Author Archive

Cardboard Box Costumes

| Halloween, Holidays

Everyone knows that the packaging can be more entertaining than what’s inside of it (at least for babies), but I’d say the same is true when it comes to Halloween costumes. Cardboard boxes are sturdy and ripe for creating amazing creations. Here are some of my favorites, some that I’ve made and others that I’ve admired!

I crafted an eco-costume story for Kiwi magazine a few years ago, and this robot (above) was one of them! What you can’t see in this pic is that there are tiny lights around the face opening on the helmet!

vintage tv cardboard box costumeThis retro TV costumes from Oh Happy Day makes me oh so happy! It’s a total throwback to being a child of the 80s!

cardboard box halloween costume circus train

I love this costume by my friend Jodi Levine for Parents magazine! Big sis can pull around little sis in the wagon of this cute circus train.

cardboard box halloween costume juice boxThe pool noodle straw makes this juice box cardboard box costume by Mer Mag totally perfect!

skyscraper halloween costume cardboard box

Skyscraper Halloween costume? And charming as a storybook to boot! Love this idea from The House that Lars Built.

cardboard box halloween costume airplane

cardboard box costume halloween dragon

Here are two two more of the box costumes I made for Kiwi. How cute is that little Amelia Earhart in her plane and fire breathing dragon?!?

Last year my son insisted on a transforming Optimus Prime. I begged him to let me just make the robot, but nope. Not good enough. So here is a video of the final costume!

 

 

 

 

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Crafts for Mini-Engineers

| Back to School, Everyday Crafts, STEM, Upcycled

Last week I visited with Shelley Goldberg at NY1 to talk about fun crafts that also have an educational spin to them. If you asked me, all of my projects have a STEAM element to them…kids are building, making decisions, learning about structure, form, and balance. But here are a few that worked well for this short segment.

Among others, I showed two of the DIY Erector Sets from my newest book, Project Kid: Crafts that Go! They are all made with just two materials…

diy-erector-set-cardboard-project-kid

1. Cardboard and duct tape

diy-erector-set-pipe-cleaners-straws-project-kid

2. Straws and pipe cleaners

diy-erector-set-clay-toothpicks-project-kid

3. Air-dry clay and toothpicks.

The power of crafting does beyond fun…it’s good for the brain cells!

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Mini-Pumpkin Tic-Tac-Toe

| Fall, Halloween, Holidays, Nature

When Halloween rolls around, I feel like a pumpkin hoarder. I gawk at pumpkins from taxi cab windows, I marvel at the ones with no blemishes, and I can’t help talking to the mini ones in a baby voice. Weird, I know, but it stems from my years as a stylist, when the Great Pumpkin Hunt for the most photogenic pumpkin is on!

tictactoe pumpkins project kid

I’m always attracted to these little dudes because, obv, they are so cute, and you can just pop a few in your purse and whip up a craft later.

When my new, awesomely creative assistant Clare (you’ll be hearing from her on the blog soon enough!) came up with Tic-Tac-Toe pumpkin idea, I knew I wanted to make it happen. So I grabbed 9 jack-be-littles, painted X’s and O’s on the top with acrylic paint, and made a board on the floor with painter’s tape! Or you can throw down some sticks in your backyard and play in the grass—a great game for a fall festival party or backyard Halloween fete.

Here’s a snappy little video I made with the help of my son, Oliver. Enjoy!

x and o pumpkins

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5 Crafty Trick-or-Treat Bags

| Halloween, Holidays

All of the DIY possibilities on Halloween can be a little intimidating, right? If you want to add a homemade touch to your child’s candy collecting experience, but don’t have time to craft the costume from head to toe, consider making one of these super-easy Halloween trick-or-treat bags!

1. (Above) Use tape on a simple canvas tote to create a pumpkin, skeleton, or bat. From Parents.com.

halloween-printable-tote-candy2. I love this easy printable iron-on design from Julep! You can get simple canvas totes and iron-on printable paper from Amazon.

diy-monster-trick-or-treat-bag

3. How adorable is this furry monster bag from Making the World Cuter? And better yet, it’s no sew.

bat-kingloff-project-kid-halloween

4. Add a handle to this batty bag and it’s the perfect accent to a witch or vampire costume!

eyes-halloween-treat-bags

5. I love how simple these cute little googly eye bags from About a Mom are! Hot glue big ones to a canvas tote and voila! Insta-cuteness.

 

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Pom-Pom Pumpkins

| Halloween, Holidays

Pumpkin decorating very often involves sharp objects, precision, and muscle. If you have little people who are eager to help, those designs are pretty much off limits for anyone under the age of 12.

Here are three, no-carve pumpkin ideas I created for Parents magazine this year that only involve paint, pom-poms, and glue! I guarantee the first-aid kit will not be needed this year! Click over to Parents.com for the simple instructions…and for tons of other amazing Halloween fun!

(Photo by Dane Tashima on Parents.com)

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Cute Animal Stools

| Animals, Decor, DIY Home, Furniture, Kids Rooms, Playrooms

I feel like the term Ikea hack is too commonly used. Therefore, I will not refer to these stools as an Ikea hack, but rather an Ikea upgrade?

I love how barebones some of their products are, like these simple Flisat stools that are perfectly sized for kids. They are just begging to be enhanced in some fabulous way! Here’s how I used our old Melissa & Doug wood blocks to create these sweet little critter chairs.

What you’ll need:

Bunny

  1. Paint stool seat with the paint. Let dry.
  2. Paint 1.5” circles in two corners black. (Trace a roll of full washi tape to get a perfect circle!)
  3. Adhere a piece of painters tape onto the angled surface of the wedge blocks, leaving about a ¾” border. Paint block and remove tape once the paint has set for about 20 minutes.
  4. Assemble stool.
  5. Glue ears in place as shown. Once the glue has set, about 2 hours, screw into the bottom of the stool and into the block to add further support.

Fox

  1. Paint stool seat as shown. To create the scallop, mark the center of the stool about 2 to 3 inches up from the bottom edge, then trace an appetizer plate from that point to the outside edges.
  2. Paint 1.5” circles in two corners black. (Trace a roll of full washi tape to get a perfect circle!)
  3. Apply painters tape to the small triangle blocks to create the ears, leaving a ¾” border to paint orange.
  4. Assemble stool.
  5. Glue ears in place as shown. Once the glue has set, about 2 hours, screw into the bottom of the stool and into the block to add further support.

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The New Projectkid.com

| Everyday Crafts

welcomeIn the midst of the launch of my second book and back to school and prepping for all the fall crafty holidays, we decided to revamp Projectkid.com.

We hope you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for, and even what you never knew you needed!

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A Room for Two

| Decor, DIY Home, Furniture, Kids Rooms, Lighting, Organization, Playrooms, Styling, Wall Decor

Living with two small kids in a small-ish Brooklyn, New York can be a challenge in so many ways. (You really don’t want to hear me count them.) There’s the toy storage dilemma, the clothing wrangling, and the sleeping arrangements of two kids under the age of six, sharing a room with very different taste in all things.

kingloff-decor-kids-bedroom-5

Five years ago, Parents magazine ran a story about the crafty ways in which I decorated my son Oliver’s nursery, and now, with a second kid and totally different needs, I set out to take that post-nursery hodgepodge of a room and turn it into something airy, bright and fun for both Oliver (age 6) and Sommer (age 4). And this time, FamilyFun Magazine, the sister to Parents, shared these photos on the pages of their August/September issue.

kids room decor fun playful

So much work went into this room and so many great companies helped me solve both form and function dilemmas. Stay tuned for more posts soon about why I chose specific products and why I made specific DIYs.

kingloff-decor-kids-bedroom-6

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DIY Studded Sneakers

| Everyday Crafts, Jewelry and Fashion

 

If you tend to look down when you walk around the block, you’ve probably noticed the hipster invasion of studded sneakers like these. What you might not know is how easy as heck they are to make!

Click over to Ebay to read the full tutorial for these gold-i-licious sneakers that I made!

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