Bird Feeder Ornament

It was such a good project in theory.  What's not to love about making a bird feeder mobile to hang outdoors in winter?  Gavin was up for it and I had all the supplies at the ready last Saturday morning. 

Needing sustenance for brain and body, we had breakfast first and logged about an hour of Tom and Jerry cartoons, one of Gavin's current favorites.  Gavin changed out of his pajamas while I gathered together everything we would need to assemble these birdie treats.  We were ready and excited to get started.

Just a side note here having nothing to do with this nature craft project.  But did you notice how I said "Gavin got changed out of his pajamas?"  Well, this is a big deal.  He's been dressing himself for awhile now, but I still marvel at how we've moved from 'dressing Gavin,' to "helping Gavin get dressed," to "Gavin getting himself dressed.  I hear Life's clock ticking in my head as I write.

I'd never seen a sweet gum tree pod until I moved to Fort Campbell, KY.  Fascinated by them, I went around our neighborhood, gathering them up for some unknown future project. Ended up using them like 'shipping popcorn' in all my Christmas boxes that year. My friend, LJ, calls them 'alien pine cones.' Since that time I've seen many a sweet gum tree.  My neighbor here on 101st Place has one, right across the street and so I was able to gather some for this project.  Peanut Butter is always on hand and black sunflower seeds, too.  Check! 

I was the designated 'peanut butter spreader onner.'  Gavin was the official 'pod dipper' and then back to me for tying onto the hanger.  Mine was most definitely the messier of the steps.  Gavin shot some video footage of me and asked some very astute questions as the interviewer. 

    

  

It was a very cold day and Gavin was happy to stay indoors. I donned my boots and went outside to hang our new feeder in the maple tree.  

I was so excited when only minutes after Gavin was picked up by his Mom, a male and female cardinal dropped in to check out the 'thing-a-ma-bob-doo-hickie' hanging in their tree.. Check it out was all they did, never attempting to alight on the pods or hang from the twine to get at the seed. Turns out you can lead a bird to the seed but you can't make them eat.

A week has passed and the pods are still hanging in the tree, a little more worse for the wear. This bird feeder may not have resulted in what we hoped for initially but in the end I got what I wanted. Time well-spent with Gavin.  I'm thinking this is the most desirable outcome.

Such a fun sleep-over

We never have to look hard for things to do together.  Gavin loves working on new projects. Sometimes we finish up things we began the last time he was at the castle house.  Other times, I'll have a plan for a new activity before Gavin comes over and that plan will morph into a completely different adventure.  And sometimes we even have projects we've talked about doing like hand sewing a burlap pirate booty pouch or whipping up some home made pasta, a la Great Aunt Jessica, but just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Gavin and I usually make regular runs up to the studio to get art supplies. We typically bring everything downstairs and work at the dining room table. Sometimes Hempi joins in the fun, like the last two times Gavin was here and we all worked on origami.  Usually, we make at least five to ten 'studio runs' in the course of a weekend. And I always ask, "Gavin, would you like to run up to the studio with me to get more 'stuff?'  Most of the time, Gavin is out of the chair before I finish the question. Each time we're upstairs, I show Gavin another art tool or gadget.  Gavin is getting familiar with where I keep my treasures.

This last weekend, we ended up in the studio for one of our projects.  Only right that it was a 'drawing activity.' Such a lovely turn of events, too.  It started innocently enough.  I invited Gavin to come up to the studio to see a surprise.  The surprise was a desk.  The desk his Mom and Dad gave me after they decided they no longer had a use for it.  And now, the same desk Gavin was used to seeing in his house, was in the "Castle House" studio.

When Gavin saw it, his face lit up.  The next thing he did was ask for some paper and colored marking pens.  Arranging them on the desk just so, he took a seat and began making the place his own.  Gavin said, 'this drawing is going to be for you, Ba'ka.'  

Together, we spent the next hour, drawing and working at our separate desks.  Time spent in the studio is usually good for me. But this was a first for Gavin and I.  Staying in the studio to work on something together and apart.  Each in our own creative space.

The next morning, we went back into the studio, this time because Gavin asked me to make a copy of his original work of art.  I love mixing art and technology! And especially when I can share my knowledge with this 5-year-old.  Little does he know that in another 5 to 10 years, his tech-savvy abilities will far surpass all of mine and I will never catch up.  We proceeded to scan and copy Gavin's artwork, do another drawing, more scanning, convert art into note card art and then write notes in the new cards for special people in our lives.

Gavin 's Art Note Card

Learning to draw using the Wacom tablet.

I love Gavin Quotes.  This was one of my favorites:  Gavin: "I'm going to need a lot more paper."  I smiled and replied, "Well, that's easy. I have a lot of paper."  And Gavin, making my whole weekend said, "You are the master."  *heartfelt sigh