Nature painting and DIY crafts

Lately, Peeper is fascinated by combining complementary things. “Together!” she cries, popping a bite of cheese and hot dog into her mouth, or “Pomegranate on top!” while balancing a seed on a forkful of peas and tofu.

Her enthusiasm makes me think of the scene in Ratatouille when Remy discovers how two tastes together can pop like fireworks or melt together for a transcendent out-of-body experience.

The other day, I followed her lead. Peeper loves art, and she loves the outdoors. So voila: nature painting!

With a bucket in tow, we set out on a walk in our neighborhood. We picked up bits of this and that, dropping rocks and fallen pine boughs in with a plunk. Peeper soon caught a taste for collecting, and before long her bucket held an abundance of nature’s detritus.

Back at home, I set up an array of stems, sticks and blossoms for Peeper to dip in the paint in lieu of a brush. Even Eric jumped in, helping her stamp daisies and roll rocks around the paper.

Of course the arts and crafts session ended as they always do, with Peeper elbow-deep in finger paint. We’re way past trying to keep anything clean; my motto is embrace the mess.

More often than not, that turns into embrace the fun.

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