A Good Laugh is Sunshine in a House--A Lesson in Do It Yourself

Q'Art for the Soul

I love working with kids creating art. They're fearless, love bright colors and ignore imperfections.

Watch kids when they create.

They don't think about getting into a state of flow--they just naturally do it when engaged in creative activities. For those few short minutes, they concentrate as their heart rate and breathing become slow and regular. The outside world disappears as they focus on playing. And they love what they create.

We can learn from these pure and innocent souls. A few short minutes of mind rest is all we need to retreat and renew our spirit and soul.

You can create a few minutes to renew your spirit where ever you are just by having a black pen, a few colored pencils and some paper. These spirit survival supplies don't take up much room and they travel well. You can create your own Q'Art sitting by the pool or in the garden in the summer time, or while traveling on a business trip or taking a break at work.

A Lesson in Do It Yourself

This Quote Art (Q'Art) --'A good laugh is sunshine in a house'-- was created while I was working with a classroom of third graders to create and decorate their own poetry. It is easy and fun to dress up quotes to make your own Q'Art. Be careful--it's addictive!

1.  Develop a template. Use 'A good laugh is sunshine in a house' format if you wish--with a place for your quote in the middle and separate squares around to individually decorate. If you are a perfectionist, use a ruler; If you can live with imperfection, don't. Once you have a format you like, make copies of your template to take with you to play with.

2. Collect Quotes.   You don't need to use calligraphy to create the quote. Just play with the letters. If you don't like what you create you can toss it.

3.  Choose a Motif to Decorate the Border. I chose to use geometric shapes with a repeating pattern. Use black pen to create the pattern in each square.

4. Color and Embellish. Use the color pencils to color in your design. Embellish with gold or silver pen.

Rest Your Brain and Have Fun

Now don't just sit there---go play. You know you want to do it! You probably have some felt pens, black ink pens and paper at your fingertips. Go doodle and have fun NOW!