Our Colored Duct Tape Craft DIY's now on Parent & Child blog!

Remember our fun line up of duct tape crafts for Scholastic's Parent & Child magazine? Well you can now access them online here. So fun! Really great line up of fun indoor crafts you can do with your kiddos while stuck indoors this winter. So hurry and go check it out!

Duct Taping with Parent & Child Mag

Happy Monday friends! Have you seen the latest issue of Parent & Child magazine yet? It's full of some really great stuff. A few months ago they asked us to share with you some great duct tape crafts that you can do with your little ones (of all ages) and we are so excited to see it out.

Meta was my go-to for props and photography and she also had some great connections for little models. Like this twin brother and sister pair who modeled the belt and headband craft.

Are you not just in love with them?! They were really great to work with (in another lifetime I want to have twins :)).

And do you recognize this little cutie? She made an appearance in my Babiekins headband tutorial. Darling girl and a natural in front of the camera. She's seriously one of the best I've worked with.

And I have to say, this little cat purse just might be my favorite craft in the article (but it's so hard to pick just one!). Check out Parent & Child's latest issue, on stands now, for full instructions.

(Oh and Little O was excited to make the cut and finally see himself in a magazine as his older brother has had his own little dose of print fame. The above photo didn't make into the magazine but I think it's just oh so sweet.).

And as it is the season of giving, wouldn't these be the most perfect gifts for your kids to make and gift?! These are seriously some great, simple and affordable hand made gifts for you kids to get in on the spirit of giving! Something we all want to foster within our kiddos, right?!

Our DIY IKEA RIBBA Picture Ledge Tree

I wanted to do something different with our Christmas tree this year and after a recent trip to IKEA, I knew just what to do. Using IKEA's Ribba Picture Ledges Jon and my brother Kenton (who was in town for Thanksgiving) helped to make my vision come to life.

I was hoping to post on this much earlier but with baby girl in the hospital all week last week (with RSV - she's doing much better) things got put on the back burner a bit. But let me tell you we've loved having this tree up (the boys too! I was afraid the wouldn't think it was as cool as a real tree but they tell everyone about it wherever we go!) and it was just the perfect thing to calm our hearts when coming home.

To make this tree we purchased three 45.25" RIBBA ledges, two 21.75" ledges and one of the small ones for the very top. Because of course this would be temporary, I decided to use Command Strips to put it up. Worked like a charm. We laid out all of our shelves to decide just how large we wanted this. In the end we came up with the following measurments:

top shelf: 9"
2nd shelf: 15.5"
3rd shelf: 23"
4th shelf: 30.5"
5th shelf: 38"
6th shelf: 45.25"

The cuts were simple and quick to make. To install, we took a look at our wall and determined that we wanted 12" between each shelf. Then using our Command Strips we put our tree up. We used a total of 6 large strips for the lowest shelf, 4 for the next one up and so on, adjusting according to the size of the shelf and what we wanted it to hold.

We then got out our holiday trimmings and decorated our new tree! The boys love it! We just have to advise them not to play with their toys on the shelves too much (yeah right! There's a good reason why the styling is off a bit on the bottom shelf ;).

I also recently tried another variation by adding all of our books from our advent to the shelves (something I actually had in mind from the get-go). I'm super happy with the results but I will advise that if you are trying to go this route, I might secure the shelves to the wall with screws as the Command Strips might not be quite strong enough.

This project was so much quicker than I had even originally imagined so you definitely could still do it this holiday season. There are so many different ways to go with this and the decorating options are endless. I already have an entirely new deco scheme planned for next year! (or maybe I'll do it this year...you never know what mom's going to rearrange around here).

Crafting for Design Sponge: Bleach-Dot Clutch

When Kate Pruitt, of Design Sponge, asked me if I wanted to contribute a few DIY crafts for us older "kids", just in time for the holidays, I jumped at the chance. You know that I'm completely enamoured with kids crafting but I welcomed the chance to kick up the sophistication a notch.

This week I will be sharing with you how to create your very own Bleach Dotted Clutch. This would seriously make the most perfect gift and trust me, it's very easy to make.


Hop on over the Design Sponge for the full DIY. But be careful, you just might fall in love with this so much, you'll want to keep it for yourself!


(and OK, since I just can't help myself, you could do this with the Littles too - particularly the 8 and up crowd. Just supervise the bleaching part. Otherwise it's seriously a great "learn how to sew" project! Perfect little pencil pouch.).

Liz's Mini Peplum top tutorial on Cotton and Curls!

Did you guys see the adorable tutorial Liz put up for the this cute mini peplum top? You will die and want to make a closet full, like I do! There are so many cute options for this top. Thanks Liz!!

DIY Hand Stamped Swaddle Blankets

I can't believe I only have a month (or less) left before our bitty baby girl arrives! I've been trying to do my best to prepare for her arrival amidst all the many things going on here - back-to-school, illustration work, blogging and more! Little by little things are starting to look like a baby just might be coming to stay in our home soon.

Last week I decided to create a few hand stamped swaddle blankets made out of a gauzy muslin fabric. I like how simple they were to do and how graphic they turned out.

To make these I cut up large squares of muslin fabric. (I referenced Dana's tutorial for this). I then used black fabric paint and a handmade stamp to create the pattern.

The trick for me was to apply the paint to the stamp with a paint brush before stamping onto the muslin. I got much better stamping coverage this way as opposed to when I just dipped the stamp right into the paint. The coverage of was still varied a bit but I actually like this as it gives it that "hand stamped" feel.

After hand stamping the blanket to my liking, I hemmed the edges of the muslin.

I then created another one from a pretty salmon pink fabric found on my LA Fabric District shopping spree (I think it's the same fabric as Dana used in her tutorial! what are the chances?). I then used a rain drop stamp for this one...which admittedly looks a bit like watermelon seeds with this color of fabric.

Rain drops? Watermelon seeds? You decide. Either way, I'm so excited to swaddle and cuddle up my little girl in these when she arrives!

Now to find a crib...and perhaps a rocking chair...and...

DIY Paint Chip Feather Crowns for Babiekins Magazine

One of my all time favorite online (and now in print!) kids magazine, Babiekins, asked me to create a kids craft for their current issue! I could not have been more thrilled.

Channeling my current love for beautifully colored paint chips I decided to use them to create these simple and darling feather crowns. Head over to Babiekins for the full DIY!

And a special thanks to Meta, of One More Mushroom, who helped with the prop styling and photography for the tea party shoot. Didn't it just turn out so adorable!

And another big thank you to all of my little models! They were just too too cute for words.

And I don't know about you, but I'm in the mood for a little tea party now. A perfect way to transition from summer to fall, don't you think?

Paint Chip Animal Friends

I trust all US readers had an excellent 4th of July. Ours was hot, hot, hot! We spent most of the day in my parents pool (here in Colorado - where the fires are finally starting to calm down and be contained. Hopefully no new ones will pop up!). We had a great time though.

And if you are looking for a new, fun and super easy (not to mention practically free!) craft for your little ones to do (perhaps indoors while avoiding the hot summer heat), look no further than our fun little paint chip animal friends. Head over the Handmade Charlotte for the full DIY.
I know your little ones will love these new little animal amigos just as much as mine did! I think we'll be sharing this fun craft with all of our cousins later today. Perhaps that will give us moms some time to sit, sew and chat together.
 Enjoy!

Kids Pinwheel Necklace DIY over at Handmade Charlotte Today

This simple and cute craft will be a will be the perfect accessory to your little darlings summer attire. For the full DIY head over to Handmade Charlotte.
And a special thanks to our little friend for modeling. I think she looks just like an angel is this pic below.
And thanks to her awesome mom Amelia. We had such fun on the photo shoot! You can tell just how funny and spunky this little lady is in this pic. I think, like her pops, she's destined for the big screen!

DIY Gradient Blocks over at Handmade Charlotte today

Hi friends! My next craft installment for Handmade Charlotte is up today! Head on over and see how you can make your own set of colorful gradient blocks. You'll love playing with them as much as yours kids do!

And don't forget to enter the giveaway to win two of my items for Mudpuppy. Like mer mag on facebook and you'll be entered twice!

Happy Weekend!

Crafting for Handmade Charlotte this Summer!

Hello friends! I'm thrilled to announce that I will crafting over at Handmade Charlotte this summer! Yippee! Rachel Faucett, of Handmade Charlotte, has one of the best eyes for modern and vintage children's toys, crafts, games, clothes, you name it. If you are not following her deliciously inspiring pins, I suggest you start doing so now!

Today I am sharing a fun spin on the traditional paper doll. Hop on over the Handmade Charlotte to get the full DIY. It's the perfect thing to keep little hands from getting bored now that they are out of school!

Interlocking Cardboard Castle DIY

OK friends, I've finally got everything together to share with you our latest cardboard + duct tape creative adventure (which is the perfect weekend project for you and your Littles). Presenting...our Interlocking Cardboard Play Castle! We are having SO much fun with this, you wouldn't even believe it. In fact I think I've found just thing to get me more engaged and on the floor playing with my Littles in their world. I'm not usually one to sit down and "play" with my kids. I typically help to facilitate their play and then let them go at it. But with this castle...well I've been down on my hands and knees playing castle right alongside them (and I forgot how fun delving into accents can be..).
Well I have to confess, I got a little obsessed with this one. It was SO much fun to make. Once I finally figured out how to cut and handle duct tape, well I couldn't wait to try my hand at something a little more involved.

To begin, I used sturdy cardboard (taken from an old Baby Lock sewing machine box) to cut out the basic interlocking shapes of my castle. I decided to go with a 10"x10" squares for each portion of each wall (so a 20" long sheet of board all together) and then added a mix of castle-like rooftop structures up top.
I then cut out door frames from each wall, making sure they were large enough for the Littles play things (namely Playmobil characters) to fit in and out of.

And now comes the fun part...decorating the castle walls with brightly colored duct tape! (I should get them to sponsor these posts, don't you think? I mean I'm only singing their praises like, every other minute...:)) The only hard part in decorating the castle was deciding on what to leave out, as there are so many directions you could take this.
In the end I decided to keep it fun and graphic and not too specific as to what you would do in what room (but you could always go more literal by having more obvious interior and exterior rooms, etc. for yours if you like). I did add a few small elements to some "rooms" such as a tree to suggest the outdoors and small table with a tulip for an indoor room (hey, even strong warriors need a calm place of respite after a long journey or a fierce battle, right?).  I also added flags to some of the rooftops by simply wrapping duct tape around a tooth pick and then cutting it down to the desired shape. From there I just pushed the tooth pick into the top of the cardboard (I might however decide to hot glue them in later for greater permanence).

If you want to have your Littles help with this process, adding the details/decals is a great way to do it. Just be sure that you are doing the cutting and then you can hand the decal over to them and have them place it on (and depending on their age you might want to help them with this. A would get really frustrated whenever an item folded over onto itself and he couldn't take it apart). You can also bring them in on the design process. They'll love letting you know just what they have in mind for their castle.

And if you are interested in creating an interlocking castle yourself, and want to follow the basic shape of mine, I have created some templates for you to use. Just print them out and use them as patterns to trace onto your thick cardboard (or foam core works really well too).

These templates are created as an 18"x24" document so that you can print them in their entirety. I would suggest saving the files out to a thumb drive and then taking them to your local copy store and have them print them on large sheets of paper there. Click on the pictures above to download each section of the castle.
Now that you are done decorating your castle, it's time to assemble it by lining up the center notches and pushing the top one down (be careful not to un-stick all of your duct tape "siding" in this process. I might suggest scoring the duct tape a bit where the two boards interlock so that this doesn't happen). Now it's time to gather together your little ones toys and figurines and let the play begin! Oh and you can invite the Littles to join you if you so wish.
And what fun you will all have exploring all your many rooms! (which can actually change by the way, depending on how you assemble the boards together at different times).
I also love just how portable and rather study this little castle is (that's the great thing about duct tape, it's sort of indestructible). Just bring it over to the kitchen table while your making dinner and your Littles will be entertained for a good long while.

And if you make one of these, I really really would LOVE to see what you do with it. I'm just so excited about the many possibilities for this little castle and I have a feeling that your touch is just what it needs to take it to the next level of magic. So don't forget to email me and share!

Happy Weekend Friends! I'm off tomorrow to hear A perform his songs he's been practicing for Kindergarten graduation. I'm pretty sure it's bound to be just about the most adorable thing ever. And then next week we have a field day, a Teddy Bear picnic and more. Oh how I love the last few days of school and the beginning of summer!

How to Cut Duct Tape for Craft Projects

OK, so I'm sure you've noticed that I've been on duct tape kick as of late. And if you are just catching up now, you can see a few of my past projects here and here. If you are looking to delve into some duct tape endeavors of your own, I thought I'd share a few helpful hints on how to handle duct tape - specifically how to cut it without wanting to pull your hair out (I had to learn this the hard way).

First off, do NOT use scissors. I made this mistake when I initially approached my first project. Basically you'll end up going nuts and vow to never do anything with duct tape again. Duct tape is super sticky so when you try to slice it with scissors things just start sticking to each other and once the sticky part of the tape sticks to itself, it's nearly impossible to get it apart. It's also hard to get precision when cutting and your scissors end up all gooey and well, it's just not fun.

So let's talk about how to do it right, shall we? You will need a utility knife, a self healing cutting mat and of course some duct tape.

1. Start by rolling out and sticking your duct tape to the self healing mat. Cut a portion of tape off of roll (you can get a really nice straight line this way (and if you want to use a straight edge or ruler, that works even better).
2. Cut desired shape out of tape by pressing utility knife firmly into the tape so that it cuts all the way through.
3. Peel away newly cut shape. I've also found that if if you use the tip your knife to get right under the shape to begin lifting, you avoid the slight turn over your fingernail could create.
4. Enjoy your new shape and place where you want it...


...such as on the upper right hand corner of this of castle that I'm working on (this is just a sneak peek of one of my most favorite cardboard/duct tape projects yet...let's just say I got a little obsessed with it and I can't wait to show it to you! Hopefully tomorrow?!...)

And what's even more fun is that A got an impromptu craft project out of my left over cardboard and duct tape cutting scraps.
Don't they just make the most perfect skyline? I seriously love how it turned out (and I love that I didn't have to plan a thing for it!).