The Unplugged theme ROUGH… pretty much summed up our week! The kids battled a fever bug, each down for 2 days pretty much meaning that there was very little sleep on my end from Sunday to Friday. Then of course there was the whole first haircut debacle.
We did manage to work in our project, Sand Paper Art and an update to the Stone Project.
We simply colored very hard with big crayons on fine grit sandpaper. The more wax you get down the better. Then we put the sheets on a cookiesheet and put it in the oven (set to 200) for a few seconds to melt the wax (it does not take long at all or you could hover a hot iron over the surface). Cool it with another cookie sheet or pan on top to stop it from curling. It makes a nice smooth/rough comparison sheet. NOTE: If you want to try it… We did this project about a year ago and used crushed crayon bits sprinkled on the page instead of just coloring and that did produce a more dramatic smooth/rough texture change for comparison.
After that, it happened to be the day to clean out and change the grit in the rock tumbler. Which made a nice tie in. The kids had fun getting a chance to see all their pretty rocks again. Still 2 more weeks to go though until they are done.
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We love drawing on sandpaper – and sometimes I do iron it, but I hadn’t thought to just pop it in the oven! Thanks for the inspiration.
Also, I’ve wanted – er, for the kids *of course*! – a rock tumbler for years. Do you mind sharing what brand yours is, how you like it, and is it deafeningly loud? 🙂
Well this is our first batch through the rock tumbler so I will let you know how they turn out. As for brand I don’t remember off hand. I will have to ask my mom… or maybe she will post in a bit. It is actually at her house and being kept in the basement. So perfectly quiet to me ;). LOL – actually it didn’t seem too bad when we first set it up on the kitchen counter.
Hi Piseco,
I really wanted to get a rock tumbler…and, yes, for the kids. Who are we kidding, we like pretty rocks, too! Anyway, DH researched them and we wound up with Thumler’s Tumblers A-R1 w/Accessories from hobbywarehouse.com. It was $85.00. (Best price we found.) We have it in the basement, but I was really surprised how quiet it was…quiet being a relative term! I wouldn’t want it to be in the room with me, similar to the noise of a dryer, but you certainly can’t hear it through the house. We are only in our 2nd stage right now but I have to admit I was as thrilled as the grandbabies when we popped open the lid on Friday! Keep checking Michelle’s blog for updates!
Kim
We just brought home many pounds of rocks from our trip to the Canadian Maritimes (and some great sea glass!), a rock tumbler would be pretty cool. Looking forward to hearing how they turn out. The sand paper art looks very neat. Cool idea.