Legos Are For Girls
31 Thursday May 2012
31 Thursday May 2012
30 Wednesday May 2012
Posted in Likes, Organizing, Projects, Shop
Tags
Amherst Mass, beauty, children's art, Eric Carle Museum, home treasures, illustration, organizing art supplies, recycled jars, recycled tops, trash art

We found these jars at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst Massachusetts. The Art Studio there had some great interactive projects for the kids and lots of inspiring ideas. (We had more fun in the library and studio than the actual exhibits). The gift shop is a wonderful and dangerous place packed with all the best children’s authors. I love this use of jars to organize craft materials by color. The blues are all recycled container tops waiting for kids to make into art and the browns are seeds and bark. Ada is constantly bringing home treasures and this is a great way to organize them. The jars look so pretty lined up on a shelf. I love that a simple bit of organization can turn trash into beauty.
29 Tuesday May 2012
Tags
ballerina costume, birthday dress, childhood dream, children's handmade clothes, dressmaking, fairies, french dressmaking, Katherine Edmonds, Lawrence Welk, Lola suit, magic circus, water dancers, Wovenplay
Oh Wovenplay how I love you. Their clothes are the stuff of a childhood dream: fairies and faded ballerina costumes and vintage water dancers and a magic circus…Every piece is detailed and smart and considered. They are the clothes in my memory of being a girl, even though I was wearing a polyester bathrobe and dancing to Lawrence Welk at the time. Designer Katherine Edmonds is trained in traditional French dressmaking and her work is inspiring. I splurged on the Lola suit for Ada’s birthday last year and then planned a party around it. Wovenplay had a sample sale last week in Manhattan. (Oh New York how I love you). I think I am going to hide this dress away until Ada’s birthday for this year.
25 Friday May 2012
Posted in Projects
24 Thursday May 2012
Posted in Projects
Tags
diy, diy knitting, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Halloween costume, headband, kid dress up, knitted bear ears, stockinette stitch



We made these for our Halloween costumes last year. Ada was Goldilocks and we were the Three Bears. Baby bear Josie had knitted ears sewn onto her wool suit and Chris and I wore these ears. The kids now use them for dress-up and they are easy to make if you have minimal knitting skills. You will need:
*Brown Yarn. (I used less than half a ball of scrap for each set). If you want two-toned ears use one color for front and one for back.
*Knitting Needles. (I used size 6)
*Stuffing
*Pipe Cleaners – Two per set
*Fabric-covered Headband
*Needle and Thread
1. Knit up ear shape in Stockinette. (I am in no way qualified to write a knitting pattern, but this is really easy to do if you know how to increase and decrease). I began by casting on about 10 stitches, increasing for a few rows on each side when I reached the middle of the ear and then decreasing for a few rows on each side as the ear looked to be about the right size. I bound off with about 6 stitches at the top. Ears will be knitted in two pieces and then sewn together.
2. Repeat above until you have four of the same pieces- two fronts and two backs. If you are making two-toned ears you should have two of each color.
3. Sew front and back of ears together, leaving the bottom open for stuffing.
4. Bend pipe cleaner into half circle, insert into ear and trim ends so they are not sticking out. This will keep the ears from flopping.
5. Stuff each ear.
6. Sew ears onto headband, pushing stuffing up inside as you go.
Grrrrrrrrr.
23 Wednesday May 2012
Posted in Likes, Organizing, Shop, Vintage
Tags
antiques business, Brimfield, chalkboard, chalkboard grocery list, grocery list, home, iphone, Old Sturbridge Village, reproduction slate, school slate, vintage chalkboard
We have been on the hunt for a vintage chalkboard for the kitchen. We found the perfect one at Brimfield, and then left it for too long and someone else bought it. (I know, I know totally amateur move. And I used to be in the antiques business…When you see something you love, get it before someone else does). Luckily we found a small reproduction slate at Sturbridge Village the next day. These slates were used by school children to practice lessons before schools had paper to hand out to everyone. We use the chalkboard to keep a running grocery list and then take a picture of it on the phone before running out to the store.
22 Tuesday May 2012
Tags
diy animal iceberg, diy party, kid birthday party, kid gifts, plastic animal iceberg, plastic animals, pool party, Schleich, Wovenplay swimsuit
I had forgotten how much Ada loved these Schleich animals when she was Josie’s age. I am convinced the (very) anatomically correct creatures helped her learn animal names as some of her first words. I like to rotate the girls’ toys and found our bag of animals at the bottom of the toy bin yesterday. Josie spotted them immediately upon waking and was so excited. She spent the day asking which was which and carefully putting each back on the table. I could see connections being made between the animal photos in her books and the three-dimensional plastic versions. (Oh the poor second child…I am sure I did this much earlier for Ada). We usually get our animals from our friend Henry and they are one of our favorite gifts for kids. We even made a giant ice cube full of animals for Ada’s birthday last year. The animal iceberg floated around the pool and slowly melted to reveal new members of the menagerie.



To make your own Animal Iceberg you will need:
*Plastic Animals
*Large Freezer-safe Bowl
1. Fill bowl about 1/4 full with water.
2. Place a few of the animals in water and put bowl in freezer.
3. Wait about an hour and repeat. Freezing in layers will allow for animals to be uncovered at different times as the ice melts.
4. Float iceberg in a pool, kiddie pool, or just place outside in the sun and let your child watch the treasure emerge.
*Food coloring could be added in small amounts if you want to make some stripes. Just be sure not to use too much with light colored animals.
21 Monday May 2012
Tags
art supplies, bright colors, designer todd oldham, diy, Kid Made Modern, kids art supplies, kids gifts, secret closet, Target, Todd Oldham, wooden blocks
The new Todd Oldham for Target line of kids’ art supplies is in stores! I had it on my calendar for yesterday and I think I may have been the first one to discover the pile in our local Target. All of the Kid Made Modern pieces are under $20 and the packaging and bright colors make them perfect gifts. I love the craft kits that designer Todd Oldham came up with: diy painted wooden blocks, board book, felt flowers…His fun aesthetic translates perfectly to kids’ products. My mom always had a secret closet stash of gifts and I love being prepared. Art supplies are the best!
18 Friday May 2012
Posted in Inspiration
Tags
antique flower painting, butterfly fabric, diy, fabric pinwheel, home, hoping for a girl, Inspiration, Instagram, mixed media painting Jeanne Rondeau, noisemaker, style, vintage fabric
Instagram images from the week:
*Ada’s metal noisemaker
*Fabric pinwheel
*Vintage Fabric
*Detail from Cells, Jeanne Rondeau 2005
*Butterfly from Ada’s dress. (A stoop sale score when I was pregnant and secretly hoping for a girl)
*Waterlilies from an old painting in our bathroom
The weather looks beautiful for this weekend in Brooklyn. Have a wonderful weekend!
17 Thursday May 2012
Tags
baby clothes, baby wardrobe, bloomers, Butterick pattern, cloth diapers, clothing, diy, Liberty of London, Purl Soho, Soor Ploom, style, vintage sewing pattern
Bloomers are one of my favorite baby wardrobe staples. They are cute and comfortable and fit nicely over Josie’s big cloth diaper butt. I modified a vintage Butterick pattern for this pair and they used less than half a yard of Liberty fabric. I have plans to make some into longer pants, and a heavier corduroy would be perfect over tights for fall weather. So many good options! Here are some similar vintage patterns on Ebay. Purl Soho is a great source for Liberty fabric, (and all around great inspiration). Soor Ploom also has adorable bloomers if you would rather buy than DIY.
*Today is the 100th post on Domestic Space. Thanks so much for reading and we can’t wait to share more with you!