Kid Fun!

Cigar Box Art

So, this is a project that I've been wanting to do with my daughter FOREVER!  It's a great rainy day project. I don't know why, but it took me a long time to find marbles (I found a ton of the flat ones but for some reason, it was hard to find round ones- I don't know, maybe I just didn't look hard enough.)  But anyhoo, we are so thrilled with how easy and fun it was! I'm so glad we finally did it! (Riley is still working as I type this.)  

Here is what you will need:

Boxes (cereal, cracker...)

Scissors (to cut the boxes)

Tape (to secure the original bottoms and tops)

Marbles

Bowls

Paint

I found a few boxes from around the house and cut the front out on three sides so it flips open (see picture). You might need to tape the ends of the boxes to keep them from opening.  

Then I cut paper to fit inside the boxes and layered it each box.  Because my girls are young, all we have in the house is finger paint but it totally worked.  We used paper bowls as our pallet and dunked marbles in the paint.  Threw them in the box, close the lid and shake, shake, shake! 

We can't wait to use these as note cards, wrapping paper, framed gifts, wall paper...

The Ultimate Play Dough Recipe

I recently went on the prowl for a really great Play Dough recipe.  I found some that I thought would work but ended up with that crusty film on my hands or oily fingers.  So, I asked Riley's Pre-school teacher if she had a secret recipe that she was willing to share.  She was more than willing- yeah!  We gave it a try and in about 10 minutes we were pleasantly surprised.  It looks and feels like REAL play dough!  AND, I was able to find all the ingredients in the baking isle of our grocery store (a bonus, since our 2 yr old is still eating the stuff.)

Here is the low down:

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1/4 cup salt

1/2 tsp food coloring

1 tbs vegetable oil

1 cup flour

1 tbs alum (The secret ingredient!)

Bring to boil:  1 cup water

                         1/4 cup salt

                         1/2 tsp. food coloring

Remove from heat and add 1 tbs. vegetable oil almost immediately.  Mix in 1 cup flour and 1 tbs alum. Stir and turn out on your counter to cool slightly.  Kneed for five minutes and store in a covered container.

Riley's teacher also had some great suggestions for playing around with this recipe as well. 

Chocolate play dough can be made by substituting 1/4 cup of the flour for cocoa.  Experiment with spices to make gingerbread or pumpkin pie play dough (our 2 year old would love these!)  Add glitter to make it sparkle! The possibilities are endless!


80's Ribbon Barrettes

I was feeling a bit nostalgic the other day and decided to see if I could find a tutorial on how to make ribbon barrettes that could transport me back to the 80's.  I had an existing stash of  super skinny ribbon so I went to my local Target and bought a package of Scunci barrettes.

I found this tutorial through Family Fun and realizing how easy it was, just had to give it a try. My little helper, Riley, picked out the colors for me and waited patiently (sort of) until I was done.  I added a few beads to the ends of a couple of ribbons (I didn't want to add too much weight).  Or you can forget the beads all together and add feathers!