2 Coat of Arms
We always like to find a fun craft idea for our crafty grandsons when they visit.
Somehow through the course of our book readings and discussions one morning, the topic of “What is a Coat of Arms” came up.
Right then and there I decided that the boys had to draw one that described themselves. Of course Terry kicked it up a notch and it became a project made out of wood!
We started off by designing the template. I pushed really hard to have the classic vertical Coat of Arms shape but it was decided that each boy would do a different angle.
I worked with “M” separately while ‘Papa’ took “O” out to the porch to figure out the sections. ( This way there would be no copying…just incase.)
We decided that there would be 4 categories:
Top left for “M” : an activity I enjoy. Top right : favourite time of year. Bottom left : what I want to be when I grow up. Bottom right : something that symbolizes my city of Vancouver. On top of the ‘shield’ : a strong animal with a crown.
Top left for “O” : something of which I’m good at. Top right : Favourite season. Bottom left : What I want to be when I grow up. Bottom right : an activity I enjoy. Holding the ‘shield’ : his favourite animal.
Next up, it was time for us to find the wood. We decided to make it a bit easier on ourselves so we started off at Michael’s and were rewarded with finding 2 pieces of wood in the exact size that we envisioned.
Then the boys had to transfer their image from the paper to the wood. ( Yup. This craft took days and days.)
The next step was to get the boys earplugs so that they could watch Papa while he used his dremel tool to carve out each drawing on the wooden plaques. I can attest that it was very loud in the garage.
I got out my craft paints and my good paint brushes (they are better for fine lines) and the boys were taught to paint just one colour at a time. The drawings/dremel lines were so detailed that they had to be very careful with their use of paint.
I told them not to worry if they went outside the lines because if you wipe off acrylic paints quickly enough you are able to remove the mistakes.
After the paintings were done, ‘Nonny’ helped them paint outlines with her finest brush . This really popped the colours.
Next up, the boys got to try the dremel tool to carve their name and date into the back of the wood. Then, they hammered the picture hanger on the back as well.
The last step was for Nonny to Varathane the front so the paintings would be sealed.
On the last day I asked to take a photo of the (very tired) boys with their finished Coat of Arms. The smiles were forced but they are actually very proud of their work….and we are very proud of them!
Top Left : Loves ‘crafting’ and summer. Wants to be a toymaker someday and loves reading …..and monkeys! (Autumn leaves up top to symbolize favourite thing about home city of Vancouver).
Middle top : Is good at dancing and loves Hallowe’en. Wants to be a chef someday and the rose is the official flower of Vancouver.
Top right: “M” also loves ladybugs (added after large photos were taken) and wanted a ‘classic’ lion with a crown.
(Pretty incredible work for a 7 and 5 year old respectively, hey?)