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For more ideas, check out the official Elf on the Shelf Ideas page, or browse the #ElfontheShelf hashtag on Instagram.

Elf’s Christmas Movie Night Kit

Ready to take in some Christmas flicks with the kids? Put together a little Christmas Movie Night kit the night before and place it in the living room for them to find in the morning. The official Elf on the Shelf website has a tutorial for creating a cute little scene featuring a snack caddy or bento box, movie snacks, and an Elf Pets Reindeer.

Pool Party Elf

A little blue tissue paper and some Elf-sized pool floats and palm trees can create a tropical pool party in your sink. You can find all these Elf-sized accessories and more on the official Elf on the Shelf shop.

Special Delivery Elf

The kids will run around the house looking for the Elf, only to finally discover that they’ve got a special delivery waiting at the mail slot (or out in the mailbox). If you aren’t aware, Etsy is a great source of handmade Elf on the Shelf accessories, like these personalized felt envelope costumes by Damiline. You can even have them embroidered with your kids’ names to make them a little more special. In a rush to pull it off? Try painting or drawing your own version on some paper.

Paper Bag Toy Race Elf

Gather up some of your kids’ favorite toys, tuck them into paper bags, and viola! You’ve got an imaginative new way to present your Elf on the Shelf one day this December. This idea from Stacy Molter is quick and simple, but kids will really get a kick out of it.

Instagram Elf

Your Elf is ready for an Instagram moment with this simple idea from Elf on the Shelf. All you need to do to recreate it is print out the Instagram photo frame from the Elf on the Shelf website, pose your Elf, and tape the frame to their hands.

Campfire Elf

This handmade accessory kit by TheImaginativeHealer on Etsy will help you create a cozy campfire scene complete with a miniature fire, two roasted marshmallows on sticks, four s’mores, four marshmallows in a bag, a little tartan blanket, and a plate.

Nutcracker Elf

Save this idea for those nights when you’re tired and need the simplest possible scene to put together in less than a minute. If you already have some Nutcracker figurines on hand (or other similarly-sized festive figures), just pose the Elf to “blend in” with them.

Elf on the Shelf Santa Cam

Instagram user Ashley Chung showed off this cute idea made from simple objects found at the Dollar Tree and Hobby Lobby. Her “Santa Cam” features a camera picture frame, kids’ magnifying glass, wired lights, silver stud ribbon, craft paper, and sticker letters, but you could create something similar with whatever you find.

Mermaid Elf

Did you know you can buy Elf on the Shelf products on Amazon, too? This cute little “Merry Mermaid” costume is among them, ready to be posed on your Elf. Try creating a winter pool scene with a piece of blue paper, some white paint, and faux snow.

Soccer Goal Elf

Another item available on the Elf on the Shelf Amazon store is the North Pole Goal and Gear accessory kit. Dress your Elf figure up in a tiny soccer uniform and place it next to this folded paper goal.

Ball Pit Elf

A bag of red and green M&Ms, a sieve, and a tiny sign establish that this mini ball pit is for Elves only. This idea came from Ashley Byron of Stage.Organize.Sell, and it takes just a few minutes to put together.

Elf’s Toilet Paper Snowflakes

Uh-oh – this Elf took a clue from their much larger friend, Buddy the Elf, and perhaps went a little too far in their attempt to spread some Christmas cheer. Not even the toilet paper is safe. All you need to recreate this idea from Chloe Boyle is a pair of scissors and some sacrificial TP.

Tangled Up Elf

Okay, so maybe Elves don’t quite know what to do with floss. That makes this little scene from Elf on the Shelf a real learning opportunity, featuring nothing more than some dental floss and a little sign.

Totally Tubular Elf

An inflatable tube plus a matching scarf and ear muffs are all you need to create an adventurous tubing scene for your Elf. Get creative with some faux snow or even just some draped white fabric to act as the snowy hill.

The post All the Creative Elf on the Shelf Ideas You Need for the Rest of 2022 first appeared on Dornob.

Most kids’ bedroom designs that “grow along with them” transform in some way, often with modular elements that can be dissembled and reassembled into new shapes. It’s unusual for the design to be static and contextually flexible, like “The Room for Small Gulliver” by rhymedesign.

Architect Taka Shinomoto, rhymedesign’s founder, renovated an apartment in Nagoya, Japan to include elements that can shift in function as the clients’ child grows up. Those same elements are also usable by the adults in the house, just in different ways. Central to the design are three gray frames: one incorporated into a massive built-in book shelf, one that’s mobile so it can be moved around the space, and a large nook that frames a bay window in the kitchen.

“As in Gulliver’s Travels and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, bodies of idiosyncratic scales can turn mundane lives into fantasies and dramas,” Shinomoto explains. “The relative body sizes can put the same environment in different perspectives — for adults, chairs are always to sit on, while for children, they could function as tables, desks, and counters. Looking up at the world from below, children find and experience the world in their own ways. As they physically grow, they also develop new relationships with the physical environment.”

The architect continues: “For the Room for Small Gulliver, I designed the three different sizes of gray frames. The largest is installed as a frame of the bay window facing the outside. The smallest is part of the bookshelf. The other is portable; it can be anywhere in the room. I designed them to grow relationships with the child, as his body and mind matures. The nook where his body completely fits can soon become a casual seat. The gate to the closet will not remain as it is experienced today, when the children’s body feels it differently. The portable frame should turn to a counter from a secret capsule in the near future.”

One of the coolest aspects of this design is that the child’s space isn’t separated from those of the adults. It’s actually in the living room, making the bulk of the home shared family space, though the parents do have their own tranquil bedroom for privacy and quiet.

The child’s experience of these spaces will change over time, but his enjoyment is considered just as important as that of the adults. While the shared areas are airy, white, and brightly illuminated, the bedroom is more like a cave, with the walls and ceiling painted a deep forest green that matches the bedding. The entrance to the closet is hidden behind an oversized picture of deer in the woods.

The post The Room for Small Gulliver: An Adaptable Bedroom That Grows Along with Kids first appeared on Dornob.

Since 2019, Etsy has honored the diversity and creativity of their worldwide creators with their Design Awards (aka the Etsies), where judges trawl through applicants’ best work to find the cream of the crop and recognize what’s tops in originality, functionality, and overall aesthetics.

This year, the judges tasked with this seemingly impossible task included fashion designer Jenna Lyons, interior designers Brigette Romanek and Jake Arnold, and Etsy’s own trend expert Dayna Isom Johnson, who, after careful review, narrowed the field to 100 finalists across ten categories. Below are just some of the coolest offerings that emerged victorious; winners that, according to Johnson, showcase and “unearth the most unbelievable and creative talent in our [Etsy] community.”

Grand Prize: Large Modern Wall Hanging by WeAreLunarium

Seller Tim Stephenson’s gloriously oversized wall hanging is a modernist dream come true. A textile masterpiece created with a plethora of materials including plywood, metal, ceramics, wood beads, and of course, tassels, the grand prize winner impressed judges with its “midcentury modern pizzazz.”

Kids Category Winner: Knitted Charcuterie by ColetteBream

Charcuterie boards are a photogenic presence on social media feeds, but this winning gem from ColetteBream proves that the colorfully creative and edible arrays of delicious treats aren’t just for snacking and low-key IG bragging. Here, they take the form of comfy, cozy sausage and salami pillows.

Pets Category Winner: Rectangular Cat House by LiveinIdeals

Etsy is littered (pun intended) with spectacular craftsmanship for pets. This trendy cat house is an iconic example of how shoppers don’t have to sacrifice style for functionality, even for their four-legged friends.

Furniture Winner: Suelo Modern Daybed by BertuHome

Maximalism may be having a moment, but everyone knows that the sleek, simple lines of minimalist mainstays will never go out of style. Enter Gretta Jones’ stylish lounger, the ultimate in hip, relaxing vibes inspired by the designer’s “love of travel.”

People’s Pick: Convex Aura Mirror by SurreyWoodsmiths

As someone once said: “Give the people what they want.” It appears what they want is this curvaceously convex mirror made with a single piece of birch. The people’s favorite of 2022, the sculptural work of art was created by former engineer-turned-furniture maker Jonathan Hitchcock.

Home Decor and Lighting Winner: Extra Large Leaning Wavy Mirror by pedromealha

Mirrors are having a moment — and with this shapely and whimsical offering, it’s easy to see why. Though it’s available in other colors by request, there’s just something about the bright, vivacious bubblegum pink that’s very barbiecore meets dreamy 60s psychedelia.

Kitchen and Dining Winner: Blue and White Ceramic Bowl by SINDstudio

Etsy is a must-visit for those looking to up their ceramics game, so it should come as no surprise that this blue and white beauty from SINDstudio received top marks for its trendy shape and functional yet elevated design.

Etsy has once again proven that they’re the place to go for a seemingly unending array of creative offerings from craftspeople around the world; a showcase of global artisans and a destination for design-forward inspiration, style, and charm.

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Using a helium balloon, a Styrofoam cooler, an extendable rod, and an Insta360 ONE X2 action camera, the students assembled a device that could reach into the limits of the Earth’s atmosphere. During that week of work, educational specialists from Hi-Impact, whose mission is to bring technology and media into the school curriculum, taught the children about how the helium in the balloon expands as the altitude increases (with most reaching a height between 60,000 and 100,000 feet above Earth). They learned how the atmospheric pressure decreases the higher it rises, finally forcing the balloon to burst. They also studied how to predict the flight path of the balloon based on wind forecasts and the size of the payload.

Based in Northern England, Hi-Impact has been visiting schools around the UK for over a decade now, teaching students to construct their own weather balloons and getting them excited about science. Their materials list has adapted over the years to provide better space flights and images of Earth. In particular, the addition of the Insta360 camera has been key to capturing awe-inspiring photos from the planet’s outer atmosphere.

“The 360-degree camera gives Hi-Impact the ability to see everything that goes on during the flight — from the excited faces at takeoff, through the rain as it passes into the clouds, and eventually the blackness of the sky and the burst of the balloon before drifting back down aided by a parachute,” explains Simon Sloan, the company’s Innovation Manager.

After the students launched this year’s balloon, it rose over 80,000 feet high over the course of two hours before popping and falling back to Earth roughly 125 miles from the launch site. The multiple trackers placed on the payload (and monitored by the students) allowed Hi-Impact to easily find the device and collect plenty of data. Thanks to its camera footage, students were even able to watch the balloon explode at the pinnacle of its climb.

While the balloon was certainly short of the 327,000 feet it takes to technically reach space, the St. Bridget’s floating camera was still able to produce professional quality photos of the full curvature of the Earth, complete with a layer of puffy clouds draped over the deep blue oceans. Plus, the Insta360 was able to withstand the extreme temperatures, which fell as low as -49 degrees Fahrenheit on this flight.

This isn’t the first year of weather balloons for St. Bridget’s, either. They began their relationship with Hi-Impact several years ago, and the students have looked forward to the annual event where Years 5 and 6 take control of the launch and run mission control. “This is always an exciting few days for the school,” St. Bridget’s administration says.

The post Elementary Students’ Weather Balloon Camera Captures Stunning Images Near Space first appeared on Dornob.

Part of the inspiration for the peculiar shape was that “the dome is the geometry that involves the minimum surface of the material, as well as working very well structurally,” the architects explain.

The 11.5-foot rounded structure was constructed from horizontal and vertical ribs cut with CAD-CAM technologies. The exterior was then covered with strips of cream-colored upholstery foam for maximum heat capture. “The flexible condition of the material easily adapts to the igloo shape,” notes Muiño.

Strands of steel chains wrap the outside, securing the foam in place and giving the entire dwelling an air of security. The entryway is also draped with a curtain of the same chains, all remnants of previous design endeavors. “This solution made out of individual vertical elements allowed us to adapt to the arch-shaped entrance as a regular door wouldn’t be able to do,” the Barcelona-based architects said.

The inside of the igloo is a cozy winter wonderland. “The interior space has a floor at a height of 90 centimeters (three feet) where the mattress lies, all covered in a white furry carpet ready to be enjoyed barefoot,” Muiño adds. “Below this big bed, there is a space for storing, playing, or hiding.”

Everything inside sticks to the arctic theme. In addition to the polar bear-like material coating the walls, bed platform, and stairs, the arched beams are bound in more cream-colored foam, the bedding looks like swiss cheese, and the lighting gleams in ivory. There are also six globe lightbulbs placed strategically at the top of the dome, simultaneously providing the impression of gazing up to the stars at night and warming the otherwise-cold loft space.

While unconventional as a residence, living in a warehouse provides the couple the freedom and flexibility they desire for immersive designing. “The house-workshop is a 400-square-meter (4,305 square feet) space that can host the installations that we design and produce,” says Luzárraga. “At the same time, the space is being colonized by some domestic spaces that condition it for living. It’s continuously changing depending on the work that we are developing. Some of the pieces stay forever, and some of them are temporary.”

Luzárraga and Muiño founded Takk in 2008 after both earning architecture degrees in Spain. In their own words, their work focuses on “experimental and speculative practices in the intersection between nature and culture, with a particular emphasis on the overcoming of anthropocentrism.” In 2012, the team won the Konecta Foundation prize for social architecture with their “Suitcase House,” an accordion-folding emergency dwelling. In addition to their design work, which has been featured in the 13th Venice Biennale and the first Biennale d’Architecture d’Orléans, the couple currently teach at several universities and institutes around their country.

The post Spanish Architects Craft a Cozy Igloo for Their Daughter’s Bedroom first appeared on Dornob.

At New York’s Trinity School, art educator Bruce Edelstein has spent the last 18 years exploring the creativity of kids with The Grade Three Chair Project. Edelstein leads third graders at the private prep school on Manhattan’s Upper West Side through a process of designing and building their very own chair designs over a school semester. Weekly, hour-long workshops teach the seven to 10-year-old students to come up with creative concepts, sketch them out, and build scale models using paper before getting to the really fun part: construction.

In 2021, the kids came up with some of their most remarkable designs yet. The autumn semester program wasn’t just for third graders last year, but incorporated fourth graders as well, since school was disrupted due to the pandemic in 2020. In a recent interview, Edelstein explained how he adapted the program for the pandemic. Shifting to online learning for the design process was a unique challenge.

“We started by talking about the same ideas, of looking around you seeing that someone created all these things, whether it’s a faucet in your bathroom or a light fixture, that the whole idea of design is something we live in all the time, that they can participate in,” Edelstein says. “I didn’t get as involved with the question of could you actually make it. When we’re making it in wood, there are certain things you have to learn about how to connect the wood, whether it’s glueing and nailing, or using triangles to reinforce things like the leg against the seat.”

The kids got to make their designs a reality when in-person learning recommenced. Clearly skilled at prompting the kind of abstract thinking that leads to exciting designs, Edelstein asked the kids questions about their themes. He encouraged one student who wanted her chair to evoke ballet to think about what drew her to ballet in the first place, taking some of the ideas or shapes that were important to her, and using them in the chair’s form. The result is striking. The student imagined how she would stand in ballet and translated it to the chair, with an arm arched overhead and one leg being in a plié.

Some students focused on utility and pragmatism over artistic flair, combining chairs with other furniture like bookshelves, desks, or storage hooks. Others produced designs that look like the expensive works of renowned contemporary artists. It’s fascinating to see how they ignore the archetypal “chair” shape and simply think about how they want the chair to feel, or to serve them in particular. One unpainted piece twists and turns the basic shapes of the chair to create a one-armed seat with a circular side table. Another is shaped like an easel, another a wheelchair. Some have horns, fangs, and even the open jaws of an alligator as the seat.

“Allowing personal nuances to come out in your work is really important,” Edelstein notes. “And that’s what you see with these kids. They’re very much in touch with their feelings at this point in their lives. They’re not holding themselves back. They’re not editing themselves. They’re not wondering if it’s silly or not. I think as an adult, you look at them and you realize, maybe we can let go a little bit.”

The post What Happens When Kids Design Furniture? A Wave of Inspiring Creativity first appeared on Dornob.

The young patients of Children’s Health of Orange County (CHOC) experienced a little holiday cheer as they got to drive the sporty “Shogo” from their hospital rooms to other parts of the facility.

“Creating Shogo was a labor of love for a group of Honda associates, including team members who…truly understand the importance of easing the stress of a stay for young patients. Over 30 Honda associates poured their passions into bringing Shogo to life, and all in addition to their daily responsibilities, including many long nights and weekends,” said Hundy Liu, Manager of National Automobile Advertising at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. in an interview with Muse.

Officially named Project Courage, Honda’s mini hospital car initiative grew out the company’s longstanding relationship with CHOC. Every year since 2016, the motor company has provided a holiday experience for the facility’s patients, utilizing virtual reality technology to create things like a “Candy Candy Lane” and “The Magic Snow Globe.”

Shogo had been in the works for several years before gracing the CHOC patients. The designers note that “the idea originated in 2019 within the Honda marketing team, and Shogo was created more than a year ago, but the pandemic slowed its trials and introduction.”

The miniature vehicle was built to serve children between the ages of four and nine, giving them the ability to drive using power controls integrated into the steering wheel. Caregivers have the ability to adjust the speed from one to five miles per hour, and they can also manually move the car with the push bar when needed.

For patient comfort and fun, the electric ride-on also comes with a toy bucket in front to bring favorite items along, a horn that plays several sounds, including encouraging messages, and a license plate slot for displaying the patient’s name.

“As someone who spent time in the hospital as a young child, I really wanted the number one objective of our Honda team in developing Shogo to ease the hardship of a hospital stay by providing kids a lasting positive memory about that experience,” said Randall Smock, the company’s Senior Exterior Designer of Vehicles in a recent press release. “Every element of Shogo was designed to accommodate different needs of young children, making it as easy as possible to get in and out, simple to drive, and for the entire experience to leave them a bit happier.”

Shogo, a term based on a Japanese word and intended to mean “soaring into the future,” also facilitates the medical needs of transporting patients. The back includes an IV pole and pump system holder, and the all the surfaces are soft and smooth for easy sanitizing.

“Our team greatly appreciates Honda bringing innovative solutions that support our ongoing commitment to providing an exceptional patient experience and infusing joy into a patient’s stay,” said Brianne Ortiz, manager of the Cherese Mari Laulhere Child Life Department at CHOC. “We were impressed from the beginning when we first saw Shogo, and by the Honda team’s dedication in collaborating with our staff to ensure a vehicle that is perfect – and safe – for our young patients.”

Before its release, the Honda team built a test course inside its research & development facility that replicated the CHOC hallways to make sure the car would be feasible navigating around real patients and staff.

Concluded Liu, “Honda is a mobility company, first and foremost, and creating Shogo demonstrates our pursuit in helping to fulfill the vision of our founder, Soichiro Honda, who said, ‘The purpose of technology is to help people.’ The goal is seeing the smiles on these children’s faces and demonstrating the impact this type of vehicle can have on bettering the lives of these children.”

The post Honda’s Mini Electric Car Brings Cheer to Children’s Hospital first appeared on Dornob.

“Glow brings an entirely new level of fun that lets kids be kids and welcomes grown-ups into an exciting new way to connect and bond, even when they’re far away,” said Joerg Tewes, General Manager of Amazon Glow. “We’ve created an unbreakable, supersized, projected surface like no other, fusing digital and physical fun that excites kids and delights grown-ups with all they can do together.”

Virtually Endless Digital Fun

Topped with a 720p camera, the Glow’s 8-inch display is supposed to hit a sweet spot between the display sizes of a phone and a tablet, easy to perch on the edge of a table during a call. The 19-inch mat works with an array of digital pencils, crayons, paint brushes, and spray paint, along with a “vacuum eraser” when they want to start over. Kids can also choose from thousands of children’s books in the Amazon Kids+ library (which is included free for the first year) and games like Chess, Checkers, Go Fish, and Memory Match.

The ability to scan physical objects to turn them into digital objects is a particularly fun feature. Kids can bring a favorite toy to life, turn it into a puzzle, or reimagine it as a painting. A series of learning kits called “Glow Bits” offers another way to blend the digital world with reality, like the Tangram puzzle game, in which kids use physical shapes while their remote family member uses digital shapes to solve challenges together.

Limitations, Both Positive and Negative

The friends and family members on the other end use a tablet to participate in the activities via the free Glow app. Surprisingly, compatible tablets don’t yet include Amazon’s ultra-affordable Fire, but the company says that will change soon. You also can’t play Glow-to-Glow, so kids in different households trying to play together are going to have very different experiences. Amazon seems to view the Glow more as a way for kids to get enhanced quality time with relatives who live far away, and on that front, it does deliver. Kids tend to get bored quickly on ordinary video calls, but these activities will keep them entertained much longer.

The Glow is for kids ages three and up, and there are activities designed for every age bracket. The Amazon Parent Dashboard lets parents manage approved contacts and view recent calls. The fact that the Glow is so tightly focused on Amazon Kids+ and a limited range of activities is both a plus and a minus. There’s no web browser and therefore no opportunities for kids to wander into inappropriate content, but the fact that the standalone device doesn’t connect to other smart home devices in Amazon’s ecosystem or others can be a limitation. Every participant has to have an Amazon account, too, and the device doesn’t support Bluetooth headsets, ostensibly so that parents can listen in on the conversations.

This device is currently one of Amazon’s Day 1 Editions, which is basically a closed beta program, so it’s unclear when it will be offered for general release or whether it will be a permanent part of Amazon’s offerings. Currently, you have to request an invitation to purchase it on the product page, and due to limited quantities, not all requests will be granted.

The post Amazon Glow Makes Virtual Hangouts More Fun and Interactive for Kids first appeared on Dornob.

Women’s

Columbia Women’s Fast Trek Jacket – $35

The ultimate mid-layer for chilly weather, this fleece jacket is available in thirteen colors and up to a size 3X for $35 (usually $50).

Amazon Essentials Women’s Fleece Pullover Hoodie – $14

Perfect for lounging, working from home, or running errands, Amazon’s super cute pullover hoodie will be a steal at $14 (usually $25).

Goodthreads Women’s Cotton Half-Cardigan Stitch Crewneck Sweater – $25

From basic black to warm marled stripes, this sweater offers a style for everyone. Grab it for $25 (usually $40).

Under Armour Women’s Heat Gear Camo Inset Leggings – $37.50

Whether you’re taking a run or just walking the dog, cold weather will be no match for Under Armour’s HeatGear leggings. Get them for $37.50 (usually $50).

Levi’s Women’s 720 High Rise Super Skinny Jeans – $42

Always a classic, Levi’s high-rise jeans will be available in both standard and plus sizes in an eye-popping variety of colors and finishes for just $41.70 (usually $69.50).

Land’s End Women’s Supima Cotton Turtleneck – $22

Ultra-soft 100-percent Supima cotton makes this pullover turtleneck one of the comfiest pieces in your wardrobe, and it can be yours for just $22 this Black Friday (usually $30).

Adidas Women’s Essentials Fleece Tapered Cuff Pants – $23

Everybody needs a good pair of Adidas sweatpants, and these ones will go down to $23 during the sale (from $45).

Franco Sarto Women’s Bocca Slip-On Loafer – $35

Sleek 100-percent leather slip-on loafers from Franco Sarto will be reduced dramatically to just $35 from $99.

Men’s

State Cashmere Men’s Button Up Mock Neck Sweater – $140

Luxe cashmere makes an impressive gift, and this sweater features 12-gauge knit with the finest cashmere yarn from Inner Mongolia for $140 (down from $175).

Columbia Men’s Buck Butte Insulated Hooded Jacket – $69

Columbia’s Shadow ripstop nylon is paired with synthetic down insulation and an adjustable hood system for a water-repellent jacket that’ll keep you warm. This Black Friday deal will drop to $68.55 from $160.

Amazon Essentials Men’s Full-Zip Polar Fleece Jacket – $16

At just $16 (from $28), you’re going to want to stock up on multiple colors of the Amazon Essential’s full-zip polar fleece jacket.

Goodthreads Men’s Lightweight Merino Wool Quarter Zip Sweater – $28

Merino wool for just $28? Yes please. This quarter-zip layering piece is available in over a dozen colors, down from $40.

Tommy Hilfiger Men’s Adaptive Jeans – $50

Tommy Hilfiger’s Adaptive line makes clothes easy to put on for just about anyone, no matter your abilities. These slightly stretchy cotton jeans feature a velcro brand closure and magnetic fly for $50 (down from $79.50).

Under Armour Men’s ColdGear Leggings – $37.50

Dual-layer fabric with an ultra-warm brushed interior makes these leggings warm as can be, no matter what you’re doing outside this winter. Grab this deal for $37.50 (down from $55).

Adidas Men’s Essentials French Terry Tapered Cuff 3-Stripes Pants – $35

This version of Adidas’ classic 3-stripes pants is made with soft French terry. Get them for $35 (down from $50).

Adidas Men’s Lite Racer Adapt 4.0 Running Shoe – $48.74

So easy to pull on and off, Adidas’ Lite Racer Adapt running shoe features a Cloudfoam midsole for elevated cushioning. Grab them for $48.74 (down from $65).

Kids

Adidas Kids Unisex Running Shoe – $34

Available in toddler, little kid, and big kid sizes and a rainbow of colors, these running shoes from Adidas will go down to $34 (from $60).

Dadawen Boys and Girls Warm Winter Sequin Snow Boots – $13

How adorable are these sparkly bunny ear snow boots? Offered in sizes for both toddlers and little kids, they’ll go on sale for just $13 (down from $26).

Land’s End Kids Hooded Fleece Robe – $10

Weekend mornings were made for watching cartoons in a fuzzy robe like this one from Land’s End, which you should definitely snatch up for just $10 on Black Friday (down from $31.50).

Under Armour Boys’ Threadborne Match Jersey – $27

For sports or everyday wear, Under Armour’s jersey offers style, comfort, and sweat-wicking capabilities. Expect it to go down to $27 (from $35).

ZShow Boys’ Hooded Puffer Jacket – $48

Double zipper closure, a water-resistant outer layer, an inner fleece layer, and reflective strips make this puffer jacket a great choice for $48 (down from $61).

Columbia Girls’ Whirlibird Interchange Jacket – $98

Columbia’s breathable waterproof jacket with Omni-Heat reflective thermal warmth, featuring a zip-in interchange system, thermarator insulation, abrasion-resistant chin guard, and pockets for ski accessories comes in such stylish options you’ll wish they had the same one in adult sizes, too. Expect to see it drop to $98 (from $140).

Levi’s Girls’ Skinny Fit Jeans – $15

The same classic stylish fit that made Levi’s famous is available in girls’ sizes, too, and this pair will be just $15 on Black Friday (down from $27).

Nickelodeon Paw Patrol Pajama Set – $9

Paw Patrol Pajamas for everyone, just $9 on Black Friday (down from $18)! The listing may say they’re for boys, but girls will find a print they love among these options, too.

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The post Shop the Best of Amazon’s Black Friday Clothing Deals first appeared on Dornob.

Here are 10 of Amazon’s coolest Halloween finds to get you in the decorating mood:

Handmade Stained Glass Bat

Now here’s a piece of Halloween decor you’re going to want to keep around for a lifetime. Made by Zanger Glass, this stained glass bat measures about eight by five inches and comes with two hooks and a chain. Hang it in a window to really see that vivid purple glass shine.

Vintage Halloween Mask Garland

If you’re nostalgic for the Halloween of your childhood, this fun paper garland by Rawbone Studio will bring memories flooding back. Made in the USA and double-printed on heavy yardstick, the garland features six-by-five-inch masks strung on seven feet of black and white baker’s twine.

Old Salem Witches Inn Sign

Made of tin, this twelve-by-eight-inch sign is ready to set the mood for your witchy Halloween interiors, but we wouldn’t judge if you decided to leave it up year round.

Witch Fortune Wheel Game

Beistle’s retro-style paper decor shop has all the cutest old-school decorations you could ask for, including this Witch Fortune Wheel Game, which is just begging to be a table centerpiece. Spin the wheel and get your weird, outdated, unnecessarily gendered (but undeniably fun) fortune. One example: “A little witch has picked you out, to prove her mystic powers, and every joy, beyond a doubt, will bring you happy hours.”

Creepy 3D Moving Portraits

Three fairly innocent-looking portraits transform into the creepiest of ghouls as you walk by them. This set of lenticular images measuring about 15 by 10 inches is perfect for hanging on the wall in your Victorian house of horrors.

Trio of Handmade Velvet Pumpkins

From the handmade Halloween store comes this set of three large velvet pumpkins in bronze, fern green, and gold by Your Heart’s Content. Measuring 6.25 inches wide, these classic fall decorations are the perfect thing to set on your mantel until it’s time to redecorate for the winter holidays.

Massive Doorway Monster Face

Want to make a big impact with as little effort as possible? A giant door decal is the way to go. This one includes two slanted bloodshot eyes and a set of bloody fangs to creep up your entryway. It comes in individual pieces so you can custom-fit it to your front door or even your garage.

Black Cat Silhouettes

Striking the ideal balance of creepy and cute, these three troublemakers are ready to haunt your yard. There are lots of black cat silhouettes on Amazon, but these have a little bit of extra detail, and they’re made of metal, so they’ll stand up to weather and repeated uses.

Set of 6 Orange Checkered Kitchen Towels

If you’re the type to change out half of the items in your home every season, this one will appeal to you. Urban Villa’s set of six checkered kitchen towels comes in a wide variety of colors, but obviously orange is the one you want for Halloween into Thanksgiving.

14 Black Taper Candles

Head to the thrift store, grab all the candlesticks you can find, spray paint them black, and then fill them with this economical set of 14 black taper candles for extra atmosphere.

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The post 10 Creepy, Kitschy, and Cute Halloween Decor Finds at Amazon first appeared on Dornob.

Located in the north of Beijing, The Playscape – Children’s Community Center is a 29,000-square-foot facility that aims to inspire kids to move their bodies and interact with each other like previous generations did when more Chinese people lived in intimate neighborhoods rather than huge impersonal cities. Developed by a health care provider specializing in children’s development, the center is designed with five traits in mind: Hide and Seek (group interaction), Adventure Playground (risk), Nook and Cranny (body proportion), Maze (discovery), and Fantasy (imagination).

These spaces encourage kids to play pretend with each other, decide what level of risk they feel comfortable experiencing, understand how their bodies fit within various spaces, be brave and adventurous, and make their own decisions within an abstract landscape with few signs or instructions. The undulating play surface interacts with a system of climbable tubes, stairs, hidden indoor spaces, trampolines, slides, and more. Built around existing trees as well as the old buildings, it completely changes how visitors experience the complex, creating new connections between upper level indoor spaces and the outdoors.

The project uses three main architectural devices – “pipe,” “roof,” and “mound” – to engage kids in creative play. The pipes are seen as armatures arranged as a series of connecting bridges and staircases, as well as slides, safety balustrades, and lighting. The walkable roofs reward kids who exert themselves in climbing to the top with new vantage points, while the mounds hide additional covered play spaces beneath the topography of the space. The architects say much of the design is based on the notion that many play spaces dictate exactly where kids should go and how they should use each element, while the Playscape inspires a lot more freedom and imagination.

“We believe the missing element in a child’s development in a modern Chinese city is chiefly a functioning neighborhood,” explain the architects. “We hoped to create the experience of street play and prioritize the reductions of gizmos and screen time. Drawing inspiration from popular culture of the past and abstracting important identities for our new neighborhood’s character.”

“The Playscape is a tool to promote learning while allowing narrative creation for children to dream and develop senses relating to equilibrium (balance) and proprioception (awareness). Balance is taken for granted until it is challenged. It is our hope that activity-based emotional responses to this built environment and the perceptions harnessed can augment the client’s tools in helping strengthen coordination within the child’s development.”

Judging from photos of the project, The Playscape looks so fun, adults might even be tempted to go explore it themselves, kids or no kids. It’s certainly an imaginative way to reactivate an industrial site that was no longer useful in its previous form.

The post 50-Year-Old Industrial Warehouse Transformed Into an Organic Playscape for Kids first appeared on Dornob.

Tokyo-based Klein Dytham Architecture was tasked with designing the three new cone-shaped buildings full of kid-centric features. With its name translating to “stick up” in Japanese, PokoPoko has a decidedly playful look about it, with each roof pointing in a slightly different direction. The architects wanted it to have a lighthearted feel that drew from organic shapes, including the contours of the nearby mountains.

Each one of the cone-shaped roofs is made of local timber, stretching up to a steel and glass skylight. The architects chose pine lumber skinned with plywood sheets for both strength and visual appeal, while the interior cladding has been dotted with textural knots.

Each cone has its own function. The middle cone hosts cooking activities using fresh ingredients grown on the premises and offers food-related workshops to keep both kids and parents entertained. Features include a giant wood-log pizza oven. The second cone contains a white netted structure allowing kids to climb all the way up to the skylight or dive into a ball pit at the base, enabling playtime even when it’s rainy outside. The third cone is a relaxation zone where parents can get a drink, sit by the fire, or read a book while they keep an eye on their roughhousing children. A ring of glass at the base of each cone offers panoramic views of the woods outside.

“PokoPoko can be both a lively and a peaceful place, seamlessly connecting to the forest outside, making one feel like having spent a day in nature even on a rainy day,” the architects explain. “The project has been an instant success, and the hotel and clubhouse have been in demand as people look too to take timeout from Japan’s cities and head to the countryside for staycations which are conducive to social distancing.”

PokoPoko looks a lot like a larger version of Jikka, a picturesque retirement home by architect Issei Suma designed for a group of women in the rural prefecture of Shizuoka. With its teepee-like design and loads of intelligent accessible features, including a spiraling tub that a wheelchair user can roll right into, Jikka captured the imagination of the world when it made its internet debut in 2016. But, alas, being a private home, it was never going to be open to the public.

If you love that storybook feel and want to experience it for yourself, PokoPoko is the place to go. They’ll be open to the public sometime later this summer, so keep an eye on the resort website to make reservations when they’re available.

The post Fairytale Clubhouse Rises from a Clearing in a Japanese Forest first appeared on Dornob.

There is a method behind the magic of a backyard tree house – and while it is not all fun and games, the construction process can be a participatory educational experience for children as well as an engaging do-it-yourself project for adults. Building a treehouse for kids is a rewarding project that can help refine your DIY skills.

Free from direct attachment to trees, this variant is simple, sustainable and versatile – a plywood-framed box and a set of wooden stilts. It can thus be built and deconstructed as needed, adding safety, too, over a tree-tied version.

Imminently practical (and replicable), Ravnikar Potokar Arhitekturni used standard-sized beams, boards and sheets as well as easy-to-pour concrete footings with off-the-shelf steel anchors for simplicity and stability.

Essential saws and basic carpentry skills make it easy enough for a few (safety-conscious) people to put the whole thing together from scratch, while these plan and section drawings show the basics required to make it all work.

The catch is in the erecting of the prefabricated-on-the-ground framework – one would assume, though, that the stilt supports could be put up first then cross-braces added once they were vertical.

The result: a cool little all-weather reading-room villa, four-season club house cottage and/or lofted play space lodge that is weatherproof, well-lit, modern in style but traditional in materials.

Something based on these specs would make a great little flexible addition to a front or back lawn, garden or forest space, complete with framed views on the front plexiglass facade and little operable hinged-plywood window boxes on all sides.

More from the architects

“The Tree House, designed by Robert Potokar of Robert Potokar Architecture Office and co-designer Janez Brežnik, is a wooden play structure that is elevated without requiring nearby trees to support its weight. The concept, originally designed in February 2008 as since been realized three times. The freestanding, self-supporting house-by-a-tree is a playhouse designed with contemporary design principles, deviating from precedents that model real houses or garden sheds. Instead, the design was guided by the goal of creating interesting and different spatial experiences for children that inspire new forms of play.”

The post Modern Magic: Building a Treehouse for Kids [Plans & Pics] first appeared on Dornob.

Designed by a father who was sick of his couch always being in disarray, FORT comes in six shades of blue, gray, green, and purple, and you can always buy multiple kits and mix them up to make extra-big forts. Keeping in mind the target age range between three and six years old, the magnets are strong enough to hold kid-built structures together, but not too strong for little hands to manipulate (or strong enough to hurt anyone). A non-magnetic option is also available, if that’s your preference. Each piece is light enough that a toddler could pick it up and move it. The faux leather upholstery is also wipeable, unlike most couch cushions, which means the kit can even be used outside on the lawn.

The pieces are big enough for dramatic castles, but that also means they don’t exactly fold down to a compact size for storage. You can assemble them all into a tidy cube, but it will still have to hang out somewhere until you want to use it. That’s where you might as well get creative. You can assemble the pieces into a small kid-friendly couch or other semi-permanent piece of furniture and make it a multipurpose product. Accessories are also available for the FORT, including a strap for carrying the cube-bundle and a microfiber case to turn the whole thing into a giant ottoman.

A description on the pillow fort’s Kickstarter page reads: “Structural and supportive foam that is dense enough to build with but soft enough to knock down without boo-boos! Our foam is made of a flexible polyurethane foam that is compliant with CertiPUR-US product standards. This means it is made without ozone depleters, PBDEs, TDCPP or TCEP flame retardants, mercury, lead and other heavy metals, formaldehyde, phthalates, and is low VOC for healthy indoor air!”

“We take the safety of our children seriously. If I don’t want my kids playing with it, I don’t want yours. That’s why we’ve worked obsessively to make sure the magnets don’t fall out. The magnets are sewn in place with nylon thread in a special pocket, and our leather is super durable.”

This isn’t the first fort kit of its kind. “Squishy Forts” offered a similar project back in 2013, featuring modular components with built-in rare earth magnets. Just like FORT, they piled up into a neat little square when not in use. The difference is that “Squishy Forts” did away with pretensions of being for children and marketed straight to adults. They don’t appear to be available anymore, though, so FORT stepped in to meet the demand. Let’s not pretend you aren’t going to buy this “for the kids,” and then pull it out to play with when they’re asleep (with or without the involvement of tequila). But hey, it’s okay. Live your best fort-building life.

To get one of your own, pledge $219 or more for the non-magnetic version or $259 and up for the magnetic version on Kickstarter, with estimated delivery in September 2021.

The post You’re Going to Want to Steal This Magnetic Pillow Fort from Your Kids first appeared on Dornob.