It’s officially summer! It's even summer here in Oregon, the land where spring comes in so late and stays so late, we’ve started changing our calendars to show the month of Junuary.
What better time to try out some solar powered activities? These activities are easy enough to do with children, and they’re fun and interesting for grownups too. All of these activities can be done with household materials, or require only a minimal purchase.
-make a sundial
-make a thermometer
-make a solar powered cooker
-make solar S’mores!
-make sun tea (be sure to clean your jar thoroughly, don’t leave the jar outside for more than 3-4 hours, and don’t make more tea than you plan to use in a day,– otherwise bacteria can flourish.)
-dry your laundry on a clothesline
-Shade or Sun? An easy experiment for young children. Also a good way to talk with children about why tree cover is so important.
-water purification and distilling water from plants This is a fun activity you can also do at the beach.
-watching ice cubes melt This one can be a lot more interesting than it sounds. You use different colors of cardstock or paper as solar heat collectors. Which colors collect the most heat and melt the ice fastest? What if you change the color of the ice cube? This is a good activity for talking about how paint color and building material color affects the indoor temperature of the building. Or compare it with how your child feels dressed in light colors vs. dark colors on a sunny day.
If you decide to try an activity, will you tell me how it went? What surprised you? What did your kids learn? What are some solar-powered activities you already do?
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
July 9, 2011
June 19, 2011
Easy summer projects for kids
I've been looking around online for ideas for making puppet theaters for my kids at work. I ran across this page by California Mandarins with some neat ideas for reusing the boxes as children's toys & crafts. If you're not into logos, you can always cover the boxes with paper or paint. Of course, you can use just about any kind of box to make these projects too, like for this puppet theater.
If I had a doorway I could use safely and easily, I'd just put up a tension rod with fabric draped over it, but I pretty much need a tabletop model. The puppet theaters I'm trying to decide between right now are this one from Pink and Green Mama and a version of this Shoebox theater. I also like that they are easy to pack up and store, which is a major plus for my classroom/office.
If I had a doorway I could use safely and easily, I'd just put up a tension rod with fabric draped over it, but I pretty much need a tabletop model. The puppet theaters I'm trying to decide between right now are this one from Pink and Green Mama and a version of this Shoebox theater. I also like that they are easy to pack up and store, which is a major plus for my classroom/office.
April 9, 2011
Craft Magazine: April is UpCraft Month
In spring a young man’s fancy may lightly turn to thoughts of love, but my thoughts usually turn to crafting. Something about spring gets me thinking about new projects. Maybe it’s the whole outdoors coming to life thing making me want to create something along with it.
Craft magazine usually has some great projects that involve some or all of the parts being recycled or reused in some way. This month, however, the whole theme is UpCraft. Check out some of projects here. One of my favorites is “Homemade Pantry Staples”. I’ve been getting more and more into making things like these at home, and I’m looking forward to adding a few more to my repertoire. I also rather like the cardboard and rubber band “guitars”. I may have to make some of these for my kids at work.
Craft magazine usually has some great projects that involve some or all of the parts being recycled or reused in some way. This month, however, the whole theme is UpCraft. Check out some of projects here. One of my favorites is “Homemade Pantry Staples”. I’ve been getting more and more into making things like these at home, and I’m looking forward to adding a few more to my repertoire. I also rather like the cardboard and rubber band “guitars”. I may have to make some of these for my kids at work.
February 15, 2011
DIY Pendleton Wool Rug – Making a rug out of fine wool garbage
Recently I took a rug-making class. I’d thought we were going to make rugs from heavy yarn, but that wasn’t quite the case.
We made them from waste from Pendleton Wool fabric. How awesome is that?
These are the selvedges from the fabric looms – where the threads are attached to the framework of the looms as the fabric is being made. When the bolt of fabric is finished, workers just slice the fabric off the loom, leaving these edges. For years and years, these ends were just swept up into the trash. Eventually, someone figured out that these edges were useful to rugmakers and other crafters, and the mills began selling them in big bags. My bag here is about seven pounds of worsted wool. At the store, you can find great big wooden bins full of sacks of selvedge scrap – I saw bags 6-15 pounds, all in the same colors as the fabrics coming out next season, and when I was in the store, they all cost $3 per pound.
So my rug is made from the exact same fabric as next season’s men’s shirts, for somewhere around a third to a quarter of the cost of the shirt. And it’s all made from fabric-making waste.
Stacey, who led the class, said the store gets shipments of these bags every Friday, and “it’s like the running of the bulls” with craftsters gathering up everything they can find to make rugs, hats, bags, whatever. The shipments are even announced on the Pendleton Woolen Mills blog.
The selvedges & blanket ends and all the other waste for sale in the bins used to just be shipped off to the landfill. Gah!
It was a pretty quick rug to make. It’s about 3 x 4.5', took about 6 of the 7 pounds of selvedge I'd brought home, and it took me about six hours to make. That’s including breaks for petting the kitties who were DETERMINED to umhelp.
Hookers' note: it was all done in SC with a Q hook
The finished rug.
The rug being put through rigorous testing by the QA department.
After the class, I got to poking around the store a bit. Underneath all those tables of fabulous fabrics and wonderful blankets and everything else? More bins of waste! Among which I found some blanket ends that should make terrific scarves! And I didn’t even have to do anything to them. They were already the right length & width, already fringed, and already great colors. These are just the ends of the blanket fabric as the blankets are cut to length for sale.
These blanket ends are already on their way to a friend to become scarves. Or maybe they’ll get cut up and used as patches on other wool items. Or patched together into a wool quilt. Or turned into little wool stuffed animals. There’s no telling! (Though I hope she does eventually tell me!)
Fun facts about wool*
-wool is naturally flame-retardant. If I ever have a fire in my house, I can use my rug to smother it.
-wool is naturally durable. Wool resists tearing and it can bend back on itself 20,000 times without breaking. Cotton breaks after only 3,200 bendings, silk fibers after just 1,800, and rayon fibers after just 75 bends.
-“unless soiled, most wool garments and blankets require cleaning only once or twice a year”
-wool is naturally resistant to mildew & mold, which comes from the way wool repels moisture
-wool is also resistant to static electricity
-wool is actually naturally hypo-allergenic. While a few people have a rare allergy to lanolin, the oil found in wool, most people’s “allergy” is actually a sensitivity to the “poking” that individual wool fibers can do to the skin.
*Fun facts taken from these sources:
Pendleton Woolen Mill’s “Wool… A Natural” booklet
OrganicClothing.blogs - Wool: Facts behind the fiber
American Sheep Industry Association
Other reduce/reuse/recycle info from Pendleton Woolen Mills
We made them from waste from Pendleton Wool fabric. How awesome is that?
These are the selvedges from the fabric looms – where the threads are attached to the framework of the looms as the fabric is being made. When the bolt of fabric is finished, workers just slice the fabric off the loom, leaving these edges. For years and years, these ends were just swept up into the trash. Eventually, someone figured out that these edges were useful to rugmakers and other crafters, and the mills began selling them in big bags. My bag here is about seven pounds of worsted wool. At the store, you can find great big wooden bins full of sacks of selvedge scrap – I saw bags 6-15 pounds, all in the same colors as the fabrics coming out next season, and when I was in the store, they all cost $3 per pound.
So my rug is made from the exact same fabric as next season’s men’s shirts, for somewhere around a third to a quarter of the cost of the shirt. And it’s all made from fabric-making waste.
Stacey, who led the class, said the store gets shipments of these bags every Friday, and “it’s like the running of the bulls” with craftsters gathering up everything they can find to make rugs, hats, bags, whatever. The shipments are even announced on the Pendleton Woolen Mills blog.
The selvedges & blanket ends and all the other waste for sale in the bins used to just be shipped off to the landfill. Gah!
It was a pretty quick rug to make. It’s about 3 x 4.5', took about 6 of the 7 pounds of selvedge I'd brought home, and it took me about six hours to make. That’s including breaks for petting the kitties who were DETERMINED to umhelp.
Hookers' note: it was all done in SC with a Q hook
The finished rug.
The rug being put through rigorous testing by the QA department.
After the class, I got to poking around the store a bit. Underneath all those tables of fabulous fabrics and wonderful blankets and everything else? More bins of waste! Among which I found some blanket ends that should make terrific scarves! And I didn’t even have to do anything to them. They were already the right length & width, already fringed, and already great colors. These are just the ends of the blanket fabric as the blankets are cut to length for sale.
These blanket ends are already on their way to a friend to become scarves. Or maybe they’ll get cut up and used as patches on other wool items. Or patched together into a wool quilt. Or turned into little wool stuffed animals. There’s no telling! (Though I hope she does eventually tell me!)
Fun facts about wool*
-wool is naturally flame-retardant. If I ever have a fire in my house, I can use my rug to smother it.
-wool is naturally durable. Wool resists tearing and it can bend back on itself 20,000 times without breaking. Cotton breaks after only 3,200 bendings, silk fibers after just 1,800, and rayon fibers after just 75 bends.
-“unless soiled, most wool garments and blankets require cleaning only once or twice a year”
-wool is naturally resistant to mildew & mold, which comes from the way wool repels moisture
-wool is also resistant to static electricity
-wool is actually naturally hypo-allergenic. While a few people have a rare allergy to lanolin, the oil found in wool, most people’s “allergy” is actually a sensitivity to the “poking” that individual wool fibers can do to the skin.
*Fun facts taken from these sources:
Pendleton Woolen Mill’s “Wool… A Natural” booklet
OrganicClothing.blogs - Wool: Facts behind the fiber
American Sheep Industry Association
Other reduce/reuse/recycle info from Pendleton Woolen Mills
January 24, 2011
Homemade play kitchens for kids
Playing house is probably the most fun thing in the world for a toddler or preschooler. With the possible exception of dinosaurs. But hey, the dinosaurs can play in the kitchen too, combining all levels of awesomeness! And yes, boys love to play kitchen too. How do you think Mario Batali and Jamie Oliver got started?*
But really, do you want to spend $100-$200 on plastic?
You can make your own play kitchen with recyclable materials for far less, and without having to build it from scratch. You could even involve your preschooler in the plans and production.
Here are some examples:
Repurposed end table
repurposed end/side table
repurposed entertainment center
If you’re in a hurry, you should be able to find everything at your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore – furniture, fixtures, paint and more. If you have more time, then Craigslist, Freecycle & thrift stores will undoubtedly turn up everything you need.**
While you can probably find enough stuff around your house or donations from friends, I can totally understand if you want to pick up some new toys to put in your play kitchen. In which case, consider a tea set made from and packaged in recycled materials.
*I actually have no idea whether Mario or Jamie ever played “kitchen” as kids. I just know from my 20+ years working with children that (a) both boys & girls like playing with kitchen toys a whole lot, and (b) none of them have caught cooties as a result of it.
**Requisite disclaimer: I do not have any ties to any of these businesses. I just really like making stuff and playing with kitchen toys, kid-sized or for grown-ups.
But really, do you want to spend $100-$200 on plastic?
You can make your own play kitchen with recyclable materials for far less, and without having to build it from scratch. You could even involve your preschooler in the plans and production.
Here are some examples:
Repurposed end table
repurposed end/side table
repurposed entertainment center
If you’re in a hurry, you should be able to find everything at your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore – furniture, fixtures, paint and more. If you have more time, then Craigslist, Freecycle & thrift stores will undoubtedly turn up everything you need.**
While you can probably find enough stuff around your house or donations from friends, I can totally understand if you want to pick up some new toys to put in your play kitchen. In which case, consider a tea set made from and packaged in recycled materials.
*I actually have no idea whether Mario or Jamie ever played “kitchen” as kids. I just know from my 20+ years working with children that (a) both boys & girls like playing with kitchen toys a whole lot, and (b) none of them have caught cooties as a result of it.
**Requisite disclaimer: I do not have any ties to any of these businesses. I just really like making stuff and playing with kitchen toys, kid-sized or for grown-ups.
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