aid for my cool

on the favorites tab of my computer you'll find a folder marked "things to do with kids".

inside said folder you will find links to sundry exciting, messy, educational, cheap, enjoyable, bonding, ingenious activites i marked. i marked these with full intentions of doing one or two of these projects each week through the summer.

my children return to school in less than 2 weeks.

i just did the first craft.

although, in my defense, it was such a rip-roarin' good time, i'm not sure they really need any more crafts to make it through the summer. i think i can pretty much rest on my laurels from this point on.

"you're bored? yeah, but remember last week, when i let you guys PAINT? huh, huh? 'member that? yeah. so zip it."

anyway, what we did was Kool-Aid Painting.
basically, you mix the powder with a bit of water to create a thin watercolor paint. and boy does it smell good--even when it's dry. which is the beauty of this project.

it's "scratch and sniff painting".

they had so much fun. and i bought the 'off-brand' fake kool-aid**--it was about 100 packs for somewhere around 17 cents, give or take. whatever, it was a cheap project. that may be the actual beauty of the project.

and by the end of the day we had myriads of lovely paintings drying in the sunlight outside, and my house smelled like a tropical beachside bar.

even the littlest googie got in on the action. nothing toxic about this. you know, except for all the dyes and chemicals and additives. okay, maybe it's not really that much different than actual watercolors.

you like that hair, right? clearly she was going through a violent red period, a la de Kooning. i wasn't about to get between her and her canvas. there's something crazy in those eyes, am i right?

it was a lot of fun. i really should have done it sooner. there's a few more projects i'd like to try and squeeze in before the end of summer, particularly
hot rock painting
Color coded scavenger hunt
corn syrup painting

Kim over at A Girl and A Glue Gun had a great list up at the beginning of summer, check it out for more ideas!

**okay, so what exactly is the "fake" kool-aid? i mean, kool-aid isn't exactly natural right? and you know how when something isn't actually made from what it's supposed to be they just kind of change the spelling? like you're some kind of idiot who can't spell so will fall for their advertising and just buy it, no questions asked? like "jooce" or "cheeze" or "hey, let's get these here 'hot dawgs', they're a LOT cheaper than those other ones" but you know what it actually means is "don't be fooled--this is not actually made from juice or cheese or dogs but some chemicals and glitter and unicorn poo". so Kool-Aid? huh? i guess it's Cool-Aid? Cool Ade? it's supposed to 'cool' you, but not really because it's a 'k' so it just makes you sugared up and hyperactive so you won't notice that now you're sweating bright red because it's oozing out your pores?
umm, yeah.
sheepishly stepping off the soapbox.

uh, hey, Mr. Kool-Aid, if you're looking to sponsor a blog (waving hand like a phone) call me!

hoot hoot

look what i got!



i entered my play kitchen re-do into last week's CSI Project--the theme was "spray paint"--and i made the top 10!

honestly, i think googiedaddy is breathing a sigh of relief that i didn't win #1...the prize was a big pack of KRYLON SPRAY PAINT...
{sorry, just drooled a bit on my keyboard}


anyway, there was some really cool stuff on there--i especially loved the stick chandelier by Jenn @ wanting what i have.


thanks CSI!!!

which way do i go?

i've yet to jump on board the unstoppable train that is VINYL...until now, that is.
and it took a good clearance sale to get me onboard :0) {as usual}

found these at Joannes:

for 25 cents!

didn't know what i was going to do with them, but i thought they were cute. when i got home, inspiration struck!

but i needed more more MORE vinyl!!! CUSTOM vinyl!!!

enter the sweet Shelley of Wonderfully Wordy and the always inspiring House of Smiths.

{first though~~you need to know that is not sponsered or influenced in any way. i came to Shelley as a regular customer, and paid regular cold, hard google-checkout-linked-to-my-debit-card for these. not until the very end did i mention that i would probably be blogging this at some point!}

moving on...
the gal is wonderful. her choices are endless--there are so many fonts and colors to drool over, i almost got caught up and forgot what i was there for! but i immediately found the font i was looking for--something kind of old saloon sign style-y. (yup, totally a style. just like "traditional" and "french country" and it's other more well-known siblings)

she emailed me back quickly with options for what i wanted, and even cheerfully gave me more options when i was picky and a stinker :0)

and today my words arrived!

perfect!

Wonderfully Wordy vinyl

+

cheap-o hand shape vinyl

=

awesome wall that i didn't know what to do with!

i love it so much! and the best part? i opened the envelope, took pictures, put everything up on the wall, and took more pictures {my longwinded and awkward way of saying 'from start to finish'} all in about 20 minutes!

it's the perfect touch for a small space of wall. to the left is the hallway leading back to the guest/kids' bath and the kids' rooms, straight-left (huh?) is the dining room entrance, to the immediate right is the kitchen pantry, and further on is the other hallway leading to {obviously} the laundry. Behind you is the kitchen. it's a central location is what i'm getting at :0)

for now, we'll just love the wall and ignore the fact that that hand on the bottom...totally not anatomically correct. yes, i suppose you could point that way. but i doubt you ever would. try it, you'll see.

linking up to some of these great parties!

nurturing creativity

here's much excitement in the googiehaus.


this sunday the googie cousins arrive for their annual summer visit.


one of the highlights is a present exchange between all the cousins.


we've been working on (what we think) is a cool gift for their two girl cousins, ages 12 and 8.


it started with this:

and then we added this:

a box full of treasures
 we took a paper mache box and covered it with three coordinating papers, all mod podged on. the letters were stickers from the dollar store, also mod podged on.


inside...

all the sewing basics:
scissors
sew on velcro
pins, marking pens, fabric glue, tape measure, ruler
trims, appliques, thread

also, a selection of pretty fabrics, chosen for their pattern and ease of sew-ability (totally a word)

and some super easy patterns sized for an American Girl Doll (or any similar sized doll)

it all fits neatly into the little box

ready and waiting to unleash a world of creativity and self-expression through the medium of fabric :0)

what do you think? will they love it? we hope so! i know my girls keep sighing over it, wishing it was for them! (i feel a little like a bad bad mommy right now!)

Linking up to THESE fine parties!!

even kitchens get the blues

i am a one-woman renaissance.
truthfully? michelangelo has nuttin' on me.
i have single handedly brought about what will henceforth be known as

the great

play kitchen rebirth

2010

i bought my oldest daughter a little plastic play kitchen at a second hand store when she was about 15 months. it was $10.
up until a few months ago, it was still the play kitchen.
she is 10.
then we received a hand-me-down from a friend.



(you can see the old plastic kitchen in the background there. it's being relegated to the outside playhouse)


overall, a much nicer kitchen set. wood, sturdy, bigger. so i stuck it in the corner, baby bear was delighted, and i didn't really think about it too much.


sure, some of the handles were hanging off or completely off.


sure, the red/green/blue/white/wood color scheme was, how shall i put it, hideous not exactly complementary to my decorating style.


sure, i wish it was like this or this from Pottery Barn. but seriously, $700 for a toy? SRSLY?
then i had a "DUH" moment.


uh, hel-looo googiemomma! aren't you all BFF with spray paint? can this not be painted???


why yes, it can.


and here's how i did it.


first, emptied and wiped down each piece, removed the handles (the few managing to cling on still) and the plastic oven window.


okay, truth be told, also hunted around the house for the missing handles, which i knew were lurking SOMEWHERE.


once i had all my pieces rounded up and prepped, i gave all the brightest colored areas a coat of grey primer





then a coat of the same blue i used on my rooster lamp





and then another, and another, annnnddd another...and, after googiedaddy weed-wacked and it spit little pieces of grass all over the fronts of my drying appliances...another.


the knobs on the stove i taped off and hit with some metallic chrome spray paint, as well as all the handles.


(the sink was basically a plastic bowl, so first i sprayed it with white Fusion spray paint {the kind that bonds to plastic} and then used the metallic paint)



i know that you're jealous of my spray booth/bottom of the kiddie pool~i've said it before~no unitaskers in the googiehaus.


details i added with acrylic paint, like the stove burners





and with paint pens, like the knob details





and a little white detail on the fronts





at the end everything got a couple coats of clear acrylic sealer (which also muted the chrome spray paint. i'm not sure how i feel about that)






i'm completely loving it.


i love it's little retro vibe.


i love that my kids can't stop playing with it.


i love that they set their alarms to wake up early sunday morning to have more time to play with it.


i love that i made the practical decision to buy felt food from IKEA instead of trying to make it...because as much as i LOVE the food people make, and have bookmarked a million tutorials on how to do it, i just don't have the time/energy/desire.










apparently we cook panda around here.


action shot:





and one more because i was playing with photoshop:





for about $10 worth of spray paint and a couple bucks for new screws so that we can have a complete set of handles, i think it was totally worth it.


sushi, anyone?







Linking up at these fine parties!

UPDATE:
i'm also entering this in this week's

the theme is SPRAY PAINT!!!
although, the guest judges are from Krylon...and the metallic paint i used is rust-o-leum....
oh no, hope that doesn't count against me....
i swear~the blue paint was Krylon!!!!

Book 'em Danno...Hawaii Wig-O

Friday night we were headed to a luau--which we had to dress up for.
That day I decided I wanted a wig.


So, I now present the oddest tutorial you will {probably} ever see on googiemomma:

How to make a Hawaiian Wig

{in 20 minutes and for only $3}

On a whim I ran into Sally's Beauty Supply and bought three of these:

(link)

It's the cheapest "hair" they sell. It's synthetic {not real hair}-- it feels more like a Dollar Store Barbie's hair :0) But it's 99 cents a pack. I bought 3 packs.


The other supplies:



A glue gun, lots of glue sticks, a pair of scissors, a pair of your infant daughter's tights (preferably in a color to match your "hair") and one of your other daughters to act as a model for you {not pictured hehehe}

***Also, you're about to see some really awful pictures. I did this an hour before the party, in between making sweet potatoes to take. I had no idea how this would turn out (I was making it up as I went and hadn't even really thought it through!) and started taking pictures as an afterthought!


First I took the tights and tied knots in each of the legs as close as I could get to the top.





I pulled these knots as tight as I could and then cut off the rest of the leg. Ta-da! You have just made a stocking cap for yourself:





(I put the leg knots inside against my head. They weren't really bothersome because they were pretty small)


Next the hair. Because it's such cheap hair it's just a bunch wrapped with a rubber band in the middle:






The rubber band is your anchor. Put a nice big glob of glue towards the front of your stocking cap (AFTER YOU TAKE IT OFF YOUR HEAD!!!) and stick the hair/rubber band right to it--facing towards the front (if you put it on right now you'd look like Cousin Itt) This way when you put it on you flip the hair back and the rubber band is mostly covered.







Move back about two inches, and glue down the second batch of hair. Repeat with the third (back 2" and glue on) This concentrates the hair on the top and front of your head.


Now's the time you need your assistant. Put your wig on them so you can see the shape you need to create with the hair.







To pull the hair in the right direction and cover your "bald" spots, take the wig off again and put some hot glue on the tights. Then pull the hair over the top and press it down.



(I live dangerously, so I just tried to keep my fingers out of the glue. You could cover your hand with an old towel or something to protect yourself from burns)


Basically it's a matter of just messing with it, glueing it down enough that you don't have any major bald spots. But don't go crazy with the glue, because you need the stocking cap to s-t-r-e-t-c-h over your head.


I cut some bangs in the front and put a little line of glue under them to keep them straight. Then I had one of my "models" try it on so I could trim the back (it's pretty long and raggedy--I kept it fairly long but trimmed it straight) And I also glued some flowers right to the side.


End result?



How Hawaiian am I???


Hot tip: if you're a natural redhead, you can use your black eyeliner to give yourself black eyebrows to match your new head of luxurious jet black hair. :0)


And your own mother won't recognize you (seriously)


They make the hair in other colors, so this could easily translate to princess wigs or anything else you need a cheap and easy wig for!

Linking up here!

witty "pillow"-related title here

Without a doubt one of the quickest, easiest and cheapest ways to get a new look in any room is with throw pillows.

So I wish I had the foresight to take pictures of the veritable time capsule that my living room pillows were. When I started recovering them this time I cut off the old covers.


Underneath were older covers.


Underneath that were older covers.


Underneath that were the original pillows that came with the sofa.


I think they were about 2 inches smaller than what I started with. :0)


Anyway, I decided to bring some blue and white into my brown walled living room.


The addition of white I posted about here and here.


The blue I brought in with my rooster lamp, and the new pillows!





Believe it or not this was really the only fabric I could find at Joanne's that had the blue color I was looking for. And honestly I wasn't really sure about it at first.


But I'm an "instant gratification" kinda gal, so I wasn't about to go ordering something online.


And it turned out fine~~because once I started doing the pillows, I really love the fabric.


I used the blue/white patterned fabric, some brown cotton duck, and the white fabric I used for my bedroom pillows.





I love this family pillow. I got the idea from SOMEWHERE and for the life of me I can NOT find the link!!! I'm so sorry if this is yours! I used iron on t-shirt transfers and played with the font, sizing and placement until I got what I liked, and ironed it onto the white fabric. Then I attached the white piece to the brown cotton with 2 rows of brown stitching and pulled threads to fray the edges.




It's right on the sofa that faces the front door, so it's one of the first things you see when you walk in the door. And I love that.


Then I did a simple white pillow, but put brown bias welt around the edges. I'm fortunate enough to have a commercial machine with a foot designed to make welt, so I can sew yards and yards of this nonsense fairly quickly. And it's soooo worth it. It makes a huge difference in the end result of your products and how professional (or not) they look! If you don't have a welt foot for your machine, you can do it with a zipper foot. It won't be as tight and not as easy, but it's worth a shot!


For the Eiffel Tower pillow I freehanded a simple graphic design, cut it out and traced it onto Wonder Under and the blue fabric, and zigzagged around the edges. I love this pillow. The only problem is it was one of the last I did and I was running out of the brown cotton. It could have been a little bigger. So now it pulls a bit, and sometimes looks a little like an "A".


But I still love it.





I did two of the big pillows~they're just the blue patterned fabric on one side, white on the other, and the brown welt.





The brown pillow I call my "pleats" pillow. I did a band of the white fabric down the center and just stitched rows until I thought it looked good.


The last pillow I did may be my favorite. I just made a simple white cover, and then sewed rows of ruffles across it and frayed the edges:





Now I play musical chairs with all my new pillows...moving them around...which ones together???




I still have more to do in the living room before I do a final reveal of the whole thing. The most glaring issue?

This:



It was this:



A $3 grocery store clearance picture of red flowers. It was pretty, but didn't go in the new blue scheme. So when I was painting the hallway I rolled over it with white primer. And now I'm stuck.

So there it hangs, waiting for inspiration.



I tried saying it was a commentary on the overuse and gluttony of the throwaway society in which we live...a symbolic representation of an attempt to declutter a life drowning in materialism and consumerism and recreate a symbiotic oneness with nature, purity, and a simple life.

I don't think anyone's buying.

Linking up here:


    





and I Heart Naptime's Sunday Scoop