Activities With Children

Arts, Crafts, and Fun Things to Do and Make with your children

Toss any magazine older Work them out. The problem with bad weather is that children don’t get enough exercise. Play “freeze dance” stopping in position when the music goes off. Pile up pillows and encourage the kids to gallop over them on hobbyhorses. Get out the tutus and do a dance show. The storm has hit and you are stuck indoors with small lightening fast children. Kids are bouncing off the walls. You’re just about to go bananas. You take a look, but the pieces to Candyland are missing. Maybe a boardgame can save you?
 
Grab some couch cushions or an large box and drape a sheet over them. Put toys and kitchenware for the kids to play with underneath. They can make a walkway to the structure with blocks. Set it up and hand out the invitations to all of the stuffed friends. It could be your dog or cats birthday, or your child’s favorite stuffed animals birthday. Decorate white paper plates for party invitations by coloring them and personalizing them. Bake up some cookies or have a popcornfest. Stretch out the preparation. Throw a ten minute party. Fill plastic bottles with whatever is on the shelf to make potions. Toothpaste, ketchup, food coloring - the yuckier the better. Add baking soda and vinegar and watch your concoction fizz. Clean out the magazine rack and have your kids clip pictures and paste them on paper. Suggest a theme, such as animals. Toss any magazine older than your toddler. Work them out. The problem with bad weather is that children don’t get enough exercise. Play “freeze dance” stopping in position when the music goes off. Pile up pillows and encourage the kids to gallop over them on hobbyhorses. Get out the tutus and do a dance show. The storm has hit and you are stuck indoors with small lightening fast children. Kids are bouncing off the walls.

 

Children’s Activities | Activities With Children

August 4, 2010

Steamroller printmaking

Filed under: Children's Activities,crafts — admin @ 12:53 am

Now here’s something you don’t see every day, printmaking using a steamroller as the press. This took place at the Martha Street Studio Steamroller Festival in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

A few more pictures on their website.

Martha Street Studio

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Making Up in Pictures

Filed under: Children's Activities,crafts — admin @ 12:53 am

I’ve been absent. A little under the weather. But, I guess a lot of people just step away from the computer during the warmer months for whatever reason. I’ve also been pretty lazy. Yup. In the last 3 years I haven’t been working hard enough in my shop. I have been focusing so much on parenthood and our steps to home ownership- that I just haven’t had the time. But I’ve been trying to take some pictures to show you just what has been keeping me from Hobocamp and other craftiness.


drinking milk in a vintage Sesame Street mug while wearing an armful of mama’s bracelets


our version of those fun little stars people have on their house. I painted them a citrina. we got the color from The Center For Green Building


the ferris wheel at the Danbury mall!


the lillies blooming in our yard


dressing herself


trying to figure out a way to spiff up the kitchen with out a lot of money or renovating- 1st try is taking off the cabinet doors- next painting.


making my day a million times a day


Pesto I made- so we had a green & white pesto pizza! Delish!

We’ve got a big order and a new sewing machine, Confidence by Singer- Ms. Martha Stewart herself approves. So hopefully I’ll have some snapshots to share real soon. Oh and we finished painting our bedroom- finally!

Damn You Reality!

Filed under: Children's Activities,crafts — admin @ 12:53 am

So in my other homes, we didn’t live by a lake where we see a million new bugs a day, we didn’t worry too much about spiders and we didn’t have silverfish. We were pretty lucky, although we didn’t own those properties. Having lived here for 2 + weeks we are settling and becoming accustom to most of the wildlife habitat- seeing real dragonflies on a daily basis is kind of uplifting- almost stepping on a silverfish during a 3 am bathroom visit is not.

After reading on natural ways to rid your home of these gross, pesky monsters.. I’ve come to the realization that having my fabric color-coded and neatly folded on my shelves ( in my magical dreamland where faeries do you biding and your folding) (this picture got out of hand and is neither of those things) is a dream of the past- for now.

Since these buggers get their kicks on eating linen,fabric,wool! ( they also eat paste in books- but we are trying to pretend this isn’t true- where could we possibly put 4 bookshelves + an expedit full of books?!) I need to put my fabric back into sealed bins and then somehow find room for them. Yes, it is a sad day when reality seeps in. I need a few moments of silence for what was and what magical piles could become. Oh well!

Anyone have any other advice on these buggies?

around the house

Filed under: Children's Activities,crafts — admin @ 12:53 am

While my sewing machine is on the fritz (I’ll be dropping it off Wednesday) I’ll share some in progress corners of my home.
Hazel climbing into her big girl chair.


A lovely embroidered alphabet. At $4.99 this was indeed a steal at the Sal’s. I have a spot on Hazel’s wall.

Among the boxes and randomness. Seeing how much we have makes me grateful but also makes me want to get rid of some things. Clothes, fabric and so many toys Hazel just isn’t into.

Still tackling our bedroom. Hung a lantern in the living room. Starting to paint a shelf for H’s room. I had grand plans for a garden, but we moved in a bit late and our yard needs so much work it sort of fell to the side. I have a bunch of containers with basil, Swiss chard and the like- that just are growing at a mediocre level.

I am starting to get through some boxes in our bedroom and carve a little corner for sewing. We’ll see how it turns out. More soon!

Hazel’s Bedroom Part 1

Filed under: Children's Activities,crafts — admin @ 12:53 am



When we moved in, it was a shade of beigey-grey. In fact our bedroom and the outside of the house look like they are the same exact shade of beigey-grey! Something had to be done ASAP! So we found our semi-local Mythic paint dealer and ordered a few gallons for our rooms.

Hazel’s is called You Are My Sunshine. Which I found to be perfect, since we sing that song a million times a day everyday. It was also the song my grandfather sang to my mother. Here are a few pictures of her freshly painted room with some of her belongings inside. I am still debating on the actual set up of furniture. I painted her dresser (which we got from my parents’ neighbor’s garbage — hey it’s real wood with new-looking hardware!) and used Mythic’s Sprite Mist(something like that name) to spiff it up. Some other pieces are brighter greens and various bright colors.


We started painting our bedroom tonight. Then I used henna on my hair. Since our well/plumbing is kinda crazy- we don’t have hot water and now my head is tingling from spending 10 minutes under the faucet getting the grit out from my scalp! I went with black and I am pretty happy with how it came out! All about changing colors..hmm must be longing for autumn!
xo

Code entry to your garage using a doorbell and an attiny13

Filed under: Children's Activities,crafts — admin @ 12:00 am

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Code entry to your garage using a doorbell and an attiny13 via HaD. Mike writes -

I wanted to use an ATtiny13 microcontroller because I had ordered a half dozen a few years ago and still had most of them sitting around. This meant I would need to fit the code into less than 1024 bytes of programming space. I downloaded Alan’s code thinking it might be in C but it turned out to be BASIC so I decided to write my own from the ground up. I did start with my favorite Danni Debounce code (written by Peter Dannegger) to handle the button presses and coded a prototype using an ATmega168. Here’s how it works…

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August 3, 2010

MAKE digital edition hacked!

Filed under: Children's Activities,crafts — admin @ 11:00 pm

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Ouch! Clever forum member pulletsforever wanted to be able to read MAKE on his iPad, and in the process of poking around, found a security vulnerability that lets anyone download complete PDF copies of the MAKE digital edition, for free! CoverLeaf (the company that hosts MAKE digital) techs tell us they’re working on a fix as we speak.

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Need extra space on your Arduino? Try ferrite cores!

Filed under: Children's Activities,crafts — admin @ 10:00 pm

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Spotted in the MAKE Forums:

If you’ve been needing some extra space for your microcontroller program, then you might want to take a look at Wayne Holders’ latest project, Magnetic Core Memory for Arduino. All you need are some H-Bridge drivers, a separate power supply, and a piece of hard ferrite, and you’ll be well on your way to adding an extra bit of storage!

OK, core memory might have gone obsolete a long while ago, so if you really need the space I suggest using some external i2c EEPROM chips. However, if you are interested in learning about how magnetic memory works, then I definitely recommend checking out his project. Bonus points to anyone who figures out how to patch avr-ld to make use of the extra space!

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September 1, 2009

Austin Art Outside call for participation

Filed under: Children's Activities,crafts — admin @ 12:28 am

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Here’s a great opportunity to get involved in Austin at Art Outside:

Hushed galleries. White walls. “Inside” voices. That’s one way to experience art. But Art Outside 2009 is looking to change that. If you are a visual artist, performer, musician, dancer, comic, filmmaker, crafter, fashion designer, or a creative spirit of any sort – we are looking for you to participate this October 9-11th.

One of Texas’ most anticipated annual art events, Art Outside is a three-day experience for art lovers, families, DIY junkies and avid concert-goers. You’ll perform or display your work in the environs of Apache Pass, located just East of Austin and centered between Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio. With over 100+ participants across all media, it’s also an opportunity to meet and network with artists from all over the country, from under-the-radar newcomers to today’s art icons.

Just some of this year’s participants include carnivalian collective Art of Such N’ Such, fresh off their 2009 Bonnaroo performance, eco-chic fashion designer Rene Geneva, recently named Best Local Fashion Designer at the Austin Fashion Awards, blues/vintage rock outfit The Golden Animals, Fort Knox Five, Freq Nasty, DIY workshops by The WonderCraft, Comedy by Reggie Watts and Adira Amram, food by Ararat and Happy Vegan Baker and many more. *visit website for full line-up/line-up is subject to change.

We look forward to reviewing your wild, wonderful creations. With a tradition of showcasing groundbreaking talent on breathtaking grounds, Art Outside has hosted artists and art appreciators since 2004. Founded at Austin Enchanted Forest, Art Outside began as a small gathering of creative souls, and expanded into a destination event for visitors near and far. We pay homage to the Enchanted Forest as we spread our wings over a new landscape, Apache Pass, where we can host more art than ever before. An inspiring expanse of beautiful central Texas landscape, Apache Pass will offer music performance areas, a cantilevered stage, artist tents, camping grounds for full-weekend participants, food and drink vendors. A limited amount of advance 3-day passes are now available for purchase on the website. To learn more, please visit Art Outside-www.artoutside.org.  

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gone fishin’

Filed under: Children's Activities,crafts — admin @ 12:28 am

Magical Huskystar, originally uploaded by hobocampcrafts.

No, not really. But I might as well. Yesterday while sewing up a cloth diaper my Huskystar started going wonky.

Making crazy noises and balled up pieces of thread everywhere! I called the closest sewing shop- went through a few check points and then brought her in today. They’ll get in touch once the problem is identified. I just hope it can be fixed for an inexpensive price. It seems we sit down 2 x a month to go over our budget and see what we’ll be saving and every time the amount ends up being less than what we thought…because there is always something popping up!

Even though I am trying to raise Hazel with less stuff- there always seems to be a new toy or educational addition we could use. I am hoping that all of these items will get used again with either our next child or a friend’s child.

So while the Huskystar is in the shop:
-I am going to work on writing a month of dinners,then shop for just what we need.
-Trying to make some jam and then can it.
-Pin some-to-be-sewn items.
-Order those much needed baby items

Be well Huskystar, there is a place for you on my sewing table if you choose to return to us!