Making a Bed for Dolls and Teddy Bears

Miss K really loves looking through the  American Girl doll catalogue. I would have been the same at that age! These days it gives me sticker shock! As for Piwi Daddy, well we could have won big $$$ on America's Funniest Home Videos if we had recorded his reaction to the price of this accessory (not an affiliate link).

Needless to say we are not likely to be purchasing two AG beds anytime soon. Instead I promised to make them. They were simple and inexpensive to make. If you have time, some fabric (or old pillow cases), a box and some duct tape then you can make this for your little doll or stuffed animal fan.



Making the Bed

Diaper Boxes were something we had in excess and use now to transport school supplies when we move.  I also discovered this week that the long 'Huggies' Diaper Boxes are a perfect size for an 18" Doll. Cut the box down to a height of 2 inches and cover it in some fancy Duct tape. You have now have doll 'bed base' measuring 18" x 9" x 2" (depth).

Making a Mattress 

To Make a walled mattress to fit the inside of a doll 'bed' measuring 18" x 9" x 2" I used:

• 2 pieces of fabric 20 x 11"
• 2 pieces 3" x 12"
• 2 pieces 3" x 21"

Instead of just stitching the two large pieces together as you would to make a pillow slip, you will need to stitch the 3" strips to each side of the larger piece. Be sure to leave a 3 inch gap on one of the side seams so you can turn it in the right way. The ends of the strips are then sewn shut to produce a sharp corner.  Stuff the mattress with enough filling to be firm and hand stitch the gap. It takes a bit more time and a few extra seams than a simple pillow but you end up with a thicker and flatter mattress. We tried using a regular pillow shape and the dolls tended to roll off easily.

For the Sheets

Cut a piece of fabric 18 x 22" and hem all salvage edges. I added a wide ribbon for extra decoration (and so we could tell the sheets apart).

The kids were very happy with the final product and love tucking Kendra and Mama into bed each night. Yes, our 3 year old named her Doll 'Mama'. It is not often you have a doll named after you!

I suspect this is only the beginning of my adventures with making Doll accessories!

DIY Glitter paint

The Piwi's love paint, all kinds of paint. We do have it in small quantities but we don't have all the different one the Piwi's drool over in craft sections. We have learn't the hard way that paint does not relocate very well.

Instead of buying different types of paints I  have been experimenting with our existing art supplies and trying to come up with different ways to use it.

This week's inspiration was glitter paint...


Basically we mixed glitter glue and paint -sounds simple enough until I tried it. If you mix tempera pain and glitter glue together it makes a thick goopy lumpy paint. The glitter no longer sparkled in the light. It was still fun to paint with though as it was a different texture and dried extra glossy.
Here is picture Mini Piwi  painted from this version:

After a bit of experimenting we found a way to make the glue and paint mix so that the glitter wasnt covered in paint.

Hows how:

1. Squeeze your chosen paint onto a tray 
2. Swirl the glue onto the surface of the paint 'blob'.
3. Leave it alone for about 5 minutes and the glue will begin to mix with the paint.
4. Paint!

Mini Piwi had great fun!

Other mash up art supply projects:
Pre K Monet with Dot Markers

Using Oil Pastels in lieu of paint when we are traveling

Saving $$ on 2013 Curriculum

I usually stock up on manipulatives and educational games during the after Christmas sales. They get put up in the closet -or in a box if we are about to move. My usual criteria is that it needs to be well discounted, something we can use to enhance our curriculum and portable. I have listed the items I found and purchased in the sales. The Prices listed are correct at the time of this post.

Amazon

 
Uncle Milton Bug catcher and magnified observation dome. $4. Miss K really loves the the one she received for Christmas. It is well made and easy to use.


Learning resources Head full of numbers game. $7. I really liked the idea of this game. Looks like number boggle. Shake up the number dice and then write down all the possible number equations from the numbers before time runs out.


Learning resources Cross section Frog model $7. See our post here


Learning Resources Big Cat Math game $5. For K and up.


Melissa and doug 100 PC solar system puzzle. $9. I had been really wanting this one for awhile!



Wilton Build a cake puzzle set $5. These are way more expensive in the craft shops. They do like a good project and the answer to my limited cake decorating skills.


The Great word race board game. $10. It looks like a fun way to practice spelling!


American Girl McKenna 397 Piece Movie party crafts $4. Miss K isn't really into the dolls (Daddy is grateful after learning the were $100+) but she Loooves the crafts.

The Mailbox end of year $1-5 sale
I was soooo excited with the $3 theme kit clearance at the The Mailbox. Usually I print or draw our lap book or tot books. These theme kits have colorful laminated pieces! The ink alone would probably cost more to print these. They usually retail for around $20.
They are available in Pre k, K and Grade 1. I got a selection in Pre k for Mini Piwi and a few Grade 1 for Miss K for revision. Look at everything you get...

 Amanda Bennet 12 days of Christmas

We are watching closely each day to grab some good deals on Unit studies. They are also have an I-Pad Mini giveaway.

Miss K really wants to do unit on Pets because we are about to start a study about Community service. She has chosen to do a report on Pet shelters.

 Click here to visit Unit Studies by Amanda Bennett.

St Annes Helper is having a sale on their copywork books. The samples we tried were really good so we have ordered some for Miss K. Use discount code: catholicmom

Click here to visit St. Annes Helper.

Science for Christmas

Language, Math and History became our focus this month with our unit studies. Science, I thought, would need to wait until the new year. Thankfully, I came across a link on Science about Christmas Science Ideas. Pre K Mini Piwi will definitely love these ideas, she is all about ice! For Miss K (Grade 2ish) I went looking for more ideas. Several google searches later I decided we still had time to fit in some science by investigating electricity in order to find out how Christmas lights work. When I taught at a science camp several years ago I just went to radio shack and bought all the components for electrical circuit experiments. This time around I decided to 'cheat' and look for a kit.  I was so excited when I found a Magic school bus electricity kit.

Why is this exciting? Miss K loves the books and the episode re-runs so I purchased the Magic school bus DVD set last week. It was at such a great price I couldn't pass up the chance to add it to our curriculum. We received the kit and have started with the Static electricity experiments. So far I have been impressed with the quality of the information and materials included..

UPDATE:
Thanks so much to all the great posts added to this post! I have a follow up post with pictures from these links....

Ways to save on Houston Feild trips and family outings

There are plenty of ways to save on Museums and activities in Houston. Many of the Museums are free everyday or at least have one day a week (or month) where general admission is free.
I found a good list at houstonmuseumdistrict.org 

Free Everyday:

Asia Society Texas Center (all spaces except Louisa Stude Sarofim Gallery)

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston

Holocaust Museum Houston

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft

Houston Center for Photography

Houston Museum of African American Culture

The Jung Center of Houston

Lawndale Art Center

The Menil Collection

Rice University Art Gallery

Rothko Chapel

General admission is free on certain days for these museums

Every Monday

• Buffalo Soldiers National Museum - FREE Monday 10 am - 5 pm
• Czech Center Museum Houston - FREE Monday 10 am - 4 pm

Every Thursday

• Children's Museum of Houston - FREE Thursday 5 – 8 pm
• The John C. Freeman Weather Museum - FREE Thursday 12 – 4 pm
• Houston Museum of Natural Science - FREE Thursdays 3-6 pm through summer (beginning Thursday, June 14). Thursdays 2-5 winter.
• Museum of Fine Arts, Houston - FREE Thursday 10 am – 9 pm
• The Health Museum - FREE Thursday 2 – 5 pm

Once a month:

• Houston Zoo-The Houston Zoo offers free admission to our guests on the first Tuesday of every month from 2 p.m. until closing.
•  Bank of America cardholders receive one free general admission on the first full weekend of each month. See here for the fine print. Weekends coming up are Nov 3-4, Dec 1-2, Jan 5-6, Feb 2-3, March 2-3, April 6-7.

Of course not everyone is going to be able schedule their visit during the free times, but if you look there are discounts available than just the 9 day Citipass you will see advertised everywhere. Here are the ones I have found for the more popular Houston attractions...

 Health Museum savings coupon. Buy one get 1/2 off exp. 2/17/13

Houston Museum of Natural Science Corporate rates
Save over 50% on permanant exhibit entry to Houston or Sugarland. Discounts on Butterfly house and Planeterium and other current films and special events.

Johnson Space center Buy your tickets online and save $5 a ticket. If you live in the area it would probably be a great deal to buy a years membership for only $3 more than what you would pay at the gate to get in.

The Houston Zoo's website has a very long list of discounts available. Not super great discounts, $2 off adult tickets  and $1 off a child (seriously only 1 and under is free?) if you pre buy them at Fiesta or are members of AAA.
 but If I find anything else I will update the post. However at this rate I think we might try for the free times...

I'm off to hunt for some more.....