The Homesteady

Kid-Made Gift Idea: Watercolor Jewelry Dish

I've noticed something sweet: lately when it comes to sharing projects and tutorials, I'm simply snapping a few photographs of the things we're already making, rather than planning projects specifically for this blog. It feels so...easy. I like thinking about my content in terms of public journaling or keeping a record of the creative parts of our lives (as opposed to concerning myself with what will perform well analytically or to attract sponsors -- although that does deserve a little bit of time). 

Anyway, these lidded jewelry dishes were a family project, and resulted in Miles's Mother's Day gifts for his grandmas and aunt. 

You will need:

• Air dry clay [affiliate link]
• Rolling pin
• Watercolor paints [affiliate link]
• Round cookie cutter

I rolled out the clay and used a cookie cutter found in my grandma's cookie cutter box to carve scalloped circles for lids. (My mom told me after we gave it to her that this particular cookie cutter actually belonged to my great-grandma, so Miles's great-great-grandmother. That made this project feel so much more special!)

I enlisted Kristie to make pinch bowls that would match the lids in size -- she is so good with clay!

Once the lids were totally dry, Kristie set Miles up with some watercolors and foam brushes. I always love his watercolor creations and these were no exception. So pretty! 

DIY Photo Lacing Toy

This is another to add to Miles's growing collection of homemade lacing toys (this was a quick one, and I made another inspired by Fran's DIY to put in his Easter basket). 

I think adding photos of familiar faces to his toys and games helps him stay engaged a little longer – like the memory game I made last month. He adores my parents' dog Chance (though he was disappointed to learn recently that Chance doesn't know how to play basketball like Air Bud), so I used his cute mug for this project.

You'll need:

• Cardstock paper (the heavier weight, the longer it'll last)
• Printer
• Hole punch
• Yarn
• Masking tape
• Optional: Laminator [affiliate link]

Print your photo onto the cardstock paper. Cut out in desired shape – I picked a heart for Chance because we love him. Laminate now if you have one (not necessary – I didn't – but it'll really extend the toy's life). 

Use your hole punch to create holes around the edge of your shape.

Cut a long-ish length of yarn, and wrap each end tightly with masking tape.

Stitch away!

How to Send a Long-Distance High Five

Now seems like a good time to cultivate a penpal or two for your child, don't you think? April (for the few days that are left) is National Card & Letter Writing Month, and the postal service needs our help besides.

A few weeks ago Miles and I whipped out the construction paper and kid-safe paint to make some "long-distance high fives" to send to friends and family members. I explained what we were going to do, and then painted his palm and fingers before helping him make a firm print on construction paper. We made dozens like this (he enjoyed washing his hand off between colors) and then once he'd gone to bed that night and the handprints had dried, I cut them down and wrote a little message on each. Into envelopes they went, and off to our loved ones' homes. 

And, happily, they had the desired effect. Miles received his own letters and gifts in the mail in return, and lots of texts too. While he doesn't grasp the concept of a penpal quite yet, this activity helped us all feel a little more connected. 

DIY "Find the Bunny" Rice Sensory Bottle

This was a nice, quick win project, and I'm especially happy to report it even derailed a tantrum the other day!

Miles rolls and shakes the bottle, looking carefully for the little bunny who's hidden among white rice and Easter-themed sprinkles. (Insert your own Elmer Fudd joke here.) He's proud when he finds it, and just as excited to cover it back up again in preparation for the next search. If you make one too, you can manage its difficulty by adding less or more rice/sprinkle mix.

You will need:

• A clean, dry water bottle (I like using the small Voss water bottles for projects like these)
• White rice
• Colorful sprinkles
• A small animal figurine
• Superglue
• A funnel (optional but helpful!)

I put the bunny into the bottle first. It needed a little, ahem, encouragement to fit through the mouth of the bottle, but it made it through unscathed. Next, I used the funnel to add rice and sprinkles, stopping a few times to screw the cap back on and check the toy's "difficulty" until I thought it was the right level of challenge (without being frustrating) for my two-and-a-half-year-old. Then I put superglue around the mouth of the bottle, and screwed the cap back on tightly to seal it permanently.

(Hint: The easiest way for us to find the bunny is to slowly roll the bottle on its side.)

It's a fun little toy and I think would be good for car rides, too – or when Mom is doing a Zoom meeting. And I can't remember when or how this little bunny came into our lives, but doesn't it look like Marlon Bundo? [affiliate link]

DIY Photo Memory Game

Kristie was teasing me because I kept forgetting what this game is called (duh – memory). It's a simple matching game, and I think it's made a little easier for the two-year-old set by having fewer pieces and very recognizable faces: mine, Kristie's, and Miles's, of course.

I put this little game together for Miles's Easter basket this year. I grabbed a six-pack of 1.5" wooden rounds at Joann Fabrics the day before we started quaranting/socially isolating. Originally I'd planned to transfer photos to the wooden discs using this method, but it requires a laser printer and ours at home is inkjet. Normally I just go to the copy shop, but they're closed of course. So...time for a change of plans!

You will need:

• 1.5" wooden discs (they were out of stock on the Joann Fabrics website, but they're available here too)
• Family photos printed on basic computer paper (sized so that the faces fit within a 1.5" circle) – 2 of each person!!
• Mod Podge [affiliate link] 
• Pencil, paintbrush, scissors

Place the wooden disc on top of someone's face, trace, and cut out. 

Paint a layer of Mod Podge onto a wooden disc.

Adhere a photo top side facing up to the disc. 

Add another layer of Mod Podge and let dry completely.

 

How to Make a Needle Book with a Knitted Cover

I made up this little needle book for a gift – and could only find two needles to use in these photos, so obviously I need to make one for myself too! I've been challenging myself to work through my yarn (and felt) stash, so this was a good project. 

You will need: 

• Worsted weight yarn
• US 6 straight knitting needles
• Two pieces of ribbon cut to 8" each
• Two pieces of felt cut to 7" x 3"
• Hand needle and scrap thread

Start by making the knitted cover. Cast on 20 stitches. Continue in st st until piece measures 8". Bind off and weave in ends.

Hem each ribbon end. Attach one ribbon to the middle of each short end of the knitted cover.

Arrange felt rectangles in the middle of the cover and sew in place, either by hand or with a machine. 

No more lost needles, and a little less yarn in the stash. 

Our great big list of quarantine activities for toddlers

I think we're on day five of social distancing, which for us means a lot of indoor activities, playing in the backyard, a little extra screen time, and going to wide open parks where there aren't many people – while Kristie and I take turns working from home. My first thought was to wistfully imagine what quarantining would be like without a child – how much knitting, reading, TV watching, baking, and lounging I'd get done. I think it would have been lovely for three days. Then I think my routine would've started to slide, I'd wear pajamas all the time, and I'd get depressed. I'm truly grateful we have him keeping us on our toes and waking up at 6:30. His need for routine is non-negotiable, which means we're living with the benefits of routine too. There's so much unknown about life right now, but at least we have some of the answers – like when bedtime is, that we all need fresh air, and the next activity that will keep our minds and hearts busy.

This started as a Google doc Kristie and I shared, but I thought it might help you too. Some of these ideas are area- or toy-specific, so might not be applicable to your family, but check it out anyway. I'm also linking tutorials from other blogs and the exact same toys that we're using currently.

We're in this together. We got this.

THINGS TO DO WHILE QUARANTINING/SOCIAL DISTANCING WITH A TODDLER

• Bake cookies
• Bake bread
• Go for a hike
• Take the bike stroller on the bike path
• Play in the backyard
• Build fairy houses in the backyard
• Kinetic sand [affiliate link]
• Sewing/knitting kit
• Painting ice cubes w/ salt
• Make “paint brushes” w/ leaves, sticks, etc. from outside
• Cut out little house shapes from cardboard, decorate
• Grocery store/restaurant play
• Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube
• Thread paper straw pieces on pipe cleaners
• Dance w/ play silks
• “Paint” w/ water on construction paper or stones
• Make “tunnels” out of construction paper taped to floor for balls or cars
• Play w/ car mat & cars [affiliate link]
• “Tape rescue” w/ plastic animals taped to something
• Make a smoothie
• Calm-down bottle
• Make play dough
• Pouring station
• “Go fishing” w/ fish set & play silks
• Sweep or mop the kitchen [affiliate link]
• Vacuum
• Walk around Look Park
• Use tracing chalkboard
• Go to Childs Park & look for frogs in the pond
• Take a walk
• Paint nails
• Do a puzzle 
• Blow bubbles in the backyard
• Easter window clings
• FaceTime w/ friends and relatives
• Grow unicorn sponges
• Match alphabet cookies to letter sheet
• Put up tent
• Build a fort
• “Light party” — dark room, all flashlights/light up toys, 80s music 
• Obstacle course 
• Run around the house (literally he just likes running around the house in circles sometimes)
• Look at things outside with the magnifying glass 
• Find storytelling videos on Instagram (Mac Barnett) or YouTube 
• Take a bath

DIY sticky Easter egg play

A good indoor springtime activity, especially if you're looking at a few weeks home because of coronavirus quarantines.

You'll need:

• Clear contact paper
• Washi tape
• Lightweight craft items like feathers, pom-poms, pieces of yarn, and cut-up paper straws

Cut a piece of contact paper into an egg shape. Tape it (sticky side facing out) to a flat surface like a wall or window. Keep craft items nearby and encourage egg decoration :)

I found this pom-pom pack in Target's dollar section, FYI. Nice spring-y colors.

If you're looking for more indoor play ideas, check out the "Play" highlight on my Instagram stories. 

How to make a tracing chalkboard

Miles's favorite letter is "M." It's the one he can recognize most reliably, and for good reason. Friends of ours gifted him this book for his first birthday, with which we can largely credit his budding reading skills. I suspect nearly-two-and-a-half is a bit early to encourage reading and writing, but nevertheless I want to support the development of these skills. They were both such staples in my own development of self; I want my son to be able to access the same wells of independence and creativity. Miles is a voracious "reader" – we make weekly trips to the library, and he asks us to read books to him throughout the day, including during meals. I need to count sometime, but I think we average 20+ when we're home together all day. I even shared in my Instagram stories last week that he's started asking to bring books into his crib at night! He "reads" them in the dark before falling asleep, and in the morning before I collect him. (I was arranging him in bed the other night, spreading a halo of stuffies and books within his reach, and he pulled Madeline closer. "I just want to touch them," he said.) I firmly believe the best way to raise a good writer is to raise a good reader, and I'm proud that he's developing into such an avid book-lover.

On the writing side of things, chalkboards like these [affiliate link] are beautiful, and I wanted to challenge myself to make a similar one for Miles, to hopefully inspire further exploration of the letter "M" (as well as the others that make up his name, of course). It turned out to be much easier than I'd expected! All you need is a small chalkboard (I found this one at Michael's) and a white paint pen. Then I carefully lettered his name using dashes, and let dry.

So far he has shown approximately zero interest in using the board (ha!) but I'm hopeful it will pick up. A new quirk has emerged in the constellation of those that belong to his bedtime ritual: after bath and before PJs, he needs to walk to the front door to "write an M," tracing his fingers up, down, and around on the wood. And a few days ago he noticed the gold necklace I wear most days, which has an "M" on a pendant. He pointed to it and said, "An M on your necklace!"

"Yes," I said, "and what does M stand for?"

A smile crept across his face as he realized I do, in fact, wear that necklace for him.

"Miles," he said happily.

Neck kerchief free knitting pattern

I shared this in my Instagram stories and a few people requested the pattern, so here it is! 

I originally set out to make Purl Soho's knit and fold bandana, but found this yarn in my stash which is thicker (a light worsted I think – label is long gone) than the one called for by PS, and wanted to use it up. So rather than knitting a square and folding it to make the bandana, I simply knit a wide triangle. 

I used US 3 straight needles, and cast on 3 stitches. 

Row 1: Knit into front and back of first stitch (kfb), knit until 1 stitch remaining, kfb last stitch
Row 2: Knit

Repeat rows 1 and 2 until desired width is reached. Cast off. 

Maybe it's because I brought it to the movie theater and worked on it in the dark while watching Little Women, but this very much has Little Women vibes to me.