If you haven’t yet visited Abbotsford’s new Arts and Culture Centre (called “The Reach”); you MUST go!

Even if you aren’t the ‘artsy-fartsy’ type, you will love the inspriation and interest surrounding the museum and galleries. 

… And of course, the Face of Abbotsford project, as created by yours truly!

September 22, 2008 marks the Official Grand opening of “The Reach” Gallery, Museum Abbotsford!

To celebrate the amazing people that have taken part in the Face of Abbotsford project, a small (rather large) get-together was arranged at the wall as an unveiling celebration!!  All the 30 people represented on the wall were given commemorative plaques to honour their participation, and everyone got to meet eachother, too!

As part of Grand Opening week at the CUltural Centre: Museum and Art Gallery; Desneige Memory Castings will be offering hands-on demonstrations all about Life Casting.

Come join us on Tuesday, September 23rd from 6:00 to 9:00.  All ages and experiences welcome. Just drop in and see where you can lend a hand (possibly even literally!).

We will be discussing the history of lifecasting, different forms and uses of this facsinating art form, materials and processes, and more!  We will also take an intensive look at “The Face of Abbotsford” castings that are on display in the Museum and learn about the specifics behind face casting. And of course, we’ll play with some casting materials and have a great time!

All ages are welcome, so please do join us!

Abbotsford’s brand new Cultural Centre: Museum and Art Gallery is about to be unveiled to the public, and we want YOU there!

Monday, September 22nd, and the whole week that follows, will celebrate the birth of this fantastic new space.

Come one and come all!  Doors are open to the public, free of charge for all activites.  The Cultural Centre is located on Trethewey between the Clearbrook Library and Matsqui Centennial Auditorium.

Some highlights of the centre are:

 - 20,000 square feet of cultural space including a public art gallery, a museum currently displaying themes about the community, classrooms for studios and training and a wonderful archives collection.

- Artwork currently on display by Desneige Memory Castings:  The Faces of Abbotsford!  Featuring face castings of 30 promient Abbotsford residents

- Entertainment and activities planned throughout the week including daily hands-on workshops, music, stage presentations and more.

We’ve all seen standard photos of babies growing up where the child keeps getting photographed in the same pose on the same background every few months. While this is a great way to document your child’s growth, there is also another fun way to do so…

Before your child is born, purchase an outfit that you really like that is a size 12 months, 18 months or even bigger.

When baby arrives, take a photo of him wearing this giant outfit (of course he’ll look adorable swimming in all that fabric. Every month take another photo of him wearing the outfit, and again, and again and again until a year or two down the line when he actually FITS it!

Frame him growing into his outfit into a multi-slotted frame so everyone can see how quickly he’s grown.

For added fun, once baby has outgrown the outfit, you can still take photos of him holding the outfit in front of himself every year or two, right into adulthood! You’ll love the keepsake that the actual outfit becomes, and the photos will be just darling!

Desneige Memory Castings will be doing castings LIVE this weekend at two different shows!

If you’ve been wanting to make an appointment to have your castings made, but haven’t got around to it, this is a great opportunity to come out and do it on the spot, without pre-booking!

Saturday, September 13th:  Go Baby Expo!

11:00 - 4:00, Saturday September 13th

Cloverdale Agriplex (off 176th Street)

Booth# 122

Sunday, September 14th: West Coast Moms Toddler and Baby Fair

11:00 - 3:00, Sunday September 14th

Hertiage Hall, 3102 Main Street, Vancouver

At either show, please let you know as soon as you arrive that you would like to have your castings done.  Due to the nature of the shows, we will serve you on a first come, first served basis but may need to put you on a wait list if it is a particularly busy time at the table.  Both shows provide lots of fun stuff to do should you need to wait a few minutes to have your child cast.

Have you noticed just how quick you’re little one grows?  A wonderful at-home project will help you capture that growth in a very real way.

A Hand-Print Flip Book is like those fun mini cartoon books that you flip through and watch the little guy wave or walk around, except in your book, you’re watching your child grow and evolve!

Creating a Hand-Print Flip Book is easy, fun and a great keepsake.  It costs almost nothing and will create great memories.

1)      With a soft sponge, apply a generous coating of non-toxic acrylic paint to the palm-side of your child’s hand.  This will keep you from using too much paint.

2)     Gently press his painted hand down onto a piece of good quality cardstock or scrap booking paper. Wait 10 seconds or so, then carefully pull his hand straight off the paper.

*** If you are trying to do this with an infant, you know they simply aren’t going to lay their hand flat on the paper for you. Instead, wrap the paper around a dowel, thick marker, or whatever else you think he’ll grab. This is also easiest done with two adults to one child***

3)      If the print didn’t work out very well, then try it again, adjusting the amount of paint you apply to get it just right.

4)      Acrylic paint will wash off your child’s hand and your sponge with soapy water.

5)      Write the child’s name, age and today’s date on the back of the print. 

6)   Repeat this process every single month for children under 1 year old; every three months from 1-2 years; and every 6 months after 3 years old.  Spice up your book by using a different paint colour and paper for each impression.

7)  Once you have a few prints, assemble them into a book with your favorite office supply, either a “brad” paper clip, weaving ribbon through a series of holes at the top of the page, or any other binding method.

Because you’ll undoubtedly forget to do this, mark the dates on your calendar right away, then actually DO IT when the time comes.

And keep in mind-you can do this activity with feet, too!