I just finished a lovely assignment for a couple who are celebrating their 20th anniversary, and the blushing bride her 50th year on earth in the same year. Her best friends decided to go in on a very personal gift: a painting from me! 

For several years running, I have had the privilege of designing and painting the set design for our kids' primary school musicals. When I first started doing it, the parents had traditionally come up to school in the evenings to do it for the kids. I quickly recognized that in order to be a self-sustaining system, I would have to get the kids involved in the process. Over the following years I gradually got the kids involved. At first I guided them under my sole direction, and then I started enlisting the help of other parents to come up to the school to guide the students while they learn how to lift heavy objects together, apply paint with roller brushes, measure & draw lines, and stay within the lines while painting the smaller details. Gradually, I helped shift the balance towards giving kids that feeling of accomplishment! This year, now my own youngest child is in Group 8, I'm proud to say that the kids did almost all of the work! I've also created a how-to manual for future generations to be able to continue in this new tradition.