{"id":26907,"date":"2019-12-15T19:28:52","date_gmt":"2019-12-15T19:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smallhandsbigart.com\/shba-2\/?p=26907"},"modified":"2020-02-01T08:01:28","modified_gmt":"2020-02-01T12:01:28","slug":"reindeer-roundup-a-collection-of-reindeer-art-projects-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smallhandsbigart.com\/south-charlotte\/reindeer-roundup-a-collection-of-reindeer-art-projects-for-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Reindeer Roundup – A Collection of Reindeer Art Projects for Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

My love affair with reindeer started with this adorable fellow<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 He was so charming and sweet, and oh, the way he jingle jangled….\u00a0 His stoic expression belied a festive disposition that lit up any room!\u00a0 He was freakishly adorable, in a mysteriously quiet, baked potato-ish sort of way.\u00a0 He came into my life when I was counting carbs; we were reckless and so in love.\u00a0 \u00a0I never tired of chasing down and re-attaching his hooves, which seemed to spring off at the slightest breeze.<\/p>\n

\"Papier<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Papier<\/a><\/p>\n

Our love blossomed and I faithfully supported him in all his outdoors-y pursuits.\u00a0 When he randomly announced one day that he wanted to take up deer hunting, I thought it was odd, by my love never wavered.\u00a0 For chilly mornings in the woods, I insulated his camouflage coveralls with well-read pages of one of my favorite short stories “How to Talk to a Hunter<\/em>” (Cowboys are My Weakness, Pam Houston<\/a>) and shopped Cabelas for all the best gear.<\/p>\n

\"Reindeer<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Love can make you do crazy things.\u00a0 It can make you climb tree stands, and drag 50lb sacks of corn deep into the woods, scan the forest floor for acorns, scout for rut scrapes on tree trunks… I loved being in the woods, but didn’t understand his extreme over-reaction when I unscrewed the lid on my hot thermos of coffee.\u00a0 In the end, it just didn’t work out, but I was forever changed.\u00a0 Thus began my lifetime love of all things reindeer.<\/p>\n

Clearly inspired by my first love, the next reindeer (covertly referred to with friends as “Gen 3”<\/a><\/strong><\/span>) was big and bold!\u00a0 He too was made out of papier mache, and mostly upcycled materials.\u00a0 Perhaps his most distinguishing feature was that he had elbows & knees & could move his arms & legs, a range of motion that had been significantly lacking in my previous relationships.<\/p>\n

\"reindeer<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Reindeer<\/a><\/p>\n

Next came along Dasher<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, with that irresistible reindeer nose made out of a real glass Christmas bulb!\u00a0 He had real antlers made out of real sticks from nature, not that tangly wire stuff!\u00a0 \u00a0It felt like a real, grown-up relationship. But in time, I realized he had issues.\u00a0 He was insecure & never went anywhere without his seven buddies.\u00a0 And he would hurl himself onto the floor when trying to make a point, shattering the glass bulb nose and just expecting me to pick up all the pieces and replace it (which I of course did, time after time).\u00a0 And he was constantly shedding his antlers and taking for granted that I would just happily re-attach them, as if I hadn’t already spent a long day at the studio, re-attaching wobbly things for other people.\u00a0 \u00a0 I tried everything to stabilize his antlers (and our relationship):\u00a0 hot glue, duct tape, gorilla glue, wire, string…\u00a0 No adhesive was strong enough to mend what had been broken.\u00a0 It was time to move on…<\/p>\n

\"Cardboard<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Reindeer<\/a><\/p>\n

I had been in committed reindeer relationships for so long, I decided to see what else was out there! I joined an online reindeer dating site and was amazed to see that there was a huge population of reindeer lovers just like me – who knew?!\u00a0 Enter Gen 4<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0 This was such a magical time in my life.\u00a0 Everything was in Mardi Gras-like technicolor!\u00a0 The paint was bright and bold and iridescent.\u00a0 We threw fistfuls of glitter in the air and twirled & danced as it wafted down around us.\u00a0 I was invincible and fearless.\u00a0 I will always be thankful for this time in my life, and for all of these festive happy-go-lucky reindeer were a part of it!<\/p>\n

\"Mardi<\/a><\/p>\n

\"reindeer<\/a><\/p>\n

Next, let’s be honest, I wasn’t getting any younger, and really needed to downshift a little.\u00a0 I was looking for someone a little more mellow, a little more chill…\u00a0 Someone who had his you-know-what together and wasn’t going to shatter his lightbulb nose or lose his antlers every time he didn’t get his way!\u00a0 \u00a0I seemed to have found the perfect match in this guy<\/strong><\/a><\/span>!\u00a0 He was strong and stout – built on a solid foundation, which added to his personality and character!\u00a0 His ego wasn’t ginormous, and his antlers were not unwieldy.\u00a0 They were shimmery and glimmery, and just right!\u00a0 \u00a0He was expressive and communicative, patient and kind.\u00a0 I think he will always been the one that got away.\u00a0 I don’t know what happened…\u00a0 it wasn’t him, it was me…<\/p>\n

\"Foil<\/a><\/p>\n

\"foil<\/a><\/p>\n

Next, enter my Mixed Media reindeer phase.\u00a0 I realized I had a “type” and decided to branch out and explore lots of different mediums.\u00a0 \u00a0First, I wanted to see what a ceramic reindeer would be like.\u00a0 Oh man, this guy really broke my heart.\u00a0 He was such a show-off…\u00a0 \u00a0Always grandstanding, so proud of his dancing moves, despite literally having no arms!\u00a0 It’s a long story, but, well, you can see where our relationship ended up.\u00a0 I’ve never even spoken about him.<\/p>\n

\"ceramic<\/p>\n

\"ceramic<\/p>\n