The Bike Fort Project

"A bike fort?! Yay! But how are we going to make THAT?", Joey and Eli asked.  With a lot of imagination and a plan, these two friends set out to create their very own bike fort.  And they even collaborated on a name,

Introducing..."Mama Lightening Cruiser" (gotta love kids!)

Supplies

2 FortCubes

Washable, Non-Toxic Craft Paint, Paint Brushes

Wrapping Paper Tubes

Foam Piece, Cloth Bands, Gold Paper Tubes, Lids, Tinsel (all found at Arts and Scraps)

Colored Tape, Stickers

1. Outlined the bike wheels with black tape.

2.  Painted the wheels with black paint.

3.  Painted the FortCubes with blue paint (we hadn’t decided this until after we painted the wheels, better as step 1 but creativity is spontaneous!)

4. Found some wrapping paper tubes and painted them orange, for the bike frame.

5. Made our bike chain by looping together colorful cloth bands.

6. The handlebars are made by taping together the gold paper tubes.

7. The tinsel is used for the streamers, and for the spokes on the wheels.

8.  We used a scrap foam piece to create the bike seat, forming it with duct tape and decorating with colored tape and stickers.

9. Attached the lids and added the bike chain around them.

10.  Assembled all of the bike parts.  Done!

Although it doesn’t move by pedaling in the literal sense, these kids thought of an awesome idea to get this bike movin'.  Stay tuned!  -Lindsey

Thanks for reading and being part of our community! 

Kids Day in the Park

NeighborhoodFort was happy to participate in the 2012 Kids Day in the Park. We set up 10 FortCubes for kids to get creative with. What started as a FortCube snake turned into something much different and unexpected. Art supplies on hand included colored tape, markers and recycled packaging. We had a little rain but the kids didn't seem to mind! Kids Day in the Park was hosted by Independence Township Parks, Recreation and Seniors in partnership with Turtle Toys of Clarkston. If you would like to have FortCubes at your next event or kid's party contact us here.

HoodFort at Earth Fair

The 2012 Earth Fair was a huge success! We had a great time and met so many people who are passionate about what they do and making sure they are kind to our environment in the process.

NeighborhoodFort was invited to attend and set up FortCubes for kids to interact with during the 2 day festival in St Clair County, MI. Over the 2 days we set up around 20 FortCubes! Overall the kids had a great time and we enjoyed working with them on their FortCube creations. Visit our gallery to see the results.

About the Festival: Earth Fair is more than a two-day annual wake-up call. It is a catalyst for ongoing education, action and change. Most of us understand that we need to do something, some of us understand what to do, but how many of us are actually taking the steps? It’s time we practice what we preach, so that’s the plan we’re putting into motion with our 10th annual Earth Fair!

We can't wait for next year!

Garden Fort Project: Finished!

Ah, the Garden Fort. What started as a craft project for Eli to create, learn and grow, turned into so much more. The project became an amazing opportunity for us to spend time together, laugh and be silly, and experience a sense of accomplishment together. 

So to finish our garden fort we added: a birdhouse, a snake, a flag with directions to remind Eli how to care for the garden, and the fruits and vegetables (that because of his diligent watering, only took a month to grow). We used recycled paperboard and colored tape to create the birdhouse and snake.

To create the fruits and vegetables, we cut out the shapes from the rest of the fort package. Then Eli painted them and we added velcro to the backs. We removed the seeds and matched up the fruits and vegetables to their correct box. 

We are finished! Well kind of…a list of requests has already started of things to add. For now, we are taking our fort outside to play! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed watching our garden fort grow:) -Lindsey

Want to share your FortCube creations?  Email us, we’d love to hear from you! hello@neighborhoodfort.com

Come See Us at Earth Fair

Come hang with NeighborhoodFort at Earth Fair this year! We will have a bunch of FortCubes set up for kids to interact with as well as have them for sale. We are planning a special earth friendly art activity for the kids to enjoy as well. We hope to see you there!

About the Festival:
Earth Fair is more than a two-day annual wake-up call. It is a catalyst for ongoing education, action and change. Most of us understand that we need to do something, some of us understand what to do, but how many of us are actually taking the steps? It’s time we practice what we preach, so that’s the plan we’re putting into motion with our 10th annual Earth Fair!

Fri, April 27 9a - 5p
Sat, April 28 10a - 4p

Goodells County Park Free Admission & Parking

www.earthdayfair.com