New Jersey Children's Museum

I don't know what the weather's been like where you are... but around here... it's been hot.  Really, really, really, hot.

So hot that the park across the street has been practically empty all weekend until 5pm, when some brave souls drag their stir-crazy children out.

So hot that I feel like a roasting chicken when I step out into our apartment's hot, stuffy, lobby.

So hot that our curtains are drawn practically the whole day so that we keep the sun's powerful rays out.

Blech.

With hubby home for the long weekend, we wanted to hang out as a family... but where could we go that was fun, kid-friendly, and indoors?

Luckily for us, Hubby found out that the New Jersey's Children's Museum is located only about a half hour away.  So, we spent one weekend morning there, hiding from the heat and having lots of fun.  We're so thankful that places like this exist.  They had lots of toys and interactive exhibits just right for young kids.  And, bonus- everything there is meant to be touched, pulled, pinched, dropped, etc... which is just perfect for us, since Chuck's super active and curious.  Here are some photos from our fun (and cool) day:

Need something demolished?  Chuck's ready to help out.

Fee-fie-fo-fum!  There's something awesomely cool about seeing things in miniature size

Perhaps Chuck's favorite exhibit- the sandbox.

Largest kaleidoscope I've ever seen- you had to turn a steering wheel to operate it

Chuck and a new four-legged buddy save the day

Ack!  These little wooden Wild West toys are just too cute.   

The super-humongous lite-brites board made us feel like kids again  (It would also be an awesome DIY to make one day... oh huubbbby.....)

Hope you had a good weekend as well.

Happy July 4th

Dear friends~

Happy July 4th. 

Hope you have a restful, refreshing, and reflective weekend.  

I'll see you next week!

Make your own trunk cover

****Update-  A lot of people seem to be interested in this trunk cover.  Full disclosure here... after using it for awhile, we've noticed that there's one big problem with the cover.  Every time we drive, the back bar pops out.  Grr....   So the cover holds up if the car is parked... but the back bar won't stay put if the car is moving.  So once hubby and I get some free time, we will tweak the design.  Does anyone have ideas with how to fix that problem?  Hrmm... I'll update you with our progress..... Sorry!*****



It's now been a year since we left Michigan and moved back to the East Coast.  Wow.  Time really flies.  

It's also been about a year since we lost our trunk cover.  Grrr movers!  We figured it was time to finally get a new one.  However, with trunk covers being so pricey, hubby and I took the thrifty way out and and made our own.  Here's what our trunk cover looks like:

It was really easy for us to design and hubby to sew.  In case you find yourself missing a trunk cover (grr, movers!), check out the directions below.

Materials:
- Two shower curtain rods
- Piece of fabric

Directions:  
1.  Measure the two distances (across the trunk) between the pairs of holes where the original trunk cover rested.  (These distances will determine what size shower curtain rods you buy.)

2.  Measure the distance between the two holes on one side of the car.

3.  Purchase

• two shower curtain rods that will span the two distances across the trunk
• a piece of fabric that will span the distance between your two rods (with an extra bit to create tube "sleeves" for your poles)

4.   Sew one tube "sleeve" to hold in one shower curtain rod.  Place your sleeved rod into the car and use chalk to determine how to sew the next curtain rod.  Then, sew your other tube "sleeve."   Insert your second rod in your sleeve.

Then, voila.  You've got your very own personalized trunk cover.

On the negative side, it won't be able to slide open and closed like your original one.  However, on the positive side, it covers the items in your trunk and was made for a fraction of the cost

Happy crafting!

Paint a rainbow fan

So I don't know about you, but this DIY rainbow fan has been stuck in my mind.  What?  You can see primary colors mixing in front of your very eyes?  Amazing!  I felt so inspired that  I made my own version.  Here's my DIY rainbow fan:

DIY Rainbow Fan

(This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support.)

Oooh.  Circular rainbow!  I just think it's so cool that the blades are painted different combinations of red, yellow, or blue.  Yon can only see the rainbow when the fan is turned on.  Whoa, right?

Let's get crafting.

Paint your own galaxy umbrella

Inspired by Carl Sagan's quote, "We are made of star-stuff," I painted this galaxy umbrella:

On the outside the umbrella is black. But open the umbrella up and wow, you're now standing under a galaxy full of twinkling stars.  Let's get crafting!

Materials Needed to Paint Umbrella:

(*Note:  Some of the links in this post are affiliate links which means I earn a small commission for every purchase at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support.)  
 
- Black Umbrella
- Painter's tape
- Craft Paint (I used black, red, yellow, blue, and white)
- White fabric paint (I used the bottle because it had a nice tip to draw stars)
- Fabric Medium
- Cups
- Sponge
- Stick for stirring
- Palette (or crapty styrofoam plate)
- Paper towel
- Inspiring photo of the universe

Steps to Make Galaxy Umbrella:

1.  Cover the umbrella's ribs with painter's tape.

2.   Make your fabric paint.  Not sure if you have this problem, but I own a ton of craft paint and very little fabric paint.  So instead of buying different bottles of fabric paint, I bought one bottle of fabric medium to turn my craft paint into fabric paint.  (Wow, right? Oh Martha, you crafty minx!  What will you think of next?) Following the bottle's directions, I mixed the fabric medium and the craft paint together to make black, blue, purple, red, yellow, and white fabric paint.  

3.  Use a dry sponge and a piece of paper towel to dab the different colors on.  (I tried starting with my darker colors first and then adding on my lighter colors... but then ended up using darker colors again.... so just play around and have fun with it.)



4.  Once you're satisfied with how your background looks, use your white fabric paint to paint stars.  (I liked using the bottle because it had a nice neat tip.  But, you could also just  use the white fabric paint that you previously made and apply it on with a paint brush.)

5.  Make some stars cross shaped to look like they're twinkling.  Remove painter's tape. Then, let your masterpiece dry overnight.

Voila!  Now you've got your very own galaxy.  Open this baby up on an icky rainy day and you're guaranteed to feel better.

(Psst- Wanna see another painted umbrella?  Check out my "rain, rain, go away" umbrella.)

Have fun creating your own galaxy!


UPDATE 8/26/13- I've now taken this umbrella out a couple of times and the paint is fine.  Phew.  The only problem that I have with this umbrella is that the insides are now a bit sticky, so the umbrella is a bit more difficult to open.