Autumn's Art

From the time Autumn was just a little girl, she's loved to 'do crafts' (as she says).  Here's one of her finer examples when she was just over 2.

She was painting and gluing and cutting like a pro when she was 3 . . . and I'm not the kind of mom that would typically trust a toddler with sharp objects.

Once we moved to Canada - and downgraded the quality of our kitchen table (thank you Ikea for your cheap, cheap kitchen tables!) - she took over the eating area.  I still come home daily to confetti on the floor and 'craft projects' that consume the table.  Last year sometime, Jeff bought a cheap plastic bookcase to sit in the corner beside our table . . . that is Autumn's art station.  It's a beauty!  But, it contains everything from feathers and pipe cleaners to paint, Play Doh, books, string and much more.  And, each day when I come home from work, I am never disappointed.  She dreams up the projects on her own and never asks for assistance.

Although I do have three plastic crates full of her artwork, I have been meaning to share a few examples. 

I grabbed a few of her pieces from the top of the latest bin.

Right before Halloween, her ice skating teacher gave her a holiday pencil (the cool kind that has the little pieces of lead that you feed into the top to push the next piece down).  After being home for about 25 minutes, this is what she had created.  I love how she labeled everything, too.

She almost always gives her pictures to me (ahhhh).  Although, she also regularly creates things for people in her class, school, swimming and ice skating teachers (on the first day of school she made beaded necklaces for her new SK teacher, with a "T" for teacher, and her JK teacher, with an "M" for Ms. Shin), people at church and anyone else that leaves and impression with her . . .

We took both kids to a musical production about the birth of Christ a few months ago.  Two people from our ward were actors/singers.  So, she drew a card for each of them, including a drawing of the stage and them in costume, to tell them 'thank you' and to say what a good job they did.  When she gave the card to Brother Ospina (in the bishopric also) and he asked for a hug, I'm not sure that I'd seen a smile that big on Autumn's face before.

The last time she and I had a girls' date, she asked for a piece of paper on the way to the restaurant so that she could create a card for the hostess.  She drew a perfect little picture of the restaurant's logo (after being there only once before) and told them to have a happy day.  The hostess couldn't stop gushing . . . and I got to see that same beautiful smile.

For all the drama that our little girl can produce (she comes by it naturally, I'm afraid), she has got to be one of the most creative and thoughtful little things around.

Here is a typical picture for Mom she made months ago.  This was her first attempt at using 'fancy letters'.  She cut a fringe around the edge of the sun before gluing it on so that it popped off the page. I had to smash it for the scan unfortunately. 

This is one of my favorites for its sheer creativity.  We have no idea where she even came up with the idea for this one - typically we can trace the concept back to a Backyardigans episode or a book she's read.  But, this one is still a mystery.  Again - completely on her own - she found a straw, cut and tied the string, drew, colored and cut out the girl, and then taped her on.

I don't want to be one of those moms that insists on putting their kids on display and making them perform - or a mom that has Olympic plans for a child that exhibits the slightest proficiency at a sport.

But, I don't see anything wrong with a proud mom that wants to brag . . . just a little.