Recycling fun

A few months ago, I saw something like this online*.

We tried hotwheels, squinkies, those disney cars drifter things and trash wheels. Marbles or squinkie balls work the best (of course).


*I like to google image search for cardboard box race track to keep up with the latest! 
 

Moved the truck photos, now the curtains seem too light

I love the truck photo wall! I grouped the pictures by colour, using a level here and there to check the lines. We have a backlog of 100 or so photos my son wants to print. Actually, 155 more pictures, I just checked. I will have to negotiate that number down a bit, or we need to swap some out.

A handful of photos have my sons in them, posing beside or on the trucks (the science center car, the jeep at the LA children's museum, the zoo trucks, centreville ride, etc...) Really great memories!! I can't believe how small my older son was when we started this!

Oh and new pillows! I bought the blue DKNY Euro Shams for $9.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond Clearance at the beginning of summer. The NYC pillow cases are from Urban Outfitters - I had them in the basement for a time. I brought them out today because mama (that's me) and ba (my husband) are going to NYC for two nights while they spend time here with their grandparents.

What do you think about the curtains? Too light now? They are silk from west elm - at least five years old. I am not bold enough to dye them. Or am I?  Hmmm.... Any thoughts?

Pillow Project

A little project I am working on that is going much faster (and sucking up WAY MORE YARN*) than I imagined!

I was hunting online for great pillows for the kids beds at the cottage and I saw fuzzy ones for $180 that I knew I could make!!!

I asked mom to bring up the leftover yarn and rug canvas she saved from when we were kids. She had quite a few colours and I hoped there was enough from this hodge podge to make one euro sham. At the time, it seemed like sooo much yarn, but it's all used up!

It makes more sense to start rug hooking at the bottom of the canvas and work your way up. I cheated a bit and hooked yarn guys all over the place in a random happy way. I wanted to make sure that the 80's colours were spread out all over the pillow, in case I had to buy new yarn to finish it off. 

It's loud, but that's cool!  I really love it!

Sorry, this post is useless as a DIY because I have no idea how much I have used so far, or how much I still need. I do have a link to colours.

I will come back when I am done the second (and third?) pillow with a cost breakdown. It's not going to be cheap, because of the volume of yarn, binding, pillow back and buttons or zipper...Still, I think I can get one done for $40-50...I mean, I hope it costs way less than that, but at this rate...

JEEZ it's 5pm...gotta start cooking! Whole rainbow trout tonight with tomato cucumber salad and veggie sticks.

Sources: Pillow One , Pillow Two


*have to order more from Mary Maxim to finish

ps. the kids LOVE it and every time I get it out they come over and fight over who's pillow it is...charming boys ps. I just thought of something! You could buy a latch hooking kit of a butterfly or boat or penguin or duck, as long as it's in a colourway you like, then scramble up the colours!!!! Way cheaper!!!

Turn your recycling into this...

We saved up boxes from snacks, cereal, winter boots, toys, diapers, and other household items then turned them into a truck tower (with lots of bridges and tunnels and ramps and tape) 

We put it together a month ago and the boys still play with it all the time. Their favorite part is shooting cars down the wrapping paper tube - CRASH! onto the floor.   

ps. This gave me the idea.

Library book

This book is a jem.

"Where's my TRUCK?" by Karen Beaumont
 
Two year old and 4 1/2 year old approved. In fact, they like it so much, we ordered our own copy from amazon!

Afghan Tent

Used a cord, originally from the dollar store, that I had stashed in the garage (a blue clothes line)...and two large nails with picture hanging hooks. This afghan is from an estate sale and it's really long and narrow.

I saw it on Pinterest first

update: nail fell out, switched to a screw 

Truck Crafts

Here are three "truck crafts" the boys and I completed over the last few weeks of summer vacation

Cookie trucks - my four year old drew the truck templates on paper, I cut them out of the dough
Parking garage - saw it here first
Truck puzzle

My son wants to turn every box that enters the house into something. Thank god for kindergarten, because I was running out of ideas!!

ps. We also made this truck,

Kids Art

Last week, my son painted a picture of a bus at a stop light, using acrylic paints on some old white foam core board. I trimmed the picture (I had to cut out the skinny pink cloud at the top, my son was distraught over that), and framed it in a poster frame that had been left in pieces in the utility room. I think my husband is going to bring it downtown and hang it in his office... 

I also have a clear envelop of truck pictures my son drew. I want to turn them into a book, or maybe even a story book or maybe even a black and white line poster...something that I can keep forever! I can't wait to get started! We have a scanner, but I think the easiest thing to do is take a photo of each picture...from there, well, I am not sure...

ps. I can't keep him little!


UPDATE: I hung it here:

Wouldn't it be great if...

...toys put themselves away?

Missing toys bother me WAY more than they should...

...missing toys

Where do they go?

I mentally catalogue every toy that comes into the house*...we clean up once or twice a day, and put everything back into its correct place.
 
When something goes missing my head explodes. 

After lunch we picked up the blocks. Where is the last one?? It is always just one, you know? Where in the world could it be?  Not on the floor, or under the appliances, chairs, under the newspapers, not in the dining room, not in any cupboard, not in the trash (garbage picker, I checked no less than three times), not on the counters, not in the hall closet, not in the powder room...NOT IN ANY OF THE SHOES. Not with the mittens, not in the bottom of the stroller, not on the living room floor.  COME ON...I mean, they were all here this morning.  Just a few hours ago the set was complete. What could have happened to it?

umm..well, there is a one year old and a three year old in the house...so just about ANYTHING could have happened to it!

I finally gave up looking, but I can't stop thinking about it.  I told myself it will show up, and I am trying to let it go...but, it's soo hard.  It's like admitting defeat.

*Crazy


Update: 2:45pm We found it! It's nice to have my temporary insanity documented!

It's fall in my room!

Yesterday, my son and I made a garland out of leaves for his room.  

My son gets frustrated when he colours out of the lines.  I am not sure who told him he couldn't go out of the lines. For this project, I encouraged it*!

I made a few extras this morning!

*He's three! As long as he is colouring on paper, and not the walls, blankets, or his brother, I am happy!!

Pasta Trucks

This week is kicking my butt. The baby has an ear infection. Clingy. Screamy. Fussy. Unhappy.  Yesterday, I finally got him to nap (by himself) and my older son and I made pasta trucks. We used blue glitter glue, three types of pasta and cardboard from the sides of a diaper box.

Then for lunch, we cooked up more pasta trucks!!!

Painting Picnic

The next time we painted, I swore we would do it outside.

Set up & Clean up: at least an 1hr (including 2 baths, since somehow the little one was covered in yellow!)
Painting time: 20 minutes - if that!

One happy artist!!!