I pinned it, I made it.

7.09.2011

I've been doing a lot of pinning lately. It is a great place to find inspiration. One day I came across a pin this pin



so I decided I needed to do something with all my pinspiration. We have done a few projects but this one is my favorite.




It is the Deluxe Kid Wash from Family Fun Magazine and was very easy to make. Shopping for all the pvc parts took the most time. I cut all the pieces using a jigsaw but a scroll saw would work great. If you had more time and nice workbench with a clamp the kids could eaisly cut some of the pieces with a hacksaw. The girls used a Friskars hand drill to drill all the holes and they had no trouble.









Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

Teacher Gifts 2011

6.03.2011

So this is a bit of a recycled idea but it's a favorite with the teachers and not a repeat for any of this years teachers. This was the original gift. This year I chose to use fabric in the school colors. I asked the girls to draw pictures with the school mascot a lion (or loin as Maddie wrote). I used printable fabric for the artwork. I had the girls look at some pillows for inspiration and they designed the pillows from there. It was fun to have them lay out the fabric and do some of the sewing. Maddie enjoyed the sewing a bit more than Anya. I would have had them do more but I put off getting this done until this week and most of the sewing happened after bedtime.






The quilts were for the art and music teachers. The girls love their specials teachers and their art teacher is retiring so we wanted to do something special for her. I didn't use a pattern, just pieced together the scraps from the pillow and stitched. It's been so long since I have done any sewing and it felt so nice to get back to the machine...



and you know it feels nice to back to this space.

Teacher Gifts...

6.25.2009

I like for the girls to either pick out the gifts for their teachers or do part of the making. For christmas the girls drew snowmen on fabric and I sewed them into ornaments. Last year Annie drew a picture on fabric and I turned it into a pillow. Maddie is at that stage when her drawing couldn't be any cuter and that's pretty much what she did all year at preschool. Her box was always full of the most amazing drawings. This was our third year with these teachers so we know them well and I wanted to give them something they could keep. This is what we came up with.
Painted flower pots that Maddie drew special pictures on. Annie also made a big pot for her teacher and a few smaller pots for her music and art teacher. I forgot to take picutres of these.



Maddie picked a different scene for each teacher and wrote the teachers name, her name and the year on each pot.







We bought regular clay pots and painted them with acrylic paint. Maddie opted for stripes and I held back (mostly) and let her do the painting. After the paint dried she used sharpie markers to draw her pictures. I finished it all off with a spray coat of an acrylic varnish. We had made a trip to garden center and I let Maddie pick out all the flowers, a lovely mix a orange, purple, red and pink. She potted them all up and that was it. Not a bad little gift and I think we did all 5 pots for about $25.00. The hardest part is trying to find a good organic potting soil without fertilizer already mixed in.



Okay back to be bed for me. We've all been sick around here for a 5 days.

ATC KIds Swap

3.15.2009

We recently signed up to do the ATC Kids Swap. You can read about it here. The girls each created 5 2.5" x 3.5" pieces of art and mailed them off and then received five pieces of art in return. This was such a great little project. Working at such a small scale seemed to really stir the girls creativity. The best part was getting the other kids cards in the mail.

We talked about how these could be a series and Annie created the series Elephants Adventures. Here are four of her pieces. I really wish we got to keep them. I am totally in love with these.



1. Elephants Adventures: New York, 2. Elephants Adventures: Savannah, 3. Elephants Adventures: India, 4. Elephants Adventures: Great Wall of China


Maddie worked quite hard on hers, sometimes thinking of a title and then painting and sometimes naming them after. Her development in painting and drawing has really grown the past few months. As much as I love the bubble head person and scribbles of the toddler drawing I am so excited to see a bit more representation in her art. The little glimpses I get of her imagination and creativity always warm my heart.



We used watercolor pencils for these and I think they are my new favorite art material. We use watercolors often around here and they are great but the pencils give the girls so much more control and lead to much less frustration.
Yesterday Annie asked what our next swap would be. I'm glad the girls are enjoying these little projects as much as I am.

A shopping we will go and a download.....

1.14.2009

I have been wanting to make a little shopping list for the girls for some time. Something they could take with when we go to the store so they have something to do. Yesterday at Target I found the perfect little magnetic dry-erase boards in the $1 section and the idea finally came together.

I drew up a little list of basics that we always shop for. Printed it out onto sticker paper and attached to a magnet sheet. I tried to print right onto the magnet sheet but it wouldn't go through my printer. I then cut them all out and trimmed them down-they seemed to stick better this way. Maddie went right to making a list and setting up a nice little grocery store in the kitchen. I thought that you all might enjoy a copy so I made a little download for you. Let me know if you give it a try.




Here is a bit of the fun we had. I love that they can use the dry-erase to write down how many of each item.





She's making a list



Setting up shop



Checking Out

kidmade news....

6.11.2008

A "green fish" submitted by the Dancing Robot family.

The Blowin' in the Wind Gallery is up. Such amazing work. Don't forget to check out the June kidmade challenge-Take Only Pictures, Make Only Art. There is a ton of inspiring links and this one is perfect for a lazy day at the beach or stroll through the park.

We're off to the zoo. I love summer.

Just a little post....

6.06.2008

Summer is officially here. School was out on Wednesday, the thermometer is registering in the high 80's and it's muggy. Summer in Chicago. This year we bought pool passes so I am hoping to put them to good use. The plan is to get all our "work" done before noon and then head out for some water fun. We don't have much else planned, maybe a vacation bible school and swim lessons at the end of the summer. I may be regretting this with the girls already driving each other crazy and Maddie more often than not in tears.
I have extended the deadline until next monday for this months kidmade challenge so if your looking for a little something to do with the kids you can check it out.
I haven't been doing a ton of sewing lately but a few projects have made it off the machine. The pillow in the picture was a gift for Annie's teacher. I had her draw a picture and then printed it on to fabric using this product and then added the strips. I am quite pleased with the way it turned out. It only took about 3 hours from start to finish, I think it takes me longer to pick the fabric. I know I saw a pillow like this last year around this time and filed it away for future use. Sorry I can't remember where. It was such an easy and satifsying project I think I may need to make a few more for our house. The family room could use a bit of color. I also love this one made by Jen.
So what do you all have planned for the long summer ahead?

Another handmade gift.

5.13.2008

This is from a bit back, Maddie's birthday to be exact. After reading The Creative Family I decided that it would be nice to make some handmade gifts for each other. I had asked Maddie what she would like me to make and she said a little blankie for one of her bears. Nice and easy. I explained to Annie what Maddie had asked for and then mentioned that I thought it would be nice if she made a gift. Her original plan was a whistle, I am quite happy she changed her mind because I had no idea how to make a whistle and a google search of how left me a bit scared that she would really want to make a working whistle, ummm, no easy task. I think a little mommy prodding led her to decide to make a little sleep set to go along with the blanket. She sat for hours working on all her little gifts. There was a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. A sink and a pillow and a basket full of little books. She had to have made 15 little books no bigger than a stamp. Each with pictures and bits of writing. I picked up a little box from Michaels and painted it then bought a bunch of stick on jewels that Maddie could use to decorate, the girl loves jewels. Every thing was tucked neatly inside and wrapped. I stole the idea of the little box from Mama Urchin. This was perfect for Maddie, she is a collector kinda kid with little boxes full of treasures that she hides away- "oh mommy, this will be perfect for my ballection" and off she goes.



The bear with blankie and toothpaste.



Some of the little books.



You can never have too many jewels.



Opening up.

Maddie loved the gift and plays with it all the time. Annie was so darned excited to share her gift with Maddie, I thought the girl would burst. There was nothing crazy or expensive in her gifts, just the few things she asked for (a fairy barbie included) and lots love. Do ya think it will be this easy when she turns 14?

Self-Portraits and a new challenge

5.03.2008

The kidmade self-portrait gallery is up and I have posted the May challenge. I was so excited to recieve all the submissions for the first challenge. As it got closer and closer to the end of the month I had that same feeling you get 5 minutes after a party starts and no one has shown up yet. You know that, oh, maybe no one is going to come feeling. Thank you all for playing along it was really very inspiring. I loved seeing the different ways all the kids expressed themselves.
I have to admit that our little self-portrait session did not go over so well. I waited until the last minute, bought canvases and asked the girls if they wanted to paint a self-portrait. Maddie just wanted to paint and Annie was much too overwhelmed and went into perfectionist mode. In the end they both were happy with their work and that's all that matters. I think we will start much earlier on this months challenge.

I also wanted to share a book I picked up recently at the library. Doing Art Together by Muriel Silberstein-Storfer. Well worth checking out. Lots of great info on how children develop through process based art and how to talk to your children about their art.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend. And the picture is just a bit of fun from the zoo a few weeks ago.

Cooking with Maddie

4.22.2008

My lovely day on Sunday also included a stop at a garage sale in route to the library. I always start with a tentative walk through, eyeing everything a bit before I really start digging around. Nothing was tagged at this one so I picked up a few items and heard them say "Fill a box for $5.00". I didn't fill a box but picked up a great bunch of stuff including a vintage apron, some cookbooks and a potato mill. I spied the little cart you see above and asked how much- $3.00. I didn't really need the cart nor did I have any idea what to do with it, but you know $3.00.
Silly me for worrying about what to do with it. Maddie was instantly taken with the rolling aspect and woke up Monday morning knowing that the cart was supposed to be a stage for "Maddie's Cooking Show."

Wanna see a bit of the show?



I was having a bit of trouble uploading the video to dropshots and then I forgot my photobucket password and was shut out when I remembered that you can now upload video to flickr. So very convient, all my stuff in one place with one password. Flickr happiness.

Nesting....

3.25.2008

Maddie has been nesting. Each night I check on her before heading off to bed. Sometimes I find her buried in the center of many blankets that she has fashioned into a nest. Other times it is a bear cave or bunny hole that she has built.



My sleeping bear....



Baskets, fabric and pipe cleaners become nests for stuffies.



We had a nest that the robins built on our front door last year. I set it out and we spent some time looking at it and how it was built. We headed out to collect materials that would make a good nest. Pictures of nests were printed and explored. We walked the neighborhood looking for all the nests and holes we could find. Imagining bunny holes and mouse houses. We took all our nesting materials and some clay to make our own bird nests.





We are still nesting. Sometimes while I lay next to her in bed the crook of my arm becomes a nest for her little mouse. I am instructed not to move because the mouse is sleeping. How wonderful the imagination of a 3 year old is. And with the wind howling outside my window and more snow in the forecast I think that a bit of spring nesting is just what we need.

Mini Swap makes it to Cinncinati.

2.28.2008

Our Mini Swap package made it to Ohio. We were paired up with a family of 3 little girls Susannah age 6, Grace age 3 and Evelyn 16 months. I wanted the girls to be involved in the making of this swap. We came up with the idea of homemade books with activities packed into little totes. I originally planned to have the girls do some of the tote sewing but, well you know, it was just easier for me to do it. I did get them to do some of the drawing on the books and managed to keep Maddie from defacing most of it.





For Susannaha: A tote filled with origami paper and a little book of origami folding directions. There was also a little art book with inspirations such as: Draw a bird, Draw something that swims. Annie wrote these out.

Inside the book. I found the illustrations online, when I find the link I will post it.

For Grace a handmade "I Spy" Book. The girls put together four vingettes from stuff around the house and we took pictures and then picked a couple to look for. I really enjoyed this project and will keep it in mind for future gifts. I think the execution could have been a bit better. I wanted Annie to do the writing but she was not cooperative at this point.

For the littlest family member, Evelyn we made a clothespin can with painted clothespins and a book of acitivites to do. Some of the activities were from the book The Busy Book for Toddlers.

The little totes also had some giant lollipops, stickers and giant bubble wands. It was fun thinking up ideas and putting it all together. I hadn't sewn much lately and it was nice to get back to the machine. We also tucked in some chocolate for mom and a jar of homemade blueberry jam. Our swap box should be arriving soon and I'll post on what came our way.

Being a mom means always having a plan B.

1.31.2008

I was out playing in the snow with the girls on Sunday, Maddie wanted to make a snowman but the snow was not cooperating and no amount of rolling was producing a ball. We went with plan B....building a nice rectangular snow person using the snow fort builder.
Add some hardware and odds and ends from the garage and a snowman becomes a snowbot.



There must have been something to the squareness of the snowbot, as soon as I snapped a few pictures the girls knocked him right down. We also had a great time making snowballs with this handy gadget. Such fun.



Monday I planned a little outing for some sledding and a winter picnic before the snow all melted. After packing the basket with cocoa, apples and crackers we started to get all bundled up. When I looked out the window it was raining. I can handle the cold, the snow and the cold snow but I really wasn't up for a cold wet picnic. Time for a little plan B.

We laid out the blanket in front of the (fake) fireplace. Warmed our toes, enjoyed some snacks and got in a good game of Uno. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.





Hope all your plan B's come out as well.

Feeding the birds.

1.21.2008

I tossed all my gourds and squash into a bag while taking down my fall decorating. I was saving them for a little bird feeder project. Well, November became December and December January and still those gourds sat. I realized I better make use of them before the hubby discovered my stash (my "garbage" hording is one of his main irritants with me). Last week the forcast started calling for Arctic Like Temperatures so if those gourds were gonna get used it had to be on the last warm day (30 degrees). Not sure where I saw this little project but I know it was out there in blogland. It felt so good to be outside messing around, I forget how much I need a little fresh air.


Scoop out the seeds


Fill with peanut butter mixed with cornmeal and then top with bird seed. Stick skewers across and add wire to hang. (making a huge mess that doesn't get swept up until the next day is the best part)


Hang outside for the birds.


You can skip all the skewer and wire part and just set out on the deck.





Make a few winter mudpies and have a good swing while you wait for your feathered friends to come visit.