Crackpots with Jet

After work, I went and got Jet from pre-school. We went home and took half an hour getting his DVD player, using the potty, and generally getting all the squirrelly out. Then we headed to Crack Pots and they gave us a room in the back when I said that I had a movie for him. We had our own room and table, and they set me up with everything I needed, I got the little espresso mug and plate, and one of the ladies gave me a five minute crash course on how to decorate my bisque. It was plenty.

Jet set up with his movie, quite happily in the chair next to mine. He dug around in his yellow backpack, handed me Toby (for those who are morbidly curious, here's a link to the depot where you can click on all the names and find out something about them) and watched the movie while I went and got the appropriate colors. It was enlightening to find that I was quite comfortable just freehanding Toby onto the side of the mug. Then Jet handed me Mavis, who is nearly all black, so mildly difficult to give shape, for the other side of the mug. I freehanded her onto the other side, and then Jet asked for Thomas on the *bottom* of the mug and a buffer (red, of course) between the two engines. Whee. A background of blue with a big brush, and we were done with the little mug, nearly an hour and a half later...

There was a little plate that went with it, and since I was tired, I painted a railroad crossing sign in the middle and then laid out brown railroad ties all around the edge of the plate. I cheated and used the puff paint in black to do all the track around and around. Then, of course, Jet asked for Bulgy, the double-decker bus for the underside of the plate. It was a tiny circle for the big guy, but I managed a rough approximation of the bus, sans wheels, into the space and Jet was content.

It was very, very weird to realize that I'm comfortable enough with brush and paints that I can freehand four of Jet's train characters and have Jet recognize them when I'm done and I actually like what I've done. Aiee.

The ladies only charged me for one hour of studio time, very nice of them, when it was nearly two; but they weren't that busy, so it was a nice thing for them to do. Plus, since it was TwoFer Tuesdays, where if I'd brought in a second person they wouldn't have charged them a studio fee, it seemed to make sense. The lady that I paid for all this thought the mug and plate Very Cute and said that she would have to remember that the next time some lady brought in a smaller kid that didn't want to paint...

Jet happily peered at the ladies pulling hot ceramics from the kiln. He'd wanted to see the "firing machines".

Turns out they have an Empty Bowls program, where you can buy and paint a bowl for $12 (tax deductible) and donate it to a fund raiser in the middle of March, where the bowls will get bought by people, and that money will be donated to the OUR center (the Longmont help center) along with money paid for the fund raising dinner, itself. Jet seemed interested in that, as he'd just done quilt squares for the tsunami relief efforts ("Painting squares to help when the big wave came and destroyed all the people and their works." Haunting to hear Biblical language from a three-year-old's mouth) so he got painting something to help hungry people.

But we were both hungry by the time I'd finished his train mug set. It's going to be done on Sunday, which is when his party is going to be, so it's Just In Time Luck for Mama.

We went to McDonald's as I didn't really want to go home and cook him snow noodles, again. Jet ate ALL FOUR of his chicken nuggets, some of his fries, and drank all his apple juice, and then plowed through the top quarter of a McFlurry with M&M's. He played for about five minutes, and then we left for home, and he was so tired he said, "When we get home, it's time for pajamas."

I stopped to get gas on the way home, and blew clouds on the van window and drew Jet a happy face. He laughed and laughed.

When he got home, he played Zoobs with John, and then asked for some snow noodles, anyway. He ate a WHOLE PLATE of spaghetti before asking for more ice cream and is now contently plowing through a bowl of vanilla ice cream. I think he's definitely catching up. He'd emptied his lunch bag, so there was no reason for him to be hungry. He now has lunch for tomorrow, too, so that's a good thing.

Crackpots with Jet

After work, I went and got Jet from pre-school. We went home and took half an hour getting his DVD player, using the potty, and generally getting all the squirrelly out. Then we headed to Crack Pots and they gave us a room in the back when I said that I had a movie for him. We had our own room and table, and they set me up with everything I needed, I got the little espresso mug and plate, and one of the ladies gave me a five minute crash course on how to decorate my bisque. It was plenty.

Jet set up with his movie, quite happily in the chair next to mine. He dug around in his yellow backpack, handed me Toby (for those who are morbidly curious, here's a link to the depot where you can click on all the names and find out something about them) and watched the movie while I went and got the appropriate colors. It was enlightening to find that I was quite comfortable just freehanding Toby onto the side of the mug. Then Jet handed me Mavis, who is nearly all black, so mildly difficult to give shape, for the other side of the mug. I freehanded her onto the other side, and then Jet asked for Thomas on the *bottom* of the mug and a buffer (red, of course) between the two engines. Whee. A background of blue with a big brush, and we were done with the little mug, nearly an hour and a half later...

There was a little plate that went with it, and since I was tired, I painted a railroad crossing sign in the middle and then laid out brown railroad ties all around the edge of the plate. I cheated and used the puff paint in black to do all the track around and around. Then, of course, Jet asked for Bulgy, the double-decker bus for the underside of the plate. It was a tiny circle for the big guy, but I managed a rough approximation of the bus, sans wheels, into the space and Jet was content.

It was very, very weird to realize that I'm comfortable enough with brush and paints that I can freehand four of Jet's train characters and have Jet recognize them when I'm done and I actually like what I've done. Aiee.

The ladies only charged me for one hour of studio time, very nice of them, when it was nearly two; but they weren't that busy, so it was a nice thing for them to do. Plus, since it was TwoFer Tuesdays, where if I'd brought in a second person they wouldn't have charged them a studio fee, it seemed to make sense. The lady that I paid for all this thought the mug and plate Very Cute and said that she would have to remember that the next time some lady brought in a smaller kid that didn't want to paint...

Jet happily peered at the ladies pulling hot ceramics from the kiln. He'd wanted to see the "firing machines".

Turns out they have an Empty Bowls program, where you can buy and paint a bowl for $12 (tax deductible) and donate it to a fund raiser in the middle of March, where the bowls will get bought by people, and that money will be donated to the OUR center (the Longmont help center) along with money paid for the fund raising dinner, itself. Jet seemed interested in that, as he'd just done quilt squares for the tsunami relief efforts ("Painting squares to help when the big wave came and destroyed all the people and their works." Haunting to hear Biblical language from a three-year-old's mouth) so he got painting something to help hungry people.

But we were both hungry by the time I'd finished his train mug set. It's going to be done on Sunday, which is when his party is going to be, so it's Just In Time Luck for Mama.

We went to McDonald's as I didn't really want to go home and cook him snow noodles, again. Jet ate ALL FOUR of his chicken nuggets, some of his fries, and drank all his apple juice, and then plowed through the top quarter of a McFlurry with M&M's. He played for about five minutes, and then we left for home, and he was so tired he said, "When we get home, it's time for pajamas."

I stopped to get gas on the way home, and blew clouds on the van window and drew Jet a happy face. He laughed and laughed.

When he got home, he played Zoobs with John, and then asked for some snow noodles, anyway. He ate a WHOLE PLATE of spaghetti before asking for more ice cream and is now contently plowing through a bowl of vanilla ice cream. I think he's definitely catching up. He'd emptied his lunch bag, so there was no reason for him to be hungry. He now has lunch for tomorrow, too, so that's a good thing.