VIEWFINDER: Paint Me A Story at Bellevue Art & Frame

Stories get the paints flowing at .

Or is it the other way around?

Gretchen Crossley, the store's children's art teacher and the coordinator of the store's "Kidspace," said that story time was hit or miss. So, she broke out the reason that the children know her best.

The paints. Now there was a hit.

is featured at the store at 10 a.m. Wednesdays. Crossley reads a selection from the store's inventory of children's books, while the children let their brushes and minds run free, as they doodle and draw with paint.

The combination works wonders for some kids who might not sit still for a story.

"There's something therapeutic about painting with a brush," she said. "They'll sit still and just draw circles and they'll listen to the stories."

While the painting can be a messy affair, the tempera paint used is easily washed off fingers with a baby wipe. And so far, this hasn't affected the store's inventory of children's books, Crossley said.

"I haven't lost a book yet," she said.

Viewfinder is a new weekly feature on Bellevue Patch. We will feature recent events or photos of Bellevue in a gallery each week. If you know of an event that might be a good fit for Viewfinder -- or if you have a gallery of photos that you'd like to feature on Bellevue Patch -- write to me at venice.buhain@patch.com.