Kids Playroom + Black Paint & Sidewalk Chalk

Pretty much what the titles says. :)

We all know how yucky kids rooms get, and playrooms are the worst!

We took the carpet up months ago, and found beat up hardwood floor underneat that couldn't be salvaged. Because it's a kids playroom and bound to get gross again (duh!) we decided against replacing the carpet.

That left us with very little choices, I just decided to go with it and paint the floor. Why black? It's what I had the most of in the paint cupboard. Throw in chalkboard paint and you have a brilliant idea born out of being a complete tightwad. The kids totally love it, especially on rainy days when they can't draw outside. By the way, that is not chalkboard paint either, but regular indoor laytex, in satin finish. It works quite well!

Solar System Mobile

As I was tucking my sweet, sunny kid Adam into bed the other night, he asked me very innocently how does it get dark? I grabbed up my nearest ball of yarn and held it up to his light fixture and slowly turned it - explaining how the earth revolves and as it turns away from the sun it is cast into shadow, thus creating night.
I think it took him an hour to quiet down and stop asking questions! But I could tell the next morning that he had been up late into the night, pondering the mysteries of the universe - at least, the solar system!
A trip to the library the following day and a dig into Mama's craft drawer were obviously needed! Together, we made a planet mobile to hang in his room.

Materials: 10 styrofoam balls (we included Pluto) of various sizes
                  Paste
                  Paper for paper mache
                  Craft Paint
                  20 gauge galvanized steel wire (any sturdy wire will work)
                  Fishing line or string
                   Dowel rod

I rounded up some styrofoam balls of various sizes. I think I have a six inch ball for the sun, 3 four inch balls (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus), 4 three inch balls (Earth, Mercury, Venus, Neptune), 1 two inch ball (Mars), and 1 one inch ball (Pluto). I'm not sure if the sizes are all to scale with each other, I just used what I had on hand.
The kids helped recycle paper lunch sacks by ripping them to shreds. Any paper suitable for paper mache will work though.

Using a flour and water paste mixture (half a cup of flour to two cups of water, bring it to a boil and let it cool), we covered the styrofoam balls and let them dry.

I used plain old craft paint, mixed to different colors to paint the planets. I painted the trickier ones, like Earth, but the kids could easily handle the plain planets like Mars and Neptune.

For the rings around Saturn, I made a "nest" out of the galvanized steel. I then took two 3 inch pieces of the wire and bent it into a U, and pushed them into the sides of the ball, securing the rings.








I made 10 more U shapes out of the wire and inserted them into the tops of the styrofoam balls. This is what I attached the fishing line to.

I cut the dowel rod into two equal pieces (I should have used two dowel rods so the planets had more space) and notched out the center with a pair of wire snippers so that they could recces down into each other and not swivel. I used a piece of wire to bind them together.





Using fishing line, I strung the planets and the sun from the dowel rods and hung them from the ceiling.

Reusable Vacuum Bag

I truly love my Eureka Rally. It is the best vacuum I've ever owned. In fact, this is my third one. With multiple types of flooring, from hardwood to tile to carpet plus two narrow steep staircases, the compact lightweight canister is the perfect vacuum for me. Now since this isn't an advertisement for Eureka, I will tell you what I hate about it. The bags! So annoying!
The bags are a bit small, so they need changing frequently. Because I cannot stand seeing my money go into the trash, I began emptying them out and reusing them. There is no good way to do this. It involved pulling, digging and birthing all kinds of nasty dust and debris through a tiny orifice to be tossed. I'm neurotic, I know.
My kids saw me doing this enough times that they decided they had to do this as well, with the results that they often ripped the bag and ruined it when it was only a quarter of the way full. Imagine me irritated.
Solution! Yeah baby! A reusable bag made of cloth with a zipper in place!

Materials:
Scrap fabric, cut into 9 pieces. Measure your vacuum bag to make sure you're getting your dimensions right. Basically, you're making a rectangular box with six sides, but since one side has a zipper it will need two strips.You will also two flaps that will go onto the sides of the zipper.
Cardboard brace from an old vacuum bag.
Piece of flat rubber.
Zipper.
Drill, small drill bit, tapestry needle and yarn.



Take the two thinner strips to be used for your zipper side of the "box" and fold over the edges of on side about half of an inch. You want to press that with an iron, or just rub it really hard with your fingers to make it stay. Pin each folded side to your zipper and sew it.














I know it's hard to tell in this picture, but here I sewed two flaps (of sorts) over the gaps on each side of the zipper. I just took two small pieces of fabric, folded and pressed the sides under, laid them each over the gaps, and top stitched then down all the way around. I then trimmed the excess from the outer edges.













I took another long rectangular piece and cut a hole in the middle, where it would line up with my hose inside my vacuum. It's actually a bit offset, I just followed my old bag as a guide. The hole doesn't need to be perfect, but it does need to be top stitched down to keep it from tearing.

Here I sewed all four of my long sides together, I chose to place the zipper on the side next to the hole, that way I can get to it and open it without taking it out of the vacuum if I have to. If, for instance, I vacuum up an army man and need to retrieve him hastily.






Next, I sewed on my two sides, making sure my zipper was open for turning it right side out.











I don't even remember where this piece of rubber came from, but I knew I needed to have something that would stand up for a great long while and not that flimsy bit of latex(?) from the disposable. I cut it to fit, and removed the old gasket.

I used my drill and drill bit to place holes all the way around the cardboard hole, making sure to keep them inside the borders of my rubber pieces. You may see that I had traced around my rubber square to see that I was placing my holes where they needed to be.
Afterward, I sandwiched my rubber between the cardboard and the cloth bag, lining everything up, and used my tapestry needle and sturdy yarn to sew it on. It's not the prettiest thing, but it's not like anyone will see it.



Insert bag and go! I have used the bag several times now, and it works just like I pictured. The hose fits right over the gasket and gives an air tight seal, the bag unzips to empty it whenever I like. It does get sort of dusty, but you totally would expect that. Oh! And as long as I have this vacuum, I need never buy another bag.

Rainbow Friends

Rainbow Friend Dolls

I'm not going to get into the politics on why I decided to make these dolls, but I have been working on them for a few months now. I thought I would wait to post a blog entry once I had their clothing made, but I've gotten so busy. Don't worry, these naked cuties will soon have their garments. Likely, they will have received a fair amount of wear and tear and be looking quite raggedy by the time I finally do! So for now, please excuse the nudity! ;-)

These dolls were made using acrylic yarn, but any worsted weight should do fine. As you see, there are two of each color - a brother and a sister. I quite emphasize that fact when my children are playing with them. The kids named them as I made each one, and from left to right there are: Julia, Dannon, Gaga, Roland, Barbara, Arlo, Teena, and Louis. My husband and I did not influence the names at all, I must say, I am quite impressed with the style and variety!

And while I'm at it, I would like to plug in my first book recommendation! "A Rainbow of Friends" by PK Hallinan, just says exactly what I was wanting to say to my kids with these dolls. So when the set was complete and I gave them the dolls, I also gave them this book, and read it to them every night for about the past month. It rhymes, so that made it even more fun and kept it from getting monotonous!
A Rainbow of Friends by PK Hallinan

This pattern is very inexact. In fact, I feel like the emphasis on difference between each doll can be further compounded by making each a different shape. Therefore, I will say approximately or about, often. You can make some slightly shorter, some slightly thinner, some chubbier, some with longer torsos. In fact, you can even give them amputated limbs if you like. I didn't think to do this until after they were finished.

Supplies:

Worsted weight yarn, various skin tones.

5 size 3 double pointed needles.

Yarn scraps for holding stitches.

Various yarns for eyes and hair.

Pillow fluff

Really small crochet hook , size f, I think.

...................................................................................

So now, the pattern. On size 3 double ended needles:

Cast on 12 stitches (three onto four needles)

1. - k 1 round.

2. - k1m1 all the way around, doubling the amount stitches so that you have six on each needle for a total of 24 stitches.

3. Knit in the round for approximately 15 rows.

4. Decrease the stitches by half, by knitting 2 together (k2tog).

5. Knit 4 or 5 rows, just to make the neck.

6. Increase your stitches again by double (k1m1).

7. Knit 4 or 5 more rows.

8. Once you've completed another row and come back to your start, knit across the needle and then turn around and purl back.

9. Continue to knit and then purl two more times, so that you have 3 knitted and 3 purled rows that are not connected to the rest of the work. Just hanging down like a little flap. Cut the yarn, leaving a few inches.

10. Onto the other side of the doll, on the opposite needle of your flap, insert your needle into the first stitch and knit across, turn, purl, turn, knit, turn, purl, turn, knit, turn, purl so that you have a second flap to match the one opposite it.

11. Turn the work again and knit across the second flap. Once you come to the end of it, do not turn, but place your needle into the first stitch onto the other flap and knit a few of the stitches.

12. You're going to want to take the two unused needles that are holding your stitches at the shoulders. Use a small crochet hook or a large tapestry needle to place a scrap piece of yarn into these stitches.

13. Take the two needles you just removed from the shoulders and disperse your stitches at the bottom of the work onto all four needles evenly. It doesn't have to be perfect, you're just going to be knitting in the round again.

14. Once all of the stitches at the bottom of the work are back onto all 4 needles, continue to knit across and join the flaps at the other side and just continue to work in the round.

15. You should now have an egg shape that is the head. A neck, chest, two arm holes, and as you continue knitting your rounds, you create a trunk - about 25 to 30 rows should do.

16. Once you have your trunk knitted, there's a couple of things to do. First, take a minute to stuff the head full of fluff. Second, remove the stitches from the needles and place them onto a stitch holder or a scrap piece of yarn, and cut the yarn leaving a few inches.

17. One at a time, make your arms. Start by placing the stitches that you have on hold back onto the needle. If you followed the pattern exactly, you should have 4. Take up your yarn and knit across these. Now you want to place your needles along the sides of the armhole. You can do this by inserting a crochet hook through the front of the work, grabbing the working yarn and pulling it through, then slide your needle through. Do this about 5 times on each side, so that you have a triangle you can begin knitting in the round. Knit in the round for about 20 stitches.

18. Once you have your arm the length that you want it, decrease your stitches by half, and then half again. Cut your yarn leaving a few inches for a tail. Use your crochet hook to pull the tail in through the stitches and slip them off of the needles. Pull the tail tight to cinch the hole closed. Tie the end off the same way you would weave it in, and then use your crochet hook to pull the tail inside of the arm.

19. Do this again to the other arm hole so that you have two arms, head, neck, and trunk.

20. Stuff your arms and torso with fluff.

Now you need to get ready to make the legs.

21. Find the center of the torso from the front. Hopefully, you will have an even number of stitches, and can divide them in half equally. Where you're going to create the split for each leg, insert your needle into the first stitch on one side and take 1/3 of those stitches onto the first needle, 1/3 onto the second needle, and 1/3 onto a third needle. Keep the rest of the stitches on the scrap yarn.

22. You should at this point, have half of your stitches on hold, and the other half divided equally onto 3 needles. Insert your needle into the first needle you place (in the center of the doll), grab your working yarn and knit across all three needles. When you come to the end of your third needle, grab a fourth needle and with your working yarn, cast on a few stitches using the revers, or backwards cast on method. You can add as few as four, or as many as you have on each of your other three needles. Join the new needle to the start of the row and you now have a round to build your leg on.

23. Knit the leg in the round, about 25 rows until you have it as long as you'd like. Stuff it with fluff, and close it up, the same way you did the arms.

24. Begin the second leg in the same way you began the arms, and then knit it in the round until it is as long as the first leg, stuff it, and close it up the same way.

25. Now you should have a plain dollie. Congratulations! Now comes the fun part! Examine the doll to see which side looks more like a front. You can push and bend and shape the head to give one side more of a chin. Use your crochet hook to tie in yarn for the eyes. You can insert your hook into a stitch in the front, pull up a loop of your eye color yarn, and then pull the tails in through the loop. And then insert the hook from the back of the head to grab your tails and pull them through the entire head and out the back. If they show a little, they will be covered by hair. Hair is done the same way, except you don't hide the tails - they are the hair itself.

Whether you make a lot of different dollies or only one or two, allow your child to name him or her and if you're not too busy, make them some clothes. :)