The Girls were ill last week: a combination of the looming end-of-term, horrific colds and the kind of bugs that get you all. This precipitated 48 hours in their pjs, all of us trapped in the house like we were eight feet deep in snow. For the main part we existed on a diet of toast and television: all any of us, with our achey shivery bodies, were capable of. But there were pockets of time, after the Nurofen had kicked in, when they rallied and activities of some sort were required.
I recall seeing the most wonderful rainbow stained glass post by Aunt Peaches on the Elizabeth Banks site that was perfect for this sort of moment. I had all the craft items needed, not that there were many. And we spent nearly an hour, all three of us, engaged in quiet creativity side-by-side.
In a reasonably efficient moment I had the forethought to cut up all the cellophane I had- probably from a pound store, so not the best quality. I put some washing up liquid in a cup with water and gave them a paintbrush. I put our large hallway mirror down on a waterproof sheet in the sitting room , and showed them how to stick the pieces of cellophane to the mirror.
We enjoyed deciding what shape to make: an Easter Egg. I drew a loose shape with an OHP pen that I knew would wash off but would at least offer an outline to the project.
We enjoyed trying to stick everything down, taking it in turns.
We enjoyed making shapes and patterns.
We enjoyed mixing colours together.
We enjoyed the finished work.
Then we went back to being ill.
Which made it all the more upsetting when I looked later in the day to find that all the pieces had peeled off. Heartbreaking. But a lovely activity which really broke us out of our ill fug for a while.
That turned out really pretty!