Category Archive

How-To & DIY

Learning from Jerry Seinfeld and Kesha: How to politely decline a hug

Learning from Jerry Seinfeld and Kesha: How to politely decline a hug

I recently watched a video of Jerry Seinfeld rebuffing a potential hug from Kesha with some serious awkwardness. The question is: how does someone who doesn’t want a hug (a totally okay thing for lots of legit health/social/psychological/whatever reasons!) go about politely decline a hug without seeming like a dick who doesn’t know who Kesha is?

OMG YOU GUYS it’s a DIY My Little Pony plushie tutorial

When I asked my brother if there was anything I could make for my niece for the holidays, I was a little overwhelmed when he suggested a My Little Pony — Friendship is Magic plushie of Pinkie Pie. I’d never sewn a stuffed animal before, and I’d be a pony newbie creating something to give to a pony expert!

Board game hack: turn Connect 4 into a reading activity

Did you know Connect 4 can be hacked to be a reading game! It’s easy!

Our gender neutral tie-dye baby shower and 3 tie-dye styles to try

We decided to completely frustrate our friends and families: we decided to wait until our baby is born to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. Several people have had a hard time with this, but as a not very “girly girl” and a boy whose favorite color was pink growing up, we just weren’t that pressed to find out. Not to mention, we were really looking forward to the surprise. To have a fun baby shower with our friends we decided what could be more fun and gender neutral than tie-dye!

How cow milk and goat milk relate to Mama milk: a story and a quiche recipe

During my pregnancy my craving was ice cream. But during my last trimester I was advised to stop eating sugar. When I gave birth, I was so excited to be able to eat ice cream again and make up for all those cravings I hadn’t been able to satisfy. I knew that because I was nursing, that I’d have to eat healthy, but at least some sugar could return to my diet. But when my baby was about three months old, I was put on another new strict diet, this time for dairy, and my dreams of eating ice cream throughout the spring and summer months were squashed again.

Rainbow ice chalk and 3 other easy child-led science experiments

We’re big fans of science experiments and experiences in our home so I’m always on the lookout for fun things to try. I found these experiments at Reading Confetti and Science Bob, and knew we had to try them. I feel like it’s only fair to warn you that each of these experiments has a certain degree of mess involved — there’s a lot of corn starch in this post.

DIY a portable dollhouse out of stuff you’d probably throw away

My five-year-old and I made this awesome dollhouse out of scraps: an old box for the building itself, and carpet, fabric, and tile samples. My son Noah’s own drawings framed in old slide holders. Paper attached and coated with Modge Podge served as the wallpaper, and glue sticks and a wood veneer sample for the kitchen table (affixed with wood glue). A sunscreen bottle cap became the toilet (it opens and closes!), and a sponge covered in fabric for the bed. It turns out poker chips are perfectly sized doll plates, and you can make tiny stools out of wooden thread spools.

Dyeing baby clothes (not so successfully)

I’m pregnant, and recently discovered that looking for offbeat baby clothes isn’t exactly an inexpensive hobby. Since I’ve been DIYing up a storm lately (did you see this recovered baby jumper?), I decided to try my hand at dying clothing! I contemplated using machine dye, but was worried it might stain our new washing machine… so I went with warm water hand dye. All of the items I dyed came from a consignment sale, so were cheap but not exactly to my style taste.