Hee Hee

Hunchy
by Gracie

Leafy

Mask
by Isaac

Stuffed

Mom was about to get rid of a bunch of old clothes...  Thank goodness Isaac and Gracie intervened in time!  With the help of scissors, needles, and thread, the kids brought a batch of new friends to life:

Mythic

Asian Dragon
by Isaac

"Sweater" by Gracie

"Sweater" for Illustration Friday
by Gracie, age 10

Sneaky Lookin'

Weasel
by Lily

Dryer Dude

Our hair dryer recently expired, breathed its last, bit the dust...
So Isaac tore it apart and built this cool guy out of the bits and pieces hiding inside...

"Adrift" by Lily

"Adrift" for Illustration Friday
by Lily, age 6

Penguin on an iceberg!

"Cracked" by Gracie

"Cracked" for Illustration Friday
by Gracie, age 8

Humpty Dumpty's poor friend has slipped and will soon be cracked...

Dragons

Isaac made a bunch of great dragon pictures this past week... These are two of my favorites.

I love how he's playing with framing on the page - how the dragons weave in and out of the picture.

"Sail" by Lily

"Sail" for Illustration Friday
by Lily, age 5

A ship full of pirate mice! ( I like the one mopping the deck...)

A Happy Father's Day

Dad and Gracie riding on a Griffin
by Gracie

Birthday Card

Party Girls
by Gracie

Dancin'

Dog Wearing a Tutu
by Lily

"The Blues" by Gracie

"The Blues" for Illustration Friday
by Gracie, age 7

This little blue guy is singing the blues because he dropped his blue icecream cone on the ground.

"Wedding" by Gracie

"Wedding" for Illustration Friday
by Gracie, age 7

She knows he's an alien, but she loves him anyway...

"Captain" by Gracie

 
"Captain" for Illustration Friday
by Gracie, age 7

A fierce captain she-pirate...

"Camouflage" by Gracie

"Camouflage" for Illustration Friday
by Gracie, age 6

Trading Cards

Here's a fun family activity we've been doing for some time now. We make Family Trading Cards. At some point in time, Isaac became interested in the idea of collecting trading cards, and I suggested we make our own. The whole family's hooked.


by Lily

Here's how it works.... Dad cuts paper into a bunch of card size squares and each family member gets five or six at a time and can fill them with Anything. When everyone's done, they get all mixed up and randomly handed back out. Then the trading begins! It's really fun to see what everybody has made and to try to get a hold of the day's favorites. After a bit, each person pulls their complete collections out to see if there's any past favorites that can convince so-and-so to part with a newly created treasure.


by Gracie

At first I thought it would be a one-time fun family activity. We didn't anticipate how fun it would be, or how competitive it can get. It's really odd how much everyone cares about their collection. My wife and I treasure our packs and get really intense about trying to score certain cards.


by Isaac

We do Family Trading Cards on a fairly ritualistic basis now. We started maybe a year or two ago, and our collections have grown to about 60 cards each. It's also a great way to remember how the kids used to draw when they were little and to see how they've progressed. The cards in this post are some favorites from Dad's collected pack.


by Mom

"Smoke" by Isaac

"Smoke" for Illustration Friday
by Isaac, age 8