The Little Artist

I have a confession to make. I can't get rid of any of the artwork, Delaney brings home from school. Some days, she brings home a piece of paper with one crayon mark and I still save it. She seems so proud of it, so I can't bear the thought of throwing it away. So, I decided to share some of her treasures here since I have finally reached the conclusion I can't save all of them forever.

Here's a train according to Delaney. The piece of paper actually says it a tractor pattern but I guess looking at it, it could pass for either.

And this beautiful piece of artwork, well it's just Popsicle sticks glued to a piece of brown construction paper but I still remember how proud of it Delaney was when she brought it home from school.

And well these are just a small sample of the letter sheets Delaney brings home from class each week after she learns a new letter. The G is decorated with glitter and the B is decorated with buttons and so on. How can I bare to part with something that is so cute!

And this beauty is a homemade maraca. It's filled with rice and sounds lovely when you shake it.

And here's a Popsicle stick picture frame decorated with Halloween stickers. Maybe I should actually put a picture in it and leave it on display...

And based on the bible verse "The Lord is my Shepard," I'm assuming this is a black sheep with cotton balls glued on it to simulate wool. Anyways, Delaney told me it was cow. I guess it could be either one...

And how cute is this little "muddy" pig???





And I just love this little barn decorated with cowboy stickers. There is no way I'd ever get rid of this! And if you look closely you can see her greasy hand prints in the lower left corner!




And we have about 80 paintings like these but I still can't manage to part with any of the old ones when she brings a new one home.

And this paper plate wreath, just precious.

And this is her latest creation. It's a turkey she made for Thanksgiving and the feathers are her little hand prints. Delaney's teacher even had them laminated, so that the kids can use them as place mats. Delaney is so proud of her turkey and wants to take him to Southern California with us so that she can eat her Thanksgiving dinner off of him!

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I store all these treasures in a shopping bag after they have been displayed on the fridge for a few days.
I told Chris after school gets out I'll go through the bag and only keep the very best pieces. In the mean time, I'll keep collecting them like a pack rat. I read about a mom who took pictures of all her kids art work and put them on a cd before she actually got rid of them so maybe I'll do that. Who knows, I probably still won't be able to get rid of any of them when the time comes!



PS Sorry about the crappy quality pictures and all the shadows. It's not easy taking pictures of such masterpieces!