Author Archives: Margaret Muirhead

Renew: Doll Chair

Posted in Kids, Recycled materials, Stuff to make by

Many of my teenage summer jobs involved painting. (Of walls and houses, that is. Not of high art.) Maybe that’s why my summer cravings include not just ice cream cones, lake swims, and hammock reading, but also splashing paint about. If you have the patience, painting is such a gratifying, economical way to transform something worn and tired.

doll chair

I purchased this doll chair at a yard sale years ago, and it’s been moldering in my basement ever since. Now it has the perfect recipient–my niece Lila who has recently become besotted with a doll she named Rosie. (Feminists out there: no worries, Lila is formidable and will some day rule the world.)

I had some leftover pink paint (Ben Moore Elephant Pink) from my stair project and ombre porch swing project. After a coat of this pale pink, I cut out some Victorian roses (I’m sorry! I had to!) for decoupage. I wish I had taken a before shot–the chair was formerly dirt brown!

Tried it: Matchbox Weaving

Posted in Kids, Recycled materials, Stuff to make by

matchbox weave by homemade city

Some of you may who follow this blog know about my love for all things matchbox. In addition to tiny crafts, I’m also drawn to pointless ones. So when I spotted this matchbox weaving by Marisa Ramirez on Pinterest, of course, I had to try it. I thought it might be fun to do this with kids, but my 8-year-old son Zeke informed me it would too hard. I think he’s right, but maybe we could weave some other unlikely object, like these sticks?

 

matchbox weaving
matchbox weaving 2
matchbox weaving 3

7 Summer Crafts to Make with Kids

Posted in Fabric printing, Kids, Recycled materials, Stuff to make by

These 7 crafts should at least fill the first week of summer vacation with the kids. After that, who knows?

1. God’s Eye from the Free People blog

2. Breezy Friendship Bracelets from Molly’s Sketchbook at Purlbee

3. Popsicle Tote from youaremyfave

4. Tie-Dye T-shirts from Martha Stewart

5. Lemonade Stand from Oh Happy Day!

6. Cork boat by Inner Child Fun

7. Wooden Necklaces by Avery Rayne Designs

Collections!

Posted in Stuff to make by

Marbles, buttons, super balls, rotary phones–I seem compelled to collect the bits and pieces of life.  Beachcomber, gutter forager, accumulator! I aspire to minimalism, but miss it by a long shot. Here is a glimpse into the galleries of my personal museum. What do you collect? And how do you display (or not) your treasures?

DIY: How to Make Mini Paper Boxes

Posted in Free Tutorials, Paper, Stuff to make by

homemade city mini paper boxes

These 1″ little boxes won’t solve your storage problems (unless you just don’t where to put that penny, or marble, or piece of lint) but like many miniature things, they are delightful. Once during a bout of unemployment, I folded zillions of these (which may say something about my non-transferable work skills and resulting joblessness). Watch out, they’re fun. Make one, make many: they proliferate under your fingertips.

Materials

3″ square origami paper

bone folder, or a pen with a rounded cap to make creases

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Step 1: Lay one sheet of origami paper, wrong side up, on your working surface. Fold the paper in half, long edge to long edge. (You can gently press with your fingers first, and then use your bone folder to make a sharper crease.) Open the paper and rotate 90 degrees. Fold in half again, long edge to long edge. Again, open the paper.

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Step 2: Fold one corner to its opposite, to make a triangle. Open the paper, and fold the other corner to its opposite. Unfold. Your paper will look like this:

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Step 3: Fold each corner to the center point. (Fold four times.)

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Step 4: Fold the bottom edge of your square up to the center. Fold the top edge of your square down to meet the center. Unfold. Rotate 90 degrees, and repeat, folding the remaining two edges of the square to the center.

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Step 5: Open two of the corners opposite each other. Lift the two sides of the box. Focussing on one corner at at time, press in the “tabs” you created with creases. As you do this, you will be lifting the third side of the box. Then press down the corner over the edge of side. The corner point should meet the other two points. Repeat to make the fourth side of the box. You’ve made the bottom half of the box.

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Step 6: To make the lid, you will do the same thing, but with one alteration. In Step 4, instead of folding the edge of the square to the center, you will instead fold it almost but not quite to the center. Leave about a millimeter of distance from the center. Do this again to the top edge. Open, and repeat with the remaining two square edges. This will make the lip of the lid shorter and increase the diameter of the lid, so that the lid fits over the bottom of the box you created.

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Enjoy!