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Nov 2 2016

cardboard creatures: autobots & elephants

Posted by hayley
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Surely by now you know I have a *thing* for cardboard. I kinda love that it’s free (hello, Amazon Prime), easy to work with, and has almost limitless potential when paired with a little hot glue and paint.

Around Sept I started saving boxes. By early October the kids placed their Halloween costume orders and I got to work.

Elephant Costume : Cardboard Creatures | greyhouseharbor.com

Optimus Prime Transformers Costume : Cardboard | greyhouseharbor.com

Bug crushed the trick-or-treat scene as Optimus Prime from the Transformers series.

Optimus Prime Transformers Costume : Cardboard | greyhouseharbor.com

Optimus Prime Transformers Costume : Cardboard | greyhouseharbor.com

Arm guns included. Duh.

Optimus Prime Transformers Costume : Cardboard | greyhouseharbor.com

cardboad-creatures-2016-2

When he laid down flat, the whole costume transformed into Optimus’s signature semi-truck mode. Be sure to scroll to the end of this post for a video of him in action as well as some behind-the-scenes clips…

Optimus Prime Transformers Costume : Cardboard | greyhouseharbor.com

And then my animal lover: Songbird, the elephant. The entire headpiece was fashioned on the fly: cut, fit, re-cut, glue. Old-fashioned trial and error.

Elephant Costume : Cardboard Creatures | greyhouseharbor.com

Little plastic snaps and straps of elastic kept all 4 “feet” secure, while still allowing full range of motion. A small loop of cardboard glued to the back of the tail easily attached it to the hoodie with a kilt pin.

Elephant Costume : Cardboard Creatures | greyhouseharbor.com

Elephant Costume : Cardboard Creatures | greyhouseharbor.com

The night prior to Halloween, I stayed up past my bedtime to make myself a cardboard hat. I feel a kinship with the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland; we both frequently feel as though we’re losing our minds, have large heads that look great in hats, and think that wanting to sit and sip (sweet) tea in peace is really not asking for much.

Mad Hatter Costume - Cardboard Hat | greyhouseharbor.com

Some people might wonder why I would spend so much time and effort on something that’s worn for just one night. It’s the same reason people spend thousands of dollars on a wedding dress that’s worn once: love.

Cardboard Creature Costumes : Transformer & Elephant | greyhouseharbor.com

The love of a making my kids’ dreams a reality and shaping their childhood memories. The love of succeeding at a challenging project. My love for changing up the daily routine and a great excuse to dust off my paintbrushes.

Cardboard Creature Costumes : Transformer & Elephant | greyhouseharbor.com

As an artist turned homemaker, I’m not going to see my work hung in a fancy gallery any time soon. For now I’ll just enjoy it hanging on my kids.

Cardboard Creature Costumes : Transformer, Mad Hatter, & Elephant | greyhouseharbor.com

Be sure to watch the video for Bug’s awesome transformation!

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Tags: art studio, cardboard, costumes, halloween, our life
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41 comments
Mar 19 2015

i heart you , ikea

Posted by hayley
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Last we spoke, the playroom was being painted and prepped to become our new creative space. Originally we were calling it the craft room, but when little kids say that fast it sounds very inappropriate. So now the room is known simply as “the studio” – so chic. Might even convince someone I’m a professional or something.

One critical aspect of a functional studio is storage. This was one of the battles we fought when the craft table was upstairs parading as both an office desk and creative workspace at the same time. All the supplies the kids and I have amassed over the years would end up errwhere. No bueno. Nothing a little trip to Ikea couldn’t solve. I ended up purchasing 3 “Billy” bookcases with oxberg doors and 2 “Alex” flat file drawer units.

ikea billy bookshelves  greyhouseharbor.com

Build-it-yourself furniture is a great opportunity to let little hands get in on the action. Bug even wore the right shirt for the job.

ikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.com

One issue we ran into is that the wall where I wanted to install these has only 1 electrical outlet right smack in the middle, behind where I wanted the bookshelves.

ikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.com

With a computer, a lamp, a sewing machine and a few other things to plug in, I decided the best solution was to cut a hole in the back of the closest unit. Because the back panel is thin-ish fiberboard, I was able to cut it easily with a sharp Xacto knife.

ikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.com

I then plugged in a power strip before setting the bookshelves against the wall. To keep it in place, the power strip was attached to the inside of the bookshelf with industrial adhesive Velcro.

ikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.comikea billy bookshelves  greyhouseharbor.com

As a single income military family, we don’t have the budget for all our furniture to be high-end. This is why Ikea speaks to my soul. If you are diligent in assembling their pieces with attention to detail, they can be an excellent alternative to custom built-ins for $100s less.

ikea billy bookshelves  greyhouseharbor.comikea billy bookshelves  greyhouseharbor.com

Not only do they take the cake in affordable furnishings, but when we were stuck inside the next day due to rain, their boxes kept my tiny construction helper busy for hours. I heart you, Ikea, for so many reasons!

ikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.comikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.comikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.comikea billy bookshelves greyhouseharbor.com

Tags: art studio, bug, diy home improvement, ikea, our home
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Jan 20 2015

changing spaces

Posted by hayley
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Have you ever had an amazing idea… only to find out that the reality of that idea wasn’t what you had envisioned? You may remember my post last year about our playroom. I spent 3 days painting the mural and turning our “formal dining room” into the idyllic childhood retreat. I envisioned endless afternoons of dress up and puzzles, toy cars and teddy bear picnics.

bug / insect kids playroom  |  greyhouseharbor.com

A whole room just for toys and playing! What could possibly be bad about that? Well, turns out that 90% of the time it actually looked like this.

changes spaces

Truth is, they rarely played in there. Toys were drug out in droves littering the kitchen and strewn about the family room. Every day was an unrelenting battle to keep all the clutter in check. And, despite my best parenting tactics, asking the kids to help clean up was like pulling teeth.

Changing Spaces

After enduring this for over a year, Handsome and I were D-O-N-E, done. He suggested putting their toys in their rooms and I suggested incinerating all of it. His idea got more family votes. So we did a trial run, donating anything the kids did not actually play with and finding organized homes for the rest in their bedrooms. The change had some surprising outcomes.

I was concerned that moving toys upstairs would just mean messy bedrooms, but once the toys were out of sight, they were also out of mind. This lead to our kids spending a majority of their time playing with each other (imaginative pretend-play, games, etc), rather than fighting over playthings. They usually think of one or two things they really want to play with, which do end up downstairs for the day. But it’s a heck-of-alot easier to help them put away a couple toys at bedtime, than to tidy an entire playroom. We’ve reclaimed our main living space from the toy clutter free-for-all! And finally, my stress level has decreased dramatically. Being a visual person, the playroom chaos subconsciously ate away at my soul and I resented that room (hence the incinerator suggestion). Apparently, I’m not alone.

Now that the toys are officially upstairs for good, we are re-purposing our spaces. The old playroom is being transformed into my art studio/office. Since the kids do a lot of creative projects with me, I think this will be a better use of the space. But because I need visual calm to be creative, the mural got a fresh coat of white paint. Bye-bye bug friends.

Changing Spaces

Ahh yes, a blank canvas to begin again! I did leave the blue sky though. This large table was previously up in our bonus room serving as a desk for both Handsome and I, plus hosting crafts and kids projects. It was always a mess. Down here it can be dedicated to creativity alone!

Changing Spaces

I just need to figure out some serious storage solutions for all this crafty goodness. For 10 years I lived within 20 minutes of an Ikea and totally took that for granted. Now the closest one is 3.5 hours away. Roadtrip time!

Changing Spaces

Tags: art studio, our home, playroom
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I'm Hayley. Wife and mother by day, DIY enthusiast by night. Fueled by sweet tea and jelly beans, I own power tools and know how to use them. Consider yourself warned.

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