I’m serious Grandma, avert your eyes!
Okay… The coast is clear.
I am SO proud of the boy’s gift for his grandparents, I just had to show you!
He got the basic idea from an Art Attack episode, his single favourite television show EVER which is still re-running on TVO Kids here in Canada thank goodness! I couldn’t find the link to the exact craft, but the idea is to make a framed, 3-dimensional outline of your country. It’s wall art, you see.
So he and his Dad started working on it sometime last week. (Don’t you LOVE IT when that happens?) Together they made the cut-out of Canada, the background and frame out of a chunk of corrugated cardboard box. Then they covered the whole thing with a papier-maché layer made of PVA glue and “loo roll” paper. We don’t actually call it “loo roll” here. We call it toilet paper, but since he discovered Art Attack, the boy tends to call it loo roll in some Neil Buchanan-esque British accent. So great.
They let the whole thing dry for a few days if I recall. Lo weighed it down with a bench so the cardboard wouldn’t curl while drying. Overkill perhaps, but it worked. Then the boy painted it.
We thought it was pretty much finished at this point, but the boy wanted to do some custom detailing. Here’s what he did:
- He reproduced the Canadian flag from a small paper flag he keeps in his toy cabinet.
- He drew out and coloured the word “Canada” which I helped him cut out and attach with Mod Podge.
- I also happen to have a star compass stamp so he used it to create a compass for his map.
- He made a set of 3 arrows which can be moved hither, thither and yon. One arrow for Grandma, one for Grandpa (Grandpa travels a lot) and another for both of them together. I helped him laminate the arrows with packing tape. They are held in place with sticky tack which also allows them to be moved easily.
- He created a detailed set of instructions on how to use the map. We glued that to the back.
Here’s a translation of the note on the back and the instructions, which he wrote by himself. He’s 6 years old, by the way:
(not in the photo) Merry Christmas to you. Love, The Boy
13 December 2010
Place the arrows where you are.
Look, where you are.
Look at the flag, where you are.
Look at the country where you are.
Make sure to look at your compass.
Look at the red arrow for girls.
And look at the green arrow for boys.
The big arrow is for everyone.
The End
He’s fond of commas, but who isn’t? Finally, we brushed Mod Podge over the entire thing to make it last forever, and added a hanger. Here is the final result:
The GPS or GRANDPARENTS Positioning System! The ideal Christmas gift for today’s busy grandparents. Tee hee.
I think they’ll adore their new low-tech-made-with-love GPS, don’t you?
Well you have yourself a fine fine evening, and I’ll see you soon!
Oh Michele! What a wonderful gift that I'm sure they will treasure. Laughing about the "loo roll" because since my husband watches Top Gear on BBC US, I've taken to saying aluminium instead of aluminum just because.
What a sweet boy he is and so smart! I'm a grandma and would be so proud to receive this from a child so I'm absolutely sure his grandparents will LOVE it!
Oh wow that's amazing! He did a great job, they will love it for sure! Art attack.. there's a blast from the past! Oh and of course we call it loo roll!
HA! What a smile has come across my face 🙂
The handwritten note on the back is THE BEST part, although I love the look on the front as well. Well done!
That is adorable! What a treasure!
That is seriously awesome!! Your son is going to be even more innovative than you some day. 😉
That's so cool! It looks (and is!) really like a piece of art 🙂
This is wonderful Michele, I will forward it to my sister who is a JK / SK teacher!
PS – I just saw one of your lovely ornaments featured on Crafty Crow, they have great taste.
I am laughing my head off. Those instructions will stand the test of time, I tell you! This is such a wonderful gift. The Grandparent Positioning System. You guys kill me!
That's very cute. It's to see them creating too – Hugs Nat
What a loving, creative and talented boy! I love how he just totally DEDICATED HIMSELF to this gift. All you grownups in his life: very lucky.
roflol – I think this is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen! Love it! And speaking as a granma, I know his will too!
Brilliant work! He's clearly inherited your creative genes…lucky thing 🙂
xxh
This ist so cute, i would really love, getting such a heardwarming present:)
I love how children write from the heart with out any self conciousness- priceless. I once met Neil Buchanan, he was just as nice as on TV !
Louise x
I love this! His grandparents are so fortunate to have such a talented and thoughtful grandson! Have fun together!
The boy wanted me to say thank you very much for all the lovely comments!
Awesome for a six year old. Totally sweet gift.
How creative..after all he is your son…hmmmm…that's why he is…good luck for him…
That is so cool! Has to be the best gift they get this year, or ever even maybe…?
I love his fabulous GPS so if the grandparents ever get fed up …
This is an awesome gift! Little Boy's writing is absolutely fantastic! The creativity is just flowing in that beautiful mind of his! I'm so looking forward to seeing you all during the holidays!
This is an awesome gift!