Stay.See.Make.Do.

Looking Closer at Child's Play

Seen from this perspective, the sandbox doesn't look like much, does it? But she's obviously engrossed in her activity.

 (Please, ignore The Glove. Sis, if you're reading this and you know I mean you, yes, THE GLOVE still traumatizes me. It is everywhere. Thanks.)

The sandbox is a much more interesting place when you get down to a kid's point of view.

I think these guys are ticked off at their HOA. No stock tanks allowed in the front yard? So unreasonable. 

 

Yes, we do buy some standard sand/beach toys for the kids. But recyclables from the laundry room also make great scoops, cups and buckets. Or dinosaur stock tanks swimming pools. 

And items from the kitchen department of the thrift store can be inexpensive, durable, and more interesting than a typical plastic shovel and pail. This is maybe a version of the Hollywood Bowl? The seating is a bit primitive, but what do you expect when you go to hear a literal ROCK band?

And nothing makes a better roof for Pikachu's beach house than a scrap of wood trim. Obviously Pikachu is still working on his landscaping. And maybe a kitchen remodel.

So, just a friendly reminder:  It's always a good idea to take a closer look.

 

 

Kids Taking Pictures

I'm buying a new camera and will be passing down my old ones for my kids to use. I hope to teach them a few basics and then let them have fun. So far, with very little coaching ("Just don't drop it!" and "Here's the ON and how to zoom.") the eldest has given me shots like these:

Um...???

Hello there, dear.

I will lift up mine eyes?

I have hope for the future of this project. This kid's gonna love macro.

Bazaar project: Crayon roll

 

By far my best seller.

I changed the pattern* so that each pocket was an inch wide instead of the 3/4 called for in the original.  I made one with the smaller pockets, but it buckled once the crayons were all in, probably because instead of broadcloth and interfacing I used much heavier canvas, denim and/or upholstery fabric and skipped the interfacing.  Instead of a ribbon tie on the crayon rolls I sewed an elastic hair band near the edge by dropping the feed dogs on my sewing machine and zig-zag stitching several times.  If you do use ribbon, don't forget to put some fray-check on the cut ends.

To go with the crayons I stitched a few quick scribble books.  Ten pages of kids' writing paper folded in between a rectangle of decorative scrapbook paper.  I just ran down the middle with the longest straight stitch on my sewing machine.

The O 63 there was part of a bingo game the sale organizers ran as a fundraiser ($1/card).  Winning cards were entered in a raffle and it helped ensure people looked at every table.

*Again the tutorial specifically says the pattern may be used to make the item to sell.

Almost a Banging Wall

Back at the end of August we took an afternoon to make a Banging Wall, of sorts.  We don't have a wall or a fence rail to pound nails into, so we used twine to suspend a 1x2 from a shady tree and then we hung items for noise-making with more twine.  We left it up for a few days until the wind wreaked havoc on it, but by then the kids had mostly lost interest anyway.  It was quick, easy and fun while it lasted.  And don't forget noisy!

Sparkle paint on a summer's day

We tried out our new Elmer's Sparkle Squeeze'n Brushes.  They are advertised as "no mess" and while I wouldn't go quite that far with a two year old and a four year old using them, I would agree to "much less messy" than traditional tempera and brushes.  As you can see, we didn't even use smocks and the small smears of paint that got on the clothes did wash out easily as the package said they would.  Overall, a success - but I'm not sure I'll be buying them again since as far as making art goes, the brush part itself is somewhat lacking.  The little girls didn't seem to notice, or mind. 

Planning my next Freezer Paper stencil

Over Christmas I did a little shopping and bought a couple of boys' t-shirts.  I think it's time to bust out the iron and the freezer paper and paint and get creative again.  Here's an old favorite we made a few years ago.  This shirt has seen a lot of wear, already earning the status of hand-me-down. 

The image came from Windows clip art.  Other favorites included three Pokemon silhouettes.

Felt play

I cut several basic shapes out of felt and my kids make pictures with them all the time.  Inexpensive, easy and fun.  If you want a background, use spray adhesive to glue a large piece of felt or flannel to some foamcore or homosote.  Or just thumbtack it to the wall.  Pellon (interfacing) also works, too - and is incredibly inexpensive.  And Pellon can go through your printer!

Next I think I'll make a felt tangram.

3D paper snowflake

Where are the headband photos, you say?  I'll just reply that I'm sorry, I got distracted.  Can you imagine being distracted when you have five kids?   And snow outside?  (See the sledding track behind the deer? This is right behind our backyard.)

I also made a skirt for my two-year-old.  Pictures of that to come, too.  It is a pattern from Girly Style Wardrobe, a Japanese sewing book.  The skirt had to get worn right away, which naturally follows that it  had to get dirty, and had to get washed.  It's in the dryer at the moment.

For now, go and try this snowflake.  I learned how to make these years ago from an issue of Family Fun magazine.  The best part about these is that you can make them any size you want, and any color.  I'm going to get the kids busy and see if we can do some really big ones using some of my 12" scrapbook paper.

After they finish playing "boat tent" that is.  Boat tent is one of those games they never tire of.  They made it up themselves - part don't-touch-the-floor, part fort-out-of-couch-cushions, part blanket-tent-camping, part Noah's ark.  The main structures are held up by the coffee table and the card table, with lots of clothespins and sheets, etc.  It takes over the entire room, but is easy to clean up, and occupies them for hours.  Without television.  Amazing.

*Edited to add photos of the results.