Recent Toddler Projects {and a few resources for more ideas}

As Sonja is getting older and Vera is getting more alert, I've noticed I've gotten lazy.  And not really lazy but like, I don't want to get up while holding Vera lazy.  So, I headed to my Early Childhood Pin Board to search for some creativity.  Here are a few projects I choose to do with my kids and how it went...

1. I had lots of boxes left over from my classroom supplies so, I'm going to make these: Life Size Numbers Inspired from Here

2.Sonja won't stop talking about bowling and while we've only gone a handful of times, I know she LOVES it, so I'm collecting water bottles to make this bowling set.  {had to request the used water bottles from family and friends since we NEVER hardly ever use them}
Bowling Inspired from Here

3.

Husband is a spice and herb advocate, he uses a TON in each meal.  Most spices have medical benefits so I'm not complaining.  I thought this would be a good activity to help Sonja learn her spices and get her interested in being in the kitchen with Daddy {or at least get her out from under his feet while he's cooking}
Scent Cards Inspired from Here but modified and used to help with simple tasks such as cooking.

I used a clear, mostly unscented glue to create these sensory cards.

Sonja helped to pour the spices.

and these are the completed cards!

If you're looking for inspiration for homeschooling or #nonschooling ideas check out My Early Childhood Pinboard on Pinterest.

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Upcycled Scrap Fabric Garland {for Sonja's Third Birthday}

My little is going to be three next month! wow, when did that happen? I guess with the pregnancy and new baby I almost missed the part about my toddler becoming a kid!

Anyway, to finally get into party planning mode, I checked my pinterest board and started this project, along with a few others.  This year is owl themed! And the colors are orange, blue, brown and pink.  that's a lot of colors but I'm also using a lot of prints and patterns featuring owls. So, this garland is mostly blue, while other decor will feature oranges and pinks.

I checked my scrap fabric drawer for fabrics and patterns that matched my theme, and these were what I came up with.  I always save ribbon so I had this white 'string' to use for the garland.

I cut the scrap fabric into strips 1-2 inches thick, no measuring! and about 6-10 inches long, I wanted it to be a mixture of lengths so I simple spaced out the different lengths to create the variation and 'pattern'

I tied each strip into a knot like when you start to tie your shoes and repeat, {over and under the bridge, repeat}once they were all tied, I slid them close together and pulled each strip down so it hung properly.

Here it is completed on the back of a chair, although, I'm not sure how or where I'll be displaying this garland, I think I'm going to have her party at the park this year, so we can have some real rescued owls, without my dogs attacking them.

wish me luck! happy party planning.

-Jenn

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NonSchooling Classroom Update no. 1

I shared some photos on my twitter and instagram of our new classroom and guest room and thought I should probably share them here as well, with a little more information and a little decor analysis for those of you also looking to set up a classroom in your own home.

Here's what we've got going on in our 10x10 guest room...

My istacollage.

 This chalkboard is an upcycled gift from a sweet friend, her church had a few they were going to toss {its not in NEW condition but still got a little life left in it}. It cost nothing to install! The globe pictured on this shelf was a regift from my father-in-law. It's got beautiful gems and minerals for the continents and countries.  Husband's work printed those letters for a textbook company and this was a sample.  I also added these bins {in grey} to the top shelf of this ikea bookself.  Since I had the bookshelf from another room I'm not counting the original $89 cost.  But the 4 bins did bring me to just over $52 investment for this section of our classroom. But that's what I get for buying new...

This corner of the room was almost all upcycled as well.  My sister in law gave us this dresser when she moved out.  Good condition and free, but I'm planning on splurging on some anthropologie knobs {one, two, three, four, or five}.  The mirror was upcycled from my father-in-laws house and the tea cups were from my collection now on proper display.  That vintage sewing machine {that probably doesn't work} was  $10 donation find at a church garage sale.  The drawers are reserved for guests although a few of them are filled with printer paper and classroom supplies.

Not pictured: desk also gifted from my sister in law and matching chair.

Not yet purchased: World Map to hang above said desk.


And that's our current classroom, I'm sure you'll see more of it as you follow along with our non-schooling process and as I complete more D.I.Y. Projects for the room.  Thanks for reading along!

-Jenn

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Emily's Bridal Shower {post no. 3; decor prep.}

Painted Plastic-ware.

I HATE plastic!

HATE disposable items.

HATE them.  They're destryoing our oceans and planet. However, I do believe that reusing is better than wasting. So when I needed to add a few more serving pieces to my vintage gold set for Emily's bridal shower, I decided to steal a few of my mom's plastic "silver" ware pieces and upcycled them with a touch of teal.

Here's what I did... 

Taped them to the paper bag with the area I wanted to paint exposed. 

Took them outside and placed them on top of the rest of the paper bag 

And painted. 

I allowed to dry for an hour and then added them to the stash.

After the party I saved them and added them to the dishwasher with the other pieces and they survived, paint and all.  So while I HATE plastic, I'd rather reused these pieces a few more times before tossing them. I'll see how long they last, please feel free to let me know if you've had success with painting real silverware as one of my friends was asking about that after seeing my instagram post of the above images.

Happy Silveware painting!

Jenn

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Emily's Bridal Shower {post no. 2; decor prep.}

For my sister-in-law's Bridal Shower, we made Succulent Tea Cups to give away to the guests.  I spent hours searching local Goodwills to find the perfect tea cups {with in our budget $3-5 each}.  Then my other sister-in-law picked out these adorable succulents and assembled them for her shower.  I couldn't be happier with the results and all the guests loved them.  They doubled as centerpieces and added a vintage desert touch.

For 15 of these beauties, the cost is about $5 each coming to a grand total of about $80-90.

Here they are in action...

More Bridal Shower posts to follow!  

-Jenn

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DIY Chalkboards {upcycled frames, cardboard & spray paint}

I wish I could say I found these frames at a thrift store, but after MONTHS of looking, I finally found what I wanted, at Hobby Lobby.  Thankfully, these were on sale 40% off and since they were the wrong color, I still had to upcycle them into something I wanted.

Frames total cost was about $40 and spray paint another $6. 

I did a bunch of projects all at once but you can see the frames drying.

While those were drying I used this chalkboard spray paint another $8 {I didn't even use half the can} to paint this cardboard lid.  I painted 3 coats of the chalkboard paint, allowing to dry COMPLETELY between layers. 

Once dry I cut the box down to fit the holes on the frames. I used a combination of scissors and exacto blades to get a perfect fit. 

I didn't even have to use glue they just fit from pressure.  Since these are just temporary frames for my baby sprinkle, I didn't want to make them on wood, and this way I can discard the chalkboard if I want to later and add a real painting or images to the frame guilt free. 

All done.

You can see them in use at the baby party, here.

-Jenn

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Emily's Bridal Shower {post no. 1; decor prep.}

I'm co-planning my Sister-In-Law's Bridal Shower, and decided to share some of the party prep.  such as decor, invitations and menu, here, for inspiration if you're planning something similar.  I'll be doing a few posts regarding the whole event.  Also, most of her wedding is pretty D.I.Y. so I'll be sharing lots of that as the wedding gets closer.

This post is two part. First the upcycled ball jars I plan on using for either silverware or flowers. And the second, an upcycled book project to use as additional decor.

Upcycled Painted Ball Jars.

What you'll need:

thrifted ball jars, cleaned and dried.

paint colors of your choice

outdoor space to spray paint

These jars were going to be tossed after a prom event my other SIL worked at, she snagged them from going in the dumpster and shared a stash with me.  There is some candle wax on the inside, but if I use them for flowers or utensils it won't really matter.  {easy way to get wax out is freeze the glass and gently tap onto hard surface after wax has set. It will literally, pop right out}

Set upside down, spaced further apart wouldn't hurt if you have more room to do so. 

Spray evenly with first coat of paint, allow to dry and repeat where necessary. 

If you have the rings for the lids, you can get creative and add accent colors to the jars, since her colors are gold and teal I topped the lids with a beautiful teal ring. 

Upcycled Painted Discarded Book.

What you'll need:

ugly, discarded hard cover book

paint colors of your choice

scrap paper to cover the inner pages while painting the hard cover

outdoor space to spray paint

I work part time for an architect doing billing and such, we got the 2013 edition of this book in on Tuesday.  So, I snagged this old one and decided to use it for the Bridal Shower{and maybe for a shelf later}.

You can see the inside is nothing worth saving.  And I don't think you can recycle hard cover books, so upcycle it is!

First, open the book and hold the pages so you can paint the inside with the accent color.

Close and finish the other areas, hold the outside where it was first painting so you don't get paint on your hands.  IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU GET PAINT ON THE COVER IN THIS STEP, because you're going to paint the cover next! 

 Allow to dry before continuing to the next step.
Place something heavy on the book, lay flat to dry, this way the pages don't get waterlogged and wrinkly from the paint.

Once dry, cover the pages with scrap paper and easy to remove tape, as pictured below...

Make sure all pages are well wrapped and use tape to fill in any exposed parts. 

Then paint the top and binding of the book, allow to dry, flip and repeat. 

You *Might* need two layers of paint, but I didn't. 

Once dry remove scrap paper and taa-daa! a perfect matching book!

Probably going to be displayed with tea cups and such.

Happy Upcycling!

 Jenn

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