We sent eight top bloggers a plain white roller shade and challenged them to send us their best creation. See what our crafty friends came up with!
Teachers and parents we know you hear us. You want your kids to learn while they play, but the fancy educational toys can really take a bite out of your budget. With the speed that kids can lose interest in toys, a lot of moms are moving to homemade educational games.
We had so much fun with our last Roller Shade Design Challenge that we had to do it again! This round of top bloggers came up with some incredible, DIY educational toys. Who knew you could do so much with a plain roller shade.
DIY ABC Chart
Angela Bickford made this alphabet poster with adorable printables from Etsy and some Mod Podge. Her almost two-year-olds will be learning letters soon, so she should get few good years of learning out of it.
Angela is a mom of multiples who blogs about parenting, loss, and authenticity at AngelaBickford.com
Stained Glass Number Shade
We knew that Bon Crowder of MathFour.com would make something math-tastic and she didn’t disappoint! She cut pretty hexagon shapes create stained glass windows. She melted crayon shavings and numbers between wax paper for the ‘glass’.
Bon writes about strategies for teaching math and makes math videos from the Math Shack. This numeric window covering is the only thing that could grace the windows of this math-themed backyard club house.
Bon has tapped in to two things we love: melted crayon crafts and honeycomb motifs
DIY Wall Treasure Map
Kelley Grant of The Grant Life let her little ones’ imaginations go wild by making them their very own treasure map. We love that the landmarks are named after members of the family. This would be the perfect Holiday gift for a pirate-obsessed tot.
Kelly shares mouthwatering recipes, craft ideas and parenting tips on her site. We love that she’s a self-confessed avocado addict and has over 100 avocado recipes, even cupcakes!
Wall Mounted Kid’s Play Mat
Bobbie Byrd of The Clumsy Crafter created the perfect place for her Littlest-Petshop-addicted daughters to play with this wall mounted backdrop. Because it’s a roller shade, this mat can roll out when it’s time to play, and roll up when playtime is over. Bobbie says that her daughters have even been filming Littlest Petshop YouTube videos with their new backdrop!
At The Clumsy Crafter Bobbie shares cleaning tips, craft projects, and other sparkly things that her three daughters think are awesome.
DIY Kids Shape Matching Game
Kathy of Sparkles and a Stove has a little guy who’s learning his shapes, so she turned her roller shade into a fun matching game. She painted a silhouette of nine basic shapes on the shade and then attached matching foam shapes with Velcro.
See how much fun her kiddos had:
Kathy shares easy recipes, holiday decor ideas, and stories of her family adventures. We can’t wait to try her Pumpkin Spice Cookies.
Blinds to Spread the Love
Miriam-Nicole Huffman wanted to create a physical reminder of the encouraging words she gives her son every day. With colorful stickers, they created a wall hanging full of the people and things that are important to him.
Miriam-Nicole is a business consultant who blogs about entrepreneurship, family finances and preventing child abuse at MiriamNicoleHuffman.com.
DIY Photo Backdrop
Sara of Sensibly Sara is an avid photographer and review blogger extraordinaire. She used her roller shade to create the perfect place to photograph her favorite products. She used a Cricut cutter to to cut out letters from shiny paper and stuck them on with spray glue. Now, whether she needs to take photos indoors or out, she has a consistent backdrop.
Sara scopes out family friendly travel spots and kid-approved meals to share on her blog, along with much, much more. Read more from her at Sensibly Sara.
Roll-Up Chalkboard Sign
Amanda of arg photographs loves her chalkboard wall so much (especially for photo sessions) that she wanted to make a portable version. She painted her shade with chalkboard paint and created a ‘frame’ with a pencil eraser and white paint. She even turned the shade’s cord into a handy hanger.
Amanda shares recipes, DIYs, and decorating tips on her blog, all with stunning photographs, of course!
Feeling Inspired?
Replicate one of the projects above, or invent your own! What you’ll need is a simple vinyl roller shade.
