small steps

ok...i've taken a small step in the right direction. i've opened an etsy site! visit Quirky Kid to see it. i only have one item up there so far, but will add some more over the next week or so. thank you for your feedback. the first item posted on Quirky Kid is my diaper caddy.

i have two new project ideas that i'm working on now....i hope to have some fresh material for you next week.

have a great week!

etsy

i have a project of a different kind to share this morning. i've been playing around with the idea of starting a little business for a while now. i knew one of these days i was going to have to stop talking about it and actually get off my comfy couch and do it. so, here i go.

i'm planning on opening an etsy shop. quirky kid designs. i hope to be up and running in the next week or so. i'm trying to decide which items to sell. i've narrowed it down to a few items. let me know what you think! (i could really use the help!)


choice #1 - customized alphabet shelf












choice #2 - joyeau* towel holder
















choice #3 - diaper caddy



















choice #4 - enia boxes



















tell me what you think about these choices. also, i need a little help on the price point...let me know how much you'd buy them for! thank you!

a 4 year old's birthday present

my niece turned 4 this past week. and to honour her love of all things fairy and all things fairy princess (she insists there is a difference between the two!) i made her a fairy door.

a few months ago, i came across a story about a man by the name of Jonathan B. Wright who started a whole 'urban fairy' phenomena in Ann Arbor. very cute story.


these doors are sold all over the internet, but my niece's door was directly inspired by steph's work over at etsy. i love the spin she puts on her door description. steph points out that the fun begins when discovering what kind of fairy has moved in...a travel fairy, a cleaning fairy, etc. very clever idea to use on kids!


i found steph's work through leslie's write-up on her blog, a room somewhere.

e shelf

ok...so more than a little late...but, the extra effort put into making this just right paid off i think! this is a project that i've been wanting to do for months now. i know i should be working on my floor, but this wouldn't be the first time i've done what's fun instead of what's necessary!

chances are that eden won't find any mugs or cute little sparkly pens with her name on it...the least i could do is give her something personalized. the fact that this item will hold all of her new-found (and mounting) hair bobbles and ever growing supply of ointments, lotions, etc. is a bonus.

the shelf measures 16" x 24". i traced an 'e' onto a big sheet of 1/4" mdf using my projector and cut it out with a jigsaw. the actual shelf part is also made out of mdf. i'm going to hang this in eden's bedroom.

ok, now on to the floor...honestly!

a little late

i'm going to be a little late with my post today. i'm literally watching paint dry! come back in a few hours...this project is a fun one!

a table to put away

i have a small house, not a lot of floor space for playing and making. so, when i saw great potential floor space under my old kitchen table i knew i wanted to take advantage of it.

so, with a little help from my carpenter friend, Louie, i put together a new kitchen table that i could fold away when i wanted the space under it.

i took a trip to the local Happy Harry's to pick out a solid beech veneered door ($30) and a thick post for the leg ($10). Louie attached the door to the wall for me using piano hinge. Then he attached two blocks to the wall with latch/catch thingys (no idea what they are called...you should have seen me trying to explain what i wanted to the sales person!) from Lee Valley .

the table then folds up to the wall and gets "clipped" in!

it weighs a ton, but trust me, it isn't going anywhere when it's secured to the wall. i eventually want to do some sort of funky artwork on the backside....or maybe a chalkboard for when eden gets older. although, then, i'd probably have to explain why i had chalk on my pants all the time...

laptop bag & advice needed

for some reason i've never liked being called crafty. the word 'crafty' conjures up images of fluffy bunnies and appliqué hearts for me. but, lately i'm finding myself doing crafty-like projects. for example, this laptop bag. a layer of foam, pretty fabric, clear plastic, a zipper and you've got yourself a laptop bag. cute.

alright, moving away from the crafty stuff for awhile. on to building stuff. i feel like i should insert a tim-the-toolman grunt here!

but, first i've got to take care of a priority... i need to lay some flooring in my spare bedroom. and, because i've never laid flooring, i need some help.

here is my newly painted room (cotton blossom). we ripped up the old carpet and have to now rip up the underfloor cushion and stripping around the edges. i want to create a floor from mdf. i know it sounds crazy. but, debbie travis did it!

i'm looking for some advice from you about laying floor. specifically laying an mdf floor. i'll cut it into 4' x 4' tiles, seal it up on all sides really well and screw it in to the existing plywood. then i want to paint it a high gloss white and put a couple of coats of a vanish on top. let me know what you think.