A splodge of paint

Ethan's talents as a painter are limited, being 10 and a half months and all, but that doesn't matter to me - I'm already displaying his works of art and other bits and pieces accumulated from his days at nursery.

I have a pin board in the dining room, next to our welsh dresser, and it's here I display anything and everything that makes me smile. I have Ethan's day sheet from his first day at nursery, I have some of my favourite photos, a few concert tickets, thank you cards and of course, Ethan's masterpieces.

I love that at nursery, regardless of age, the children get to have some creative play. Be it sitting in flour, making pizza rolls or putting their fingers to paper and making a picture for Mummy to take home, Ethan has had so many new experiences.

His first experience with paint was when he was just eight days old and we took some prints of his tiny feet. The finished canvas now hangs on the wall in his room as a reminder of how small he once was. His second was when we took him to Clay and Play and he painted a piece of pottery for us (well, we helped a bit!).

On Friday, his nursery is having a special afternoon tea and craft session for Mother's Day which I am really looking forward to. I've seen a sneak peak of some homemade cards in progress and I can't wait to see Ethan getting a bit messy with paint to make me something I'll no doubt treasure forever, no matter what it is he paints for me.

I loved drawing from an early age and went on to do art GSCE and A-Level but haven't touched a paint brush, aside from painting a few walls in the house, for a long time. It's something I'd like to encourage in Ethan and from the daffodils growing in our back garden this Spring to to the changing colour of the leaves on the trees in Autumn, I'm sure there'll be plenty of inspiration around us.

Here's Ethan's leaf painting, just one of the creative things he's made and I know proudly display:

I'm proud to be a Center Parcs Family Blogger and their latest blog challenge is to show off your painting skills. To be in with the chance of joining the blogging club, all you need to do this month is share a painting you and your children have made that's been inspired by the beauty of nature. Find out more here on how you can get involved.