Stuffed animal zoo re-do
The more time I spend making things for our home, the more I realize nothing stays the same. Kids grow, needs shift, tastes change, trends pass and what once felt beautiful or functional can suddenly stop being either.
Longtime readers may remember that three years ago, my handy husband and I built a wooden stuffed animal “zoo” with bungee cording as the bars. I’d painted it red with white letters that spelled out OUR ZOO, and it did a great job of keeping the stuffed animals neatly in one place. It also doubled as a nightstand for our son.
Over time, however, that poor zoo took a beating. The kids and their friends kept climbing inside during rounds of hide-and-seek so it was getting pretty wobbly, and the top was covered with pencil scribbles. (Note to children: don’t include your own name in your graffiti if you don’t wish to be identified.)
Our son is almost nine and doesn’t care for stuffed animals, so I decided it was time to move the zoo to our daughter’s bedroom. (She uses stuffies as students when she plays school.)
But first, it needed to be, uh, “sturdied up.”
Continue reading in my weekly DIY column, My Handmade Home …
… or pin this idea and come back to it later …
DIY hockey picnic table with CRAFTSMAN®
Yayyyyy! Today’s the day!
I can finally reveal the two very special projects I worked on for CRAFTSMAN® and the #CRAFTSMANCUPCONTEST.
Project #1 is a child-sized picnic table with a DIY hockey theme, in celebration of the upcoming 2019 Memorial Cup in Halifax.
I’m sharing the full tutorial for the DIY hockey picnic table over on CraftsmanCupContest.ca, so head over for a list of materials and step-by-step instructions.
While you’re there, enter the CRAFTSMAN® Cup contest for a chance to win a VIP Memorial Cup experience.
The grand prize is four tickets to the 2019 Memorial Cup Championship Game presented by Kia on May 26, and a V.I.P. behind-the-scenes experience — plus airfare, hotel accommodations, CRAFTSMAN® tools and swag, a prepaid Visa and a RONA gift card.
Don’t forget to pin this post for later so you can find it again easily when you’re ready to build the coolest hockey-themed table around.
DIY recycling station with CRAFTSMAN®
Yayyyyy! Today’s the day!
I can finally reveal the two very special projects I worked on for CRAFTSMAN® and the #CRAFTSMANCUPCONTEST.
Project #2 is a DIY recycling station that I’ve been dreaming about for YEARS! I kept sketching it and planning it, but didn’t get around to actually building it until now.
And it’s even better than I’d hoped!
It’s AMAZINGLY FUNCTIONAL!
It has five pull-outs — compost, garbage, paper/cardboard, plastic & glass, and cans & bottles (a.k.a. the refundables we can pass along to hockey teams who come door-to-door collecting them).
The compost pull-out is specially designed to hold a small bag — no need for massive
I’m sharing the full tutorial for the DIY recycling station over on CraftsmanCupContest.ca, so head over for a list of materials and step-by-step instructions.
While you’re there, enter the CRAFTSMAN® Cup contest for a chance to win a VIP Memorial Cup experience.
The grand prize is four tickets to the 2019 Memorial Cup Championship Game presented by Kia on May 26, and a V.I.P. behind-the-scenes experience — plus airfare, hotel accommodations, CRAFTSMAN® tools and swag, a prepaid Visa and a RONA gift card.
So go read the tutorial — please! — and let me know what you think of the design. Feel free to ask any questions, too, and I’ll do my best to answer them without using terms like “thingamajig.”
Don’t forget to pin this post for later so you can find it again easily when you’re ready to build the most USEFUL garbage / recycling sorting system of all time!
DIY Lego hooks
Our son recently lost one of his drumsticks and went into a panic. Our daughter was the one who found it … in his band bag, exactly where it should have been.
Oh man. He is a sweet, smart boy with many excellent qualities, but finding things that are right in front of him is not one of them.
Now that he’s nearing the end of Grade 3, he has important things to keep track of — his band bag, taekwondo sparring gear, homework, etc. Since his room is an ode to all things Lego, it made sense to create Lego-themed hooks for his wall.
All we needed for the project was a one-and-one-quarter-inch dowel — we bought a six-foot one and have a lot leftover — an eight-foot 2×4 board and a few hooks.
Continue reading in my weekly DIY column, My Handmade Home …
Having fun with family traditions
You would have thought we were planning an elaborate vacation, but no. We were just discussing our plans for the afternoon the kids received their second-term report cards.
We celebrate every report card with a treat — frozen yogurt or something from the gas station, which is hilariously exciting when you’re a kid — and “kids can do whatever they want” for the rest of the afternoon. (Spoiler alert: they always pick screen time.)
As a result, they look forward to report card day like it’s a legit holiday. They picked frozen yogurt this time around and it made me smile to see how delighted they were with our after-school outing. It felt special because it’s a tradition.
The experts all agree that children feel comforted by routines. And it’s true. Kids love to know what to expect and they like knowing they can look forward to something good happening.
Our son and daughter know the Tooth Fairy always brings a toonie, unless you had an overcrowded tooth pulled out by the dentist, which bumps the price to $5.
They know every Friday night, we’re going to eat homemade pizza and watch a movie together.
They know Saturday mornings are when I make my famous pancakes, with enough leftovers to reheat on Sunday morning.
They know every summer will kick off with the Canada Day parade in the next town over …
… and that it will draw to a close when we do a marathon 10-hour day at the provincial exhibition.
Continue reading in my weekly parenting column, The Mom Scene …
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