DIY Mobiles

Jun 19

DIY Mobile by Loflov

We’re thrilled to intro­duce our lat­est con­trib­u­tor Mari Richards, an award-winning toy designer, mom, and author of the fan­tas­tic blog Small for Big. Enjoy!

Hi every­one! I am over­joyed to be con­tribut­ing here at Hand­made Char­lotte, and I can’t thank Rachel enough for the chance to join one of my all-time favorite blogs. Thanks, Rachel!

Ever since my first expo­sure to Alexan­der Calder, I have had an ongo­ing love affair with mobiles. Their gen­tle move­ments, mys­te­ri­ous bal­ance, and abil­ity to float above all of my mun­dane chores makes them pretty inspi­ra­tional. Plus, of course, they’re a beau­ti­ful addi­tion to any kid’s room.

I’ve moved beyond the idea that mobiles need to stay in kids’ rooms, though, and firmly believe we need a mobile in our liv­ing room, too. Each of these DIY mobiles would be a per­fect addi­tion – for kids’ rooms, liv­ing rooms, or any­where you’d like a lit­tle move­ment and design.

Keep read­ing…

Vintage French Shops For Kids

Jun 18

French Vintage for Kids' Rooms: French Vintage for Kids' Rooms: Wicker Children's Chair

We’re in the throes of ren­o­vat­ing our house and hope to fin­ish a fourth bed­room for our daugh­ter Savan­nah by the end of the sum­mer. Luck­ily for us, the flea mar­ket sea­son is in full swing, so Sat­ur­day morn­ings are spent scour­ing local sales.

Of course, if we don’t find what we’re look­ing for at a vil­lage flea, we can always turn to one of the many excel­lent Etsy sell­ers or online mom & pop shops. I have a lit­tle black book full of inspir­ing French shops, all who know how to curate and style.

Here are a few of my favorite lesser-known shops…

Keep read­ing…

Etsy Finds: Planes, Boats, And Rockets

Jun 14

Etsy Finds: Vintage French Wooden Toy Rocket

For­get about planes, trains, and auto­mo­biles. Super dads need super rock­ets! It’s Father’s Day week­end, so I thought I’d focus on our fan­tas­tic lit­tle fel­las today. Pops are all big kids at heart, right?

I love vin­tage toys. I’m a bit nos­tal­gic, I sup­pose, but I also enjoy an inter­est­ing mix of antique and mod­ern at home. Vin­tage toys are per­fect for adding a retro touch to a nurs­ery or child’s room, and it’s tons of fun look­ing for the right piece at flea mar­kets, sec­ond­hand stores, or on Etsy.

Beware, super dad toy col­lec­tors… I’ve found some super-tempting treasures!

Keep read­ing…

Jurassic Corn Cob Holders

Jun 13

Dinosaur Corn Cob Holders

How do you make fresh sum­mer corn even bet­ter? Serve it up with a T. Rex or a Tricer­atops dinosaur! I know that we’re sup­posed to dis­cour­age our kids from play­ing with their food, but this one is too much fun to resist. You can pick up a set for the kid­dos at Digs.

DIY Dinosaur Corn Cob Holder

If your kids have a few extra toy ani­mals lying around (and chances are, they do), you can always make your own set of dinosaur corn cob hold­ers. Head over to MAKE for details!

Craft Kits for Kids

Jun 11

DIY Animal Masks Craft Kit for Kids

Happy sum­mer vaca­tion! My kids still have a few weeks to go, but they’re dying to break out now. Of course, no mat­ter how much kids love beach life and fresh moun­tain air (we’re going to the Alps this year), bore­dom is sure to set in after the first month.

I’ve been scour­ing the web for unusual craft kits, just in case we need a lit­tle inspi­ra­tion. My chil­dren love invent­ing toys out of card­board, build­ing go-karts, and mak­ing col­lages from pressed flow­ers, but it can be equally reward­ing to fol­low a few instruc­tions. It’s a chal­lenge, and you’ll see big smiles all round when they present the fin­ished product!

Here’s what I’ve found so far…

Keep read­ing…