My current craigslist project...restoring vintage chaise lounge chair set

Thanks to the generous craigslister I am the new owner of these soon-to-be-gorgeous vintage chaise lounge chairs!!  She received them from a friend several years ago. The friend had purchased them at an estate sale. 

These appear to be Woodard Ionian chairs made in the 60's and 70's.

CRAZY CRAFTY IDEA #1 - TAPE IT

Looking for a low-cost immediate fix for the chairs, I momentarily (or longer) considered using duct tape!  It comes in so many wonderful colors, you know! Hot pink and purple would look really cheerful especially with winter doldrums ahead, right?

CRAZY CRAFT IDEA #2 - WEAVE IT

Well, it's not so crazy, exactly.  It may be a tad less "metropolitan" but it does speak to my country roots. Yes, it is macrame! 

If you've been to a craft show you've probably seen an old lawn chair frame refurbished in macrame cord with [insert your local team] emblazoned on it.


There are many more cool ideas and free patterns out there!! And there are loads of colors to choose from including some glow in the dark cords and some variegated varieties.

Actually, here is a very sophisticated macrame option that actually imitates the old caning and accentuates the architecture of the chair beautifully. Plus I love that the crafter needing advice finished this project super quickly!

CRAZY CRAFT PRACTICAL IDEA #3 - STRAP IT

To really "restore" these I would need to use replacement vinyl straps and j-clips. Here's the typical color palette available by the roll (or in pre-cut strips) including clear:

These straps and supplies are available online from suppliers such as: Chair Care Patio,  A+ Redemption,  Patio Furniture Rehab, and DJ Patio and Furniture repair along with free instructional videos ( Chair Care Patio video and A+ Redemption video each offer a different perspective.

Should I be pink, seafoam, or boring white?

BEFORE AND AFTER GALLERY

Restoration by A+ Redemption Customer

Restoration by DJ Patio Customer

Restoration completed by A+ Redemption 

 

Here's a space saving design from Lowe's for an art station at home. 

Goodness knows it is difficult to cram art supplies, math & literacy stations, science experiments, and a computer lab along with the dining room table in a small house!!!

I suggest making the background a little larger than the paper to prevent "spill-over" effects.

The next time somebody says your homeschooled kids need to be socialized....

This is just too funny!  Yes, it is sarcastic and full of great talking points. Enjoy!

No Thank You, We Don’t Believe in Socialization! -- by Lisa Russell

Project Runway Fans: 20+ No-sew or Easy-sew fashions!

Do you LOVE watching Project Runway and wish you could whip up something fashionable...but you don't really sew? 

Then try these re-purpose, re-fashion, re-cycle projects. They require very few sewing skills since you aren't starting from scratch. Even more fun, they can be made from the stuff in your closet, bathroom, kitchen, or garage.  No need to run to Mood.

(1) T-shirt into woman's skirt

(2) Girls T-shirt into girls dress

(3) Adult T-shirt into Girl's dress

(4) Multiple adult t-shirts into layered long dress

(5) Multiple t-shirts into a flapper dress

(6) Bath scrubbies into Mini-dress

(7) Duct tape to prom dress

(8) Men's button-down shirt into girl's dress

(9) Pillowcase into women's skirt

(10) Pillowcase into girls dress ; and another dress with trim; and another

(11) T-shirt to halter top

(12) Strips of tulle into dream tutu

(13) One seam infinity dress

(14) Adult sweater into girls dress










(15) Adult T-shirts into girls streamer skirt

Don't forget the accessories!!

(16) Placement into purse

(17) Jeans into purse

(True confessions....my mom and I made these when I was a kid using instructions from ZOOM that I got by sending my SASE....remember those days anyone?? I loved my jean purse!!)

(18) Washers into necklace

(19) Fabric scraps into designer shoes

And don't forget the dolls or dogs!

(20) Baby clothes into American Girl clothes

(21) Baby clothes into dog clothes










Looking for more ideas?  Check out these books!

Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures




Rip It!: How to Deconstruct and Reconstruct the Clothes of Your Dreams

Our fantastical brains

As an undergraduate psychology major I balked at my professor's suggestion we all consider studying the biology of the brain.  He insisted it was the next frontier for psychologists.  And of course 20-something years later I can attest that he was indeed right.

And with the growing numbers of kids, including my own son, with asynchronous development and sensory challenges associated with being twice exceptional, I crave knowledge to help me understand the brain activities that regulate (or not!) normal and quirky behaviors.

So here are some interesting and easy to read articles helping us as parents and teachers to understand more about our quirky kids.

Why is our brain like 3 scoops of ice cream? Note that our sensory challenged, quirky, "inflexible-explosive" kids live in scoop # 1.  Just how many decades does it take for our kids' brains to really mature? Oh my!

Under what circumstances do our memories actually stay connected and stored with the sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and sensations of the experience remembered?

To learn more consider these good reads:

Toddler and kid friendly recipes

I got such strange looks when I asked all sorts of "experts" about the food pyramid and servings for toddlers when my kids were younger.

I wish I would have had these great resources from Wholesome Toddler Food!! 

Here the food pyramid is modified for the younger set and there are lots of nutritious, easy, kid friendly recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and fast food substitutes. There are also sample menu plans!

Crafting your way through a home remodel....

Here are some fabulous ways to integrate crafting into a home remodel with these super terrific ideas and instructions from the very talented Cassity at Remodelaholic.

Imagine spending no more than $5,000 on a total home redo?  She has done it not once, but three times!

Okay, so the purse isn't technically part of the house remodel, but it'll look great for those post-remodeling social events.

Are schools illegally discriminating based on age?

A strange synergy of ideas occurred today.

Multiple folks from different venues stressed the importance of teaching kids based on their abilities and individual development rather than their chronological age and associated grade level.

(1) USA Today describes how schools in some states are grouping students by skill and not grade level.

(2) Scientist Aimee Yermish, of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development,  stresses that "gifted kids often develop asynchronously" so they can be far ahead in particular subjects but lag far behind in other skill sets, especially those that utilize executive functioning.  I would argue that most kids have areas in which they excel in more than others. So this means students would need to be grouped differently depending on subject matter or skill sets.

(3) In his email newsletter, Larry Shiller, of Montessori style ShillerMath curriculum says "Age discrimination is illegal; why permit and encourage it in our public schools? Grade levels are ingrained in our thinking about school. But should they be? They haven't always been. The one-room schoolhouse didn't have grades but it did have students who learned how to mentor and be mentored, and it didn't have students (and parents) who felt constant pressure to conform learning to age instead of capability... Bureaucrats invented grades to make their life easier in administering schools. The result? Cookie-cutter curricula, groupthink, age discrimination, and generally lousy education, all despite the best efforts of parents, teachers, and yes, even the government. Schools do need to be administered and so we do need bureaucrats. But the bureaucrats we need are those who implement structure and policy designed to help each student reach his or her own potential. And as most Montessori schools demonstrate, that means doing away with grade levels and putting the focus of school energy and resources on students and teachers."

Free personalized pattern for an easy sew wrap skirt

Here is a fabulous (and rather humorous!) tutorial on how to make your own pattern for a wrap skirt from Bethany at Sew, Mama, Sew!

My super-sewing friend Dori says this is the best tutorial she's seen.

While this project might only take a weekend, I can guarantee you'll eat up a lot more time browsing the many fabulous projects on this website.

Garden themed books

These are some books we recently checked out at the library and had a lot of fun with!

Good Morning Garden -- Beautiful paper illustrations inspire the urge to note only get out and enjoy nature but to think of new ways to be creative with paper.




Princess Chamomile's Garden -- An adorable story of determination and creativity. We ALL loved the final garden design and wished we could replicate it at our house.  It was magical and whimsical with some good lessons.




Sweet Strawberries -- This is an interesting story to stimulate discussion on the importance of a positive attitude toward others.  It shows how we can choose how to see the world and what an impact that has on our own lives.  As readers we can enjoy the thrill of the strawberry adventure and feel smug knowing we would be superior in knowing how to treat others with kindness.

Disclaimer: While others may call the husband a sour man, as a psychologist my impression was that he is a brash, abrasive, controlling, borderline abusive husband, but one who does seem to learn his lesson in the end.  If a child has exposure to violent adults in his/her life this might resonate in a negative way.  But it does offer adults the opportunity to talk with their children about appropriate ways adults should treat other adults and children.

Plant of the day: Viburnum

If you've ever been lured by an incredible scent on a walk, chances are you might have passed a viburnum shrub.  It's one of the most intense fragrances I've ever encountered. 

"Tough as nails with a heavenly fragrance, the Viburnum burkwoodii Mohawk is an outstanding choice for a hedge shrub. 

"It has beautiful flowers and fragrance in the spring, pretty summer berries for the song birds, and beautiful orange leaves for fall."

Check out this wonderful plant at Great Garden Plants.

Free Algebra and Geometry Lessons online for the summer!

Even if your kids attend public or private school during the school year, you are still a home educator!

Parents are always teaching their kids, informally if not formally. 

And if you are trying to keep your kids from being bored or losing their math skills during the summer, here is a fabulous FREE resource.

(Or perhaps you want to brush up your math skills to be able to help your student with his/her homework!!)

The Homeschool Buyers Co-op has launched a Group Buy for online video math lessons from YourTeacher.com.

Go to http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/yourteacher-freebie/ for more information.

The offer expires 8/31/2010.

Help Grace Lin find this dress for the Oscars!

Children's author and illustrator and Newberry honoree, Grace Lin, is looking for her dress to wear to the Newberry banquet.  And since this is the equivalent to the Oscars in her world, she is looking for the perfect dress to wear.

This painted lotus cotton and silk dress from Anthropologie was her first choice, but it is sold out everywhere! Okay, well there is a size 0 version of this dress on ebay, but petite Ms. Lin says that it is too small for her.

The dress pattern seems pretty simple to me.  It's the fabric and structured placement of patterns that really sells the look. http://www.satin-moon.com/ has some beautiful Asian-inspired fabric [see below] that might be able to carry off a similar look.

There is the floral pattern for the skirt the geometric pattern on the bodice and the solid black accents. But the geometric patterns here don't have the same black accents in the background like the Anthropologie dress.  And these are cotton rather than cotton and silk fabrics.  But it makes me hopeful that a an inspired version of this dress can be crafted. 

Good luck with the dress search, Grace, and congratulations on the honor for "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon!

Can I use girl power to move this boulder?

Worse than my need to continually move furniture, I have recently decided I  need to move our 1-2 ton boulder (again) to make room for the kid's wooden playset.

My wonderful parents drove their truck and trailer with the skid steer up a couple summers ago.  My dad yanked this boulder out from under the blue spruce and relocated it for me. 

THE SOUND HEARD AROUND THE WORLD

This 2 ton capacity skid steer had its rear end up in the air while it was man against machine. Man finally won.  Sidewalk and rock lost.  A sonic boom could be heard throughout the neighborhood when the rock dropped on the sidewalk [crack!] and was nudged into position in the yard.  The house shook. Pictures fell off the wall.

ANGRY ROCK

At that point in time we had a neighborhood kid who cut through our corner lot (walking right by our window which was creepy). So I thought putting the boulder in this spot would create an obstacle making the short cut, not so short. 

That worked. But the girl graduated from high school shortly thereafter and no longer walked through our yard on the way home from school. 

PRIME REAL ESTATE

Fast forward a couple years and now the rock is in the perfect shady spot for the kids wooden play structure we got for free from Craigslist.

We had to disassemble this wooden structure and carry it to the U-haul for transport back home.  Since nails (not screws) must have been de rigueur 20 years ago, we wanted to keep as much of the structure intact as possible.

SCOOT ALONG

Not matching the strength of my awesome husband, I showed him some "girl" methods of moving stuff to maximize brains over brawn.  (My brilliant determined energetic mother taught me this!)  

Rolling and scooting are amazingly powerful tools.  And so are super wonder bars!!

So now I'm trying to figure out  more "girl power" methods for moving this boulder about 10 feet. 


NO CRANE, NO SKID STEER...

The skid steers I can rent have a much smaller load capacity than dad's so I'm not inclined to try that option.

Since I don't have a crane like the folks at grounds trades xchange forum suggest or super powered skid steer like the folks from Southern Green Scapes (see below) and the knowledgeable folks on the lawnsite forum suggest...

POWER WINCH

A power winch looks like a critical element to my plan. 

Here is a small handmade winch modeled after the kind used to pull boulders the size of small cars that www.nowherenevada.com made to pull a boulder out of a stream using the winch, some inner tubes, and tow wraps. 

Nowhere Nevada says "I have seen this thing pull giant boulders out of the ground with ease" and I hope that is true.

Case in point, these California jeep club members managed to move a 4000 pound boulder with a winch one guy had tried unsuccessfully to sell for $80 at a garage sale.

I'LL TAKE A PULLEY -- MAKE IT PURPLE, PLEASE

It sounds like I could also benefit from the smartly placed pulley, like this CMI*  Double micro pulley 7000 MBS one recommended by Mephisto from the Canadian Gold Prospecting forum. 

*I worked as a temp at the CMI permanent mold factory after college and could tell some wild stories about that place! But most memorable is the hot, dangerous, working conditions of the guys (women need not apply - your applications got thrown away) on the floor and how one of them got his arm cut off in a press.

I totally love that it is purple!! It's perfect for my girl powered boulder moving system.

Mephisto uses small but "pocket sized boulder puller pulley systems" claiming to have hand winched his truck on his own.

Mephisto says "You need two of these pulleys, two webbing slings, 4 carabiners and about 100' of 7 - 8 mm [7mm kernmantle] static line. You choose an anchor point (truck, tree etc) , attach one pulley to the anchor point via a sling and biner, and the other pulley via sling and biner to the rock you want to move. Thread the rope thru , block and tackle style and start pulling. 4-1 MA, one person can move a surprisingly large amount of weight."

WINCH + PULLEY = SUCCESS?

Similarly, Dave McCracken offers a visual diagram of this type of winch and pulley system to move boulders from a stream bed.

I'm hopeful this might work. Off to craigslist for a winch!

Cool links for outdoor education

Public Workshop

What Snowstorms Can Teach Us About Learning, Civic Engagement & Cities.
http://publicworkshop.us/?p=194

What Happens When Children Build Their Own Three-Story Playgrounds?
http://publicworkshop.us/?p=194

Cornell Garden-Based Learning Program

FoodCorps: An AmeriCorps School Garden and Farm to School Program
http://blogs.cornell.edu/gblblog/2010/05/07/foodcorps/

Toolkit
http://blogs.cornell.edu/garden/get-activities/signature-projects/dig-art/toolkit/

Kids Gardening.Org

Subaru garden grant application
http://www.kidsgardening.org/grants/healthysprouts.asp

May resources
http://www.kidsgardening.com/kgn-current.html

GOOD

Design a school garden and we'll build it
http://www.good.is/post/design-a-school-garden-with-lausd-and-we-ll-build-it/

Recognizing children with sensory processing disorder

Here is a wonderful cartoon illustration to help people recognize (some) typical signs of a sensory processing disorder from sensory street. Of course, not all kids have all these same issues.