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Written by Paula Clayton
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Friday, 21 August 2009 16:05 |
OK - we've done these a couple of times over the last few years. We are getting pretty darn efficient at loading, setting up, breaking down & re-loading, let me tell you!
This year Wilmette was an absolute blast. Julie & Karen from the Wilmette Chamber of Commerce are about the same, and great organizers. So I guess, what can you expect? The music was great, and we were talking to people left right & center both days solid. We had our regular spot back outside of Lambrechts Jewelers on Central Street (
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) so we were all happy to see each other again. It's kind of cool having a regular spot & people you catch up with, eh?
So here's the canvas's painted a la' performing monkey ...
Oh drats. I forgot the Cyberduck thing. Hang on.
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Written by Paula Clayton
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Friday, 21 August 2009 15:08 |
Our first project at the National Lekotek Center was inside the playrooms. They had just finished construction on a nice big blank wall. Here I am, figuring out what we have to measure while Debby takes pics of the walls to refer to later.
Lekotek and the Annixter Center are located at Clybourn & Armitage, in the Lincoln Park neighbourhood.
Their missions: "Lekotek uses interactive play experiences, and the learning that results, to promote the inclusion of children with special needs into family and community life." http://www.lekotek.org/
Anixter: to enhance the ability of individuals living with or at risk ofdisabilities to live, learn, work, and play in the community. At dozens of locations across greater Chicago, Anixter Center provides an array of innovative services to 5,000 children and adults with disabilities of all kinds. " http://www.anixter.org/
Right now they need letter-writing people to get on the horn and let the govenor know that their services matter ... check out their websites for links.
Their walls:
The nice peaceful side.
Then back to the busy play area, before and after ...
 
 Detaily bits at the end.
... and a bit more going on over here. You would not believe how many times I doonked my head on that ductwork and those pipes. Not Debby, oh no. She seems to learn from experience! She even found them useful as balance points and extra holding-on thingys. Me - I have to bang my head into it again.
Good to have a well-rounded team, huh?
So.
Maybe it was about 4-6months later that we came back to do the other side of the wall?
Which, funnily enough, was exactly the same height & width & everything, just all backwards. And with a completely different idea. AND - with volunteers helping.
So our first chunk of time was spent researching playgrounds, getting pics of kids playing, and figuring out how they all went together. Then we came back in (with the scaffold this time), Debby appreciating those pipes all over again, me not, and put in the background, projected up our drawings ... and let the fun begin!
Debby filling in the orange & getting those straight lines straight.
Everything all laid out ready to go ...
And guess what? Just like a soap opera, you'll have to wait for the next installment ... oo, the suspense!
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Written by Paula Clayton
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Wednesday, 15 July 2009 20:43 |
Oh yay - back online again!
We disappeared for a while there, gap in the stream of conscious.
Last weekend we were at the Wilmette street fair. Pretty cool! Lots of interest in our new thrilling product. Debby took a class in the Aurastone countertop overlay system. Its like the cement overlays in a lot of ways ... with a few great bonuses. It will:
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adhere to formica
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look like granite (clever method developed by manufacturers)
- or anything. You know ... its us. You think of something & we'll figure out a way to make it happen.
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completely customizable. Maybe that's a word? Spellcheck didn't gibber at me.
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you can put a hot pot down on it (!!!) 500 degrees! Nice epoxy!
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after 3 weeks it's scratch proof. I still wouldn't want to cut on the surface, though, like a chopping block. They say you can - but it's a really dumb idea as far as looking after your knives is concerned.
- and you don't have to rip the old stuff out to put the new counter in.
It can also be used on furniture, table tops, fireplace surrounds. The only thing it doesn't stick to is glass.
But more on this later. With pictures. Got to have pictures!
Meanwhile ...  ... back to the street fair thing. This pic is from a couple of years ago. Last weekend was a Tuscan window, a jungle window, and a start on a blue/green secret garden window. I am the performing monkey, Debby nabs people
and shows them pretty pictures. Everyone starts getting excited there's a lot of hand waving & frantic flicking thru albums to find examples.
This weekend we'll be up in Winnetka: http://www.winnetkachamber.com/ the Chamber of Commerce has all the info.
So come see us if you're in the area! |
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Written by Paula Clayton
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Friday, 29 May 2009 13:26 |
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When we first met Melissa & saw the space she was about to transform; it had a long way to go. The walls were still being put up & there were big drilling sounds going on. Fortunately Starbucks is right next door, so we went there to talk.
 
They got things done pretty quickly, though. And after some exited back-and-forth we were able to walk in to freshly painted walls. Ooo, and you know how good that is. It's so wonderful to see all the hard work taken care of, nice and prepared, then in we waltz & do the pretties.
Even better?... someone else to do the masking! And look at all that nice rosin paper ... makes a person just salivate.
We started with this wall, since they could then put up the shelves for the big toys as soon as we were done, and moved our way around depending on which spaces were available. One of the things about new construction - there's usually still stuff going on. It pays to Play Nice With Others ... we all need to get our jobs done but a little happy talking and we can make it easier all 'round. Do you need that wall yet? Can I get in & do a first coat then it'll be dry in 1/2 hr for what you need to do, then I can come back for the 2nd coat once you've got those electrical things done?
   
Ah look. Everybody busy.
Debby got started on the Fairy Castle (they need a place to sleep, too) (fairies), and I led the happily trusting volunteers into the world of goop. Mmmm. Yum.
 
The tree had been under construction in pieces in Debby's garage the week before we could get on site, and I was eager to share the joys of slimey creation. We had a big concrete 'form' ... the tube they pour cement into to make cylinders around structural columns. We sawed it in half lengthwise, built supports onto the top half to hold branches, and rootlike forms to attach at the base. I had a few choice words with the chicken wire - all those little pricky bits sure can make a mess of your hands over a couple of days! We then brought it out to the Glen and fixed it around the nominated column.
The goop, then, is a LOT of fabric dipped in a mix of Elmers glue & paint. Yes, it feels like it looks. Doesn't smell bad, though.
Debby's holographic silver foil fairiy rays looked great, especially with the lights at all different angles, and the more we painted the more skids of toys kept arriving. Melissa kept us all fuelled up with donuts, and eventually, of course, 'twas all done.
http://www.wishestoywonderland.com ... better yet, go there in person!
Bring kids, they like that kind of thing. And there is so much more in there now. They really do have some fun stuff. I have this neat frog sitting on my shelf next to my plants, at home. I was eyeing up the dinosaurs, too, and I have the softest most wonderful-to-hold stuffed mouse. The sluice is cool. Well, its water. Of course it is. You know, the real stuff. Wet.
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