KidsHaus

The Small Object

The Small Object has got a few new clothespin people that are absolutely darling -- and I don't often use that word. There's something about the Cherry Dress that struck a chord. It reminded me of summers as a child when my mom would hang a pair of cherries over my ears pretending they were earrings...which reminds me that I haven't shared this tradition to my daughters' yet!

While on the subject...I was quite honored to read that Sarah Neuberger from The Small Object took my post about Ms. Bean's toothpick & marshmallow sculpture and revised it into a more permanent sculpture. Yes, I'm sorry to report that Ms. Bean's sculpture had slowly...slowly collapsed until I secretly disposed of it. Sarah used highly toxic epoxy (not recommended for children) instead of marshmallows but readers had suggested using blue poster putty that would be a kid-friendly solution and should be more durable than marshmallows. I think we're going to give it a try. By the way, if you've never read The Small Object's Steno Pad -- it's become one of my new favorite reads. Loads of inspiration and amusement.

Concentration Game

Remember the craft swap I signed up for (see the flag banners)? I wanted to share Jana's craft idea since I'm compelled to make it a summer project for Ms. Bean. Jana's son loves to steal her camera and photograph everything, including posed stuffed animals -- remember doing that as a kid? So she put those photos to good use and made a concentration game out of them. Jana glued Karsten's photos onto a thin cardboard stock and voila...a fantastic, homemade game that would add a sense of pride. To finish it off, she also made that pretty little bag to stash all of the pieces in.

DIY: Flag Banners

I got an email from Jana about an organized craft swap for kids last month. So, without hesitation, I signed Ms. Bean up -- knowing that I would need to motivate and keep her on task (no problem!). We were assigned 2 girls ages 9 & 11...and that's when I froze. What does a 9 & 11 year old like? In then end, I recalled being that age and loving the freedom to decorate my own room. With such inspirations as Miko Design, I decided to make flag banners and Ms. Bean instantly agreed; however, it was hard to convince her that we had to send it to another little girl. So, I gathered whatever scraps of paper I could find around the house, found a ball of twine and started cutting and gluing triangles of paper onto our string. It was a fun project that we managed to throw together while Clara took her afternoon nap. Ms. Bean and I had an hour to ourselves where we got to be creative together.

Crea Baby Shoes DIY Kit

Crea Shoes DIY Kit is a concept that allows you the creative outlet to create a pair of baby shoes (0-3 months) without the learning curve. The kit is made in Italy and comes with pre-cut shapes, stitching and embroidery tutorials and suggestions on how to personalize your own baby shoes. These would be a fun baby gift to put together yourself and you can take (most of) the credit. I'm particularly fond of those little pom poms!

Project: Toothpick Sculpture

Ms. Bean brought this fantastic toothpick and marshmallow sculpture home from school a couple of weeks ago and I just loved it's organic shape. It's a fun and easy project that can be done at home with a bag of marshmallows and a box of toothpicks. Any shape, size or structure is aloud -- creativity at it's best! Unfortunately, because of it's edible nature, the one pictured to the right was nibbled on until it's structural integrity broke down (we had to bid farewell to it). So, the one on the left was a replacement model that we made at home. Obviously, there should be an age requirement due to the sharp toothpicks  -- so I will defer to you to make the call as to whether it's age appropriate for your child. Instructions are simple: connect the toothpicks to the marshmallows to build the structure of your child's imagination.

DIY: T-shirt to Pillow

I'm happy to say that Jana has found the time to pull together another craft project for KidsHaus. She'll explain, through her tutorial, how she re-purposed one of her son's favorite Oilily t-shirts into a pillow. Unfortunately, I'm all thumbs with my sewing machine, so I'll have to bribe Jana into transforming one of our favorite dresses or tees. I hope you enjoy!

Step 1: Find a favorite or nostalgic t-shirt, dress or fabric
Step 2: Find a pillow insert. You can find these at your local craft or fabric store
Step 3: Iron everything before beginning to sew
Step 4: Cut the shirt to fit the pillow's dimensions
Step 5: For a contrasting pattern (i chose yellow polka dots), cut fabric to size and pin it together
Step 6: Sew fabric together and press seams open
Step 7: Zigzag stitch every seam
Step 8: Measure everything
Step 9: Measure everything (again!)
Step 10: After 3 sides are sewn, clip the corners
Step 11: Sew the open side together by hand
Voila! you're keepsake pillow is complete! For complete instructions and photos, read here...

 

Wool Felt Kits

I'm always trying to come up with new activities and crafts to keep Ms. Bean engaged. That, on top of her love for tiny animals, would make the tiny chicks or squirrel woolen felt kits an ideal way to fill an afternoon.

DIY: Chart it!

Over the last couple of years, we've created several crazy charts to inspire Ms. Bean to accomplish various things...potty training, teeth brushing or sleeping in her own bed. You name it and we have probably charted it! And it works! So when I saw my friend Jana's chart that she illustrated for her daughter, I loved it! A picture to inspire the task is a great idea and something that you could do together. When Britta has accumulated 20 stickers or stamps, she gets to choose a reward. (Jana's got some great crafty projects and I'm trying to convince her to share a few of them with KidsHaus someday).

Valentine Projects

With only 9 days left until Valentine's Day, I need to come up with a good craft project to keep Ms. Bean busy and perhaps even find a fun way to do invitations this year. So, naturally, I first thought of Martha. I loved these crayon blocks because we've got a zillion crayons and they would make great gifts for Ms. Bean to hand out to her little friends. I don't think the kids would miss the candy either. With Ms. Bean's lollipop addiction, these lollipop holders and Valentine's cards would make a great project and I know she'd be very pleased to hand these out.

DIY: Little Book

I was at the bookstore this weekend and found this nicely done craft magazine "101 Hip, Handmade Gifts" from the editors of Creating Keepsakes. The first several pages of the magazine were geared toward fun crafts that you could make for or with kids. This mini board book will be the perfect project to do with Ms. Bean during winter break (she is unstoppable when it comes to drawing and making her own books of paper and staples). You can purchase blank, pre-made mini board books from Creative Imaginations. All you have to do is come up with the artwork. Step 1. Create your own cover and inside images. Step 2. Cut to size. Paint boardbook edges with acrylic paint to match your cover. Step 3. Use adhesive to secure the cover and the pages to the book. (Easy!)

Jamie Irene DIY

Are you one of those knitting fanatics? I aspire to be one of those talented 'knitters' someday. My sister-in-law taught herself to knit in a month and now she's unstoppable -- churning out gorgeous sweaters, dresses and socks for my girls. Anyhow...the reason why I ask the question is because Seattle artisan, Jamie Irene, has created a line of nifty DIY knitting kits for adorable children's pillows and backpacks that would be fun to craft in time for the holidays. All necessary yarn, buttons, zipper, accessories, patterns, pillow inserts (if pillow kit), and assembly directions are included.  Check out my previous post about Jamie's fabulous line of already assembled, felted wool pillows and backpacks.

Operation Organization

The time has come for me to take action and organize my girls' play room. Every time I step into that room, I'm so subconsciously overwhelmed by it's frenzied appearance that I usually have to step away and close the door in denial. Ms. Bean goes back to school in 2 weeks which will allow me a little extra time to take on a project. Their play room is what we call the "sun room" because it sits off Ms. Bean's bedroom and it's the sunniest, and warmest, room in the house. It's a long & narrow room, so a tricky space to design; however, not impossible.

Here are my goals:

1. Get rid of the clutter! Less is more!
2. More utilitarian cubbies to organize books, baskets with art supplies, etc.
3. Make the current reading area more useful and inviting
4. Creative way to display the girls' artwork
5. Keep costs to a minimum
6. Paint the room (it's the same, boring beige color from when we purchased the house)

So, with these goals in mind, it's time for me to begin my mission in organizing this space to maximize it's potential. I will continue to keep a journal of my process...wish me luck!