Downright Disappointed!

"No!" "I don't want to." "Can't we do something else?" That's just a handful of answers I get upon asking if my boys to color or paint. My kids are not into arts and crafts at all. It's sports, cars, parks or nothing. Getting them to do something crafty is a big challenge. But when I asked, "wanna color on fabric?" Their eyes lit up with joy and excitement. Correction: It was really just my oldest whose eyes almost popped out of his head at the mere mention of breaking the house rules of coloring only on paper or the "black wall." The youngest just copied whatever his big brother was doing (a favorite pass time of his.)

Months ago, Merrilee of Mer Mag shared her new obsession of fabric markers. Before even giving the markers a try, I was hooked. Look at those lovely crisp lines Merrilee got. And the vivid yellow makes my heart skip a beat. The possibilities would be so endless. I found myself thinking about all the wonderful things that could be done with a small 8 pack of colors. The joy was almost too much to contain and I must admit, it did keep me up late a few nights tossing and turning in bed. I thought it would be super cute to have my son draw a self-portrait and write his name on his pillowcase as a keepsake. He loved the idea. (Sidenote, but a VERY important one: because I'm "thrifty" I scrimped and got the new Crayola Fabric Markers.)

Big mistake! Imagine my disappointment when the colors bled as my sweet boy tried drawing balls, self-portraits and more. In all fairness, I must admit, we still had fun coloring on the pillowcase and drawing silly things, but I can't help but be a little sad. There was so much potential. Those Crayola markers are being returned - pronto! And I am determined as ever to lay down the bucks for a quality product. This project must be tried again (hopefully with a far greater return). Maybe I should try the markers Merrilee used. Have you tried any of the new fabric markers out there? Any recommends? Am I jumping the gun with my smear campaign of the fine Crayola brand? Maybe I did something wrong? Whatever the case, this girl needs help. xo