Friday, February 27, 2009

How to make a cootie catcher

Remember Cootie Catchers? Do you know how to make them? I'll try to tell you how, and then you can look online here. This is how you'll know that it's sometimes easier to show something than to describe it.
  1. take a piece of paper
  2. fold one corner to the other side, so you've formed a triangle with a strip of paper underneath. Cut off the strip so when you unfold the triangle you have a square.
  3. unfold the triangle and then fold it in half the other way
  4. unfold and then fold all four corners in so that they meet in the center of the square
  5. now you have a smaller square
  6. turn the square over and fold all four corners in to the center again, so they all meet
  7. turn the paper over again and fold in half
  8. fingers go in the flaps on the back, which billow out to hold your fingers
Now you have a cootie catcher ready to be a fortune teller. Seriously, look here if you didn't get it. (Don't miss the really funny part about how to tell if someone has cooties.)

There are lots of ways to turn this into a fortune teller. I'll give you one and you can experiment with other ways.

On each outside flap write a color. On each inside triangle write a number, one through eight. Then unfold the flaps and write the answer to a question on each one. Some examples: yes, no, maybe, for sure, no way.
Here's how to play:
  1. Have someone ask you a question, such as "will Tommy kiss me?"
  2. Ask them to pick one of the colors on the outer flap.
  3. Open and close the fortune teller once for each letter of the color.
  4. Hold the cootie catcher open and ask the person to pick a number
  5. Open and close the fortune teller that number of times
  6. Ask the person to pick another number. This is the flap you open up for the answer to the person's question.
Fun, right? And totally kid powered. Who needs those magic eight balls?

www.littleacorntoys.com

Remember 'Roy G Biv'

When I was seven years old my science fair project described how rainbows formed. That's an easy one; light is made up of different wavelengths. When white light hits a prism (or nature's prism: water), the light bends. Each color of light bends at a different angle and the white beam spreads out into a rainbow.

In 7th grade art class I was taught how to remember the colors of the rainbow. Mr. ROY G. BIV. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. Yes, there are 7 colors in a rainbow and I was seven when I wrote a science report about rainbows and in seventh grade when I learned the acronym. I suppose when I'm 77 years old I'll run into Mr. BIV and have a chance to shake his hand.

Wouldn't that be super cool?
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http://littleacorntoys.com/

So what would it be?

So, then...IF you woke up in the middle of the night and your house was on fire, what would you take with you? Living things aren't included. Your pets are safe and your family was out for the night. Your important documents--passports, Social Security cards, wallet--are hypothetically safe from the smoke and flames. What would you grab on your way out the door?

My laptop is my number one item. It was expensive and it opened up a new Internet world to me just last November. I'd snatch it and carry it under my left arm.

With my right hand I'd grab as many stuffed animals as I could, in this order: Machias Moose, Meijer Bear, Bobo the bear, and then any other stuffed animals that would fit. I'm still a stuffed animal fanatic, I guess. I'm emotionally attached to them and I love them for the objects they are.

My sticker book could burn because then I'd be free to start over with all new stickers.
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http://littleacorntoys.com/

Thursday, February 26, 2009

I'm Laura

I'm the creator and owner of Little Acorn Toys. I'd like to tell you a little about me, and I'd like to get to know you, too.

The first thing you should know is that I LOVE toys. Not just toys, really, but any object that feels nice in my hand, or looks stunning on my bookshelf, or makes me smile or giggle. I'm a thirty-garbledhandovermouth-year old toy FANATIC. I don't believe adults only sell and buy toys for children. Toys and other playful objects are treasured and cherished by anyone who engages with them. Very often, that person is a grown-up.

You know that question that goes something like, "if your house caught fire, what ONE thing would you take with you?" When I was a kid the only things I cared about were my toys. And I had one specific toy that I cherished over all others. My stuffed raccoon, the one I slept with every night, the one with the mashed-in face and matted 'fur' was my answer. My sticker book was number two.

The toys that last in my memory aren't the fancy or expensive ones. I could have let my remote control dog burn, and my Cabbage Patch doll could smolder. My stereo could melt along with my bag of Barbies and Barbie clothes. My disc-film camera could go along with all the pictures I'd taken with it. If I had to escape fast it was an inert but beloved object I'd take along.

http://littleacorntoys.com/