crooked house

Winged Key

I think I'll make one of these winged keys and then leave it in the backyard for the kids to discover on the first spring-like day.

Glitter Pumpkins

We went away for a few days over this Thanksgiving weekend to a cottage in the woods. We took along these small white pumpkins, some glue, and golden glitter to make this little glitter pumpkin project. (I was trying to think of things to keep the kids busy since there was no television or internet where we were going.)

All you do is paint the tops of the pumpkins with ordinary school glue and then sprinkle glitter all over them. It's very easy, even for someone Sylvie's age. Luke enjoyed it, too.

 

It kept them busy for all of five minutes! (The glitter is very glamping, don't you think?)

Fairy Costume

The Halloween costumes are out in the grocery store already and once Sylvie caught a glimpse of this one, it was unlikely we'd be able to leave the store with our good moods intact. But instead of fighting her on it, I caved immediately -- it was only 14 bucks -- as I know it will get a lot of wear before and after the one big day. The problem will be getting the thing off her, to wash it. (Cross your fingers it doesn't fall apart in the machine.)

The Dunkley Motorized Pram From 1923

This is the Dunkley Pramotor -- a motorized pram sold in 1923. "We should get that. That's what I'm thinking," says Sylvie as she looks over my shoulder.

Whenever I had to lug around one of those incrediblyawkward and heavy removable car seats with one of my babies in it -- say into the grocery store -- I liked to imagine that in the future, a podlike car seat would hover in the air beside the mother, trailing her wherever she went. Recently I tossed around the idea of a kind of remote control stroller that would follow a parent, so he or she could be hands free for shopping or holding the hands of bigger toddlers or whatever. Are these ideas as crazy as this stroller looks? Via I Cannot Go to Bed -- There is Epic Shit Happening on the Internet, which I found through Lizzie Skurnick.

Our Paper Moon Photos

A very kind artistic friend made this paper moon backdrop for us last year and we've only just gotten around to using it. (It's actually not paper -- it's made out of a sheet of sparkly felt and some kind of synthetic silver cloth I found in the remnants bin at the fabric store.)

I can't exactly remember when Will and Kate were married, but we put this together at that time and  this hat is the one Princess Beatrice wore to their wedding.

Do you recognize the Dowager Countess's hat?

Now that we've used it, I'm selling off all these old hats and costumes and this backdrop to make room for more Halloween stuff! Cheap! (My piles of past projects are ridiculous.) Let me know if you're interested.

Pudding Heads

Back when Luke was tiny, I came across these thudguard helmets online, designed for little kids just learning to walk. The first time Luke fell from a standing position, he absolutely smashed his head on the hardwood floor. He had yet to learn that you must protect your head by blocking yourself with your arms as you fall, or by holding your head upright as best you can. So I thought these helmets were a great idea. I never got as far as ordering one, though, because everyone I mentioned it to scoffed at the notion and told me I was an overprotective mother. (Which I was.)

Turns out, though, the idea isn't a new one. Witness the pudding cap:

According to Colonial Williamsburg, the pudding cap "protected the child's brain when it fell and hit its head. There was a belief that if the head was hit it would be permanently soft, and falling frequently could lead to the brain turning mushy like pudding. Toddlers were often and lovingly referred to as "little pudding heads.'" (Which they are.)

 

Dollhouse Bookshelf

What a great idea for a dollhouse -- convert a bookcase. This is one is for sale on ebay and it is pricey. But surely someone with some woodworking skills could do this to a cheap bookcase. Grampa?

Find of the Century: Sylvie's Tea Party Dress

We found Vivi's Indian tea party dress for ten bucks at Kinder Klozet, a local children's consignment shop. The owner Lyn's good friend is from India and her father sends his granddaughter TEN fancy Indian dresses every Christmas. The tags were still on this one.

We were going to have her dress as Alice in Wonderland and I had a special blue full tutu skirt made for the occasion, as well as an apron just like Alice's, but Vivi took a dislike to the expanse of the skirt. (The outfit probably cost $100 in total and she preferred the $10 one -- take note, other mothers with Ideas.) I'll try to get a photo of her in it later, when she's up to it. She even has a pair of white gloves to go with it.

The Cake

Mama really loves the cake, which was made by the lovely and talented Yumi of Sweetie Pie Cupcake Boutique. Yumi also made us a dozen chocolate cupcakes, half topped by white roses, half by red, in honour of the Red Queen, of course.

Vivi really loves the cake, too. That's Chelsea, apparently Barbie's daughter, who is holding a rabbit on the top of the cake and playing the role of Alice. We had a blast. Tons of pictures to come.

 

The Best Laid Plans: That Skank Barbie Tries to Destroy My, I Mean Sylvie's, Tea Party.

So Sylvie's having a vaguely Alice in Wonderland themed tea party for her third birthday this week, and I have been having a lot of fun planning it. Perhaps too much fun. One of the things I was most excited about was making (or ideally, having someone else make) this pink cake iced with roses (found here). I just showed Vivi the photo and she smiled and said she liked it but that she wanted a Barbie cake. Horrors. First of all just ugh and secondly I  am not a big fan of Barbies. But it is her birthday, after all, not my own personal fantasy extravaganza tea party day. Do you think I could get away with cramming a Barbie doll into the top of that thing?