watercolor painting with brushes found in nature

it was cold outside this weekend. both josh and i had a head cold that we were trying to fight off. and the kid's were craving some creative fun. so we bundled them up and then sent them outside to play (in a fenced in yard of course). 

some may say this is bad parenting. pawning them off to find their own fun in nature. but it proved to be beneficial. they actually had a ball (looking out the window i saw a lot of smiling and heard singing going on). they collected some evergreen branches and dried black-eyed susan buds. when they came inside they conjured the idea to paint with them. so we pulled out the watercolor paint and went to town. josh even joined in because the textures, the colors, and the girls' giggling were way too tempting.