What I've Been Doing

Sarah asked to see my cans...uh, wait a minute, my altered paint cans. I hate to admit that I didn't get pictures of the first 2 I did. I made them at 9:30 at night, finished sometime after 11 and just wanted to get to bed to get up to take them to school. They weren't nearly as detailed as this one.

This is SEI's Aunt Gerti's Garden kit. The can is for my son's special ed teacher. I'll tell you a story to demonstrate why she deserves such "riches". They just had the first grade poetry recitation. 4 first grade classes all on risers singing, coming in and out to do different poems. Cute, but very difficult for someone with sensory integration issues. (the heart of autism- kinda like being at a busy intersection where the light is out and no one really knows what to do- yeah, that's how Sawyer's brain processes things) So, in one part of a song, there is a bridge and the kids linked arms and swayed back and forth. No biggie, right? It was for Sawyer. He couldn't process people being in his space and making him go this way and that. When I went for rehearsal a couple weeks ago, they had agreed that he could take a step back and "hula" on his own while the kids linked in front of him. Well, at the poetry recitation, to my shock, he didn't step back! He hooked arms and swayed! THAT took a LOT of work on the part of the special ed teacher and him. I was so happy I cried. {Yeah, I was the only dorky mom sitting there crying because the kids were linked arm in arm!}

SO! Aunt Gerti's Garden with it's "Bloom" theme and lots of I Adore You logos seemed appropriate. Oh, have I mentioned this is the lady who picks Sawyer's teacher next year?! I put a TON of Hershey's kisses inside with a note saying "you're so wonderful, I just want to KISS you".

It's so different using actual paper. I need to cut and it's not just a simple rectangular or circle marquee. Then again, creating texture is just inherent to the form so you don't have to drop a shadow here- it happens naturally. (and I'll admit, I turned this one a few times to watch the shadows play) I only thought about including the paper I used on the lid of the can on the can after I had done the brown flower and polka dot layer. OOPS! By the time I could add another strip, it left some of the polka dot layer showing. SO, a scrap and Prima flowers to the rescue. It was overkill to use them on the other side so I used Craft Bond (the WORST stuff in the world!) and Rockettes from Little Black Dress Designs. I had run into their stuff at the Great Lakes Mega Meet last year, they have the BEST adhesives. They also have funky things that you can really get creative with. Check them out! It came out soooo cool!

Oh yeah, and in Bella's teachers cans I put popcorn with a note "thank you for the kernels of wisdom". They loved them!

Off to graduation.