Posts Tagged ‘Fun for kids
Coloring Book Storage, round 1
Since living in this apartment, I don’t have a good place to store the kids coloring books. For two months now they have looked like this piled up on my kitchen bar:
It’s really not that bad looking, but only because I straightened it all up before I took the picture. If the kids want, lets say an orange sheet of paper, they just yank it right out and the rest of the paper falls all over the floor. Grrr.
A few weeks ago I was strolling through Target and found this awesome basket!
I think it’s suppose to hold a garden hose, but I had a better idea. Or at least that’s what I thought.
I decided to hang it on the wall for all those coloring books! (And I’m embarrassed to admit, these are only the ones I brought with me to LA. They have more back home in Texas.)
Awesome, right? Well, in the end the basket just isn’t quite wide enough so the books don’t fit properly like I’d hoped. Also, far less books than I imagined actually fit inside the basket. Plus, just look at it! It’s a mess!!
I’m going to keep it this way for now because it’s better than the old way at least. I don’t think I’ll use this system long-term though. Maybe at the end of the day I’ll retire this basket where it belongs – on the side of the house for my garden hose.
It has helped with the mess though. I also bought a little do-hicky divider thingy for paper at goodwill of course and stacked all the colored paper in it. Much cleaner looking.
I think I can live with this basket and do-hicky combo until the end of June. After that I can’t wait to create an art/craft area for the kids so they keep my kitchen table clean!
xoxo, Allison
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Sometimes I participate in these parties: The DIY Showoff, Skip To My Lou, Thrifty Decor Chick, C.R.A.F.T., Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog, Blue Cricket Design, Home Stories A to Z, Someday Crafts, House of Hepworths, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Miss Mustard Seed, One Project Closer, Under The Table and Dreaming, Positively Splendid
Magnets from junk
I bought this sign for my Easter Decor:
After I popped the flowers off the sign I didn’t want to just throw them away, but honestly they really aren’t that cute so I knew I’d never use them for any of *my* projects. However, my 5-year-old daughter LOVES the flowers so I decided to take a few magnets and glue them to the backs.
It was so easy and took me all of about 2 minutes from start to finish.
Cute? No?
She loves them.
And of course in typical 8-year-old-son fashion, he was jealous that she got magnets and he didn’t, so I pulled a few legos out of his bin and glued some magnets to the backs of them as well… just for him.
SO EASY!!
And now both kids are pleased as pie.
xoxo, Allison
Have House of Hepworths delivered to your inbox every morning!
Sometimes I participate in these parties: The DIY Showoff, Skip To My Lou, Thrifty Decor Chick, C.R.A.F.T., Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog, Blue Cricket Design, Home Stories A to Z, Someday Crafts, House of Hepworths, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Miss Mustard Seed, One Project Closer, Under The Table and Dreaming, Positively Splendid
Pine Cones & Ribs
Aren’t these the most awesome pine cones ever? They are HUGE!
I can’t wait to do all sorts of awesome crafts/decor with them. I’ve got tons of ideas floating around in my head for them, but pine cones are so Fall and Winter so for now they’ll go in a box. Sniff. But I just HAD to do something cute with them so I would know I didn’t waste my time trudging through the snow to collect them all.
Okay, cool, they pass the decor test. Whew.
So I’ve got a pretty great entertaining story about how I came into possession of these totally fabulous pine cones…
We went snowboarding this past weekend at Mammoth Mountain.
On my first run on the first day I went down the black diamond bunny hill affectionately known as Devil’s Graveyard Sesame Street and managed to fall totally wipe-out (in my defense I hit an ice patch while turning from toe side to heel side).
I landed badly on my side and was in so much pain I just knew my right arm was broken. I was totally brave though and walked down the mountain with my head held high had to be pulled off the mountain in a sled by the Ski Patrol (so embarrassing!) while i cried hysterically like an idiot (also so embarrassing!).
Here’s me after Ski Patrol had their way with me…
This total wipe-out was the beginning of a series of events that lead to my totally awesome pine cones. From ski Patrol (equivalent to “the nurses office”) I went to the ER for x-rays. Fortunately my arm was NOT broken, but the doctor thought I had a torn rotator cuff in my shoulder and also a totally broken okay, okay, a hair-line fractured rib (hey, I have to milk this “fracture” for as much as I can!).
All I could think about during this 4-hour might-have-a-broken-arm drama was how on earth I was going to be able to craft and blog! So pathetic, I know. I know. Lucky for you though, my arm is mostly fine (I can’t raise it above my head or reach around behind me) and I can still type! Yay! Plus I’m a lefty (don’t be jealous) and that arm is just fine.
Pine cones. Right. I’m suppose to be getting to a point here. Don’t worry, I’ll tie it all in eventually…
So Friday afternoon all I could do was whine about my arm and my ribs. Every Single Time I would whine about my ribs hurting (one is broken you know! 
) hubby would say, “Mmmmmm. Ribs….”. So in honor of my fall and my fractured rib (and hurt arm… can’t leave that injury out…) we had BBQ ribs for dinner.
Best. Ribs. Eveh! If you are ever at Mammoth Mountain go eat at Angel’s. Delish.
So the next day daughter and I hit the shops while hubby and son hit the slopes, which brings me to the pine cones…
(Us in the gondola on the way to the summit.)
Daughter and I found a huge pine cone while shopping and ideas for pine cone crafts started popping in my head. We spent the next hour or so trudging through show collecting as many huge pine cones as we could carry.
So there you have it. The tale of how these pine cones came to be.
Wow, that was really anti-climatic. Honestly, I just wanted to talk about my wipe-out but figured since this is a craft blog I needed something to tie it all together. You know, to make it relevant for the blog?!
But just so we’re clear, I was going to collect the pine cones with our without the blog. And if I hadn’t wiped out, I wouldn’t have a huge bag full of the largest pine cones I’ve ever seen. So I guess I’m glad I broke a rib. Kinda.
(At the Summit of Mammoth Mountain. 20 degrees. Crazy strong winds. Over 11k feet.)
I LOVE Spring and Summer, but Fall, come quickly. I’m dying to craft around with these bad boyz… Glitter. Ornaments. Decor. Wreaths. My mind is racing. 
No, I take that back. Fall, stay away as long as possible!!! But when you get here, I’ll be ready!
xoxo, Allison
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Sometimes I participate in these parties: The DIY Showoff, Skip To My Lou, Thrifty Decor Chick, C.R.A.F.T., Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog, Blue Cricket Design, Home Stories A to Z, Someday Crafts, House of Hepworths, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Miss Mustard Seed, One Project Closer, Under The Table and Dreaming, Positively Splendid
Welcome to House of Hepworths! HoH is primarily a Home Blog that specializes in DIY projects and renovations, crafts, and decorating. My name is Allison. My family and I live in Austin, Texas. I'm married to Ben and have two children, a 10 year old son and an almost-8 year old daughter. To find out more or to contact me click 
