Spring things for a Mothers' Day picture

Yesterday when I was spring cleaning the kitchen I collected a pile of things destined for the recycling box. However they were just too good not to be used for something with the children first. Today I knew exactly how to use this salvaged stash of stuff - a printmaking activity.

The inspiration...

This morning on my cycle ride to work through the elegant residential streets of De Beauvoir Town, I passed a spectacular display of beautiful trees in full blossom. Those gorgeous gardens (and the image above - a newspaper cutting) were the inspiration for our printing.

The motivation...

Mothers' Day is coming up and with a wonderful Nana and Nan to celebrate, I knew I could motivate my children with the idea of making some spring pictures for them.

The materials...

I spent a pleasurable 10 minutes mixing up the paint colours - I just love all those pastel shades - and before school pick-up I temptingly set out the materials. Our printmaking tools were kitchen roll rollers, corrugated cardboard strips, bubble wrap pieces, plastic bottles and lids, a rubber pastry brush and a wooden butter spreader.

The process...

Then followed our usual free-for-all plunge with Buddy and Daisy thoroughly enjoying trying out the unusual printing tools, hearing the paint squelch and using those soothing pastel colours. Unusually, I suggested the order in which they created their spring scenes: printing the sky and ground before the tree(s), and the branches of the tree(s) before the blossom. Surprisingly they went along with this and we got some great pictures as a result.

The picture...

A rather lovely soft Monet-like effect, don't you think? But with a cotton-wool spring lamb and giant yellow sun of course.