Putting Ideas on Paper!
We all have lots of ideas of things that we would like to build or projects that we would like to do, but it can be very difficult to take the idea and turn it into something real. In order to take the idea that is floating around in my head and give it a physical formI always start a project with a quick hand sketch. I have attached the sketch of one the projects that I am currently working on, a children’s play stove. As you can see it is rudimentary, no dimensions and it is not to scale. But, it does provide a clear illustration of what I want to build and it gives me a starting point I from which to refine the design. In a month or two when the stove project is finished you can check back and see how much my play stove actually looks like its prototype sketch.
Paint the Flowers on the Wall!
The other day my family and I went to our local craft store to pick up some supplies. When we were walking around, we noticed some unpainted, flower shaped peg hooks for less than a dollar each. We knew they would look great on the wall of our daughter’s room. Plus they help us keep her stuff organized! Right now she has all of her purses hanging from them. They would also be great for holding a school bag, a coat, a bath robe, etc.
This is a fun and simple project. We didn’t actually build the flowers, but we still put a little bit of our own touch on them by painting them ourselves.
And the final picture shows how cute they look on the wall!
Origami Butterfly Dollar Bill!
Origami is something that I have always thought looked extremely interesting, taking a piece of paper and folding it into an intricate creature or object.
I had never tried origami myself until I happened by this post on Haute*Nature blog complete with good illustrations, that inspired me to attempt to create butterfly from a dollar bill. I say attempt because as you can see in the photo mine did not turn out perfect. However, I encourage you to try some origami if you have not tried it before. I thought it was fun and I am definitely going to attempt more origami projects in the future.
Carve A Pumpkin!
After getting lots of candy, carving a pumpkin is definitely the funnest part of Halloween. This year our www.justbuildstuff.com pumpkin is pretty simple, we just carved the phrase “Trick or Treat?” into the pumpkin.
To make the pattern used to cut the words from, we printed out the words on a sheet of 8.5″ X 11″ paper (you can pick the font and size to suit your own tastes). Then we taped the words to the pumpkin.
To give us an outline on the pumpkin to cut from we poked holes through the paper to leave a pattern that we could cut along. After we poke the hole, we use a little saw and a knife to cut the letters out.
After all the letters are cut we clean out the inside of the pumpkin, saving the seeds for roasting, then we put a light inside the pumpkin and watch it glow!
Trick-or-Treat Memory Bag
This post explains how to make a craft that is both practical and sentimental – a trick-or-treat memory bag. Once again, my subscription to Family Fun magazine provided me with a great idea for a holiday craft. To create this item you will need a plain canvas bag and either permanent markers or fabric paint. Simply lie out the canvas bag and let your artistic talent go to work as you draw a Halloween design. As my daughter is still very young, I am making a bag for her. I decided that I would decorate her trick-or-treat bag by documenting what her Halloween costume is each year. In the future, she can look back at all of her costumes and remember what she dressed up as in the past. Or, if you are having a Halloween party, it might be fun to provide a canvas bag to each of the partygoers and have each of them autograph the bag and list their costume.
Halloween is a time of spooky fun and imagination. When I was young, I had so much fun dreaming up with what I wanted to be. This bag helps document the fun and creativity of a child and is a great tradition to add to anyone’s Halloween.
