Sometimes the creations on display in the studio spark  inspiration. This was the case for three 7 year old boys at a birthday party this weekend. They saw a 4th Grade mission sample on the wall and that was all it took to jumpstart their imaginations for a collaborative mission of their own making. They used molded cardboard pieces as the mission itself making an instantly cool structure! To accent their work they made little cork tree’s with mesh vegetable bag leaves for toppers.

What fun it was to watch them work, formulating and calculating their building process. Even better were the smiles on their faces at their achievement!

Mission

Gavin, Nathan & London

7yrs

Gabby likes pretty colors, so when she found metallic pink, purple and blue acrylics she knew she had to make a

grand scene.

Boxes and tin containers set the stage for  a pretty castle structure while fancy trimmings helped give this castle it’s regal flair. The tiny treasures made for perfect inhabitants.

What a fancy place to live!

Sparkly Castle

Gabby

4yrs

Egg cartons brought double inspiration our way at Charlotte’s 9th birthday today. Knowing she loves owls inspired crafting them as the party’s “ice breaker” activity when kids arrived for party fun.

I knew just how we would create fabulous little owls using egg carton parts thanks to a lovely owl that hangs in the tree at CReATE made by a very crafty Meg earlier this spring. 

These little guys were so easy to make! We Dissected the carton into two halves, then used half the top for the body and cut two side by side cups from the egg side for eyes, if you lay the egg section face down the cups look especially like eyes and a beak! the party girls embellish with their favorite owlry goods for cute and crafty friends!

Owl Buddies

Charlotte’s 9th Birthday Gang

Dream…

When you have a message in your heart you want to share it, remember it, live it.

Sophie loves to dream and thinks it is a natural match to displaying it’s message in her room. Speaking of natural, she sought some of the more natural looking materials in the studio to help convey her beautifully simple message beginning with an artfully bowed branch.

With the branch as her anchor she began seeking scraps of burlap, linen, felt and sheet music helped to convey her message. The suede string was perfect for hanging  her message from and little metal office clips were just the right twist of real life in her natural story.

Thank you Sophie for reminding all of us to add that lovely idea to our everyday.

Dream

Sophie, 9yrs

When James received his homework assignment from his M.A.T.E.S teacher to make a Diorama for his study on snakes his Mom knew just where to CReATE it!

As we talked through what snake material options to explore the possibilities grew into the Horned Viper slinking through the desert that he had learned about in school. Butcher paper helped the viper himself take shape and before we knew it there he was, horns and all, slithering his way through a sandy desert locale looking for lunch! What a Win/Win!

Horned Viper Diorama for M.A.T.E.S

James, 6yrs

Sebastian wanted to make a spider with his MOM earlier this week so they began searching through bins for the perfect parts of an arachnid. Stumbling on plastic easter eggs in the seasonal bin during the process Sebastian was inspired in a new direction, on more closely linked to the egg- a Humpty Dumpty!  He put a fresh spin on his eggy character by  layering up the egg parts to make a much stronger body as well as creating a new twist to an old story, no falling down here!

Hip Humpty Dumpty

Sebastian

5yrs

At our Style Your Sole event yesterday there were shoes painted in every style, blank canvases being altered into works of art by wonderful artist volunteers.

A young Brody and his mom came to the studio to create during the event but were quickly drawn into the fun of painted shoes. Brody wanted to paint his own in the splatter box, from there he decided to get a little more direct in working with his canvased shoes and painted wholeheartedly, and what a wonderful job he did! No doubt these painted treasures will be saved for all time.

Soleful TOMS

Brody, 4yrs

School projects have a great creative mission to connect kids to what they are learning about at school by calling on their knowledge, imagination, and inventiveness to bring the learning to life through the project itself.

A.J. and his classmates learned about different animals and were then assigned to choose one to make at home using recyclables. Having chosen a lion he took an opportunity to bring it to life CReATE style with all the fixins’ Roar! A win/win for all!

Lion for E.A.R.T.H Elementary School 

A.J. 8yrs

A flip through the idea book is all it took to set Sydney’s creativity in motion. She loved a whimsical shadow box idea she saw and had to make her own.

Taking a box lid and some eye catching trinkets she found in the various material bins she set in motion to compose a little scene with a story to tell.

Looks like an ode to a favorite St. Bernard.

Doggy Day

Sydney

9yrs 

An idea can be such a strong force that no limitations can prosper.

On Samanta’s first visit to CReATE she strolled the studio taking in all the bins of materials and photo creations on the Wall of Wow when she was struck by an idea she was sure she could make!

She gathered a few socks, some fluff, a little basket and a piece of mesh that used to house potatoes! 

She set to work for nearly 2 hours rounding out her vision with paint and a few extras such as yarn to serve as an earthworm dinner that brought her Mama Blue bird and baby egg scene to life, art imitating nature.  

Blue Bird and Baby

Samantha, 9yrs