Trip to South Carolina!

I recently returned from a wonderful vacation to South Carolina. We spent a week in Myrtle Beach and had the opportunity to explore the area a bit.

Of course, we spent a good bit of time at the beach. I don't know who had more fun collecting seashells, my 5-year-old daughter or me! I was fascinated by the beautiful colors often found on the underside of of the big chunks of clamshells that wash up on the beach. I also found a few interesting shapes and sizes and even a bit of coral.

 

The whole lot.

Some coral in the center and although it isn't obvious in the photo, the shell on the left has beautiful pink and purple tones on it.

Loved the shape of this one in the center. Beautiful spiral.

Lots of interesting textures, patterns, and colors.

I didn't have much time to draw while there, but I did a few quick sketches. I can't wait to do more and in color!

In addition to the beach, we had a chance to visit the gorgeous Brookgreen Gardens. Located just south of Myrtle Beach, Brookgreen Gardens is "a National Historic Landmark with the most significant collection of figurative sculpture in an outdoor setting by American artists in the world and has the only zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums on the coast of the Carolinas." 

We took a Lowcountry boat tour through historic rice fields, saw a wonderful sculpture exhibit on the American West, had a fantastic lunch there, and while my husband, sister and brother took my girls to the zoo, I did a quick walk through some of the gardens near the main visitor center. 

I really enjoyed the magnolia trees everywhere and saw many trees with the fruits developing and flowers just starting to emerge.

One of my very favorite parts of the garden was Live Oak Allee. Here, huge Southern Live Oaks, approximately 250 years old, line the walkway. Spanish moss hangs down off of them and their majestic presence is just amazing.

 

Of course, I took more photos than I have room for here. I can't wait to go back for another visit. One nice thing about the gardens is that if you are down for a visit, your tickets are good for 7 consecutive days, so you can return to see more without additional cost. We only had time for one day, but next time, I'll be sure to plan some return trips!

Make your own fossil! Birthday party idea for kids.

We had a 4-year-old birthday party last week for my daughter and a bunch of her friends. She loves dinosaurs, so we were using that as a theme. I wanted to have some kind of fun craft for the kids to do while they were here and did some searching online. I saw some good ideas about having the kids make their own fossils with plaster of Paris and plastic dinosaurs that they would 'bury' and then uncover later at home.

I went looking for plaster of Paris, but came across air-dry modeling clay instead. A glimmer of an idea took shape. What if the kids could make their own fossils with this? I have some sea shells at home and my daughter has a bunch of plastic dinosaurs of various shapes and sizes and they could use those to make impressions in the clay. It takes 2-3 days to dry, so they could play around with it all they wanted during the party and then take it home. It was easy, not too complicated and would give the kids something fun to do.

So I bought two small tubs of the modeling clay and split it up into small lumps in plastic baggies for easy distribution at party time. I had over 20 bags of clay from both tub. We had about 16 kids at the party ranging in age from 20 months to 6 years and some of the younger kids did not do the craft, so it worked out well in terms of quantity.

I bought some small, plastic plates and each child got a lump of clay and a plate. We put all of the 'fossil' materials in the middle of a blanket on the floor and everyone just sat down and made their own fossils. Dinosaur footprints were pretty popular! 

The kids seemed to really enjoy it. When they were done, we wrapped some foil over the plate and put the child's name on it with a marker. They were able to take it home later when the party was over. Aside from a little bit of clay residue on their hands and a few clay bits on the blanket, it was not very messy at all. Perfect!