Kid Art

I have a confession: I have a teensy problem with hoarding.  Old socks make great puppets, empty paper towel rolls are fantastic pirate telescopes, and don't even get me started on the many uses of old baby food jars.  

But, where I really run into problems is with the kids' artwork.  I can't throw any of it away.  Every piece has a story, told with wide eyes and big gestures.  Every piece marks a milestone (the first attempt at faces or coloring a rainbow).  For now, the artwork is either displayed around the house or stored in a giant Rubbermaid box in our basement, but I know we'll outgrow it before too long.  

Anyway, I thought I'd try out taking a picture of the original and saving it instead of the actual art.  Here are some of the latest productions and the stories behind them.

Self-portraits:

I got this idea from TipJunkie to send hugs to family members far away.  They were supposed to be Mother's Day cards for my mother-in-law, Karin, but they still haven't made it to the post office yet. (Sorry, Nana!)

I traced the kids and then let them fill in their features and, in Sarah's case, accessories.  

I think the rainbow hair and necklaces really make the outfit, don't you?

Will gave himself "big hair" (his words, not mine) and an orange handlebar mustache.  I drew his eyes and nose, while he moved on to stuffing two cheese sticks in his mouth.  

The last picture is a map Sarah drew for me.  It shows the route for the half-marathon I ran a couple of weeks back.  Evidently, there were a total of four Big Bad Wolves on the race course.  But, she told me it could also be a sunflower, you know, if you didn't want to think about being chased by hungry carnivores or running til you chafe.