go outside and enjoy your local park

My little guy loves to create and explore. I'm constantly trying to find ways to keep my busy guy ... busy. Every Friday I'll be sharing projects or activities that we did during the week.

KID FRIENDLY FRIDAY: go outside and enjoy your local park

Check it out—I took this picture while riding my bike. Yep, I'm tricky like that ;)

My little guy has been riding without training wheels since he was 3 years old. He's a natural just like his daddy.

We are lucky enough to have a quiet bike trail near our house—it borders farmlands and is so peaceful. We love it! We've gone on a lot of rides this summer and am excited to do a lot more this fall.

After riding bikes this week we stopped to feed the ducks. Holy cow were they hungry! As soon as we got out the bread we were immediately surrounded by a swarm or VERY eager ducks. My little guy decided it was safer to feed them from higher ground—in this case the nearby picnic tables. He told me they would not be able to "chomp his fingers into pieces." LOL ;) Later he let me know that next time he will be sure to wear long pants and a long sleeved shirt along with his bike helmet, gloves and Spiderman mask to keep him safe. Yep, I think he's got it covered.

 

 Check back next week for a Halloween themed DIY Kid Friendly Friday.

{images: Little Paper Dog}  

build a model (on the cheap)

I'm posting two Kid Friendly Friday Features this week because I came across some great deals that I had to tell you about before they were all gone. Hooray!

My little guy loves to create and explore. I'm constantly trying to find ways to keep my busy guy ... busy. Every Friday I'll be sharing projects or activities that we did during the week.

KID FRIENDLY FRIDAY: build a model

My little boy loves loves LOVES building things. Models can be expensive so when I see on for a good deal (um... a dollar? ... cha-ching!) I snatch it up quick. Although he is too young to do these on his own (4 years old) he loved helping me build them.

TARGET
I found the glider and flying sticks at Target's $1 section. We have not put the glider together yet but it looks pretty easy peasy. The Flying sticks ... k, I admit that this really is not a model but they are a ton of fun so I decided to include them anyways. My little guy can really get these things spinning.

DOLLAR TREE
The race car and helicopter sold out fast at my Dollar Tree and I have not seen them since but hopefully you will still be in luck. On the back of the box it shows that they offer several different models beside the helicopter so keep your eyes peeled. The kit comes with everything you need to build it including a tiny wrench and screwdriver. :) The race car comes with glue to hold it together (no nails needed) which surprisingly holds really well. After it's put together it can be painted or in our case colored with markers and stickers.

 
{Can you tell that my little boy is hooked on the Cars Movies? Yep, Big time. Out of all the models he enjoyed building this project the most because it looks like Francesco Bernoulli.}

Check back later today for another Kid Friendly Friday. See ya then!

Well, hey there stranger! AKA shop news

{printable cards: Little Paper Dog}

I know its been a while since I've announced any shop updates but ... I am currently working behind the scenes to not only create new calendars and recipe cards for 2013 but I'm also in the process of making ALL of my recipe cards double sided and editable.

{printable bow card in progress: Little Paper Dog}

This means that if you particularly don't fancy your handwriting or need the same recipe printed onto a bunch of cards you are no longer out of luck—soon you will be able to type your text in before printing it out. Yippee skippy!

{printable day at the beach recipe card: Little Paper Dog}

 {printable Scallop Calendar in progress: Little Paper Dog}

My chevron recipe cards are ready and set to go, already available as editable PDFs and in a wide range of colors. The rest are not too far behind. :)

organizing my pinterest boards

 

 {Photo by Jeanette of Fryd and Design, via Tea For Joy} 

 * * * *

To check out more lovely Master Bedrooms I pinned click here.

I've been fixing / organizing my Pinterest boards that have outgrown their original titles. For example, For The Home has now been split into Studio / Home Office, Bathroom, kitchen, Master Bedroom, etc.

{via Better Homes and Gardens}

 * * * *

To check out more lovely Kitchens I pinned click here.

I wish Pinterest offered boards with separate folders within the board so I didn't have so many to boards to sift through up front. In other words organize my images by a big overall category and then have sub categories within the main category. Does anyone else feel this way? Is this feature already available and I missed that option somehow ... and if so pleeeeeease tell me!

 {Tara Mangini and Percy Brigh, via Design Sponge}

 * * * *

To check out more lovely Bathrooms I pinned click here.

When I first created my Pinterest account I tried to limit the number of boards I had because having too many boards seemed chaotic—I quickly outgrew that idea. Take my For The Home board for example—yep, that one was getting pretty crazy with kitchen and bathrooms all mixed together ... it was getting so full it was hard to find anything in there. Yikes!

{Wood and Wool Stool}

 * * * *

To check out more lovely Studio / Home Offices I pinned click here. 

So I decided to split some of my boards and create some completely new ones. Some of my new boards include:
• Bathroom
• Master Bedroom
• DIY: Furniture
• Living Room
• Playroom
• DIY: Jewelry

 {Vintage Junky}

 * * * *

To check out more lovely Kid Bedrooms I pinned click here.

{via SF Girl By Bay}

 * * * *

To check out more lovely Entryways I pinned click here.

Check out my Pinterest for even more boards. :)
Happy Pinning!

outside fun with chalk, water and bubbles

My little guy loves to create and explore. I'm constantly trying to find ways to keep my busy guy ... busy. Every Friday I'll be sharing projects or activities that we did during the week.

KID FRIENDLY FRIDAY: outside fun with chalk, water and bubbles

We have been trying to sped a lot of time outside to take advantage of the warm weather while we still can. These simple project ideas were found via my best pal Pinterest. I love it when i already have the supplies on hand!

1) Chalk Road
Take toy cars outside and draw a road for them to travel on.

 {A Happy Wanderer}

2) Paint The Sidewalk
Use different size brushes to paint with water on your sidewalk or patio. You can also draw with chalk first and then use the water and brushes to erase. 

 {Angel Navy Wife}

 3) Bubble Art
Use bubbles and food coloring to create a work of art.

 {Life as A Thrifter via Design Dazzle}

My little guy give these projects 5 gold stars ... although i not sure the maximum number of stars that can be awarded or how that converts into points or thumbs up—but on a scale of rad to awesome its somewhere between flippin' sweet and epic. ;)

{chalk, paint brushes and bubble wand images: Little Paper Dog} 

PS: Check out the cute little self portrait of my son! Since Kid Friendly Fridays are projects that we do together I decided to add his illustration next to my signature. :)

while cleaning out the office

A few months ago I came across some pretty odds and ends while cleaning out our office. Since then I have stumbled upon a few more lovelies—some of which were scraps hung on a overflowing inspiration board that desperately needed to be decluttered. I'm currently focused on making our office a more enjoyable place to work instead of a cramped chaos—unintentionally it became that one room otherwise known as the dumping grounds for all things random.

The photo is actually a picture of my and my little sis. I'm totally rockin' those knee high socks ;)

{images: Little Paper Dog}

granny chic fall cardigans

 
{top left: Drew Cardigan, Kate Spade}

{top right: Chunky Mixed Knit Cardigan, Forever21}

{bottom left: The Webster Cardigan, Target}

 

The days are getting shorter and the air has been a little chilly … that is until afternoon comes around and it’s flippin’ hot around here. Blast! I think the weather is teasing me because it knows how excited I am to break out the part of my wardrobe that has been tucked away in my closet all summer long.

{top left: Coincidence and Chance Cable Pleated Cardigan, Urban Outfitters}

{top right: Cable Knit Cardigan, Forever 21}

{bottom right: Merona Ultimate V-Neck Cardigan: Target} 

With the excitement of Fall just around the corner I’ve been crushing on cardigans lately—especially those that hang below the waist and have a granny chic vibe to them. Next time I go thrifing I’ll keep my fingers crossed in hopes of finding a vintage gem—perhaps updating it with new chunky buttons to make it my own.