Tag Archives: life with kids

DIY Lampshade Refresh

18 Monday Nov 2013

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Lamp1Lamp2
We have started a list of house projects for the upcoming indoor season.  Chris and I have a habit of getting overwhelmed by the number of things that need to be home-improved around here, and it prevents us from making progress on any of them.  We have decided to break down smaller projects and finish one per month while we save and plan for a huge house renovation.  One of the things on my list was to fix this little lamp’s shade.  We have had the lamp next to the bed for a long time, but the shade was always a little strange.  I got really sick of it when I was pregnant, borrowed some of Ada’s acrylic paints and covered it with what turned out to be an even stranger pearly metallic green.  We then bought and then returned two replacement shades, neither of which looked quite right above the little basket.  Finally I decide to try covering the existing shade with linen.  It was such a simple project and took less than an hour.  Such an improvement!  Why hadn’t I thought of that years ago?  To refresh your own lamp shade you will need:

* Linen Fabric (Be sure the fabric color and weave is heavy enough to cover existing shade color)

*Paper for Pattern

*Ruler

*Pencil

*Scissors

*Craft Glue

*Large Paintbrush

*Ribbon (To cover top edge)

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1. Using your ruler, draw a straight line down from top to bottom of the lamp shade.  (Or use the existing seam if your shade has one).  Position the shade’s pencil line along the edge of paper.

2.  Roll shade and trace outline, stopping when you return to the line on shade.  The shade will create a curved shape as it rolls. Using the ruler, draw a straight line 1/4″ past the point where the shade stopped rolling.  This will allow for overlap of the fabric and create a neat seam on the lampshade.

3. Add 1/4″ each on top and bottom of curve.  This will fold over top and bottom of shade.
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4. Cut out paper pattern, place on linen and cut out.
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5. Squirt glue onto one side of the shade, as show.  (Don’t cover the whole shade at once or it will be messy).
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6. Use your brush to evenly smooth out glue.Lamp8
7. Slowly roll shade onto linen, keeping it the 1/4″ on top and bottom.
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8. Add more glue, brush and roll until shade is covered.  Slightly overlap the ends of the linen, glue and press down neatly.

9. Brush a little glue along the inside top of shade and fold linen over.  Gently press and smooth with your fingers as you go to work out any bumps in the linen.

10. Repeat for bottom of shade as shown.
11. Brush on glue and smooth ribbon on to top of shade.  You can add a bottom ribbon as well.

12. Allow glue to dry and try on your new shade!
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DIY Ribbon Wand

12 Tuesday Nov 2013

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Ada had a half day of school last week and it rained, so we needed a project to keep the girls busy in the house.  We came up with these ribbon wands.  Josie loves the wands at her dance class and we had the supplies at home already.  The girls picked out their ribbon colors, I attached them to the dowels and Ada tuned her radio to a classical station for a ballerina dance party.   To make your ribbon wand you will need:

*Dowel (we cut ours in half)

*Lightweight Ribbons or Seam Binding

*Craft Glue

*Needle and Thread

*Scissors or Pinking Shears

1. Cut ribbons to desired length.

2. Line up ribbon ends in a stack.

3. Put a bit of glue at the end of the dowel and wrap ribbons around the dowel as shown.

4. Put a bit more glue at the end of the ribbon wrap and stitch into place.

5. If ribbons unravel at the ends, use pinking shears and seal ends with a bit of glue.

6. Allow glue to dry and start dancing.

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Bribery

04 Monday Nov 2013

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Jar
We are working on potty training around these parts. Some kids can get the hang of it in a few days and others…Well, let’s just say we have purchased some sweet and colorful little bribes.  Fingers crossed this will do the trick.

Happy Halloween! DIY Paper Skeleton

31 Thursday Oct 2013

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Skeleton1Skeleton3Skeleton2
Happy Halloween!

We had a fun walk to school this morning spotting all of the costumes around the neighborhood.  It is warm here today, and we are hoping that the rain stops in time for our favorite Halloween tradition this evening.  Ada finished up one last decoration, which she has named Sam.  She looked at a picture of a human skeleton and copied each part on to a piece of paper.  I love the toes!  We used paper fasteners to attach the bones together and hung him on the door.  This project is great for learning about anatomy, and not just for Halloween.  To make your own Paper Skeleton you will need:

*Heavy Weight Paper

*Pencil

*Scissors

*Paper Fasteners

*Hole Punch

*Picture of a Skeleton (We Googled a few images)

1. Have child look at the skeleton picture and draw their interpretation of each bone onto a separate piece of paper.  (The results are so much quirky and better if you let them do it themselves).

2. Cut out the bones, and keep them in order as you go.

3. Punch holes at area where each group of bones connect.  Push paper fasteners through holes and press open on the back.

4. Hang up your spooky skeleton!

DIY Butterfly or Fairy Wings Costume

28 Monday Oct 2013

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Butterfly1 Wings2
The big girls decided to be fairies for Halloween this year.  They were inspired by some books with beautiful vintage drawings of flower fairies that Nan gave Ada for her birthday.  We used the book illustrations and gathered some more images on Pinterest for inspiration.  The girls had fun finding pictures of vintage ballet costumes and old photos of girls in homemade fairy costumes.  I love the muted colors and the magical effects that can be achieved with humble materials.  The wings are also fun for the dress-up box once Halloween is over.  Here is how to make Butterfly / Fairy Wings like ours:

*14 Gauge Galvanized Steel Wire

*Wire Cutters

*Large Full Size or Knee-high Pantyhose in Desired Color

*Duct Tape

*Scissors

*Felt

*Needle and Thread

*Chalk

*Cardboard Scraps (Optional)

*Acrylic Paint (We used this Kid Made Modern Paint)

*Craft Glue

*Glitter (Optional)

*Elastic Banding for Straps

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1. Top Wings:  The upper wings will be larger than the bottom set.  Unspool wire and cut to desired length with wire cutters. (We used between 18 and 24 inches per single wing.  If you make them too large the pantyhose won’t fit over the wing).

2. Carefully twist wire ends together and tape with duct tape.  Securely wrap any sharp ends with the tape.

3. Bend wire loop into wing shape.  It helps to have a picture of some wings in front of you to help get the shapes right.  Repeat for the second top wing, measuring and bending into the same shape.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 for the smaller set of bottom wings.

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5. Tape the set of top wings together as shown.

6. Tape the set of bottom wings together.

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7. Cover the wings with pantyhose.  (We used two layers for more durability).

Wings68. We used cardboard stencils to create decorations on the wings.  You can also draw wing designs by hand, but the stencils help make them symmetrical.  Spaces between shapes will become the veins on wings once paint is added.

Wings79. Cut out cardboard shapes, (we used scraps from the pantyhose packaging).  Lay pieces on one wing, trace with chalk and flip cardboard over to create a mirror image on second wing.  Chalk can be brushed off or painted over later.

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10. Repeat tracing to cover each wing.

Wings911. Fill in traced shapes with paint.  Add glue and glitter as you like.  This part is fun!  Our black wings had a Velvet Elvis sort of feeling and the acrylic paints create a dusty wing-like finish on top of the pantyhose.

Wings1012.  Once paint and glue are dry, use the duct tape to position and tape top and bottom wing sections securely together.  Tie any loose ends of pantyhose together over the tape.

Wings1113. Fold felt in half and cut out two identical pieces to cover center of wings.

14. Measure elastic banding to fit.  Straps will go around your back and over shoulders to hold wings securely.

15. Using scissors, make four slits in one felt layer.   This will be the layer that lays against your back.

Wings1216. Loop elastic around the wings and back through slits in the felt and stitch in place as shown.  Loose elastic will come out on the unpainted side of the wings, which will lay across your back.  Wings1317. Squirt glue over the first felt layer, position second layer on top and stitch the two together.

18.  Allow glue to dry.

19.  Try wings on and adjust the elastics to fit.  Tie loose ends of elastic together to secure.

20.  Go for a fly!

Osage Orange Season

17 Thursday Oct 2013

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Osage
It is my kids’ favorite time of year to visit the park.  The leaves are changing colors, the chestnut trees are dropping their bounty and there are plenty of squirrels to chase.  But our favorite treasures to hunt in early autumn are osage oranges.  These strange fruits are inedible, but have a sweet smell and their color is other-worldly.  We have started our yearly osage collection on the dining room table.  Their citrus fragrance fills up the room and their bright florescent color just happens to be in vogue this year.

DIY Color Collage / What’s in a Name?

15 Tuesday Oct 2013

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RedOrangeYellowGreenBluePurplePinkBrownBlack
We started making these collages with Ada when she was first learning her colors.  I was having trouble explaining subtle differences in shade and tone to a two-year-old.  Why is green so many different colors?  Should I really make a toddler try to say chartreuse?  I decided to have her help define what falls under a color’s given name.  We laid out a pile of collage scraps, Ada picked out pieces for one color at a time and then glued them to a white square.   She has continued making the collages and I love the little compilations that have come out of the project.  (I don’t think I would have thought to add the sticky side of masking tape to the “tan” collage, or to glue down metal chain to the “yellow”).  The squares make a pretty sort of quilt when hung up together.  They are even fun to make on your own if you don’t have kids.  To make your own Color Collage you will need:

*White Card Stock (Ours were 5″ X 5″ squares)

*Craft Glue

*Collage Materials (fabric, string, paper, glitter, buttons, etc).

*Crayons, Markers, Colored Pencils, etc.

1. Pick a color for the first collage.

2. Find collage scraps that match the color.

3. Glue down scraps to card stock.

4. Color with markers or crayons.

5. Repeat with other colors.

6. Allow glue to dry.  Hang up collages on their own, or group them together on a wall.
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Here are some other color related posts:

Leaves5ColorGift1Colors5Dye

DIY Halloween

10 Thursday Oct 2013

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Halloween is serious business around here.  The girls have been dreaming up, planning and changing their minds about costumes for months now.  I have been spending a crazy amount of time thinking about tulle and glitter.  This real-time blog tends to post our costumes later in the month because we spend most of October in costume construction mode.  We have been using Pinterest boards to amass images and ideas this year.  Ada and I are pretty addicted to Pinterest and the girls want to look over the boards whenever they get a turn on the computer.  Here is our Domestic Space Halloween Board.  Any guesses about this year’s costumes?

Here are some DIY costume ideas from prior Halloweens:

Jellyfish1*Tulle Jellyfish Costume

BeaEars*Knitted Bear Ears (We made three of these and dressed Ada up as Goldilocks)

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*Tulle Ballerina Tutu

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*Knitted Mermaid Costume

I promise we will post this years costumes as soon as we get them finished.  Hooray for Halloween!

Apples

07 Monday Oct 2013

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Apples2Apples
We went on our annual apple picking trip this weekend.  It was a warm and misty day and we all got soggy feet, (except Josie who insisted on wearing her rain boots when we left our sunny neighborhood).  We went to Fishkill Farms, which has been in the same family for almost 100 years.  They make an effort to use low or no pesticides on their crops.  The farm is huge and packed with lots of apple varieties in the fall.  I got a little nervous at the crowds near the entrance, but there was lots of room to spread out once we got inside.  We were able to drive our car on the road along the orchards and many families brought tailgate picnics for the day.  We picked a huge bag of apples and then headed South to the village of Tarrytown for lunch.  Fishkill Farms has great barbecue food, but the weather and crowds had us in the mood to be inside.  Tarrytown has lots of cute restaurants and antique shops and our friends introduced us to Mint, which was amazing.  It looks like we are heading for a storm today here in Brooklyn.  It is a perfect day for staying inside and baking apple pie.

Inspiration

04 Friday Oct 2013

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Inspiration37
Happy Friday!

Here are some of our recent Instagrams:

*Sleepy Dare

*Ice Cream, Deerfield Fair

*Honeycomb at Honeybee Lives Class

*Ada’s Baby Quilt from Gram, On the Line

*Last of the Tomatoes from our CSA

*Hat Weather

*Chris Harp Pulling Honey for Harvest

*Josie’s First Candy Apple

*Piggies

Have a wonderful weekend.