I can barely believe the summer is over and this is the last post of our Handmade Heritage theme! This is a theme I hope we will continue to add to as there are so many talented artists reinventing history and reviving old arts. Lets take a second to praise all the hands all over the world that are making history right now, pretty awe inspiring when you think of it (if you have a copy of Cultivate Your Creativity you’ll remember the worksheet on this thought). As you might have noticed things have been pretty quiet for the last couple of weeks as I have focused on parenting more and working less. I wanted to share a bit of what my two hands were up to this summer instead of typing away or working on projects for big people.

All summer our family worked piece by piece on one main project: transforming my old office space into a bedroom for my oldest daughter Ila who will turn 7 in October. She had been sharing a room with her sister but they have very different sleep habits and since she is starting a new school in September I wanted to give her a fresh start in a more grown up space of her own. Out of necessity I had a budget of less then $100 but I had my own two hands + creativity and a very willing little helper. She chose a butterfly theme for her room (which is funny because her last room had a ladybug theme)and I went with it. Here is Ila’s all-growned-up room:

We basically made everything in this room! I made all the dolls on the bed over the years + the garland, pompoms, curtains and rug. Ila made all the art on the walls-including the amazing collage over her bed. Here is the rest of the room:

I redid the dresser + lamp + shelf and made the butterfly pictures but other then that Ila did all the art and helped refinish the boat (with a little help from me). I think the best piece of all is the triangle painting we just finished this week and I wanted to show how we went about making it so you could join in the fun. I bought a pile of these big canvases at an outlet store for $9 each and they were the best investment ever. They have endless uses-this one is part art part functionality since you can use washi tape (or plain old masking tape) to put up drawings and sketches. Ila thinks it is too pretty to cover up right now and I agree, she’s making me a couple for the living room now!

This was SUCH a fun project! Just give a large canvas a couple coats of low VOC latex paint with a roller letting it dry between coats. Tape off triangles (or whatever shapes you like-this was fun & simple enough for Ila to tape off herself) with painters tape and paint them in with acrylic paint. Go thick! I love the texture Ila gave her painting by going crazy with the paints.

Let dry and eat ice cream while waiting for the big reveal:

I did 99% of all this fun creative stuff while Sela was napping or adventuring with Chris (my lovely man who put up all the shelves & made the bed frame) but she gets to join in all the playtime fun.

This parenting/small business entrepreneur thing is a wild ride-I am glad I took the time to adventure with my girls and make history with them. I never stop being amazed by how my hands create memories-small things like wiping away tears or holding hands to big things like creating spaces to grow up into or supporting our family with my work. I think our handmade heritages are built of these small moments and I feel very blessed to be able to be home and involve my wee beasties in my work.

What sort of history were your hands making this summer? I would love to know! Please share your thoughts or links to your projects and creations in the comments: )