tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22906857920736770492023-11-16T09:15:56.719-08:00Camp Kimkids. crafts. inspiration.Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14463150421576735039noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290685792073677049.post-8191507823764232272011-04-24T19:00:00.000-07:002011-04-24T19:00:12.651-07:00Boys will be Boys<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Boys will be boys. That's what people say. But what if your boy isn't a typical boy? My little man never climbed out of a crib or put himself in any kind of serious danger. At 18 months when all the boys were jumping off of things, Jake was playing with a peg board or lining up his cars in color order. Instead of soccer, he likes dancing. Instead of superheroes, he likes playing dress up. There is nothing wrong with my little boy. He is just a boy being a little boy. He is a creative boy and sometimes I feel like so much of the creativity in kids' parties is targeted towards girls. But then I stumbled upon a website that features parties for every kind of boy - the rough and tumble to the not-so rough and tumble.<br />
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<a href="http://www.spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com/">http://www.spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com</a> features amazing boys' party ideas from all over the web. And just to make the site a little sweeter, they have a beautiful etsy shop that sells printables for all of your boy party needs so that your boy's party can be as unique as he is.<br />
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Here are some of my favorites:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUkxZkbCzuYu6yyc2lMEQx95VorLrLPVaCNNE1-KBxTWLvoX9qHKKsBr2KRgFfsYNrThzwlNnmaxrDhE9IPU-IsLlhaAIsGLzVRB2ioss5eWiF5LVnw9eaq26ypCng-ERtamWHVaFVT4/s1600/DSC_1620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUkxZkbCzuYu6yyc2lMEQx95VorLrLPVaCNNE1-KBxTWLvoX9qHKKsBr2KRgFfsYNrThzwlNnmaxrDhE9IPU-IsLlhaAIsGLzVRB2ioss5eWiF5LVnw9eaq26ypCng-ERtamWHVaFVT4/s400/DSC_1620.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">boy's non-scary monster party</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com/images/stories/Vintage_Racecar_CloseUp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://www.spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com/images/stories/Vintage_Racecar_CloseUp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">boy's vintage race car party<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com/images/stories/Chutes_and_Ladders_Cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com/images/stories/Chutes_and_Ladders_Cake.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">chutes and ladders/game party</td></tr>
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Here are some of the awesome products from their amazing etsy shop - I wish I would have discovered this before Jake's birthday party. Maybe next year...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">non-scary monster party</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">outer space/alien/robot party<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">construction crew party<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">football/kick-off party (check out the hamburger cupcakes)!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>There are so many cool party supplies for sale -from the invites to the cupcake holders. Check it out: <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/SpaceshipsLaserBeams">http://www.etsy.com/shop/SpaceshipsLaserBeams</a></div>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14463150421576735039noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290685792073677049.post-18271200545591494892011-04-21T10:31:00.001-07:002011-04-21T16:49:55.812-07:00More Earth Day Fun!I stumbled across this amazing blog yesterday: <a href="http://www.minieco.co.uk/">http://www.minieco.co.uk/</a><br />
This beautiful, eco-friendly blog, which I found while searching <a href="http://www.ohdeedoh.com/">http://www.ohdeedoh.com/</a> inspired many ideas for earth day. Here are some of the highlights, but be sure to visit it yourself because Kate has generously provided many tutorials that will keep your little ones busy even when earth day is long over.<br />
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Here are a few projects you could do in an afternoon that will stimulate your kids imagination in more ways than one:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.minieco.co.uk/images/apr11/bell-shaker-lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.minieco.co.uk/images/apr11/bell-shaker-lg.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>This beautiful musical instrument is made from a stick, acorn shells and tiny bells. In all, this project costs almost nothing to make. Pure brilliance.<br />
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As long as you have already bought the bells, you can do some other projects with them. Here is another. Again, from the same beautiful site: <a href="http://www.minieco.co.uk/">http://www.minieco.co.uk/</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.minieco.co.uk/images/jan11/bells4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.minieco.co.uk/images/jan11/bells4.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br />
And another:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.minieco.co.uk/images/jan11/guitar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.minieco.co.uk/images/jan11/guitar.jpg" width="293" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guitar requires paper fasteners, rubber bands and a cardboard box! Less than a buck and hours of fun!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14463150421576735039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290685792073677049.post-8588860494573073262011-04-20T20:31:00.000-07:002011-04-20T20:31:28.128-07:00Easy Earth Day Fun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcexAJRu6U2y2EwjrOF2Ygi-D0vNm-5ev2WB5XEJBxF7QzlZZVtceysz1B3UTt9hxVOQZMwuY5POvt7tVvNK-VLBmFfXdn5-oSKxmJx2HfKmDB31y9HaxNVEt34JPiKQ-sAVenDPYaAkC/s1600/plasticplanets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcexAJRu6U2y2EwjrOF2Ygi-D0vNm-5ev2WB5XEJBxF7QzlZZVtceysz1B3UTt9hxVOQZMwuY5POvt7tVvNK-VLBmFfXdn5-oSKxmJx2HfKmDB31y9HaxNVEt34JPiKQ-sAVenDPYaAkC/s320/plasticplanets.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Earth day is just around the corner, and my post today involves teaching kids creative ways to reuse and recycle--there are fun ways to introduce them to lifelong green habits! Recently, we took home plastic cups from a friend's party and cleaned them thoroughly. These cups often can't be recycled, so they just sit and fill up landfills. By making art from them, you are doing your small part to save our planet. Here is how it's done:<br />
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First, pre-heat the oven to 225 degrees. Cut the cups in a circle along the outside lines or ridges. Next, you can color the bottom of the cups with any type of permanent marker. For this activity, we wanted to use the entire cup, so we made little planet earths and planets as well as some dress-up bracelets. If you want to make a mobile or hanging sculpture, you should punch holes through the cup BEFORE you put it in the oven. Heating the plastic thickens and shrinks it, but it only takes one minute and barely smells at all. Once the plastic is colored with marker, the plastic goes in the oven for less than one minute. You should watch the cups through the window of your oven to make sure they do not shrink too much. Here are some pictures showing how we made unique earth day crafts:<br />
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You will need the following:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULllfemjtsj_5AQvuuEO5HLAszjzJPv8fqK3zsxrHSSHCu5hdbOt93ZzCD67ygpF-_cqNrTH-KEsxtvFbGphfrUpzMSzWVg6B02lrksruaYulu1K5CR75idEJ8EKBNLFJABggxy7QWxCI/s1600/IMG_0117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULllfemjtsj_5AQvuuEO5HLAszjzJPv8fqK3zsxrHSSHCu5hdbOt93ZzCD67ygpF-_cqNrTH-KEsxtvFbGphfrUpzMSzWVg6B02lrksruaYulu1K5CR75idEJ8EKBNLFJABggxy7QWxCI/s320/IMG_0117.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">recycled cups</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7iNx6aePdJEbGAItEIG9lDUBC1_Jv7gZzyesaX33mFYIZBh0f-q0Z-pQqDhDY7sX7msJeYELcQgewv3ow12jCpSorq5Bd5QUIpjm0m46mvrFgnwVy6N6n4bNl48H2e9hJ79d5X2u6RLo/s1600/IMG_0132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7iNx6aePdJEbGAItEIG9lDUBC1_Jv7gZzyesaX33mFYIZBh0f-q0Z-pQqDhDY7sX7msJeYELcQgewv3ow12jCpSorq5Bd5QUIpjm0m46mvrFgnwVy6N6n4bNl48H2e9hJ79d5X2u6RLo/s320/IMG_0132.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">scissors for cutting the cups<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7H4JWDdiD8Ps430GgffQsVX-zKGithFeP0DnbavGMOb61C4nt4Is0GyDubJJ2Z0sDFsCyAx6PquZC8G40WGvv11GKtmQfp72UT0_ZKR4CQNgy302RPAzbq_B2Vzh3PHvhZXZ_ZhQmMa_/s1600/IMG_0131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7H4JWDdiD8Ps430GgffQsVX-zKGithFeP0DnbavGMOb61C4nt4Is0GyDubJJ2Z0sDFsCyAx6PquZC8G40WGvv11GKtmQfp72UT0_ZKR4CQNgy302RPAzbq_B2Vzh3PHvhZXZ_ZhQmMa_/s320/IMG_0131.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sharpies or any permanent marker works well</td></tr>
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Here are the steps:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMnlCQ7QoHdjwJkZeBV9MA8MH9_u2JGNdZ6CWepf_8girKWOjY8pnquZFV-QO1F5aqy16iJiu82z32IYyjICeBou3YGpcHakuBsJT_8qkke2v6TnP4lAsaC6TByuMLKY19lalIdAIYzX78/s1600/IMG_0125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMnlCQ7QoHdjwJkZeBV9MA8MH9_u2JGNdZ6CWepf_8girKWOjY8pnquZFV-QO1F5aqy16iJiu82z32IYyjICeBou3YGpcHakuBsJT_8qkke2v6TnP4lAsaC6TByuMLKY19lalIdAIYzX78/s320/IMG_0125.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cut the cup into three parts - bottom part is for making the globe and the middle and top parts will be dress-up bracelets</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6fk8cGv6QqIQ0vthgJ2w8BRqCYDE04dxSc4bIr_dlxBfGoWy987C8UPHsWbyKe1gmL4KoYuV7hXwjVctsfaP0OuE8TMmoJ9xh7vQg8eqdbJ0cvcU6dgmLuw3CJ6PtNRb43pxGyOhcO_Q/s1600/IMG_0155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6fk8cGv6QqIQ0vthgJ2w8BRqCYDE04dxSc4bIr_dlxBfGoWy987C8UPHsWbyKe1gmL4KoYuV7hXwjVctsfaP0OuE8TMmoJ9xh7vQg8eqdbJ0cvcU6dgmLuw3CJ6PtNRb43pxGyOhcO_Q/s400/IMG_0155.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">using green and blue permanent markers, make the planet earth<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhs0jdwz9cuvfcHPETfoCxxwdRh0dR2pfxahBAOed_6R8YwOazluw_uIblNwvXraXqHARHIqmifGCsoWJfwk72ZIosoEWl_JKtG35UEhXDJwKtNS8Ooc4ICGZedoQ_fqneDF94ZmF7W-pY/s1600/IMG_0159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhs0jdwz9cuvfcHPETfoCxxwdRh0dR2pfxahBAOed_6R8YwOazluw_uIblNwvXraXqHARHIqmifGCsoWJfwk72ZIosoEWl_JKtG35UEhXDJwKtNS8Ooc4ICGZedoQ_fqneDF94ZmF7W-pY/s320/IMG_0159.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He is also coloring the top ring of the cup to make bracelets for his sister</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMsIa3R5e47kUMK5Qagoy4yE-LSY48YUdlNioteIMLQBbM5ZYHTDAvZaaFjoyI-wydC6xQjGDOqd1AsKXoYaZqWsTtl-NUpiQi1g1Zv249Ap-hb21KHM539N1xDYBsEppYKQFbJtL3yHw_/s1600/IMG_0164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMsIa3R5e47kUMK5Qagoy4yE-LSY48YUdlNioteIMLQBbM5ZYHTDAvZaaFjoyI-wydC6xQjGDOqd1AsKXoYaZqWsTtl-NUpiQi1g1Zv249Ap-hb21KHM539N1xDYBsEppYKQFbJtL3yHw_/s320/IMG_0164.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">taping down the ring stops it from moving</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTe_8QkGDPHmfhAnZb888lIB9AKEcxsVtY8WXZM0s9hkCDXKV4kThNJsTaO65H6eoo6w2kw4hE8-Y97E_KpMBP0UNlV-M8f3ioL0Z47IOSDaCqxUK3Oo-wZSmP8Oy0a4hQ-4iT-nWakQlC/s1600/IMG_0122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTe_8QkGDPHmfhAnZb888lIB9AKEcxsVtY8WXZM0s9hkCDXKV4kThNJsTaO65H6eoo6w2kw4hE8-Y97E_KpMBP0UNlV-M8f3ioL0Z47IOSDaCqxUK3Oo-wZSmP8Oy0a4hQ-4iT-nWakQlC/s200/IMG_0122.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ready for the oven</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIo1MapiPcRFbhIvnBnAewFeZjnr8JDRBx5m4-zbhVbpDG2soQw2Lv9-0vVHCPMSVUPylOj1OEzNs7w0Yx1BjuuZ51HPHyGW6i91uDhP1XWcNoGCiSkGK1ABgvmQCFzwxZwf5nF2eZwFK/s1600/IMG_0175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIo1MapiPcRFbhIvnBnAewFeZjnr8JDRBx5m4-zbhVbpDG2soQw2Lv9-0vVHCPMSVUPylOj1OEzNs7w0Yx1BjuuZ51HPHyGW6i91uDhP1XWcNoGCiSkGK1ABgvmQCFzwxZwf5nF2eZwFK/s320/IMG_0175.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcexAJRu6U2y2EwjrOF2Ygi-D0vNm-5ev2WB5XEJBxF7QzlZZVtceysz1B3UTt9hxVOQZMwuY5POvt7tVvNK-VLBmFfXdn5-oSKxmJx2HfKmDB31y9HaxNVEt34JPiKQ-sAVenDPYaAkC/s1600/plasticplanets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcexAJRu6U2y2EwjrOF2Ygi-D0vNm-5ev2WB5XEJBxF7QzlZZVtceysz1B3UTt9hxVOQZMwuY5POvt7tVvNK-VLBmFfXdn5-oSKxmJx2HfKmDB31y9HaxNVEt34JPiKQ-sAVenDPYaAkC/s400/plasticplanets.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our plastic planets<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60IXAOjMnWi8zA6w0MBZSV4IO_B4wCH_Zs9IdRPa-YS8o0dNiXsHmkNiMa5BmC8iBL76AFKDpZDsoqja7RTyJu1phfYsRA4otH016sdm-KLdIVNofMsOY81gV5-RAOW2zGQeeMbr4I399/s1600/IMG_0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60IXAOjMnWi8zA6w0MBZSV4IO_B4wCH_Zs9IdRPa-YS8o0dNiXsHmkNiMa5BmC8iBL76AFKDpZDsoqja7RTyJu1phfYsRA4otH016sdm-KLdIVNofMsOY81gV5-RAOW2zGQeeMbr4I399/s320/IMG_0234.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our new dress up bracelets</td></tr>
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After completing our cutting of the cups, we had so many plastic scraps from the middle parts of the cups and I just didn't feel right about throwing them out. I had Jake color the scraps green and blue. Then I cut them into tiny pieces and put them into the oven. With the cooked pieces and a recycled take-out container, we made a mixed-media "Earth" window hanging. It is transparent and takes on the appearance of "stained glass." Jake had fun making it and I think it turned out beautiful.<br />
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Here is how we did it:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOUQb0IETgy7metDOsv50MftRP30ceggx-f2Z6wiENpKXxPKcYWuP9OMle_Vx_pWQZTqI1GZxK-xiOPnH5-ySU-RIYxieUo0beRhNnGBkSllFYOb_JYaCaKLHyo_iIZ4Db4Fu7lQ74LYn/s1600/IMG_0178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOUQb0IETgy7metDOsv50MftRP30ceggx-f2Z6wiENpKXxPKcYWuP9OMle_Vx_pWQZTqI1GZxK-xiOPnH5-ySU-RIYxieUo0beRhNnGBkSllFYOb_JYaCaKLHyo_iIZ4Db4Fu7lQ74LYn/s320/IMG_0178.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">we took an old take-out container and Jake drew where he wanted the land (green) and the water (blue) to go</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8lReRKiAdI_xoKVErMBAjSbFFowX3ZoyJrUlUFcft47b3_WTpozUFnNAUEYt1URF7Vr0CJAySMR2m9wQPZSisycBxoJkCU0oeMC4ma6uACH0qGKty5XNnkuadbKYL7wNcg3jehxNyA3oC/s1600/IMG_0186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8lReRKiAdI_xoKVErMBAjSbFFowX3ZoyJrUlUFcft47b3_WTpozUFnNAUEYt1URF7Vr0CJAySMR2m9wQPZSisycBxoJkCU0oeMC4ma6uACH0qGKty5XNnkuadbKYL7wNcg3jehxNyA3oC/s320/IMG_0186.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">once he mapped it out (no pun intended), he glued the entire surface</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoWb5_ExneLlttVaERZxcPLBwApp5lZuya7cbvQ7ghhKuhd_MKhy7WFZwQZQ4IqVGKY7mD_oQrc0J5_vxqyLbQtpSJbEwWrvxuBhrG_aoT703UiE0BKevaURqi3e-jOim2A8Uw4AY5ij5J/s1600/IMG_0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoWb5_ExneLlttVaERZxcPLBwApp5lZuya7cbvQ7ghhKuhd_MKhy7WFZwQZQ4IqVGKY7mD_oQrc0J5_vxqyLbQtpSJbEwWrvxuBhrG_aoT703UiE0BKevaURqi3e-jOim2A8Uw4AY5ij5J/s320/IMG_0192.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">then he began gluing his "cooked" plastic pieces</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2PVawviG4H1yr6yi25Bs9IeSIymKH80FTUcG2ILGOjFMXdzGKlgMoV8Ani_BNebFcStzwo-0bmeeG1ywBilvUP_xHjy1cjivhDffQj0ROjjfqEmIdJ3tT3S6tfkf2XQV3KEZ8EbmsvEH/s1600/IMG_0199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2PVawviG4H1yr6yi25Bs9IeSIymKH80FTUcG2ILGOjFMXdzGKlgMoV8Ani_BNebFcStzwo-0bmeeG1ywBilvUP_xHjy1cjivhDffQj0ROjjfqEmIdJ3tT3S6tfkf2XQV3KEZ8EbmsvEH/s320/IMG_0199.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Finished product next to our other earths:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFAMz9gkgqWlcTe2RpSbO5BdafYr_ep8ljqArT5fyZvj8KYr1Vosbd2Ew9ePwOyvX9cTrOfq0E4ECo0U8KKskdI0uWpODq1pbKNW1GhuNIHX738WFaHwVbXqhdtnFQAnccfXIzzZ9RlVf4/s1600/IMG_0207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFAMz9gkgqWlcTe2RpSbO5BdafYr_ep8ljqArT5fyZvj8KYr1Vosbd2Ew9ePwOyvX9cTrOfq0E4ECo0U8KKskdI0uWpODq1pbKNW1GhuNIHX738WFaHwVbXqhdtnFQAnccfXIzzZ9RlVf4/s320/IMG_0207.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14463150421576735039noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290685792073677049.post-74786720975194084752011-04-19T07:48:00.000-07:002011-04-19T12:15:16.380-07:00A mosaic of ideas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I love making mosaics. Gaudi is my hero. I made my first mosaic in high school while my parents were away. I know, most kids throw wild parties while their parents are out of town, yet I decided to mosaic the wall of my bedroom. Probably not the best surface to start with. In retrospect, a wild party might have cost me less money since I had to pay to have the drywall replaced and the wallpaper stripped. Perhaps learning <i>how</i> to mosaic before actually making one would have been the brighter idea. But that just isn't how I do things. I get an idea, then I execute and then, once every possible thing that could have gone wrong goes wrong, I decide to crack open a book and see how it is supposed to be done.<br />
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Nevertheless, I eventually figured it out and now I make and sell mosaics and also teach children how to do them. Here are a few of my personal mosaics:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJT5VlPi86HWwofb66f33xmvxSIqVENNN1llpv_W_FIAbmPoMfREllZ43Es2d23bKhK7T6wI_sLlfnSiMdwX3-2oXN-8cgiwMgqa9NsXDAz7KTnpSMOLQ4Ojuh-tMh_Vd9adi_d9XK5Jcd/s1600/IMG_9502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJT5VlPi86HWwofb66f33xmvxSIqVENNN1llpv_W_FIAbmPoMfREllZ43Es2d23bKhK7T6wI_sLlfnSiMdwX3-2oXN-8cgiwMgqa9NsXDAz7KTnpSMOLQ4Ojuh-tMh_Vd9adi_d9XK5Jcd/s320/IMG_9502.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">letter "J" custom made for a baby room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYyFsx5paATZGvyT_02L049GcZsZNm4ucMkhf-nwQy8fhkaK10A9IK9e29nscPs1-9Z_2zRnMUpzX6HaNLQ452jS93Khl6wdpfCGzl6cV_MVU0ze5q_0VFL_jeGAokomBR7O4lRT6h2kt/s1600/mosaicmirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYyFsx5paATZGvyT_02L049GcZsZNm4ucMkhf-nwQy8fhkaK10A9IK9e29nscPs1-9Z_2zRnMUpzX6HaNLQ452jS93Khl6wdpfCGzl6cV_MVU0ze5q_0VFL_jeGAokomBR7O4lRT6h2kt/s320/mosaicmirror.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">stained glass mirror I made for Madelyn's room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFXcq11XBs4q18abaKFkac9ghI3J0SU9PlZxkYZIg7H6IMd1NBNVxjprbBV_ITv5TI1WliSMo7cRV6RsN2Z_KcpoXlKF-1UpAvxuQUPm8XAgh4tAHpvKMY8BDjQz4mljWkXulfzf7BtzAz/s1600/IMG_0113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFXcq11XBs4q18abaKFkac9ghI3J0SU9PlZxkYZIg7H6IMd1NBNVxjprbBV_ITv5TI1WliSMo7cRV6RsN2Z_KcpoXlKF-1UpAvxuQUPm8XAgh4tAHpvKMY8BDjQz4mljWkXulfzf7BtzAz/s320/IMG_0113.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">stained glass mosaic table</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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Here are a few of the mosaics I have done with ten year olds:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfpyoMf1zS0MTqa_qmlFHwIrA-9K9M_fd6IlCWaXEfuTR_2D0eHs2mWnwogYox9FIKwED4ZygGvs6et8DujeuWA4ByUMGRW53v36hpuu-dNvK7_2svRN-AiognG6tStzCZRMo4o4xlLzCC/s1600/IMG_1167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfpyoMf1zS0MTqa_qmlFHwIrA-9K9M_fd6IlCWaXEfuTR_2D0eHs2mWnwogYox9FIKwED4ZygGvs6et8DujeuWA4ByUMGRW53v36hpuu-dNvK7_2svRN-AiognG6tStzCZRMo4o4xlLzCC/s320/IMG_1167.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">grouting with ten year olds</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nENeDU5nJ_Mekd1_XCyfPd-Sb5fbTOrxEO75R9IF_fOr6aFLa2ScimcmLMJRsFLDFCGOti2RUNAgOTysfL8xFc_uc26INoko1f48GT6LAsQgxYm1OhZKYONTqSvRw9AheOw2peiGUTjc/s1600/IMG_1170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nENeDU5nJ_Mekd1_XCyfPd-Sb5fbTOrxEO75R9IF_fOr6aFLa2ScimcmLMJRsFLDFCGOti2RUNAgOTysfL8xFc_uc26INoko1f48GT6LAsQgxYm1OhZKYONTqSvRw9AheOw2peiGUTjc/s320/IMG_1170.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cleaning and finishing the mosaic</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kids' adding paint to the grout to make their own custom color</td></tr>
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So then I started thinking. I wish I could do mosaics with my young kids, but I don't want them to look mediocre or juvenile. I also don't want them to cut their hands on glass, but would love to make the kind that are asymmetrical or "broken" looking. I scoured the web and found brilliance! This is not only something I would do with my kids, but something I would make and be very, very proud of! Great job, Amanda! Amanda of <a href="http://www.craftsbyamanda.com/">www.craftsbyamanda.com</a> used left-over easter eggs to make a gorgeous vase.<br />
As a mosaicist, I wish I would have thought of this - how beautiful! Here it is:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJByZw5y6iBTF-gk1dhGnCN4GnyGR5pZOogYWMUBsqDBGKvZnT0rUz5kdwVPA3bWJVrbMjPZ5Z6NFIrjtMmSMBEaeMD-RFU_iEHCzqBmj9sSD0nPnbn49_o-aX_mApfKCPjlElJZWKSc/s1600/IMG_7689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJByZw5y6iBTF-gk1dhGnCN4GnyGR5pZOogYWMUBsqDBGKvZnT0rUz5kdwVPA3bWJVrbMjPZ5Z6NFIrjtMmSMBEaeMD-RFU_iEHCzqBmj9sSD0nPnbn49_o-aX_mApfKCPjlElJZWKSc/s320/IMG_7689.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Find the tutorial on www.craftsbyamanda.com<br />
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</tbody></table>Thanks for letting us post your idea, Amanda! www.craftsbyamanda.comKimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14463150421576735039noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290685792073677049.post-32606066273365886732011-04-16T15:37:00.000-07:002011-04-21T11:15:38.530-07:00Sweet, sweet mysteryYesterday we needed a rainy day activity. Madelyn was sleeping and Jake's creative juices were flowing and together we came up with this: Mystery Boxes. Mystery boxes are tangible scavenger hunts (which require zero parental supervision). They are essentially windowed boxes which contain "treasures" that you can only find by shaking the box in different directions to view. A photographic "key" helps list all the items that need to be found.<br />
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How did we do this? We bought the jewelry-type box with windows on 5 sides from Michael's. Then, we covered all of the windows with blue painter's tape (you can do this ahead of time). Jake went around the house and found little knick-knacks that were important to him, but ones he knew he could never play with again. He decided to include gemstones, marbles, crayons, a crab-shaped sponge, a worry doll, seashells, etc. We put them all on a piece of paper and took a picture of all the items together. Now that we are done, Jake uses the laminated photograph of all of the items as a checklist for what he wants to find in the box. It acts as a "map" or a "key." Later, when he knows how to read, I will make a written checklist alongside the visual list and he can read what he is looking for. Here are some pictures of our rainy day activity:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">finished mystery box - you can see some of Jake's "treasures" through the top window</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">all the windows taped up so that we don't get glue on them</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">tissue paper</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">jake's treasures, which will serve as our photographic "key"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">colorfill floral filler which fills the box and hides the treasures - making it a challenge to find them</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zWpFsCxnjwcbjGp0O8Z5I4WHmm1DkaEk21JGFC07m_DKyyaOYgrXdHVBEaUZ4omUFDXqNoMWn333PGK5hWTfQtfRZEE55o6bQrzt2Axf6jY6R8V8CFNN3QS3-pANJq1wGdpK5oo-877i/s1600/IMG_0068_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zWpFsCxnjwcbjGp0O8Z5I4WHmm1DkaEk21JGFC07m_DKyyaOYgrXdHVBEaUZ4omUFDXqNoMWn333PGK5hWTfQtfRZEE55o6bQrzt2Axf6jY6R8V8CFNN3QS3-pANJq1wGdpK5oo-877i/s320/IMG_0068_2.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">permanent glue used to seal the box closed</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj5cdxoQETN_aaPqJu0bCYJRyNFtPsiiYLsSJPrVdiD9ff2_9JTNBgrS51r0JoqQlNO-rYM97RKU-8RkkCnXCuhBsCYUfNZ3ElRWuf4IaRLNGGDVv2wkbi4NLZa0k814MnaikB5s7NpZ1i/s1600/IMG_0071_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj5cdxoQETN_aaPqJu0bCYJRyNFtPsiiYLsSJPrVdiD9ff2_9JTNBgrS51r0JoqQlNO-rYM97RKU-8RkkCnXCuhBsCYUfNZ3ElRWuf4IaRLNGGDVv2wkbi4NLZa0k814MnaikB5s7NpZ1i/s320/IMG_0071_2.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">jake pouring the colorfill into the box</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzRpqXlWvY8oVa_Jb5B4G43u5w1vZjv5uiJurXwwMMLMWdkvwPSnwP7WIFgePRu5eqgA9r9FtM1N3PY46X5AEOma7IqavnmSYKZ2XWcb2IAp-0T1E8sPgPEW2qEzOpzRN5X542koShuuZ/s1600/IMG_0075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzRpqXlWvY8oVa_Jb5B4G43u5w1vZjv5uiJurXwwMMLMWdkvwPSnwP7WIFgePRu5eqgA9r9FtM1N3PY46X5AEOma7IqavnmSYKZ2XWcb2IAp-0T1E8sPgPEW2qEzOpzRN5X542koShuuZ/s320/IMG_0075.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ready to add the treasures</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">adding his treasures </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWbMRkqF2N3TuyF0VMyZBMZkWOSDWW-JkKr934p1ZmYV-MCQGAS1tVAqqbDmPfEk-h0plfHhLQFrsyD5owlQEMOTgawZJpjjMfnGGmzVEhcQJafDzeH3gQ9xSS-mgsQD7yL8BFaaYI08t/s1600/IMG_0099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWbMRkqF2N3TuyF0VMyZBMZkWOSDWW-JkKr934p1ZmYV-MCQGAS1tVAqqbDmPfEk-h0plfHhLQFrsyD5owlQEMOTgawZJpjjMfnGGmzVEhcQJafDzeH3gQ9xSS-mgsQD7yL8BFaaYI08t/s320/IMG_0099.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">glue around the rim</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxq3RqSChFsxcYmgfXn2rSpaNUJLUscOPgeHy6El9rA9q_GK8_KslgacCJ9v_eHpKnoKe_lYZAcCD4BKvNjSDhGIQUq37rqC5-GeCRwT56w-R-VaX8WkVIozqS6KdS6L9GnknMCavp5uIf/s1600/IMG_0098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxq3RqSChFsxcYmgfXn2rSpaNUJLUscOPgeHy6El9rA9q_GK8_KslgacCJ9v_eHpKnoKe_lYZAcCD4BKvNjSDhGIQUq37rqC5-GeCRwT56w-R-VaX8WkVIozqS6KdS6L9GnknMCavp5uIf/s320/IMG_0098.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">gluing the box closed</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XGNbU7sk0DEbJ_-F5SPrA3mkCDYHEyHpXk6Ukif2_C-kwT8WKxWwWtvdiuOBXvxGBfRtcQLZ-beul_hQPDx9kieXycs7RZ_VHx6gPFZvpW5cWzHAAGODj7zHml0McuxSaRVU2PtalMqs/s1600/IMG_0102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-XGNbU7sk0DEbJ_-F5SPrA3mkCDYHEyHpXk6Ukif2_C-kwT8WKxWwWtvdiuOBXvxGBfRtcQLZ-beul_hQPDx9kieXycs7RZ_VHx6gPFZvpW5cWzHAAGODj7zHml0McuxSaRVU2PtalMqs/s320/IMG_0102.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">once the box is closed, we used glue and then modge podge to decorate the wood. Paint would work well, too</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiEj_OBFLxkH5872LqJcEgVG3RdFJ5cZjT69Z22_bcrzkr-Fd8aV_A5P96Kr8eWrrBCZZnGhTZ5-a7v0Ce9JeQjMxugceXvsbZeDCXrEuYWGbbx3mivK1qDTYtmqDbcGyD8Ye251vX7ytc/s1600/IMG_0110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiEj_OBFLxkH5872LqJcEgVG3RdFJ5cZjT69Z22_bcrzkr-Fd8aV_A5P96Kr8eWrrBCZZnGhTZ5-a7v0Ce9JeQjMxugceXvsbZeDCXrEuYWGbbx3mivK1qDTYtmqDbcGyD8Ye251vX7ytc/s320/IMG_0110.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn4vtc6tjw9zEG8u4VQ5zRV10Gf4V_UFi2cNRPdmEdfiGekyrliM__ieSS_gva_38lnfBtcH8b1rMYa5CK1wUrQTQIzk6AgWcIw17g66nOyxxd7p-afLR608C7xaLKErrxApFmPqJNyIx4/s1600/IMG_0107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn4vtc6tjw9zEG8u4VQ5zRV10Gf4V_UFi2cNRPdmEdfiGekyrliM__ieSS_gva_38lnfBtcH8b1rMYa5CK1wUrQTQIzk6AgWcIw17g66nOyxxd7p-afLR608C7xaLKErrxApFmPqJNyIx4/s320/IMG_0107.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the masterpiece<br />
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I've gotten such a wonderful response from these mystery boxes. And today I found an idea on another blog that I thought was amazing. I found it originally on <a href="http://marshmallowkids.blogspot.com/2011/03/diy-surprise-ball.html">http://marshmallowkids.blogspot.com</a><br />
Instead of a mystery box, they featured a mystery ball:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.notmartha.org/images/tomake/surpriseball2/final_above.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.notmartha.org/images/tomake/surpriseball2/final_above.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>These are mystery balls and you can fill them with treasures and give them as a gift. Check out the tutorial:<br />
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<a href="http://www.notmartha.org/tomake/surpriseballs/">http://www.notmartha.org/tomake/surpriseballs/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14463150421576735039noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290685792073677049.post-54694214074968437652011-04-16T06:19:00.000-07:002011-04-19T21:16:32.355-07:00Making a house a home<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 13.5pt;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYyFsx5paATZGvyT_02L049GcZsZNm4ucMkhf-nwQy8fhkaK10A9IK9e29nscPs1-9Z_2zRnMUpzX6HaNLQ452jS93Khl6wdpfCGzl6cV_MVU0ze5q_0VFL_jeGAokomBR7O4lRT6h2kt/s1600/mosaicmirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYyFsx5paATZGvyT_02L049GcZsZNm4ucMkhf-nwQy8fhkaK10A9IK9e29nscPs1-9Z_2zRnMUpzX6HaNLQ452jS93Khl6wdpfCGzl6cV_MVU0ze5q_0VFL_jeGAokomBR7O4lRT6h2kt/s320/mosaicmirror.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We were living in a 1,000 square foot apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan up until this past summer. Prior to moving to our new house and relocating to suburban Chicago, our kids, Jacob (4) and Madelyn (3) shared an 8’ x 10’ bedroom. When we originally rented the apartment, I was pregnant with Jacob. We did not know if he was going to be a boy or a girl. His yellow room was neutral, which came in handy when Madelyn arrived a year and a half later. I never expected to have remained in that apartment for so many years, let alone with two young children, but somehow we made it work and I look back on that time in our lives very fondly. The kids’ room doubled as a bedroom, a playroom, an office and a storage facility for Dave’s (my husband) extensive jazz collection. Our bedroom was basically a garage with three parked strollers, tricycles and luggage. We were lucky Manhattanites with an extra bathroom that doubled as a closet for our off-season clothing as well as exersaucers, art supplies and laundry in waiting (my fancy term for dirty laundry). Hey, that’s how you do it in New York City. As sad as I was to leave the Big Apple, I knew it would be a huge opportunity to finally decorate special rooms for each of my kids as well as for us and our guests. Even though Jake and Madelyn still routinely choose to sleep in the same room, I am very happy that they each have their own magical spaces. Six months after the move, we are settling nicely into suburban life. Having an entire house as my canvas has truly been a dream come true. While I can no longer walk twenty feet to get to the hardware store, grocery store and pizza place, I am embracing the calm and simplicity of life in suburbia. Plus, I will never to take for granted the luxury that is a washer/dryer, closet space, and our very own outdoor space.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 13.5pt;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> </div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 13.5pt;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> </div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Although I was unable to decorate a baby girl’s nursery in New York, I continued to collect ideas and inspiration from the day I found out I was having a girl. The biggest challenge in decorating Madelyn’s space was restraint. I have a strong appreciation for many different décor styles, so it was hard to edit some of my ideas. Madelyn was adamant about wanting a pink and a purple room. At 3 years old, she has strong opinions and I wanted her to feel like a participant in the creation of her own space. While I might not have chosen pink and purple, I saw it as an opportunity to find a pink/purple combination that we could all live with. I used Benjamin Moore Lavender Ice 2069-60 for three walls and hot pink Benjamin Moore </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Springtime bloom 2079-40 for one accent wall. My main objective was for the room’s accessories to “pop” against a neutral background. Lavender Ice was the closest purple I could get to white. Against the hot pink, the lavender reflects some of the brightness and ties the whole room together.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> </div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">When I found out I was having a girl, I began work on a mosaic mirror to put in her room one day. It sat under our bed in New York City for the past 3 years. Madelyn’s entire room is inspired by this mirror. I wanted her space to be a colorful, creative, happy space that she could grow with. I knew if I made the room too juvenile, I would be re-decorating in a few years. I truly believe she will still love this room in ten years.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Madelyn’s room was the perfect place to experiment and expand on some of my own ideas and projects. I painted the letter “M” as well as the mosaic marble cartoon table. I also made the gemstone tassels, which hang from the lanterns. They are made from some of my extra jewelry supplies and scrap wire. Many of the gemstones are believed to have healing powers and hang above her bed to protect her while she sleeps. I repurposed the bookshelf by painting it the same color as the opposing wall and then used a glitter glaze to give it some texture and pazaazz. The valance is a repurposed Pottery Barn Kids dust ruffle from Madelyn’s crib. The fabric was so beautiful, I knew it would find a place in her room.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> </div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Aside from being an artist, I am also a big supporter of other artists. The “good morning/good night pillow” is from an Etsy artist who worked with my colors and vision to create the two-sided pillow. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I was lucky enough to have Roni Ben-Yoseph interview me about Madelyn's room. Check out the link on apartmenttherapy.com</span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/madelyns-colorful-mosaicroom-tour-137283"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/madelyns-colorful-mosaicroom-tour-137283</span></a></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Roni also has a blog of her own: </span><a href="http://www.minivanorclowncar.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">www.minivanorclowncar.com</span></a></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Here are some pictures of the kids' rooms:</span></span></div></div></div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjou2-kLfwT-rOY9wEf9ZcV0MMisX13SPJvAauMjA8gP8Q7dJaXcIip3ViXVN9xAsjnrhL-4UlDgbTA9waO08GSPuLy7KAlN8JK-bnAnbkrzc9JkWrpUiZN6Jc2BJlTUHG0nVI7U_t3oX/s1600/IMG_8688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjou2-kLfwT-rOY9wEf9ZcV0MMisX13SPJvAauMjA8gP8Q7dJaXcIip3ViXVN9xAsjnrhL-4UlDgbTA9waO08GSPuLy7KAlN8JK-bnAnbkrzc9JkWrpUiZN6Jc2BJlTUHG0nVI7U_t3oX/s320/IMG_8688.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jake's "window" treatment</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CXOEPGS9hsIHnk0tqv3rocPx4cd29QPezXL75DykNcfZxcbIwFBVA_aw_aKNYjy0c2MEZwVsShj0hzoS8F6T5zBd1Gg5cabvrIGHdMBh9139jOsxlxg6dkOp5AsNS29DhOll3CsTPmE8/s1600/IMG_8689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CXOEPGS9hsIHnk0tqv3rocPx4cd29QPezXL75DykNcfZxcbIwFBVA_aw_aKNYjy0c2MEZwVsShj0hzoS8F6T5zBd1Gg5cabvrIGHdMBh9139jOsxlxg6dkOp5AsNS29DhOll3CsTPmE8/s320/IMG_8689.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jake's bed</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAvqDF2QIPKTnUZ1QpX1meFoOnh21iHXwPH8VyIEEiQWo0zSIkwjConqjfulQRBBbgFxvGNF8pkhWfu4naC5Gr1dgyezkC4aoT-uMjrTj4WJ9qd8evGXz0xHrU6SuGtKcsEQjvoLie-gM/s1600/IMG_8696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAvqDF2QIPKTnUZ1QpX1meFoOnh21iHXwPH8VyIEEiQWo0zSIkwjConqjfulQRBBbgFxvGNF8pkhWfu4naC5Gr1dgyezkC4aoT-uMjrTj4WJ9qd8evGXz0xHrU6SuGtKcsEQjvoLie-gM/s320/IMG_8696.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jake's airplane ceiling fan</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zTZqURkvON6xZxfl-u1O8Z5OLZymOeurGYKYTO25EOUTW7PXkATnGRklH4niYOLsjJpMIL1jwL6u8cBMooIeCUe6oczzqhzY6cuXsG9JuKle1kwi5RbAvTkOhFq0IoktMKWSUXU7EPx1/s1600/IMG_8698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zTZqURkvON6xZxfl-u1O8Z5OLZymOeurGYKYTO25EOUTW7PXkATnGRklH4niYOLsjJpMIL1jwL6u8cBMooIeCUe6oczzqhzY6cuXsG9JuKle1kwi5RbAvTkOhFq0IoktMKWSUXU7EPx1/s320/IMG_8698.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jake's bookshelf</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkL0w9CPLd-U7XVO53hPMTl_zY2R17P-fvRH-hOx-o2oCm_rLV7Dcyp_qsT0EEFtB4hrDwQSrAt38jhw2hEf7FdHlbnDAhkEaQoAaEpNfo6e74GeSQ2IZKpdmc5E8BkQYE29J-u883NvB/s1600/IMG_8701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvkL0w9CPLd-U7XVO53hPMTl_zY2R17P-fvRH-hOx-o2oCm_rLV7Dcyp_qsT0EEFtB4hrDwQSrAt38jhw2hEf7FdHlbnDAhkEaQoAaEpNfo6e74GeSQ2IZKpdmc5E8BkQYE29J-u883NvB/s320/IMG_8701.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madelyn's room</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLrgQGZeaGdm5RYzFMzF4_59e_4EJRGRiKx345kBMDd6FNZwz1KdWrL-6wf-ENq6dkjxNoPx4zaVjx5zQL6KX-2DXuZqPfGkgoKFD3g1HMXtk-pB99g3VCYJR1JwOfGBxMc_4kPQh8qfa8/s1600/IMG_8703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLrgQGZeaGdm5RYzFMzF4_59e_4EJRGRiKx345kBMDd6FNZwz1KdWrL-6wf-ENq6dkjxNoPx4zaVjx5zQL6KX-2DXuZqPfGkgoKFD3g1HMXtk-pB99g3VCYJR1JwOfGBxMc_4kPQh8qfa8/s320/IMG_8703.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxdGSYkTdzANM8eewlLiFF4eL-D9S3HKYTKv2eG-6M7pbSF_x1pUaiLegfcoiV7ieYz0IGr-kkl8YnpQx2_HeZnFgOn9Rx1HxSh8he7ZEzrGuY_t-VPLW_WIirDeSPcy6dt1FBYxcQm7L/s1600/IMG_8706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxdGSYkTdzANM8eewlLiFF4eL-D9S3HKYTKv2eG-6M7pbSF_x1pUaiLegfcoiV7ieYz0IGr-kkl8YnpQx2_HeZnFgOn9Rx1HxSh8he7ZEzrGuY_t-VPLW_WIirDeSPcy6dt1FBYxcQm7L/s320/IMG_8706.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I made the mosaic for her when I was pregnant and found out I was having a girl</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUT8hZL2ZvFmcWZiQpxT6ZR9wpAI9ANIocH8_0tMFO3hrtt1qPbawL81w7v_rhk5hPLnMcqPfAcxPULpSSPlhU7Map3doeIu-_PM8k2p3_chRgpDA41T_yLHSd8xhyU0hitMYtkLX8tonC/s1600/IMG_8711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUT8hZL2ZvFmcWZiQpxT6ZR9wpAI9ANIocH8_0tMFO3hrtt1qPbawL81w7v_rhk5hPLnMcqPfAcxPULpSSPlhU7Map3doeIu-_PM8k2p3_chRgpDA41T_yLHSd8xhyU0hitMYtkLX8tonC/s320/IMG_8711.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jake's bookshelf</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRQ_eNJQ_V1qmjwqPX9uBQ2cla4jp-u5VdR9tM-iufto-i1GzBrf1Jiy8HQqHg8-E2OLnEewpMo_x8Y2bIlnTwn2rCYWkkOrzS-IsKZYO_eXY6p1pXQ_02ffAy1oSC39QwCKdSBueOOdB/s1600/IMG_8714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmRQ_eNJQ_V1qmjwqPX9uBQ2cla4jp-u5VdR9tM-iufto-i1GzBrf1Jiy8HQqHg8-E2OLnEewpMo_x8Y2bIlnTwn2rCYWkkOrzS-IsKZYO_eXY6p1pXQ_02ffAy1oSC39QwCKdSBueOOdB/s320/IMG_8714.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I made this "M" for Madelyn's room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLS0amE875Q9FctCFjR41JxSKpTaM5ZM4u8C_t5pw6v5rRiT-QpCQYTwc9MYDc8w8Y01l8Sc8zIHmUzpY-LYxBwwKwv6kDly7kz6556hpqNtv6v2m_b5zrfkHqdeZM8y28Og6r-bglqgN/s1600/mosaicmirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLS0amE875Q9FctCFjR41JxSKpTaM5ZM4u8C_t5pw6v5rRiT-QpCQYTwc9MYDc8w8Y01l8Sc8zIHmUzpY-LYxBwwKwv6kDly7kz6556hpqNtv6v2m_b5zrfkHqdeZM8y28Og6r-bglqgN/s400/mosaicmirror.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">close up of the mosaic i made for madelyn</td></tr>
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</span></span></div>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14463150421576735039noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290685792073677049.post-71162255836497675682011-04-11T17:31:00.000-07:002011-04-11T17:36:23.505-07:00Julie, can I stalk your life?<div class="MsoNormal">In honor of my very first follower, I dedicate this post to my friend Julie Spano. Julie is not only my hilarious friend <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i> a brilliant copywriter, but she is also the brainchild of the name, “Camp Kim.” I was living in Atlanta ten years ago with my then-fiance’ (now my husband aka “DB” Dave). Along came Julie. The perfectly tanned, petite, whipper-snapper who also enjoyed the fineries in life: ‘Everybody’s ‘pizza salads, selling mattresses on craigslist and being crafty. It was love at first sight.<br />
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Then came my first Atlanta summer. I had finished my first year of teaching and had all day free. She was newly freelanceable (aka unemployed) and we decided to do some activities. We would carefully plan out our days as such: sneak into the closest apartment complex and use their pool, go for power walks followed by downing a box of chocolate chip cookies and then an afternoon “advanced” art project. That summer I taught Julie to mosaic. I had so much faith in the girl, I decided it would be silly to start on say, a trivet or a picture frame. She was clearly more talented than that. We had all summer to work, so she should definitely start with a large, rectangular coffee table. And she was surely ready for stained glass. No problem.<br />
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We began our first “Camp Kim” project. It was great. And then we were done. Well, almost. All Julie had to do on her own was grout. But instead of grouting, she left her masterpiece in its “natural” state. Which was fine until Gary (her then boyfriend, now husband) had sliced his kneecaps on it one too many times. Eventually, it had to be destroyed. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">But the craft bug lived on and I like to hope that I had something to do with it. These days, we are hundreds of miles apart, but our lives are still pretty similar. Both moms of two, both still love the fineries of life and both have a love of crafts. Plus we are both bloggers (me as of 5 days ago) and she for quite some time. Find some of her quick wit and beautiful finds at:<a href="http://www.etsystalkers.blogspot.com/">www.etsystalkers.blogspot.com</a></div>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14463150421576735039noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290685792073677049.post-29710034870668507772011-04-10T19:15:00.000-07:002011-04-19T21:03:30.410-07:00My little science man<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivBeDJPkk6y-mIfiLyi8sCIOx52gCiXntgE0bxS7dCy0S_8lt2LUG1AiKegsbsXopL9Lc9lsrr4QzvUYaZFo0oNilixjpA0V5u33k4afQ6Z5ropxtVlqzsEtUPGjEv6r9qC3f8l-9hqwS/s1600/IMG_9702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivBeDJPkk6y-mIfiLyi8sCIOx52gCiXntgE0bxS7dCy0S_8lt2LUG1AiKegsbsXopL9Lc9lsrr4QzvUYaZFo0oNilixjpA0V5u33k4afQ6Z5ropxtVlqzsEtUPGjEv6r9qC3f8l-9hqwS/s640/IMG_9702.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />
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And I have a five year old! I can't believe it. Where has the time gone? Yesterday was Jake's 5th birthday party and we celebrated with a science-themed outer space party. On the menu? Cracking open "moon rocks" aka geodes, soda/mento rockets and making tri-color ublick. A lot of my ideas (such as the lab coats and goggles were inspired by this post on an awesome blog called, <a href="http://princessandthefrogblog.blogspot.com/">http://princessandthefrogblog.blogspot.com/</a>. I absolutely loved the science party they featured and decided to go more in the direction of outer space and rocket ships. Nevertheless, check out their party and then check out mine:<br />
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<a href="http://princessandthefrogblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/science-party-part-2.html">http://princessandthefrogblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/science-party-part-2.html</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHk5vEIx9PFJEVeTeWDnOfJ70yMZx1LK0fgaFcNBm9eNbSSDrq3zuKV-BJXWPw8bXb7HPpv6G9LJpl9mHOtxlm8VBqNAUKsKWz_NfDDVL1I0LOxEkPOY59sAA_twj-UnxCUgHfQifPQk/s1600/DSC_0097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHk5vEIx9PFJEVeTeWDnOfJ70yMZx1LK0fgaFcNBm9eNbSSDrq3zuKV-BJXWPw8bXb7HPpv6G9LJpl9mHOtxlm8VBqNAUKsKWz_NfDDVL1I0LOxEkPOY59sAA_twj-UnxCUgHfQifPQk/s320/DSC_0097.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiahh6hBLjz1_FxRrcS6Ai791HfHBLp94M6uRg917cesSgW8j-P9vwPUCXrajpriJ4fzZ_yv6C-z7b3gRgOBZJFYQKK7GuIo84jBFbRmvImS1AJWXkshN12z5QbrLFQC1VgyYiTWvajs10/s1600/DSC_0160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiahh6hBLjz1_FxRrcS6Ai791HfHBLp94M6uRg917cesSgW8j-P9vwPUCXrajpriJ4fzZ_yv6C-z7b3gRgOBZJFYQKK7GuIo84jBFbRmvImS1AJWXkshN12z5QbrLFQC1VgyYiTWvajs10/s320/DSC_0160.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5Kk-r4yRa3nW5pSCSDC7K3p8rfa2cYC8YmQkclbzuYxN_KnKtX-wWDCOS-REjtHi1ebgPqdKET_D3ho38c4e6eakmhZ-uefiSF45E5UyovK47yeg6Tjyw8HET26o5ezpboffMwjyT4k/s1600/DSC_0078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi5Kk-r4yRa3nW5pSCSDC7K3p8rfa2cYC8YmQkclbzuYxN_KnKtX-wWDCOS-REjtHi1ebgPqdKET_D3ho38c4e6eakmhZ-uefiSF45E5UyovK47yeg6Tjyw8HET26o5ezpboffMwjyT4k/s320/DSC_0078.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdiqVBpbdp3o5cozzpYGQD9ffxAMaGgciuxZpVmlyJI4C5w07QKOpo1iMeGmECN0DmDYFQSEe7RoB3AdL-F_AuoRpqXh3BNt-Do4hv2agH-AmdCxAfO-A2d6YS_P_GWu6jw1J3xevtEk/s1600/DSC_0060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdiqVBpbdp3o5cozzpYGQD9ffxAMaGgciuxZpVmlyJI4C5w07QKOpo1iMeGmECN0DmDYFQSEe7RoB3AdL-F_AuoRpqXh3BNt-Do4hv2agH-AmdCxAfO-A2d6YS_P_GWu6jw1J3xevtEk/s320/DSC_0060.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here are the highlights from Jake's party...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAj2WyT5iGHvg2Khjm7PiHWjQH8ury-NqaYajHMlMBZQ1mOib4GOw86AF3wf7STrSMHq23cyZOzJP-K9ukck__3BBrEeNISWL8ukkCEkxs0esFsbk_FEe0PBT6cOrXQGxlCcfaDE5HyagP/s1600/IMG_9683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAj2WyT5iGHvg2Khjm7PiHWjQH8ury-NqaYajHMlMBZQ1mOib4GOw86AF3wf7STrSMHq23cyZOzJP-K9ukck__3BBrEeNISWL8ukkCEkxs0esFsbk_FEe0PBT6cOrXQGxlCcfaDE5HyagP/s200/IMG_9683.JPG" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">goodie bag</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQ1q32Y57z_pb0M8scUUi23sC9p_BTHPd_m4k8LxDKpohRiUfTpLgzNYVV_2eI5Tr5CzeRlkQNBG69QQeQwhh4PQ-BuqlKOhjglFZqLxoMlRnNRwQ8pVIn_28473YlPF_TpukETz_dG54/s1600/breakinggeodes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQ1q32Y57z_pb0M8scUUi23sC9p_BTHPd_m4k8LxDKpohRiUfTpLgzNYVV_2eI5Tr5CzeRlkQNBG69QQeQwhh4PQ-BuqlKOhjglFZqLxoMlRnNRwQ8pVIn_28473YlPF_TpukETz_dG54/s320/breakinggeodes.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">using a hammer and chisel to crack open geodes</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">madelyn exploding a mento rocket</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">jumping for joy</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">stamping planets and looking for astronauts</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">making "pluto paste" aka slime</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">looking inside the newly - cracked geodes. all the kids were given labcoats (hanes tshirts) and goggles</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my finest culinary creation - man on the moon cake (hand-sculpted fondant astronaut and yellow buttercream cake)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">goodie bags<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">moon pies</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseBoyxgfbC9O7bbuLksrtQ39SlGGwv5CHGf4BO9vuJJfmilsiXop0fuKa1c4pgJDY1pSvH1c3avWg5tjgRFG1FTd-bPPn9tPbFuiwVqzkblYQbAfznLo9rQoHg7xFV8uVicKBLU72dHkn/s1600/IMG_9862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseBoyxgfbC9O7bbuLksrtQ39SlGGwv5CHGf4BO9vuJJfmilsiXop0fuKa1c4pgJDY1pSvH1c3avWg5tjgRFG1FTd-bPPn9tPbFuiwVqzkblYQbAfznLo9rQoHg7xFV8uVicKBLU72dHkn/s320/IMG_9862.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">anticipating the cake<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my gorgeous birthday boy - happy birthday little man. mommy loves you.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div></div>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14463150421576735039noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290685792073677049.post-90786188138773563562011-04-06T19:25:00.000-07:002011-04-06T19:31:49.371-07:00Spring has sprung. I think.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">preparing his pots for soil</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKvgmokejy6W78tx8ITmovQFvZVIOkwzhDGJ6ZdECvbnKCOSR6fyT96WDHJlVuAIxNOUdd2g4ZAi1LGbQRfiDjBCJqulJpTUV-sx-owGCXXd9HPk0vn8LiMO30LvCKoH549kFAc_AcbVwp/s1600/IMG_9640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKvgmokejy6W78tx8ITmovQFvZVIOkwzhDGJ6ZdECvbnKCOSR6fyT96WDHJlVuAIxNOUdd2g4ZAi1LGbQRfiDjBCJqulJpTUV-sx-owGCXXd9HPk0vn8LiMO30LvCKoH549kFAc_AcbVwp/s320/IMG_9640.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">seeds of choice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I survived my first Chicago winter in a long time. It wasn't so bad. It was much worse when we used to live downtown and had to walk everywhere. But with a car for the first time in 8 years, I have to say, it wasn't so bad. I actually never put a pair of gloves on once - except to shovel snow. Of which there was a lot. So anyway, the point of this post is not to talk about the cold, but to talk about the warm. And yesterday it was finally warm. Ish. So, I decided it was time to plant some seeds with the kiddos.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">working together</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">putting their minds together</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14463150421576735039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290685792073677049.post-81542511206057456232011-04-05T17:33:00.000-07:002011-04-07T19:50:20.034-07:00cupcakesI love making new cupcakes for each year of my childrens' lives. I always knew I wanted to make them myself. You can tell that my cupcakes are rough around the edges . That is exactly the look I want for my home grown parties. Here are some cupcakes from Jake's and Madelyn's past birthday parties.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodqSYuYe-IHTH1lBGpAEF5dKK-ZjAKsEQ_gFAcSpCyCg14bJT6r9t0yztxUlDfnb8FShtZ1V5MOe-C-2bSyeibMHjER34Hk5PN_EfYbKRJA5QdurOU-KohvCmZIozhYy8JnCd0weLI4Zz/s1600/IMG_5870.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodqSYuYe-IHTH1lBGpAEF5dKK-ZjAKsEQ_gFAcSpCyCg14bJT6r9t0yztxUlDfnb8FShtZ1V5MOe-C-2bSyeibMHjER34Hk5PN_EfYbKRJA5QdurOU-KohvCmZIozhYy8JnCd0weLI4Zz/s320/IMG_5870.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jake's 3rd Birthday - Monkey themed gymnastics party</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdcGWJvrPgiltAoSvLsTgljxlfnd6qkgeEWFDl7qtJs8kStd5BPmA1jeCbOaR5J_ozv0mo7M7LpYLbje_Iy6GsRimnx_j_aH1UO7my0TWID3M2KH82hIJzrBXd1TmLJ1AbF5S2tEGfLUdj/s1600/frogcupcakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdcGWJvrPgiltAoSvLsTgljxlfnd6qkgeEWFDl7qtJs8kStd5BPmA1jeCbOaR5J_ozv0mo7M7LpYLbje_Iy6GsRimnx_j_aH1UO7my0TWID3M2KH82hIJzrBXd1TmLJ1AbF5S2tEGfLUdj/s1600/frogcupcakes.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jake's 2nd Birthday</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixX_Rtt-MRx05NCKK6joYoKoS4TM3urXiiVaDQiC-Zz8boXhI9AnfHZaGL4TIm8QcYbDwC5zm1VRab670VHqOqfPkKAhWwAAi0OxgMFNnXCM33hrx9EJmMcvbMvbsQ-HReLrrMLLukatZS/s1600/IMG_6861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixX_Rtt-MRx05NCKK6joYoKoS4TM3urXiiVaDQiC-Zz8boXhI9AnfHZaGL4TIm8QcYbDwC5zm1VRab670VHqOqfPkKAhWwAAi0OxgMFNnXCM33hrx9EJmMcvbMvbsQ-HReLrrMLLukatZS/s320/IMG_6861.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madelyn's 3rd Birthday at the farm - piggies!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIvjxJewyFLWzoHY4zHen8Hc8cuvkz1CHi6zj_D49vB2qPZrI-6FqJq3Hfq62ACEfz_kO1Sa2N-2LQsyW9FixZOEhqx96kzZ-giMMUAA5MnVIoWVyPBlW8annbL1fMOBOZyy254R-lmpc/s1600/IMG_0974_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIvjxJewyFLWzoHY4zHen8Hc8cuvkz1CHi6zj_D49vB2qPZrI-6FqJq3Hfq62ACEfz_kO1Sa2N-2LQsyW9FixZOEhqx96kzZ-giMMUAA5MnVIoWVyPBlW8annbL1fMOBOZyy254R-lmpc/s320/IMG_0974_2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madelyn's 2nd Birthday - Pink Owl Cupcakes<br />
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</tbody></table>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14463150421576735039noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2290685792073677049.post-22522622306305902092011-04-05T16:51:00.000-07:002011-04-19T13:12:36.597-07:00A blogger is born.I never thought I would be a blogger. Ever. Never ever. However, I have recently become a blog addict and my bookmark page is now overflowing. So I've decided to start blogging about all things crafty, messy, campy and fun. And so, here it goes...<br />
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I am the mother of two, the wife of one (lucky guy), a daughter, a sister, a friend, a teacher and an artist. I am sure I am many other things, but these are the highlights. I run a jewelry design business (www.kimbloomberg.com) and I teach private craft and jewelry classes (www.kimbloomberg.com/campkim). I love teaching people ages 9-99 and I love art supplies and trying new crafts. For me, the messier, the better.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jXNzHgbMVwKSaA0p5tYif5VaZ3OpimqXWFhvx2vRkhOEcXf0FQOEgjcPCYOBzxLvCe7PGCfwTFvnxEGkt8lqO5OcIGYQNEcvUMp5o5-vX8M2kcNk7YG18Wq86vgV2ft33zsTSx0D3wdN/s1600/IMG_7444_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3jXNzHgbMVwKSaA0p5tYif5VaZ3OpimqXWFhvx2vRkhOEcXf0FQOEgjcPCYOBzxLvCe7PGCfwTFvnxEGkt8lqO5OcIGYQNEcvUMp5o5-vX8M2kcNk7YG18Wq86vgV2ft33zsTSx0D3wdN/s320/IMG_7444_2.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>So, where to start? I will go back in time and feature a favorite art project of mine I did with my son Jake when he was four. Handprint paintings are a regular at pre-school and I loved how much they exemplify childhood. I wanted to come up with something else that could capture the memory of childhood. So, here it is. Here is the project from start to finish. He absolutely loved it and it all wiped off easily with a baby wipe. For kids this age, I definitely recommend using tempera paint.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhny5mgPMk7JeEioXpJn2V0mAH24xiumit9QdcdvwiwLxC2nOxJBWag8yOz2fmgDG7qIkcdCfo_bfGdJRzIMQfQEMiKpF6HOdEHojZMe7iuZ-2pMUnFTjltnZL2FHt0VW3s6LNVsFeMUON1/s1600/IMG_7426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhny5mgPMk7JeEioXpJn2V0mAH24xiumit9QdcdvwiwLxC2nOxJBWag8yOz2fmgDG7qIkcdCfo_bfGdJRzIMQfQEMiKpF6HOdEHojZMe7iuZ-2pMUnFTjltnZL2FHt0VW3s6LNVsFeMUON1/s200/IMG_7426.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is Jake getting ready for his foot painting. All you need is paint, brushes, paper and some little feet. Notice how daring I am. No newspaper. This was obviously a rental. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hEnxYYdGkx3ROfDp706remBzrFxC3q-41Y2_tkDw7h3WUHpw3VaHngkdyBI5aPB-ijA72WgRrdGeSsCAbHlIyn2AOVeGCgFjoWSqdyqbHnomIud49IOjFzYbKoQ0mtAJ_thM9CGPEVag/s1600/IMG_7429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hEnxYYdGkx3ROfDp706remBzrFxC3q-41Y2_tkDw7h3WUHpw3VaHngkdyBI5aPB-ijA72WgRrdGeSsCAbHlIyn2AOVeGCgFjoWSqdyqbHnomIud49IOjFzYbKoQ0mtAJ_thM9CGPEVag/s200/IMG_7429.JPG" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The paint tickled. Jake loved the feeling. First we did a rainbow. Then I decided that I wanted to hang the final product in Jake's room. So I did yellow, green and blue. Any color combo works.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaoJz59CIknjjUvztFaeeQ_jUA2VRB7bNjAd5w5_giowV6-NKBZqBkqUB8I6cdC5fWs-sgocEiHB4v-ZkWHRwNfiKFv7Gaenu7JFA6lzUGkkT2l1PH2gXJF2CJggf3xojkuD2Ikdr3n2BO/s1600/IMG_7442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaoJz59CIknjjUvztFaeeQ_jUA2VRB7bNjAd5w5_giowV6-NKBZqBkqUB8I6cdC5fWs-sgocEiHB4v-ZkWHRwNfiKFv7Gaenu7JFA6lzUGkkT2l1PH2gXJF2CJggf3xojkuD2Ikdr3n2BO/s320/IMG_7442.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">figuring out how to get up without using his feet (I lifted him up and put him down on paper. I added more pieces of paper so that most of the paint would come off on the paper instead of the floor.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwEXdVnVfMzeOK1U-ONlUxj-YxnFeXByUQ00-msfjpHXjTt3wfca2DHRIvpBU-1jjQRo_gJbylINPmZSH9Bt84wLhyphenhyphena_j2s_Ri0GgJDSNYhZu9zHeKLrAx2K9qGy_L6Iu3zW8FUVAVF08r/s1600/IMG_7436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwEXdVnVfMzeOK1U-ONlUxj-YxnFeXByUQ00-msfjpHXjTt3wfca2DHRIvpBU-1jjQRo_gJbylINPmZSH9Bt84wLhyphenhyphena_j2s_Ri0GgJDSNYhZu9zHeKLrAx2K9qGy_L6Iu3zW8FUVAVF08r/s200/IMG_7436.JPG" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">taking a walk with painty toes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjHlv3aRrnGjzqPYJ-wzdjiN5Q-0Z70bJhGyzG0oBJwHul8XrYS8AKbRCMjbhrdULLERxkEN2mbTx7gGoCMj7FsivyOcQjcVB5XRcK4PaiZjMMNyn7LaOole1TZDFQ23-JRaXcUHHFndRk/s1600/IMG_7446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjHlv3aRrnGjzqPYJ-wzdjiN5Q-0Z70bJhGyzG0oBJwHul8XrYS8AKbRCMjbhrdULLERxkEN2mbTx7gGoCMj7FsivyOcQjcVB5XRcK4PaiZjMMNyn7LaOole1TZDFQ23-JRaXcUHHFndRk/s640/IMG_7446.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Masterpiece.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14463150421576735039noreply@blogger.com2