Marvelously Messy

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Horse Swing

It really cracks me up how very badly I actually followed the directions on this revamped tire swing. It's not supposed to look like this. I goofed up in a plethora of ways but when I'm feeling especially thwarted I remind myself of two things:

1. Bending a rubber tire is NOT an easy task.

2. No matter what it looks like, my Munchkin adores it!!

So here are the directions I (sort of) followed and in some cases totally ignored. Bear in mind that you will absolutely need a BIAS PLY TIRE. This is a much older type of tire. The newer radial tires have metal in them that will make bending and cutting nearly impossible and the final result will be much too sharp for play. Honestly, the bending and cutting of a bias ply tire isn't easy either, but in comparison it's a breeze to the trouble a newer tire would give you. To cut the tire you are going to need a box cutter....at times I even used a jig saw (they make it sound like you're just slicing butter....this was NOT the case!!!!). I did this project entirely on my own and I've got the farm girl/tom boy jeans to pull it off.....to do it I would recommend that you are either quite strong or have a friend or two to help. I'm not tootin' my own horn here....I should have asked for help but I'm as stubborn as a goat. :-)

Here's some parties I linked up to:
Made It Monday
Thrifty Thursday

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Found Art- Fairy Houses

Upon recommendation, my Munchkin and I rented a movie at our local library and found ourselves utterly inspired. The movie, titled Kristin's Fairy House, is about a young girl and her Aunt (an artist looking for inspiration) who take a week-long vacation on Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine. There they discover the fairy houses built throughout the woods by children. Kristin builds her own fairy house and her Aunt is inspired by the process and writes/illustrates the story of the Fairy Houses. Kristin narrates the adventure and the movie ends with the question: "Do you believe that fairies are real?"
My munchkin always answers without any hesitation, "Yes!!"

We took off to a secluded part of our lawn and built our fairy dwellings using only the material nature provided us: bark, twigs, grass, rocks, dirt, leaves, and flowers. This craft was so enchanting and engaging for the imagination. There is nothing like seeing a fairy world in a pile of twigs to help open your mind.

The entire afternoon felt magical. Our peony tree was blooming. I could just imagine the pollen as fairy dust.

The ants were helping our peony buds by eating the sweet nectar and encouraging the leaves to open.

I even made some fairy people to go with the houses. I just used the twig growth and leaves from the maples that we had set our houses up against:

We even had a visitor.

It was so amazing to me to be able to make this Found Art and know that it probably wasn't going to weather for very long. It is transitory. Of course I could probably mod podge it (*wink*)....but where is the fun in that?? Okay, there's some fun in that, but not with this. I **like** that this art will not last....and that is pretty counterintuitive to how I normally feel about my art. But no matter how long it stays, these little homes and the time my Munchkin and I spent together on them, has made a lasting impression.

I Linked Up To These Lovely Parties:

Thrifty Thursday
I Made It!!
Made It Monday
The Boardwalk Bragfest

Plant A Punkin Seed Party

Join us Saturdays at tatertotsandjello.com for the weekend wrap up party!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Patriotic Rag Wreath and Ra Ra Craft

Disclosure: I receive payments for referrals to Social Spark... and you can too if you sign up! See below!

With Memorial Day coming around the corner and the 4th of July not too far behind, I decided to do some patriotic rag crafting . I had a pair of jeans that no longer fit, some inexpensive bandanas, and some white tulle from (wait for it) Goodwill. I used a large embroidery hoop as a frame for the wreath and a piece of dowel for the Ra Ra (titled by my Munchkin....since it has a cheerleader pop pom feel to it....it must be a Ra Ra Siss Boom Ba!!!!). A little hot glue for the fabric flower and that was it for materials. It's a pretty easy craft. Here's the play-by-play:

Cut strips of your three fabrics, I would say no more than 2 inches in width and maybe 8 inches long. You can experiment and decide what length works for you, shorter and thinner strips would make a more pouffy wreath....longer strips would make more of a shaggy one. Once you've finished making the strips, take two of one kind and tie it in the middle (around the hoop). Go to the next color and pick two pieces and do the same. Rotate through all the colors until you've tied all the way around the wreath!!

Sorry for the quality of that pic. I had to borrow a camera, as my usual one was being used. You get the idea though, right?? It's pretty darn simple. Now onto the Ra Ra!!

Use some of the strips of fabric and lay them down in one direction. Get some more pieces and lay them in another.

Pinch the bundle in the middle and bunch it up to make a ball. Take the dowel and the hot glue and put a big glop of glue in the center of the ball and stick the dowel in there. Wait for it to cool a bit, then take another strip of bandana fabric and wrap it around the area where the dowel and the fabric are glued, making sure you use the hot glue to hold it in place. Once it is cooled, it should be pretty well secure. I made a little fabric flower out of jean strips and tulle and glue that onto the top.

We are lucky enough to have a Memorial Day parade go right past our house every year. I think the Ra Ra will be the perfect way for my daughter to show her respect and have a little fun while she's at it!!