Decoupage – Three Personalities

My three youngest may be close in age but they are so different in personality. The other day we decided to do some crafting. After a trip to Hobby Craft with Star we had picked up some little figures, a cat, a chameleon and a penguin and some decoupage paper. I’m pretty sure there are cheaper ways to have a go at decoupage but for now they were given a little treat (oh my poor purse!)

I set up the table with an old table cloth (Frozen, left over from party season) a pot of glue and the figures and paper.

First in was the Little Man. He was jumping up the table excitedly and couldn’t wait for instructions as the glue was slapped everywhere. I told him repeatedly to rip the decoupage paper into tiny pieces but he just slapped it on his chameleon in chunks. When he was half way through he’d decided he’d had enough and went back to play with his lego, and train set, and garage, and the wii…he has the attention span of a newt. I don’t want to start labelling him just yet but he really strikes me as a child with ADHD. I still have hope that it’s a phase he will grow out of. He’s four years old, the world is an exciting place and there are just not enough hours in the day to play with everything he wants to. He does however go to bed, and sleep. Ok, it took him nearly four years to start sleeping through the night, but he does now. And all of my children have taken a long time to sleep through so I think that’s just a family trait. So, his attention span is short and he spends his day like a little whirlwind. He can’t wait for anything and will ask repeatedly. For instance, if he wants a drink he will keep on asking for it even while you are making it for him. Whenever we go out he is off, rushing ahead. We let him go mostly, only restraining him if we are somewhere unfamiliar, or crowded, or near a busy road. He is pretty good with roads though, he won’t cross until we have caught up with him. Also, he likes to keep us in sight, so if he’s run off a bit too far he’ll run back again. He does worry me sometimes.

The girls arrived at the table at the same time. They are very close as sisters and do most things together.

This was all Star’s idea so she was excited to get to work. She listened to my instructions and worked very carefully. Then about half way through she started to get bored. I did manage to keep her at the table until she’d finished though.
Star finds it difficult to do anything that she has not decided to do herself. It’s not that she has a short attention span, she can spend hours doing what she wants, it’s only if she’s asked to do something else that the problems begin. You can see her fidgeting, itching to get back to something she wants to do. Generally this is her pc or her DS. As I said, she is very close to her sister but is also very bossy and Boo has to do as she is told. Lately Boo has started to rebel in which case Star gives in very quickly, but soon gets her own way anyway. Star doesn’t have any friends, particularly since she hasn’t been to school for so long, so Boo is her only friend as well as her sister. Mostly they get on well, but they do have their arguments too. I love how close they are though. I was the only girl in my family, having three brothers, and I always longed for a sister. I’m so happy that my girls are so good together. The other night I went to check on them before going to bed and they were both in the same bed. I woke Star to go back to her own bed and she informed me that they were having a sleepover….they share a bedroom!

The Last one to leave the table was Boo.

I think this photo sums Boo up perfectly. She gives everything her full attention. She tries so hard in everything that she does. She’s not the brightest spark but she always gets top marks for giving her all and doing the best she can. I told her what to do and she followed the decoupage instructions carefully. Each piece of paper was torn up small and glued on seperately. She spent ages covering her figure until there were no gaps at all. She stayed and finished her work long after the other two had gone. Boo is a very caring and gentle person. She was telling Star today that when she came back to school she would save her a seat in the dining room so they could eat together. Boo has lots of friends at school and is always there to help anyone. Boo does get frustrated sometimes, especially when she is being bossed about by Star, then she runs to her room to sulk. She just loves it when Star sucks up to her and agrees to what she wants.

So there in a nutshell are my three little different personalities. Three children that couldn’t be more different, but all get on well. These three are going to look after each other in years to come.

In the meantime I have these three little decoupage ‘ornaments’ adorning my bookcase.