You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February 2011.
I have searched high and low and can not find a single mini art journal that Jayden has created. He made three or four all in a weekend and they’ve all disappeared. When I asked him where they were, he mysteriously replied, “They’re okay.” I repeated my question, and he merely responded with a twinkle in his eye and “They’re all okay!” So apparently munchkin has a secret stowaway and I better find it fast because who knows what else he’s squirreled away in there!
I did find a miniscrapbook album that I made using the same format. It uses a 12×12 piece of paper while Jayden’s minibooks used an A4/letter sized piece of construction paper. This is what it will look like all folded up.
Now flip the cover up…
And flip the bottom page down…
Flip the top page over to the right,
Repeat with the middle page…
And the last page…
Simple and effective! I forget where I first saw this format, but it’s become a favorite at our house. Jayden loves to put stickers on each page, add some stamping and then take a pencil to it.
When making this style of minibook it’s important to cut the slits to be about a quarter of an inch and to keep embellishments pretty thin and flat. I would love to see a picture if you attempt one!
Over the winter break Jaylene has been working on a mammoth-sized project. She’s kept every textbook since she started school, and in Taiwan, that’s a lot! They get multiple textbooks per subject per semester. She had the bright idea to keep them all, forever! After three years she’s run out of room in her bookshelf and has agreed to part with them, very reluctantly. In order to make the farewell easier to endure, I suggested she use them as collage fodder. So for the last three weeks she’s been cutting, and gluing and designing and inking and has created 31 collages from her grade one books. I guess grade two will have to wait until summer break! In the midst of all this creative chaos, I heard a “Mommy, look at me!” And this is what I saw:
What a sweetie! How did you celebrate Valentine’s day?
I’m always a wee bit sad that Jaylene doesn’t get a chance to make up a slew of valentine’s and take them to class to share with her friends. On the other hand, with Chinese New Year right on the tail of Christmas, it’s a bit of a relief to not have it hanging over my head too. We still celebrate in little ways, this year we made a pompom heart.
A few well-placed snips turns a fluffy pompom into a heart. If you think perhaps your snips were not so well-placed, a heart shaped tin is a perfect solution.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
P.S. I know I promised to share Jayden’s mini art books, but he hides them as soon as he’s finished. I’m hunting around…
Tammy over at Daisy Yellow has put together a fantastic post on art journaling with kids/tweens. She interviewed Jaylene, art journaler extrodinaire 
Jayden is quickly following in her footsteps. I’ll show you some of the mini “art books” he’s been making like mad in my next post.
Hold on to your socks, I’m going to share a recipe with you! Those of you who know me well can relax, it’s not a real one. But if you’re interested in making Chinese New Year Cake (Nian Gao or Fa Gao) then this is the post for you.
Jayden made some at school the other day and as they’re quite easy to make, we made more at home. All you need to do is find a package of the steamed bun flour, it looks like this:
Then stir in water (this particular package uses 370ml). Fill up your cake pans about 3/4 of the way and pop them into the rice cooker.
Mmmmm, yummy and fast and easy. If you’re more adventurous you might be interested in following a true recipe found here. The steamed cake is one of Jaylene and Jayden’s favorite New Year treats. What’s your favorite kind of holiday food?
