Category Archives: Likes

Dragons and Caterpillars

01 Wednesday Feb 2012

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We spotted this egg carton dragon idea walking around the halls of Ada’s school.  Good school art projects are really important to me, and helped us decide to send her there.  The school dragons were made for Chinese New Year.  Ada suggested we also make a caterpillar version. You will need:

*Egg carton

*Paint

*Glue

*Googly eyes

*Feathers, sparkles, pom poms, popsicle sticks, glitter glue, etc.

*Pipe Cleaners (for legs and antennae)

*Ribbon (for the tail)

1. Paint the egg carton and let it dry

2. Glue on eyes and decoration

3. Push pipe cleaners into carton at desired locations.  Use scissors or a sharp pencil to make holes and squirt in some glue to keep them in place.

Dragons

31 Tuesday Jan 2012

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We went to watch the Lunar New Year parade on Sunday in Manhattan.  These huge flying dragons were in the park nearby and were made from hundreds of recycled bottles and plastic shopping bags. I love the use of plastic shopping bags here because Chinatown residents seem to carry an amazing amount and variety of them on the streets.  I also love the idea of the empty plastic bag being turned into a flying dragon sculpture – instead of just flying around in the wind like they usually do in the city.

Mitten Bowl

30 Monday Jan 2012

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A bowl near the front door helps keep mittens, hats and scarves organized.  The kids can help take care of their own things when they come in from outside, and you will always know where mittens are on your rush out the door.

We found this vintage Pyrex bowl at a stoop sale, but they abound on Ebay.  The scarf pattern is adapted from one by Pat Feeley for High Country Knit Wear.  You can also find super cute animal scarves at Acorn Toys in Brooklyn if you are more of a shopper than a DIYer.

Drying

27 Friday Jan 2012

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I love my drying rack.  I searched for the perfect large wooden clothes rack that would fold down to fit in our closet and this is it.  It is made by Robbins Home Goods, a multi-generational family business.  They make their products in Maine from recycled and sustainable wood.  We have had this for years and there are no signs of warping or strange stains like cheap drying racks seem to gather.  The design is simple and beautiful  and it is well worth the price.

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…

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!