Author Archives: jeannerondeau

Beads

26 Thursday Jan 2012

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One of my favorite inside projects for kids is making strands of beads.  We started doing them when Ada was about two.  She needed a lot of help at first, but now she asks to do them on her own.  The stringing requires some intense concentration from the child, it is good for their fine motor skills, and I get about an hour of quiet time.  You will need:

*Shoelaces, leather cord or yarn.  If using yarn, put some scotch tape around the end to make the threading easier.

*Beads of various sizes and colors.  It is lovely to see the patterns the kids come up with.

*Dried pasta, felt shapes, etc.  I save scraps of wool felt from other projects and use a hole punch so they can be strung.  I love the variety felt bundles from Wool Felt Central

It is helpful to tie a knot at one end so the beads don’t slip off while the necklace is being made.

I am not sure Marni has done better…

Cabinet

25 Wednesday Jan 2012

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Vintage bowls, cups, flower pots and glasses are great organizers for the medicine cabinet.  I like to group things by when and how they are used: jewelry in one , nail polish and makeup in others.  It is easy to pull out each group as you need,  and the pretty containers make me happy when I open the door.

Barrettes

23 Monday Jan 2012

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Ada’s barrettes were taking over the closet, so we lined them up on a piece of ribbon and pinned it inside the door.  Smaller bobby pins and hair ties are stored in a bowl on the closet shelf.  Now we can see all the choices and pick out a pair for the morning.  I love that Goody still makes the same barrettes I had when I was three.

Cat Mask

20 Friday Jan 2012

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We found these awesome wooden cat masks at Ben Franklin Crafts in Raymond, NH of all places…I find that towns with high 4-H participation and winters that keep people inside are the best crafting supply troves.  You can also find the masks here on Ebay: Cat Mask.  Oh Ebay how I love you.

Ada seems to have confused ‘nine lives’ with ‘nine eyes’.  Oh well.

Portsmouth

19 Thursday Jan 2012

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One of my favorite childhood books was Ox-Cart Man written by Donald Hall and beautifully illustrated by Barbara Cooney.  The story is so, so satisfying: The journey made by a farmer to Portsmouth NH to sell the goods he and his family made and grew the year before.  I love to read this story to my kids almost as much as I loved hearing it when I was little.  I always think of it when we travel back to visit family in Portsmouth.

A few of the places I try not to miss when we visit Portsmouth:

Byrne and Carlson– Handmade chocolate that is as beautiful as it is delicious.  I love their candied flower chocolate bars and I cannot believe the chipotle bar survived the ride home without me eating it in secret so I wouldn’t have to share.

Gus and Ruby Letterpress -How I love letterpress!  This new shop carries gifts as well as letterpress goods.  We found some stripey straws and twine for Josie’s upcoming birthday.

Warren’s Lobster House – This is technically in Kittery, ME but is only a hop over the bridge.  The decor alone is worth the trip (diorama of knots and hooked rug lobster sign for example).  The seafood is large and fresh and the clam chowder is the best!

Strawberry Banke Museum– Portsmouth just like the Ox-Cart Man days.

Family Portrait

18 Wednesday Jan 2012

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This drawing was Ada’s first family portrait, (which of course made me cry).  I wanted to save it and was pretty sure the ripped newsprint it was made on was not archival.  So, we scanned the drawing and sent the jpeg out to Cafe Press to be made into an ornament.  Any of the photo sites can reproduce jpegs, and there are a lot of finished product options- from t-shirts to playing cards.  Cafe Press got these back to us in under a week, and Ada was very proud to give them as gifts for the holiday.

Felted Coasters

17 Tuesday Jan 2012

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These felted wool coasters keep liquids off the table and are by far baby Josie’s favorite toys.  The patterns are knit in the round and then shrunken and felted in the washing machine.  It is a lovely way to use up the ends of yarn balls and fun to see the circles transform in the machine.  The wool felt makes them waterproof and they are easy to hand wash when need be.  These are adapted from Chris de Longpre’s free pattern at Knitting at KNoon Designs. Hooray for free knitting patterns!

Red

13 Friday Jan 2012

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I found these red silk slippers upstairs in my stash of clothes for the kids to grow into.  I had forgotten about them, and Ada will finally fit into them.  They originally had fabric soles, for inside the house.  I had our shoe repair man add a layer of rubber to the bottom so Ada wouldn’t slip on our steep stairs.  The red kimono is another Pearl River Mart find.  Thanks Aunt Vasna!  It is not fair that the adult version of these are not half as cute.

Winter Collage

12 Thursday Jan 2012

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We have finally taken down the holiday cards from the mantels.  Instead of throwing them away, I like to cut out the images for Ada to make into collages.  The finished pieces are great as thank you cards too (if you haven’t yet gotten around to those).