27/07/2010 by FeedCrazy.

How many times in a summer do you hear your kids say, “I’m bored”?  Get a wooden playhouse to solve the “I-have-nothing-to-do” or “I’m bored” syndrome so that your kids can have a more exciting and fun-filled summer.  Turn it into a family activity by involving your spouse and kids in choosing the playhouse location, size, style, decor and even the color.

Start with selecting the playhouse location using input from the family.  Although your family will enjoy helping choose a location, in reality the lot size of the property and the available space in the yard will influence the final location.  When narrowing down locations, try to have the playhouse close to the main house to keep an eye on the kids while they are at play, have it near an electrical source if the playhouse will have electricity hooked up to it, try to find a flat location for ease of building the playhouse base and don’t forget to look for a shady location so the playhouse will be cool in the summer time.

Once the location is finalized, determine the wooden playhouse size.  In general, the size of a playhouse is 6 feet to 12 feet in length and width.  The playhouse height will depend upon whether there will be a second floor or loft.  Playhouse’s usually have a ceiling of 10 feet to 12 feet in height. 

If you don’t know how tall your child is, you may want to measure their height.  According to the growth charts put out by the Center for Disease Control, the average (50 percentile) height of both males and females for a 5 year old is about 43 inches, 50 inches tall for an 8 year old, and almost 60 inches for a 12 year old.  The information will aid you in considering whether you want the playhouse to be used only when your children are pre-Kindergarten or if the playhouse will be used beyond elementary school.  Having this information in advance will help you choose the perfect playhouse size.

Have some fun laying out the location of the playhouse with rope and stakes.  This activity could be a lot of fun for one or two of your little helpers.

Next is the fun part because you can choose from a variety of styles of playhouses.  The types of playhouses are almost limitless with styles that range from traditional, to modern, to charming cottages all the way to pirate playhouses.  What tickles the fancy of your children and would look great in your backyard for at least several years are questions that need to be answered by your family.

Lastly, think about the decor or accessories that can be added to your playhouse to enhance its style or theme.  Whether the wooden playhouse is built from scratch or purchased, your family can have a great time by looking for accessories at garage sales, discount stores, hardware stores or on-line.

The next time your child says they are bored, you can put them to work on a wooden playhouse project that will keep them interested many years into the future!

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27/07/2010 by FeedCrazy.

Halloween is fun both for adults and small kids. If you’ve enjoyed painting pumpkins with your friends and family, you may certainly enjoy face painting in this special occasion. You can shock the wits out of young kids and even adults if you paint frightful faces once they knock on your door and ask the usual line  ‘trick or treat ‘.

Here are some fantastic concepts for Halloween face painting.

Pumpkin you can paint a pumpkin on both sides of your cheeks. The pumpkin should be bright orange in color. The nose, mouth, and eyes can be painted in black. The outline and ridges of pumpkin design should be light grey.

If you want, you can make your whole face seem like a pumpkin. The base should be orange and for the cheekbones, you’ve got to apply a darker shade of orange. Make a triangle shape over your eyes and paint it black. For your lips and nose, you must paint it black too.

Skull the skull design should occupy the whole face. The base should be white and after you’ve painted the white paint, you can paint a bright red color for the lips. Make an outline of fangs on both sides of your mouth in light gray. The fill should be white and the tip should be painted in red so that it will look like blood. Use hazy gray for the eye lids and exaggerate your eye brows with sweeping strokes in black color.

Bat make a bat design over your full face. Just like the skull design, use white color as base. Above your nose and your forehead, paint the face of the bat in black and light grey for the eyeballs. The body of the bat should be painted over your nose ending at the nostril’s base. Use different shades of black for the body. The wings cover your eyes and your mid-cheek. You can paint some definitions by using light grey on the wings. Over your lips, paint exaggerated curls upward to the corners. Use your mind and you can create a pragmatic bat design.

These are just 4 great concepts you can use. If you need, you can obtain other painting concepts online. There are many helpful web sites you may visit to get some great concepts for Halloween face painting. Visit the different sites and if you’re diligent with your search, you’ll find footage of the designs. With a picture to refer to, it is going to be far easier to paint as you already have a clear idea of what the design will look like. Find a design that you like so that it will be easier to paint.

You can also paint your own face if you like, but this can rather difficult. Get all the family involved and paint each other’s face. But before anything else, you have to buy face paints, paint brushes, and other painting materials that you’ll need. You can get them in paint stores or in craft stores.

Celebrate Halloween with your family and friends. Give life to this special occasion by doing some face painting. Just do not forget to wash the paint off your face prior to going to sleep to avoid any irritations. Have fun this Halloween season by painting your face in different designs.

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