family beads

As Lucy gets older I am having so much fun making things that bring her joy! She loves family, they are like super heros for her so I thought it would be fun to create some whimsical beads with family members on them that could be turned to necklaces for play.

Wood beads are really fun especially for kids projects because you can use all kinds of supplies to transform them! 

I wanted my beads to have a whimsical and illustrative look so I used a black micron pen (they are permanent) and started by drawing really simple little portraits.

Next, I used watercolors to add color. The cool part of using watercolors with wood is that the wood soaks it up and the colors are more translucent which for me is a fun alternative to my typical thick layers of acrylic paint.

I created all kinds of family members (I still have more to make).

Then I added the bead to twine to create some simple necklaces

Needless to say they are a big HIT- lots of playing, lots of stories and lots of conversations have come from these little wooden beads!