Kindnessgirl

My kids have been on my nerves lately, even their back rubs and gentle questions of “you okay mom?” are driving me crazy. I know when it gets this bad, I am not only way overdue for a break but also usually need to stop everything, like everything and play, create, do something to connect.

I saw this lovely art project from an old Wondertime article (oh, how I miss that magazine!) and thought it might be just the prescription for us. It’s a mix between tie dye goodness and crazy science, except a lot less work and mess.

All you need are some old white tee shirts, sharpie markers, rubbing alcohol, eye droppers (or an old infant tylenol dropper), rubber bands and drink glasses. We put the shirt over the glass and wrapped the rubber band until it was taut.

The kids then drew their designs. The original directions suggested putting a water bottle cap in the center and drawing around it with dots and lines to give a flower effect, we eventually just made/drew whatever we wanted.

With the rubber band still on, drop about 20-50 drops of alcohol all around your design. The color molecules “move” and mix in the right solvent resulting in really cool art. The kids experimented with the alcohol technique to give different looks. It was super easy, very gratifying and great for a wide range of age levels. When you are all done, throw into the dryer for 20-30 minutes to set. Wash and dry as normal.

Whenever we are really deep into something, with no agenda, I am reminded how delightful it all is…how excited they were, how kind they are to each other, genuinely happy/encouraging of the others art, how relaxed I am in holding the space for them to create, how in every picture they have those big mops of brown hair never brushed…how our desire to pull back and away is actually an invitation to go in and deeper…how the core of it all is where it’s at.

We are definitely doing this one again, please remind me in the height of summer when I am grouchy again of this dreamy day!