Punch Art Fun 1 - Look in the Book - pages 33 & 34

Hey there to you on another weekend day. Unusual this, very unusual, but that's the Christmas season for ya.

Today I wanted to squish the fruit pages in. Squish? Fruit? Get it?

Okay, we're looking at pages 33 and 34 today. They started with the strawberries and moved on from there. What else can I make? That's the challenge with punches, what can I make?

A lot, people, a lot. Turns out you can make a lot.

Balloons were used to make the pineapple and the strawberry. And circles for grapes. You've got to have a high level of commitment to make grapes. They're fiddly, for sure.

And the watermelon is made from circles too. Bigger ones this time. Just cut in half and layered. I like the simplest ideas the best and the watermelon is one of them.

Ah, cherries from horse legs. Quite a weird sentence that when you think about it.

You know, we made some cherries in a class once and a lady asked if she could keep the top of the horse for another project at home. Sure, I said, it's yours to keep. It's amazing what people keep. And what they chuck out. I'm one of the chuck out ones. I tend to chuck over keep. Which type are you?

Once again you need a high level of commitment to make the cherries, but they're worth it. 

More fruit made from circles.

Honestly, couldn't do punch art without circles. Really, I couldn't.

It's not in a photo here, but Claire's note to me is completely true. If you've got your book open, it's the little story in the brown box on page 33. I remember her and her sweet smiley face. Makes me miss classroom teaching. David's story on page 34 is completely true too. I still remember him saying to me and how I laughed at his antics. They made me laugh often.

Have I told you the story of Elias and Uranus?

It was late in the day (I was tired) and we were playing a game before school finished. The kids were in teams and had to write kids' names for each letter of the alphabet. They got points if no other team had the name. Elias was the designated reader for his team, so he was standing at the blackboard reading out the names. I was sitting at my desk, which was also at the front, but off to the side. He was almost done and then he got to U.

"Uranus"

"What?" I turned to him and said with a surprised laugh, "Uranus?" I looked at him. I looked at the class. And I completely lost it. Like, completely.

I had tears rolling down my face.

I was doubled over.  

I couldn't speak.

I tried to pull it together.

Cue more laughter and tears. 

A planet? Really? You would name your kid after a planet? That's all I was thinking.

Elias was really studious and it was really smart of him to think of it, but it was funny. The poor kid. I didn't mean to lose it, but you know sometimes you just can't help it. Of course the kids thought it was hilarious that Mrs Clark couldn't contain herself. And she couldn't. She tried.

Oh, so funny. Still makes me laugh.

Of course over the next few days the kids said "Uranus" to me to try to get me to laugh all over again. It didn't work because the moment had passed, but I still chuckled.

Okay, back to the fruit.

My favourite is the strawberry. It's a favourite to eat now that we're talking about it too.

That's a momiji leaf at the top there. What a great one that is. And the Sakura-A punch is the strawberry itself too. A great one that as well.

Strawberries on a swirl...

Strawberries on tags...

Strawberries in a basket...told you they're my favourite.

I didn't make the basket of fruit. Rochelle, my graphic artist, took all the fruit pics and dropped them into the basket to fill it up. Nice one.

And there's Carl hidden behind it too. Very cute.

Ah, some fun sandwiches.

These are quite easy. They're just squares cut in half with bits sticking out of them. I chose cheese (more triangles), tomato (circles) and lettuce (dog paws with claws trimmed).

And just at the bottom there you can see Vegemite on white bread. Now, I don't eat much white bread, but when I do, I want Vegemite on it.

For those of you that don't know, the key to Vegemite (well, for me) is to not be too heavy handed with it and make sure you've got a decent amount of butter on the bread. No skimpy servings allowed. It's the only way to have it. I never put enough Vegemite on for Andrew, so he's one who likes a bit more tang. Or eyebrow wiggle, as I like to call it. You know when you have some sour juice? Yep, it's a bit like that.

Vegemite, it's an Australian icon. And this Australian loves it.

And this Australian also craved it for weeks when she came home from an overseas trip even though she took it with her on the overseas trip. Must've needed the vitamin B.

Thought I'd finish with this one today. You've seen it before, but I couldn't resist posting it again because of all the fruit and (Vegemite) sandwiches. 

Wouldn't mind going on a picnic this summer. Might get to if all the rain stops. We'll see! 

Okay, you have a great rest of the weekend, won't you? 

Bye now, 

:o)