We didn’t reinvent the wheel this year. Or the valentine. We trotted out last year’s idea and produced in bulk. My third-grader and I used one of our six snow days here in Boston to assembly-line these valentine matchboxes. I glue-sticked and covered in red construction paper and Zeke heart-stamped. The boxes fit exactly 12 M&Ms each. We ate the extra. (I’m not sure what to do with the surplus matches.)
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I’m not patient enough to take a Before Photo. Once I have a project-induced adrenaline surge, I can barely pause to snap a decent photo or two. So here’s my best:
You get the idea. Vintage black card file drawers. Actually, I think they were originally army green, and I painted them black a while ago when my husband and I were going through a “drag any old discarded file cabinet off the sidewalk” phase. Does everyone go through this phase? Is it developmental? It’s definitely a pre-kids condition. Anyway, I was inspired by this Land of Nod item to dig the old thing out of the closet and give it some new paint.
After spraying the file drawers with enamel white paint (and then laying down for a while due to resulting asphyxiation), I got to work on the fun part. I used tiny bottles of model paint to color the drawer fronts.
The After Photos:
I don’t know if you can tell but there are actually two different file boxes with two file drawers each. The top box is made of wood, the bottom of metal. They sit on top of each other nicely though, and their differences add to a general funkiness, I think. I haven’t quite figured out where to put the drawers–they are 17″ deep!
This is such a fun, easy craft for kids–and it’s doubly rewarding because you get to use something from your recycling box! You know those little foam trays that your grocery store uses to keep your veggies comfortable? Trader Joe’s, in particular, seems enamored with the excess packaging. Anyway, wash that foam and save it because now you’re going to need it.
Zeke and I spent a happy morning making prints. Make sure to cover your work space (I used paper bags–more recyclables!) because kids love to roll the paint around, and things can get messy. Also, if you want to write words in your design, remember to write your letters backwards. We actually used a hand mirror to make sure we were successfully mirror writing.
Recycled foam trays
Roller
Washable block printing ink (you can substitute acrylic paint, but the block printing ink is thicker and works better)
Blunt-ended pen or paintbrush
Scissors
Paper
Step 1: Cover your work area. Printmaking gets messy!
Step 2: Trim off the curved edges of your foam trays so you have a flat surface.
Step 3: Plan your design (remember words need to be written backwards). Draw your design, pressing into the foam with the a blunt end of a pen or paintbrush.
Step: 4: Pool some paint and run your roller through it a few times so that the roller has an even coat of paint. Now roll paint over your design.
Step 5: Invert your design onto a piece of paper. Roll the back of the foam, evenly pressing your design into the paper.
Step 6: Gently lift your design. Voila! The roller and the foam should easily wash off with water.
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.
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!
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?
homemadecity.com 