PM