Here is a really quick project that the kids can make on their summer vacation. They will have fabulous school supplies when they go back to school in September (C’mon now— I know that a few of you are already dreaming about September….) 

This project originally appeared in an issue of my newsletter. Speaking of which…. I know I am terribly overdue to put one out! First I was thinking I’d do one for mid-June, then I thought mid-July…. and now I’m thinking, maybe August?? Here is my problem- I’m not that good at focus and multi-tasking! For the last week or so, I have been focused on doing new artwork, painting and spending a lot of time in PhotoShop. When I get in this “zone,” I tend to have tunnel vision- doing blog posts, working on my newsletter, and posting stuff on Facebook or even hunting around Pinterest aren’t on my “radar.” I have a hard time splitting up my days- I find that once I get started on something, say artwork, it’s really difficult for me to switch gears and work on something else like social media (or cooking or cleaning! true story!) And vice versa- I can go weeks without creating any new art because I am in “social media” mode, or “domestic goddess” mode…..

I think maybe, I tend to go into “tunnel-vision” mode because I am so prone to having my thoughts ping-ponging all over the place, that I subconsciously block everything else out. The problem is, I sometimes have a hard time getting back to those other necessary things in a timely manner.

Can anyone else relate? Is this a woman/estrogen thing? Or am I just weird???

So anyway….. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing about my brain… onto our project for today!

Supplies:

• Wooden pencils
• Acrylic paint and paint brushes
• Colorful feathers (You can find these in the craft department, or you can have your kids collect them outside.)
• Twine or yarn in different colors (available at craft store)
• Glue
• Scissors

Directions:

1. Paint pencils their base color.  You will probably need to give them at least 2 coats of paint.  Balance them on the top of a glass while they dry so that they don’t stick to anything.  When they are dried, paint stripes.
2. Pick how many feathers you would like on the top of your pencil and test out how they will look so you know where to glue them.  If they are a little too fabulous, trim the feathers at the bottom.
3. Arrange the feathers on the pencil, and then spread your glue over top of their bases.  Quickly start twisting the twine over the glue as tightly as you can.  Trim your twine and secure the end with a little glue.  Let dry.

Do you have a lot of projects lined up for the kids this summer? Or are you just “winging it”?  (When my kids were younger, I always loved the beginning of summer because it gave me a great excuse to stock up on arts & crafts supplies, toys, and movies. You know, for the kids. Now my kids are grown up, I just buy that stuff for myself .)

What do you do to keep the kids busy all summer?