Recycled Wood Dining Table Cool Copper Projects Warm metallic hues are easy to love but often pricey. When you create the look... Easy Doily Bowl Craft a decorative bowl from a doily picked up from a flea market, antique... Camper Birdhouse Encourage birds to stay awhile with an adorable vintage birdhouse. Converse Booties Baby! It has come to my attention that this pattern is extremely confusing. Seeing as how it was one of my first forays into pattern writing, I am editing it for clarification. And will also update Ravelry for it. This is just my version of an already available pattern. Use it if you will. This pattern is knit flat (despite a photograph of them being knit in the round below) and uses intarsia and very simple short rows (no wrapping). Materials Main Color- Black (MC)Contrast Color-White (CC)I used Caron Simply Soft (worsted weight) One pair sizes 4 and 5 straight needles (or size to obtain gauge for smaller size), and 1 pair size 5 and 6 straight needles (or size to obtain gauge for larger size) Other Supplies: tapestry needle; white felt; blue paint or marker; crochet hook; row counter (optional) Gauge: smaller size: 24sts over 4" on size 5larger size: 21sts over 4" on size 6 Shape ToeUsing MC and CC. Side 1: Tongue:Place 7 Stitches from the Stitch marker onto the needle. Side 2:
Clothespin People Summer is coming...which means school will soon be out and there will be many little hands looking for things to do. With a bit of imagination, a handful of craft supplies and a maybe a little help from some bigger hands you can turn simple clothespins into little friends. Our project supply list included: Clothespins Fabric scraps Pipe cleaners Markers Yarn Popsicle sticks Glue Scissors Imagination Sit back and watch how your child thinks about what they want to do and then tries to figure out how to make it happen. You can get your hands "dirty" too and make them some fairy friends. Fairy friend craft supply list... fabric scraps (cut into a rectangle for clothes) hot glue (to glue on cap and clothes) acorn caps (to use as hats) acrylic paint (for faces) felt (for wings) This little project can be done with the help of little kiddos by letting them pick out their favorite colors, etc. This little one is ready for a ride in the pocket of a little bag... PS. Post by Jane : Buzzmills
recycled doily d.i.y. projects recycled doily d.i.y. projects To me a vintage doily has so much character and history in it's stitches. I love how each one is so delicate and unique, and cannot help but think of all the time that went into each stitch by someone's granny, somewhere. I tend to find them en mass in thrift and antique stores and it really saddens me that they go unloved. Therefore, I have accumulated boxes of these white and off white handicraft. I searched and searched for what to do with them finally used a fabric stiffener with a bit of fabric paint mixed in to change their color and give them a bit of flair. I saw that Shannon South of ReMade USA also came up with a creative way to repurpose the doilies as well in creating this lovely pendant light from her amassed collection. Give vintage doilies new life!
Best Play Dough Ever Homemade playdough – If ever there was a quintessential DIY this is it! Parents and children have been happily cooking up this stuff at home for decades. Today our newest contributor Kaley is sharing her favorite play dough recipe using another kid classic: Jell-O (because it just wouldn’t be an MPMK post without some sort of twist). I think you’re going to love this recipe. What kid doesn’t love play dough? It’s super easy, inexpensive, and a perfect project for the kids to help with. You will need: white flour – 1 cupwarm water – 1 cupsalt – 2 tbspcream of tartar – 2 tbspcooking oil – 2 tbspJello – 1 3oz pack Click through for full instructions. Mix all of the ingredients together in a small saucepan. Even though it makes for a longer process and a lot more clean up, let the little ones do the measuring and mixing. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously until it thickens into a ball of dough. This recipe makes a lot of play dough. Now let their little imaginations run wild. P.S.
Purl Bee Penguin Winter in New York City can be hard to love with its frozen sidewalks, dirty snowbanks, and bare trees. But this winter I'm counting on my new cold weather friend, the Purl Bee Penguin, to help me through! Its happy ovoid shape and graphic palette are sure to remind me that joy really does exist in January. Just ask an Emperor Penguin! I used our new Penguin Fat Quarter Bundle, a lively mix of black and white dots, stripes, and prints, to sew up this quirky little trio of penguins. I loved seeing how each one developed its own personality as I sewed, becoming more and more alive with each stitch! The Purl Bee Penguins are pretty addictive to make, and I don’t think that I’ll be able to stop with just these three. Materials To make three 9-inch tall stuffed penguins: A Penguin Fat Quarter Bundle or 1/4 yard each of seven dots, stripes, and chicken wire in black and white.A piece of bright yellow felt. Cutting Cut out the fabric according to the directions on the template. You will have:
Handmade Flowers Two for the road. I'm excited to show you these little kits I've been putting together for our upcoming road trip. Do your kids do well on trips? My girls have done great with a 4-5 hour car ride since birth, sometimes we even forget to bring any toys! This time around our trip is going to take a whopping three days, so I've been busy putting together some goodie bags. Everyday they can open their bag and find new treats and toys before we hit the road. Each bag contains a stack of books, some new and some old. I loaded up my old iphone with some new pre-school friendly apps for Ellie and made a little case. There is also a box in each bag containing a pencil case (also from Target) filled with brand new colored pencils. but also a few new faces. Do you have any tips for traveling with children-especially of the toddler variety?
The Wheels on the Box | The Cardboard Collective Just add Wheels… During our last trip to 0123 Harappa the girls really enjoyed the cardboard box sleds that they had. I kept thinking about how we could make an adaptation using castor wheels and some hardware from the local DIY home store. The real discovery however proved to be the strength and durability of a certain breed of fruit and vegetable boxes. Dad’s old necktie makes a great and easy pull strap. Just thread it through the holes and tie a square knot. By the way, we’ve been putting castor wheels on everything in our house. Utilizing our cardboard hitch, Electra starts up her own tricycle transport for babies business. Besides the scary warning akin to those found underneath your mattress, I found out that this box is built to hold up to 55 kilos!! Scour your local grocery store for one of these sturdy boxes. I found the castor wheels for about $ 0.99 a piece and then looked for nuts and bolts to fit the castor wheels. Yay cardboard!
Amazing DIY Cardboard Learning Toys Play and Grow is an amazing blog by a Russian architect that has a passion for making handmade cardboard toys for his little girl. The site is filled with great diy tutorials for upcycling cardboard into early learning toys. A few favorites: DIY Geometric Sorting Board (view tutorial) A cardboard version of the classic geometric sorting board. DIY Developmental Toy (view tutorial) An early learning developmental toy made from a diaper box, knitting needles, a doorstop, and paper. DIY Steamship Pull Toy (view tutorial) A cardboard pull toy made from a diaper box. DIY Cardboard Train (view tutorial) A cardboard train made using a diaper box and boxes from old toys. DIY Mini Geoboard (view tutorial) A cardboard version of the classic peg/pin board toy used to make shapes, patterns, letters, etc. Visit Play and Grow for more cool projects & tutorials! Related
Wool Alphabet DIY Dec 5 I saw these felt letters in Copenhagen and fell in love. I really wanted to figure out how to make them. They are really cute and sweet toys. They make a great Christmas gift or would even be cute attached to the outside of a gift. It’s a pretty simple process and the materials are common household items except for the wool roving which can be found online or at most crafting or knitting stores. Material Needed: Wool Roving, Bubble Wrap, Soap, Rolling Pin, Scissors, Hot water, Bowl Step 1: Lay your bubble wrap (bubbles up) and tear small strips of wool roving and place on top of the bubble wrap creating the shape of the letter. All photography by Heather Zweig for Oh Happy Day Art Directed by Jordan Ferney Crafting by Stacy Wichelhaus Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Swoon!: We built this city (a handmade play mat) Lately the girls have shown a fascination with cars and building things (it must come a little later for girls!). One day I decided to experiment with making a little city for them on a poster board I had laying around. They loved it so much that the poor thing ended up bent up, colored on, and in the garbage after a month. But, it had been so well-loved that I ended up making a new one recently. This time I added some new colorful blocks for city building, and a policy of "no stepping on the mat." For the complete instructions and more, head on over to Playful Learning (and stay awhile for other good ideas). P.S.
Swoon!: Crafts with kids: Mini storybooks. If you've been a reader for long, you know I love paper in any form. It seems that E might be taking after me. She's always right by my side anytime I pull out my supplies and start to make something. Her other favorite thing is making up stories. I'm so impressed and surprised by the things she comes up with! Every story eventually includes a princess, a party, and some kites, but she loves it! Head over to my post at Playful Learning to whip a few of these little gems yourself! P.S.
New Bowl