Monday, June 10, 2013

Nicaraguan Toy Truck

Our inspiration today comes straight out of Nicaragua, where necessity is the mother of invention.  This toy truck was made out of scrap wood and bottle caps.  Slap on a little colorful paint, and you have a cool truck any boy or girl would love to play with.  And the best part?  It's unique, unlike the mass produced toys sold at WalMart and Kids R Us.


Sunday, June 9, 2013

Upcycled Decor For Kids Rooms...Thinking Outside The Box


Where we live there is no Target or Big Y around the corner.  We have to improvise.  I remember when I lived just 10 minutes away from HomeGoods, Marshalls and TJ Maxx, among others, all conveniently nestled within the same shopping center.  Oh, the possibilities were endless for the consumer hobbyist!    Not only did I have the pick of the crop, I also had the luxury of bargain prices.  And oh how fun it was to find a good bargain!  What used to be enjoyable in the land of consumerism, is now a hassle in the land of "hard to come by".  Everything from clothing to home decor can very often be a dauntingly unsuccessful project if we don't think outside the box.  And nothing is taken for granted.  It took some time to get used to, but now I enjoy the challenge of improvising and reusing things to our advantage.  It has made me realize how much of a throw away society I was raised in, and how "normal" it is in some parts of the world to simply toss it if it's old or broken and buy a new one.  Here, if it's broken, you fix it.  If you can't find it, you make it out of something you already have.  Which leads me into today's post.  

Home decor for kids rooms.  

Concrete walls can be hard to decorate. You either need a drill and a commitment to your home decor scheme, or hang things that are very light.  Hence, my son's recent art project to decorate a very bare wall in his room.  What do you get when you put together paper towels, paint and water, leftover paper and a sticker bound for the garbage?  A cute little marine scene!  This idea came yet again from Mr. Maker.  What can I say - he loves that show, and the man has great ideas!  And how can I say no to a 4 year old that wants to do something creative?  



I drew and cut out the marine plants and animals, gave my son some watered down paints and brushes, and let him go crazy!  He glued them on wherever he wanted and voila!
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Any kid that goes to daycare or school comes home with loads of cute artwork.  A creative way to display that art while also covering some bare wall space in your child's room is to hang it on a clothesline with some vamped up clothespins.  You'll see your child beam with pride as his art is displayed proudly for everyone to see.




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Here are some more ideas:






The moral of today's post is to think outside the box.  You don't need to spend thousands of dollars to decorate your kid's room, whose tastes and opinions will change as fast as his underwear size.  With a little inspiration and a few pieces of "trash", his room can be colorful, interesting, and playful.  And you'll be teaching your kid a valuable lesson in life....waste not want not!