fix-it felix golden hammer

Because I won't hand a three-year-old a hammer spray-painted gold, I had to come up with another idea for the kiddo's Halloween costume hammer.

I could have used a regular toy hammer and spray painted that gold, but I thought something scaled a little more cartoonishly large would be fitting for Fix-It Felix.

I used a 90-cent piece of foam pipe insulation from the hardware store (it's sold in six-foot lengths), a piece of doweling that fit the space in the center, and some duct tape in regular and gold colors.

The handle is cut from an 18-inch piece, with an 8-inch top and two 1.5-inch pieces for the hammerhead.

I used an 18-inch dowel to connect the pieces.

The two pieces of the hammer head fit around the end.

Here's another photo to help illustrate how they fit (some trimming will be necessary to help them fit exactly).

 Then I trimmed the other end to make it look more like a hammer. The bits I cut off were used to fill the hollow spaces at the end of the handle and the hammerhead.

I secured all of the parts together with a layer of standard duct tape. Kids are kinda rough on stuff, so I made sure everything was extra sturdy.

Finally, a decorative layer of shiny gold duct tape to make it shine!

And there you have it! A perfect Fix-It Felix hammer.

You can click here to see how I made a Fix-It Felix cap for the kiddo's costume and here for a tutorial on the shirt and patch . . . and of course, here for my post on Felix's tool belt, pants, and boots. Thanks for reading!

train table rescue!

When we put together the train table for the kiddo back at Christmastime, I planned ahead a bit. After I painted it with acrylics, I sealed it in with a clear latex sealer. And then I bought washable crayons.




But still, these things happen.






I know this is probably old hat for mamas and papas, but believe it or not, this is the first time I've had to deal with crayon marks on any surface but paper . . . And thanks to the washable Crayola crayons and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, everything's back to normal.




Back when I was making recycled crayons for our rupee crayon project, I tried to figure out how to make recycled washable crayons, but aside from using pure soap, I came up empty handed. I think I'm going to have to find some way to test the rupees out with the Magic Eraser. Anybody out there have experience with this? Thanks in advance!


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

spring collection up march 21st!

Wands, anyone?

I plan to have the first few items in the spring collection up on the site and on Etsy by March 21st, the first day of spring. Look for new card designs, jewelry, and handbound books. A couple of weeks later, be on the lookout for hats, robot t-shirts, and other goodies.

The daffodils are up, the cherry blossoms are starting to peek out, and things have that electric spring hum . . . So much to look forward to! I've been digging through many, many bins of fabric and supplies, downsizing and clearing room for new treasures, all in the spirit of my New Year's resolution: making life simpler and less cluttered.