Glow In The Dark Paintings

As mentioned I’m keen to get our falling down house in order and create little man a sensory room.

I’ve shared my ideas here on the blog before… Just check out this post.

As a result I was contacted by a lovely online company called Switch The Lights Off who create art that glows in the dark.They have a particular interest in autism and a percentage of each sold painting goes to the National Autistic Society.

They so kindly offered to send little man a glow in the dark painting and Alice and the toddler received a glowing door plaque each.

All art is personalised and every piece is hand painted. Little man was sent a canvas painting of a funky punk sporting a fantastic Mohican. This image is aimed at teens and older children but there are a host of other images to chose from and I’m sure there is something to suit all ages and tastes.

We choose for little mans image to be painted in gold so it looks great even when it isn’t glowing. When the lights are switched off the image of the punk and that of little mans name look amazing as it glows a Magnificent green.

Both the paintings and door signs are perfect for any child’s bedroom especially that of a sensory room. Your painting can be super charged with a UV Torch that literally has it glowing in seconds.

I love how each painting is personalised and hand painted. I admit I was sceptical at just how well these would glow but… WOW, I’m really impressed with the results.

What the brand told me (Diane & Steve from ‘Switch off the lights’ )…

“We are very passionate about these products and really want them to work.
The beauty of this artwork was that it was founded from an idea from Steve’s daughter, who wanted a painting that glowed in the dark whilst she was going to sleep.

We want to help mum’s & dad’s with their children in getting them to sleep. Most of us at one time or another have had nights where we are dropping asleep at the ends of the child’s bed, whilst little one is still wide awake.

We know it can be quite a big problem sometimes getting them to settle at night. So we hope these paintings and door plaques will benefit in some small way to help.”

These really are unique and special. Both younger and older children can enjoy a glowing piece of art work given the great selection of designs on offer.

Alice’s door plaque looks ultra trendy with her glowing name displayed on a pink plague, in a really groovy graffiti styled way! Its Sick ( or so she informs me)!

Harley’s is blue and the writing style is really bold and glows fantastically.

These would make a great Christmas presents for children who like that something a little bit different.

A great idea for any child’s sensory pad too… So, a fabulous gift idea for a child on the autism spectrum. Plus don’t forget, when you buy, ‘The National Autistic Society’ are given a contribution off the sales to help them to continue to do the fantastic and much needed work they carry out.

To check out more design visit the online store by clicking Here

Crafting with kids – Glass and Porcelain Painting

Over the last week I’ve been doing some really fun craft projects with the children.

And guess what? Even the Little man has been getting involved!

I wanted to do something that each child would find both interesting and fun, something we could do together as a family regardless of everyone’s differing interest. I needed the activity to apply to each child’s interest, something they really love therefore needing little if not any encouragement from mum! Basically participating because they want to.

Little man is by far the hardest of my children to engage in any type of activity, especially that of arts and crafts.This basically means that when thinking up an activity I always need to think outside the box! More than not my ideas are inspired by little mans overly intense interest (aka, special interest). This used to be just transport, however, WWE (wrestling) and Lego have now been added to the list.

The idea I had was one that meant little man could incorporate anyone of his interest (all three if desired). It was important for me to have him involved. Throughout this years summer holiday little man hasn’t shown much motivation towards anything we’ve done.

Alice-Sara would also love this free style idea as she’s naturally very creative and engages herself well when drawing or crafting.

So… Just what was my idea for a fun and engaging art project?

Plate Decorating: Yep, that’s right! Having done something similar as a child as part of a school project (using a much more complicated process mind you) Plate decorating is actually a lot fun!

I’m not taking about drawing a picture onto a paper plate… Oh no!
I wanted the children to have something of a keepsake. I wanted them to have something they could keep for a long period of time, looking back on their creative flair with pride. As mentioned I did something similar at school (well, it was at nursery actually). We were given a special type of paper to take home. We were instructed to draw our design on it and then bring it back once complete. They then sent our designs of to have some company transfer them onto these plastic plates. I was 4-years-old and remember that activity like I did it just yesterday. My Grandmother had my plate displayed on her living room wall up In-till the day she died.. I think my father has it now!

The above was the inspiration for my idea, though I wanted to do things a little differently from back in the eighties so went shopping for some plain white dinner plates which I found easily enough in a local pound shop meaning I got a total of 4 for the bargain basement price of £4.

Later that evening myself and the two eldest children sat down ready for work. Little man was reluctant to begin with but once I’d explained there were no specific designs, he could design as he liked he was more willing to try. He doesn’t like colouring because his a perfectionist and finds it hard to stay within the lines of his drawing. This is due to his poor fine motor skills and often causes him problems.

As we were drawing our designs directly onto porcelain plates we need to use some special types of pen (normal felts would just rub away). For this we used Brilliant Porcelain Paint Pens, Acrylic Deco Pens and I also used on mine PicTixx 3D Glitter Pens all from the fabulous Baker Ross.

The children had fun and even sat by one another for a full 10 minutes before bickering (believe me thats a long time)!

Little man’s design was focused around his interest in wresting and this mostly consisted of a selection of different words written in different colours. As some of you may know, little man stopped writing for a good year and a half of his life, only doing so on a computer. To see him now writing and of his own free will, is most pleasing.

Little man didn’t spend a great deal of time adding his design to his plate. He did lose interest pretty quickly! As I’ve previously stated, his very hard to engage. Nonetheless, I’m dead proud of his contribution to the project and love his wrestling plate.

Alice-Sara designed a Monster High plate. This consisted of the monsters high logo with a couple of funky eyes placed on either side. She then added some funky lips and fangs before finally adding lots of different coloured speckles to finish off.

I absolutely loved it.

The pens are really easy to use as opposed to using paints and brushes. By using the pens the children have a greater control over their design. Alice and Little man mainly used the Brilliant Porcelain Paint Pens on their plates. The only thing you must ensure is that they don’t press down to hard as then too much paint gets released and the design will run. Once the children had both finished their plate I sealed their designs in the oven at 160’c.

I also got in on the action and having no idea what I wanted to do, I just messed around a little. I ended up with this funky enchanted forest design that I doodled around my twitter handle.

I also used PicTixx 3D Glitter Pens that can be applied to almost any surface and even washed at 30 degrees (I’m also currently using these on a pair of jeans I’m customising for my daughter) in this case I used the PicTixx to add a little sparkle to my plates finished design.

We also decorated some glass with Deco and Porcelain pens and though we haven’t quite finished yet here’s a little taster of how it’s going.

This made a lovely evening of crafting and the project is easy to do with really effective results.

You don’t have to buy new plates to personalise, you could always up cycle old ones you already have. I’m currently doing the same with some old jam jars and a vase thats seen better days (I’ll be sure to share with all once I’ve finished).

Recap; What we used for both our plates and glass painting.

Large white plates from pound store (£1 each) (brought 4 so total £4)
Old jars and glasses we already had in the cupboards
PicTixx 3D Glitter Pens from Baker Ross (5 pack) £9.99
Brilliant Porcelain Paint Pens from Baker Ross (6 pack) £10.99
Acrylic Deco Pens from Baker Ross (6 pack) £10.99

Baker Ross online store can be found on line. Just click Here

Expressing creativity with Galt

I like to think of myself as quite a creative person, I love getting stuck in to a great art project and I can literally spend hours sketching a picture.

Without being pushy I’ve always tried to encourage the children to express their creative flair.

It’s my belief that art is very therapeutic and although little man isn’t overly keen, he’s creative in his own special ways!

I do a lot of creative projects with the children especially the toddler while the two older children are in school.

My daughter is very naturally creative, and is always drawing a picture or making something from bits and pieces.

She recently came home quite excited over a school art project, a poster designing competition. The poster’s aim is to remind children to be respectful while in the dinner hall. Admittedly we do have a cupboard full of crafts but we were recently sent a giant Galt Art Jar that would fulfil the job perfectly.

The Galt Art Jar is packed full of everything you’re creative little monster would need to complete near enough any art project, whether it be making hairy monsters from Pom-poms, goggly eyes and coloured shredded paper or a poster fit for the school dinner hall.

Within this huge jar of arty fun you will find…

Over 70 pompoms, 40 wiggly eyes, zigzag scissors, sequin pack, lots of shredded paper, 2m red fringed crepe paper, felt alphabet, 12 assorted plastic buttons, 7 cotton reels, 50 pony beads, 20 small star beads, 10 large pipe cleaners, 10 large straws, 6 sheets of self-adhesive foam sheets, 7 printed card templates, 10 sheets of A4 coloured paper, 25 gummed paper strips, glitter glue, white PVA glue, 2m wiggly white trim, 3m elastic, ideas sheet.

Alice-Sara was extremely pleased to have the Galt Art Jar to hand when designing her poster.

She’s not yet finished her creation but it’s almost complete and I’ll be sure to upload a picture once it is.

The GALT Art Jar is fabulous and it’s providing lots of fun for all the children, tomorrow myself and the toddler will make pompom monsters and who knows what else. 🙂

GALT Art Jar cost £14.99 check it out over on their website!

We were not paid to write this review all opinions are my own. We were sent the GALT Art Jar free of charge in order to share our honest thoughts and opinions.

Little Miss Fashion Designer

Well, it would seem that my daughter Alice-Sara fancies herself as a bit of a fashion designer.

When I was asked if any of the children would like to create their own T-shirt design Alice-Sara was first in line.

Yes, I had a vision of a somewhat messy home, what with fabric paint normally being the way forward. I couldn’t have been more wrong. All that was required was for Alice-Sara to draw her design on paper in which she coloured in felt tip pens as she normally would.

I couldn’t believe how very simple this whole design process was turning out to be! Having simply drawn her design on paper this was then scanned onto the computer and clothes2order done all the hard work so we didn’t have to!

Alice-Sara drew a really bold funky picture of what I’m told is a drawing of myself (seriously… I don’t wear that much lipstick in the flesh).

Clothes2order offer a huge choice of customisable products from great brands. We opted for a plain white T-Shirt in a size 9-10. This was from the well known brand fruit of the loom.

The company stock T-shirts in varying sizes from children’s tees to adults. Because Clothes2order have this huge range on site meaning nothing has to be ordered in and the fact all printing is done on site, makes the service an astoundingly quick one when it comes to dispatch & delivery times.

All customising can be done on line, this includes anything from uploading your design to entering text for added slogans or names. Whether ordering just one t-shirt or 100 (yes, there is no minimum order) this is done in minutes.

Certain product lines are available to order on express delivery but all products are dispatched in record time.

I absolutely love the finished t-shirt bearing my daughters creative drawing of her mummy caked in lipstick… In fact we all thought it was brilliant and now Little man has expressed an interest to possible try his hand at designing one too.

Designing you’re very own t-shirt Is a fab way of keeping the kids entertained and making their art
Into something that bit more special. I would recommend it to anyone.

This is a review post, though opinions are honest and that of my own. We received the t-shirt free of charge but was under no obligation to have to write about it.

Bags of style

My 9 year old daughter “Alice-Sara” reminds me a little of myself at her age. She loves nothing more than a creative project. Whether its customising something new or old, she loves to put her stamp on it!

That’s why I knew she’d really enjoy the creative challenge of designing and creating her very own handbag!

Note: Alice-Sara is also your typical fashion loving pre-teen, she’s very individual when it comes to style, which is something I really love.

This is why the My Clippy Bag kit was perfectly suited to my daughters needs.

My Clippy allows children to release some inner creative flare and create bags with style that are 100% unique to them. The great thing about designing and putting together your very own bag is that no two bags are ever the same and you can change your bags design whenever you like.

With the ‘My Clippy’ bag Alice-Sara was able to create a funky bold bag that was perfectly suited to her personality. It provided her with hours of fun and she was so proud of her finished bag it accompanied her to school on Friday for show and tell.

The My Clippy create your own bag kit consists of
Cool Art Papers
Lots of Templates (that double up as stencils)
Embossing Tool
My Clippy Cards
Design Station
Clear Silver Trim Clippy Bag (With 3 Clear Pockets)
Silver Bag Strap (clips on to bag)

Note: additional items are required! These are…
Scissors
Glue

Optional extras are
Glitter
Photographs
And anything else you may like to add.

How it works…

Place a Clippy card on the design station, now use the papers, embossing tool, templates and any optional extras to customise your card.

Templates can also be used to draw around, then you can cut out the shapes and layer these on your card with glue as to create a 3D effect.Templates can also be used as a stencil once removed.

Use the Embossing tool on the funky papers then cut out and stick to your card.

Add photos and customise with a paper boarder. The possibilities are endless… Raid your craft box for additional touches such as sticky gems or glitter glue to add some extra sparkle and some added WOW factor!

Once you have designed a total of three cards and these are fully dry, pop each in one of the three pockets of your Clippy Bag. Add the strap which is easily connected to the poppy buttons to wear the bag under your arm, or leave it off as to create the perfect clutch bag, makeup make or funky pencil case that is bound to impress the kids at school.

Make more cards and pick and choose different sets of Clippy cards for different occasions or as a fashion accessory for different outfits, making your Clippy Bag even more unique.

Alice-Sara really does love getting creative with her my Clippy Bag Kit and she’s already designed all her cards leaving us no choice but to create some more cards with the use of different coloured card cut to size (we just used one of the original Clippy cards as a template to draw around).

I’m a very crafty person meaning I have a cupboard full of glue and loads more additional craft bits and bobs. However, for the price I do feel a glue stick would be a good addition to this kit as I’m sure there are many parents who don’t have some at home sitting about (unlike scissors) which could prove disappointing to children, especially on occasions such as birthdays or Christmas (just like the all-too-familiar battery scenario)!

The My Clippy Bag Kit is priced at £14.99 and you can check out the My Clippy site to buy this direct. You can also visit the site to sign your child up to the My Clippy page for lots of creative fun and inspirational ideas.

This is a review post, all opinions are that of my own. I was not paid to write the review but was sent a sample of the product as to give my honest opinion

#Silent Sunday

Anna Kennedy & Pineapple Performing Arts School Presents… Autism’s Got Talent

Anna Kennedy is an inspirational woman and those who don’t believe me can ask those at the Daily Mail what with her being awarded with the Daily Mail’s most inspirational woman award presented by Samantha Cameron. Anna is the mother of two boys both affected by autism and as well as being the founder of a number of schools, charities and centres for those on the autism spectrum (including the school that my own son attends) she’s also busy working on a number of campaigns, Act Now and the Anti Bullying campaign to name but a few!

So, it’s amazing how this busy mum can possibly fit anything else in!

Well, she has!

On Saturday 12th May at the Mermaid Theatre, London, Anna will be presenting with the help of Pineapple Studios ‘Autism’s Got Talent’.
Anna is bringing together a diverse group of talented people all on the Autistic Spectrum, with the aim of showing the public just how talented they are!
Anna state on her site “All too often many people in society make the mistake of thinking that anyone with a disability is capable of very little……HOLD THE PRESS…….on this evening we will be showing everyone just what all these great people really are capable of and just how good they are at it!”

The night which has been rumoured as a red carpet event, with some well know faces planed to make an appearance , will showcase talent in many forms, ranging from performers with instruments to singers and dancers. Stars will be performing not only as soloists but some will also be coming together to perform in a group (something that many people on the autism spectrum are noted to have difficulty achieving).

Anna has also said that because talent stretches way beyond the field of performance, the night will also celebrate those fantastic people who have done other amazing things, showing great skills in areas such as writing, art and even extreme physical endurance.
Anna hopes it will be a night that will open the eyes of those who previously didn’t realise just what someone on the Autistic Spectrum is capable of.

 On the night of the performance, audience members will be able to to view a number of informative dipslays including some of the art work and creative writing done by some of the guest appearing during the course of the evening.

Doors to the event will be opening at 6pm so it is encouraged that people come along at that time as to take advantage of the displays in plenty of time before the grand performance starts.
Tickets are being sold for the low price of £10 and everyone is welcome.

Note: A theatre/audience situation is not suited to all on the spectrum but this will be a very understanding and Autism Aware Audience so we don’t want anyone to feel that they can’t come or that a parent should automatically think they can’t bring a child with them. It is hoped that this will be an audience that is mixed of those on the spectrum and those that aren’t.
Tickets are available now and can be purchased now by calling 01895 619734 or enquiries to lisa.robins@thevines.org.uk

Related articles

• Special School – Don’t write it off! (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)
• A talented teenager with Aspergers Syndrome wins art competition (aspergersinfo.wordpress.com)
• Jessica Boling: Program for adults with autism expands (knoxnews.com)
• AAPC Publishing Offers a Guide for Parents with Students on the Autism Spectrum as They Transition to College (prweb.com)
• Not Seeing It From The Outside But In The Inside I’m Autistic (growingupautistic.wordpress.com)

A talented teenager with Aspergers Syndrome wins art competition

Last week I received a lovely email sharing some very talented art work.

The email was sent from Jill Wyse, the very proud mother of a 13 year old boy named Morgan who has a diagnosis of Aspergers Syndrome.

Morgan is gearing up for his year 10 transfer to another site within the secondary school he attends (even the smallest of transfers can be stressful for the child with autism) So, as to cheer him up and show her son just how proud of him she is, she sent me Morgan’s prize winning piece of Art that celebrates the coming of the Olympic Games 2012.

Morgan was the winner of an Art competition ran by his secondary school, and here at a “Boy with Aspergers” we are proud to have it feature on our Autism & Art page. Well done Morgan… Me and my little man think you have some serious talent

Fun with Scribble Down

As a child I loved nothing more than embarking on a creative task, and to be honest, I still love to get creative whenever time permits. 

Out of all three of my children, it would seem that my daughter is the most creative, like me she loves art. However, I try to get Little man involved in creative task as often as possible, I feel it works as a great therapy like tool for his Aspergers syndrome, as it provides a calming effect. Creative and arty projects are also a great way to improve his OT skills, including that of his fine motor skills. 

Last week we were sent some very creative little projects to try from Craft and Play. These crafty little packs are called Scribble Down and have been created around the famous illustrations of ‘Clinton Banbury’ an artist who’s illustrations have been around some 30 years and have featured in some classic children’s stories and workbooks, as well as a weekly series of cartoons for the Times. 

Scribble Down, are sets of fantastic transfer activity packs, that allow children to create magical scenes with the use of a supplied background card and dozens of Clinton Banbury’s transferable images. What’s even better, these activity packs are a steal at pocket-money prices. 

There are lots of activity packs to choose from, there’s quirky animals, fantastic fairies, excitable pirates and many more! We received Clinton Banbury’s Fairy Cake Factory, consisting of  funky fairies, cupcakes and bakers. Others we received, were, Dinosaur encounter and Wild Adventures, which were equally as great with a host of transferable dinosaurs and wild wacky animals.

Each pack also come with its own mini tip, which consists of 6 easy steps teaching your child how to draw one of the characters from the activity pack so kids can create their own Clinton Banbury comic strips.

The children couldn’t wait to get started, these came complete with simple instructions that consists of both words and pictures (The visual aspect was ideal for Little man as his mostly a visual learner). 

To create the scene, all you have to do is remove the backing paper from the transfer sheet, select the image you want to place on the background scene placing it so the image is face down, then using a pen scribble over the chosen image. Remove the transfer sheet slowly, simply revealing the chosen image now on your scene. To give it a protective covering so it doesn’t peel off, use the backing paper and rub again.  

Alice didn’t use a pen, she opted to use a coin as she didn’t want to scribble on the paper, which is fine, however, the idea behind using a pen, ensures the whole image has been scratched and no bits get left behind when you remove the sheet.

Little man has quite poor fine motor skills and not a lot of patience, so did make a few mistakes. However, with some encouragement and practice he did fine, though he came back and finished later as his attention span is much shorter than your average child. 

Both Alice and Little man had fun creating their scenes (toddler is a tad to young at two to get involved). Alice did two of the cards straight of, and as mentioned, Little man did one over the course of a few days, but enjoyed it all the same. 

These are great value for money at £2.89 each. These are also great for the development and enhancement of a child’s imagination, as well as being a good way to improve a child’s fine motor skills 

They are brilliant and most defiantly worth buying for your creative little one’s, though watch out, you may find yourself have a sneaky go!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Yummy Food Competition To Win a £100 Amazon Voucher

Its competition time people and your chance to bag yourself a £100 amazon voucher (equivalent in dollars)

As, many of you know, here on the blog we host a fantastic ‘autism and art’ page, a place where children with autism and their siblings can showcase their creative flair.

We, love creative play in the ‘boy with Aspergers’ household and with three children, you will always find one with a crayon or glue stick in their hand.

This competition is all about creativity and its open to all those with a blog/website.

Appliances online have asked me to host this fabulous competition that is made up of two of life’s greatest pleasures…

…“Food & Art”

Encourage your children to get creative and draw their favourite food!

The child can be as creative as they desire, using just coloured pencils/pens or go all out and use some sparkle! It’s absolutely up to the little artist how they want to do it.

TIP
For the younger ones, why not draw the outline of a dinner plate giving them a template to fill with drawings of their favourite yummy foods.

Once done, simply take a picture of their yummy creation or scan the image onto your computer, upload it to your blog or website.

Next, you must state within your post, that you are sharing the picture as an entry into the Appliances online ‘Yummy food competition’ hosted on the “A boy with Aspergers” blog. (IMPORTANT: Make sure you hyper link the word “Appliances online” linking it to the following… http://www.appliancesonline.co.uk/cookers/cookers.aspx)

The very last step is to come back here and leave a comment leaving me the link to your published creation. This must be done in order to validate your entry!

The winner will be awarded with a £100 amazon voucher or the equivalent in dollars!
The yummy food competition will run from today (21st January 2012) in-till the 6th February 2012 with the winner being selected soon after.

So hurry…. You have two weeks to draw up a feast!

My Little princess Alice-Sara thinks this is the best competition mummy has ever hosted, only because she gets to draw you a few examples

Terms and conditions: Open to everyone with a blog/site. The only requirement is a link to our site with the child’s drawing, it can be a simple:
“Here’s (name of child) entry into the HYPERLINK “http://www.appliancesonline.co.uk/cookers/cookers.aspx” Appliances Online Cookers Yummy food competition. In order to validate an entry you must leave the link to the post/picture in the comment section of this post and do so by the given date (above). The winner must contact within 72 hours of being announced. Postal/contact details will then be passed onto the PR for Appliances online who will send out the prize which will be to the value of £100 or equivalent in dollars.