Inspiration

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Instagram photos from the last few weeks:

*Canoeing in Pennsylvania (Before the storm)

*Jane’s Carousel in Dumbo

*Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge

*Chasing the cat

*Beautiful Ford

*Dress Rehersal

Tape Fort DIY

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The weather has been tricky here the last few weeks.  The skies start blue and quickly turn to dark thunder clouds on our way out the door.  Ada got crafty on the box from our grill while she was stuck inside.  She used six rolls of tape and then kept going.  We had a bunch of the Kid Made Modern Todd Oldham tape and the $6.99 price tag was totally worth the two hours she spent constructing the fort.  Not a Box by Antoinette Portis is one of our favorite books, and great inspiration for box imaginings.  To make a tape fort of their own, your kids will need:

*Cardboard Box.  A large one for a kid-size fort, or smaller box for a stuffed animal lair.

*Paper Tape.  We used the Target tape, but colorful painter’s or washi tape also work well.  Just be sure kids can tear it by hand and they won’t need scissors.

*Glitter, Paint, Markers, Clips, Cardboard Tubes, Crayons, etc. for decorating.

1. Help open one side of the box so the child can sit inside.

2. Hand over the tape and stand back.

Rainy day saved!

Supermarket Signage Wrapping Paper

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I love the graphic garish signs that supermarkets use to advertise sales.  The food colors are always slightly off, but so beautiful – (Would you really eat meat that color?)  I have plans to work them into a painting when I get the chance.  So I asked my local store if they would let me take home the big rolls of paper after the sales passed.  They were happy to share and the bright heavy paper makes perfect gift wrap.  I love how the large scale is distorted into abstraction on little packages.  I know some little boys that would be thrilled to open presents wrapped in gross-out pig feet paper.  And the produce section is always perfectly seasonal.  Delicious.

Kid Made Father’s Day T-shirt

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Fabric markers and some white T’s are the ingredients for this easy project.  It is a simple gift for kids to make and the will love wrapping it up for Dad.  A portrait of Dad or the child makes the shirt extra special.  (Ada drew herself with lots of long hair at the bottom of Pappy’s shirt).  A piece of cardboard inserted into the shirt helps make a flat drawing surface and prevents marker from soaking into the back.  Be sure to set the artwork with heat before washing, per directions on fabric markers.

Inspiration

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Instagram photos from this week:

*Saint in the living room

*Food poster from WW2 in the kitchen

*Arrows on a fence in Clinton Hill

*Fabric

*Ada’s drawing

*Headband crown detail

Legos Are For Girls

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Ada loves these and can play with them for hours.  The bright primary colors make the best little sculptures and it is amazing how creative kids can be with simple toys.  I love to overhear the elaborate stories she narrates as she plays.

Color Jars

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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.

Wovenplay

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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.

Inspiration

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Instagram photos from the week:

*Headband circles for Renegade

*Louisa’s vintage dress

*Wovenplay screen-printed skirt

*Todd Oldham Kid Made Modern tape on a cardboard box fort that Ada made

*Ada’s vintage umbrella from Brimfield

*What we found in the back yard (so far).

Have a lovely long weekend!

DIY Knitted Bear Ears

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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.