Creativity Can Help

A Word About The Recent Elementary School Shooting in Connecticut

I have been wondering how best to address the recent shooting at the Elementary School in Connecticut. It is such a great tragedy and at first glance seems so out of place to talk about on this blog and yet I don't think it is our of place, because it deals with children and with sorrow.  My heart goes out to all the innocent children and teachers who lost their life's that day, as well as to all the surviving children and teachers who are still with us. What do we do in times like these? How do we cope with all the emotions and thoughts we have? I am a strong believer that art and creative projects can play a big role in helping us make it through hard patches in life and help us recover from traumatic experiences.

With so much tragedy in the world I have made Draw Me A Lion my mission to focus on the positive things in life. And even though many problems are permanent and can't be solved Creativity can be of help in overcoming the harder obstacles in life. Even sorrow.


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The Crayon & Watercolour Repel Technique

Here is a drawing I made between ages 6-8. Me and my mom did lots of crafts together. This was one of my favs. The crayon & Watercolour repel technique. For a nice wintery scene like this one, draw with a white crayon a winter wonderland. Then go over everything with with blue watercolour. The crayon will repel your watercolour and your picture will look great! After the watercolour dries you can add some extra touches like these houses here with coloured pencil.

Free DIY Colouring Postcard for YOU

Print it, colour it, cut it out & glue it together!
Last weeks post was on how the way you colour a drawing can change the whole look of the drawing. So I thought it would be nice to give you something fun to colour in this week so that you can try that whole idea out. You could print out two copies of this DIY postcard and colour them totally differently. Then you could send them to two different people. Or you could send them to the same person. Maybe they won't even notice that it's the same card because you coloured them so differently! Give it a try!

Go to the Free Downloads section on the Draw Me A Lion site HERE to get the card.

Fun DIY Project: Mr. Paper Valentine

So I was going to Not make anything for Valentines this year, other than the 'I Valentine You' card I made in the Draw Me A Lion shop... but then I got a little bit of a hankering to do a fun 30 minute Valentine craft project. "What was it" you ask? Why I decided to recreate Mr. Valentine from the card in the shop.

I took some photos along the way so that you can do it too at home. And really it doesn't have to be Valentines day to make Mr. Valentine. I bet that whoever you want to make it for will be just as happy, or maybe even happier when you give it to them in the middle of summer or winter sometime, because really, we should think of how awesome all of our special friends in our lives are every day, not just one day a year.

So here's all you need, explained in pictures. Looks mighty good propped up on your desk, or you could make a tiny hole in the top of the hat and thread a needle with some colourful thread and hang it on your wall that way. Or you'd like to make a Miss or Mrs Valentine? If you do send me a pic won't you? I'd love to see her... and so would Mr. Valentine I'm sure. <3

Fun DIY Project: Colourful Pinecone Pendants!

It's snowing and it's fun to go outside and build a mini snowman with the snow we have here in Vancouver. But once you're out there for a few hours it's also really nice to come back inside, get warm again and maybe... colour in a pinecone that you just happened to pick up outside!

If you feel like it all you'll need are some acrylic, poster paint, or guache in tubes, a brush, some newspaper, a string and of course... a lovely little pinecone! You could make a bunch and line them up on your window sill or save them till next year and have the cutest Christmas tree ever!