hometown tourist: the shelton - mcmurphy - johnson house

"Hometown Tourist" is an occasional series in which I tell tales about our adventures around town, and actually, the whole state of Oregon. Take a peek and come exploring with us!

Awhile back, the kiddo and I stopped in at the Shelton-McMurphy-Johnson House, a local Victorian-era house that's been made into a museum.

I don't recommend the tour for toddlers. At least not for toddlers like mine, who are active and curious and always getting into everything. The tour is long (over an hour), nothing is permissible to touch or climb on, the stairs are steep, and if you want to take photos, they will all turn out blurry as you simultaneously dive to keep your toddler from climbing on an antique bed or pulling open (or over) a glass-front china cabinet.

But for older, more patient children and adults with an interest in history, it's a beautiful, interesting place to visit.

Filled with era-appropriate furnishings, clothing, and household objects (many of which were actually owned by the three major families who owned the house for a hundred years) the house tells the history of the people who lived there and the local area.


Twin and double beds on the sleeping porch.

Intricately carved bed in the master bedroom.

Sewing machine in the hall nook.

Doll furniture in the nursery.

Humpty-Dumpty print in the nursery.

Kitchen utensils in the working kitchen (not restored, but useable for weddings and other events).

The best part, as far as the kiddo was concerned, was being turned loose on the wooded paths on the side of Skinner's Butte. Especially the late-spring puddles, perfect for stomping.

We might stop back in for Living History Day on August 4th, which sounds way more kid-friendly than the usual museum tour, with kids crafts, ice cream, and people in costumes.

If you're in Eugene, Oregon on that day, you should come too!

Have you been out exploring your local museums this summer? What do you recommend for young kids?

(p.s. you can make these photographs larger just by clicking on them, but you probably already knew that.)

flannel projects - - part one : floor pouf

I always seem to have a few patterns of flannel laying around, partly because I bought a bunch when I was making cloth diapers before the kiddo was born, and partly because I bought some more when I figured out how to make flannel crib sheets (coming up in a future post).

This project, however, uses the owl print flannel that my aunt used to wrap up Little Owl Lost for the little guy's birthday this year. My aunt is a long-time recycler who often uses fabric to wrap gifts (and often gives books. Yay!).

All of the fabrics pictured in the first photo are from Joann Fabrics; I'm having difficulty finding the owl fabric on-line, though, so it might be a discontinued print. Really, you can use almost any fabric for this project, from flannel to upholstery fabric to suede, depending on what you have on-hand.

I decided to make a floor pouf after seeing Sherry over at Young House Love make one based on this tutorial from Living with Punks. And I have to say, it was just as quick and easy as it looked, including the piping!

Now, I should mention, I've had limited adventures with piping in the past. But having the how-to spelled out for me made it look kind of awesome, I think.

We skipped the handle since cotton flannel is kind of a thin fabric, prone to tearing when rough-handled. I'd rather the kiddo pick the whole thing up to move it, and the pouf is light enough that the lack of handle isn't an issue.

And there you have it! One cute owl pouf made from gift-wrap flannel. The kiddo likes to tackle it, but it also makes a great stool, pillow, and foot rest.

Takes about an hour and a half from start to finish, and since I made ours about 24 inches across and about twelve inches tall, it took about two yards of 42-inch flannel to make.

I'd love to see if you tackle this pouf project too! Link in the comments if you want to share photos.

(p.s. you can make these photos bigger by clicking on them . . . but you probably knew that!)