DIy Thursday: The Pirate Ship

here

This is too cool. A pallet (although this looks to be the sturdiest pallet I have ever seen) board with a wind sail on it. This could look very cool in our backyard. 

DIY: Necklaces

Here are some fun necklaces that are ridiculously expensive but may be worth giving it a DIY try...

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Isabel Marant

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Erin Considine

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Anthropologie

Thursday DIY: Toy Chest/Kid Seat

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This IoLine Changing Trunk is an ingenious design. It is one part toy chest, one part changing table and one part reading bench. And it looks great. We have something similar in our living room although by no means as chic. Many years ago, my Dad built a cabinet for under their television to hold videos and such. Once they upgraded their television, he built a wall hanging cabinet instead so the old one was shoved in the garage to be, probably, never used again. Until I had kids. I thought it would make a great toy chest - the key is that it has two drawers so you can "hide" the toys when they are not in use. And it was free. I added a roll of drawing paper on top to act as the art center. The top now has one-of-a-kind child masterpieces drawn all over it but that's ok. It adds character.

Thursday DIY: Photo Books

I think the photo albums of the past are just that these days - from the past. I no longer want to cart along hefty albums full of pictures that sometimes fall out. Instead, every year I organize my iPhoto library and make a book of my favorite pictures of the year. I just use the iPhoto Book maker that comes with the program but there are a ton of other options out there as well, notably MyPublisher and Blurb. I am just lazy and went with what was easiest for me.

At some point I also want to make a book of my kid's art - when there is enough to document. Sometimes I scan the art but since their art is very 3-D still I mostly take a photo of it and drag it into its own iPhoto folder for safe keeping. There is a lovely site called Petite Picasso that I may try out once the time comes.

Thursday DIY: Art

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1) Paint the canvas in any which way 2) Use painter's tape to create a herringbone pattern or any other pattern with some missing 3) Paint over the canvas in white 4) Remove tape and voila!

So, I think I am in need of an artwork fix and because I cannot actually go out and purchase said artwork, I am going to have to make it. The artwork currently on our walls are all done by myself or my daughter so we are not straying too far form the tree here. Here are some inspirational pieces to get my creativity flowing...

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DIY Thursday: TeePee

I finally did it. After pinning a million and one TeePees, I finally found the free time to make my own - I made it for my daughter's 3rd birthday this week and she totally digs it. Added a "sheepskin" rug, some throw pillows, a llama poncho for a blanket and a "fire" light for effect...

Thursday DIY: Coat Rack

here

Inspired last week from this mudroom pictured above, I set out to build something similar. With much help from my Dad and his tools, we built this pine coat rack that I then painted white to match my trim. My photos don't have that star quality but take it from me, it looks so fantastic and because it is high up on the wall, it makes you notice the vaulted ceiling much more. I made a little kiddo one as well...amazing how many jackets two young children can have! It is winter after all so ALL the coats are out on display but we may have to extend theirs as our littlest gets older. 

 Everyone gets their own basket for hats, mittens and scarves.

 I am going to add a rod to the end here for hanging scarves and bags on. 

DIY Thursday: Cardboard

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Some really fun ideas for making magical toys out of cardboard. I already made Maya some cardboard beds for her babies - just cut a box to how I liked it, painted it and voila. Beds! I took pictures of them but my camera is not wanting to upload to my computer right now so you will have to use your imagination. I think I will work on this airplane next...or perhaps a boat. 

Thursday DIY: Braided Bead Bracelet

Wow, these look easy enough and super fun to wear. For full instructions go to Honestly...WTF

DIY Thursdays: Dresses and Skirts

Wow. I used to be so productive with just one kid! I ran across these photos of some shirts, dresses and skirts I made Maya when she was wee little one and some others for friend's kids. I cannot believe I had the time to do these. I can barely put the laundry away now...so what if sometimes it takes 4 days to actually get inside the drawers? Ahhh....maybe someday I will start sewing for Maya again...

DIY Thursdays: For a Rainy Day

tokketok

Keeping your kids entertained on a rainy day...I like to go out and play even if it's raining (a rain suit and rain gear are a great investment) but sometimes you just don't want to deal with the elements. So, here are some great ideas for fun with kraft paper:

- Draw a world for your toys (see above and below) The possibilities are endless - a forest, a city, small towns, airports, canals, seaports, mountains, rivers...you get the idea.
- trace your bodies
- last year we covered the walls in my friend's garage with kraft paper and let the kids go crazy with paints
- trace footprints and handprints

House of Giggles

Thursday DIY: Colored Ice Balls

From here

Fun fun fun alert! Ok this is so cool. I hope it snows in the city this year so we can do this - not sure if I'd be able to pull this off at the mountain, our freezer isn't that big. You basically fill a balloon with food coloring, then water, then freeze. Once frozen, break the balloon off and you have these amazing colored ice balls that you can play outside in the snow with! For full instruction go here.

Thursday DIY: Dresser and Curtain Revamp

Here are two items in my kid's room that were pretty simple DIY's.

I needed a dresser that was pretty low to the ground so that our little monkey wouldn't have far to fall if he were to lose his balance while on one of his frequent climbing adventures. I didn't want it too big either - these kids don't need a million clothes so 3 drawers each seemed just perfect. I also didn't want to spend any money. Ha! So I found this dresser at the Goodwill for $20 - but it was UGLY. It was this dark wood color that just didn't go with the colors in their room. So I painted it white and added some knobs to make it easy for little fingers to grasp and open. Now it matches the trim and looks great next to the fir door.

The curtains were even easier. I found some great fabric at a thrift store, cut them to size, trimmed the edges on the sewing machine and added clip-on curtain brackets. Done.

Thursday DIY: Shirts

sweetverbena

cottonandcurls

Wow. Some amazing DIY blog discoveries. The top photo is from Sweet-Verbena and is a lovely bow tie top. I made something very similar a few summers ago but these pictures and instructions are so perfect, I'll just pass these on. You can also extend the top to make a very easy summer dress.
The bottom one is from Cotton and Curls - she makes some pretty sweet retrofits from thrift store finds. Truly inspiring! I am going to try this, this, this and this.

Thursday DIY: Sweater Pants for Kiddos

prudentbaby

Ok. This is genius. PrudentBaby has shared a most easy baby pants tutorial. You use old sweaters and it takes under 30 (albeit uninterrupted) minutes to make! They are cozy, recycled and oh so cute!

DIY Freezer Paper Stencils

Freezer Paper Stenciling is so easy you'd be a fool not to try it. It is a fun way to add some jazz to those boring ol' plain clothes you have. I stenciled the above onesies for my baby and the "neigh-neigh" on some plain PJ's for my toddler. It is SO hard to find 3T pajamas that do not have a Disney figure on them...so I found some plain ones and added my own design. Pretty spectacular if you ask me. For directions go here. Have fun!

Felting Fun

I purchased these felt food patterns from this etsy shop a few years back before my daughter was born (you can also find a lot of free patterns online or make them up as you go). I went to town creating a whole assortment of felt goodies. When she hit the 2 year mark, she really started getting into them and they are getting their fair share of use in her daily "kitchen" play. I am going to have to start on a new batch for my little boy as I am sure he will want in on the action too in a few short years. When I will have the TIME to make these is another question but it doesn't hurt to put it out there. If I think about it long enough, I will eventually find the time for it. 

So, may I bid you a very merry weekend and encourage any and all acts of creativity! (It's raining here for the foreseeable future so this may be a good time to get on it)

DIY Bathroom Art

Check out this DIY tongue-in-cheek bathroom art.  I love it.  I think this will be a great winter craft when we are stuck in side most of the day.  From Ohdeedoh, she writes: After cutting the tubes in different widths, I painted a few of the insides then sprayed everything with an acrylic finish to protect against any moisture-related issues. Next, I arranged the pieces to form a design that I liked, glued them together and hung the assembly on the wall with a handful of straight pins. Inexpensive and easy to do, this shows that handmade art doesn't have to be a big undertaking."

DIY Shibori

It was a tie dying weekend over at the farm...we followed Honestly...WTF's instructions for Shibori and it was awesome.  I have done this before and each time they end up so very cool.  We did a bunch of onesies for some upcoming newborns and some old not-so-white-anymore T's.  I'm going to cut the collar off one of the T's and wear it Cali style.  Pretend the sun is sticking around even though I know the dark days of winter are fastly approaching.