Frozen Water Balloons

Well, I only pinned this idea a year ago... Maybe I am on the ball, because, really, how many things do people pin and how many of those pins do they actually accomplish? (I've never thought about the rate of attempting vs. just saving ideas, but I bet my track record is pretty good compared to most people.) Anyway, this wasn't something that the kids could really help me with, which was a bummer, but we all enjoyed the results. It was just something fun for yet another "snow day," which was really a "way too cold to go to school day and, therefore, you can't go outside and play day" -- of which we have had far too many this year! I lined them up along our porch railing so that we can easily see them from the living room window.

{A row of pretty frozen "eggs" on my porch railing}

Materials:

• water balloons 
• food coloring
• water
• pan to hold balloons (optional)
• scissors (optional)

Directions:

1. Stretch out your water balloon. Add a few drops of food coloring. (I used 3 drops per balloon. I made one balloon for each color of pure food coloring: red, yellow, blue, green, neon pink, neon purple, neon green, and neon blue plus I mixed a few colors. For example, orange = 2 yellow + 1 red.) Tip: Do NOT use regular balloons. Trust me on this. You will just end up with a mess of colored water!
2. Fill the balloon with water. (Mine came from Dollar Tree and the package included a little nozzle to attach to the faucet. It didn't stay well, though, so I secured it with packaging tape. If you decide to do that, have a towel handy! Actually, you may want a towel handy, anyway, since a few of the balloons are bound to leak. We lost two at this stage.) Tie the end of the balloon in a knot.
3. Place filled balloons outside to freeze. This takes a few hours. Be careful not to move them too soon, or they may pop. (This happened to me when I was checking on them about 2 hours later. I figured with the sub-zero temperatures that they might be ready. They weren't. One popped and made a mess on the front porch. I didn't check again for another 4 hours or so just to be safe!)
4. Remove the balloons and display your frozen "eggs." You could use scissors for this. I just peeled them off with my fingers. (Here I lost a couple that had become frozen into the purple puddle from the popped balloon that I moved prematurely. They ended up cracking when I tried to chisel them away with my boot.)

{Neon colors are surprisingly less vibrant.}

NOTE: If you enjoyed this project, you might also like making Colorful Frozen Ice Shapes. On another note, there are just a few days left for the Livingston Parent Journal's fundraising efforts. Please stop by their crowdfunding site and see if there is a way that you can help out! Thanks so much.

Colorful Ice Shapes

I found this idea here and I had been waiting for the right time to give it a try. While this would probably make more sense if I had done it in February, another snow day (third in a row!) was the ideal time for creating these pretty outdoor decorations. Plus, I had heart-shaped molds, so that was what we used. This was simple and fun for the little ones and for me, too. The finished ice molds are quite lovely, and they seem to sparkle and shimmer in the sunlight.

Materials:

• silicone muffin cups (or a candy/brownie mold -- aluminum would also work)
• water
• food coloring
• fishing line (Dental floss will also do the trick!)
• clear tape
• scissors
• cake pan or cookie sheet (optional, but very helpful)

Directions:

1. Cut several lengths of fishing line (or dental floss), one for each mold. Make each one into a loop and then secure it inside the bottom of your silicone (or aluminum) mold using clear tape. Tip: We used 12 heart-shaped muffin cups, so I placed them in a cake pan for easy transport. If you are using a candy mold, you might wish to place it on top of a cookie sheet for the same reason.
2. Add colored water to each mold. We had snow paint at hand, so we didn't need to do any mixing. I just poured some from each bottle into small paper cups so that the kids could easily fill the molds. If you don't already have colored water, just place some water in each mold and then add a drop or two of food coloring to each one. Tip: I don't recommend filling them more than 2/3 of the way if you are using muffin cups. Full cups were a bit bulky and took considerably longer to freeze than the ones that were only 1/2 - 2/3 full. 
3. Place your molds outside to freeze. (Alternatively, you can put these in your freezer, but with cold winter temps, it just made more sense to use the outdoors.) The shallower ones were set up in about 3 1/2 hours, while the fuller cups were done in about 6 hours.
4. Remove the colored ice from the molds. With silicone, it is simple to just peel the mold away from the ice. For aluminum, it may be easier to run some warm water on the bottom of your pan to help release them. Remove and discard any left over tape.
5. Hang your colorful ice shapes outside and admire them! 

3-Ingredient Homemade Face Paint

Today was our second snow day in a row and it seemed like as good a time as any to test out this recipe for homemade face paint that I had seen here. (I've mentioned it before, but I love trying out new paint recipes, so I am always up for new ideas.) It was simple enough since it only called for three ingredients, all things that I keep in the pantry. These face paints were quick to make, and easy to apply with a regular paint brush.

{She requested a colorful bird on one cheek.}

I know some folks may be concerned about the safety of food coloring, but personally, I see no problem with applying it externally, especially since they kept it on for only a short time. I can't tell you how long it lasts since the kids got bored with their painted designs before they were even completely dry! I can tell you with certainty, though, that this face paint wipes away readily with nothing more than a damp cloth, so it gets high marks for that alone! Feeling optimistic, I covered my muffin tin with saran wrap and popped it in the fridge to try again another day...

{Yes, it's that easy to make face paint!}

Materials:

• 1 tablespoon shortening (I used Crisco)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• food coloring (I used 1-2 drops per color)
• mini muffin tin (or similar, to hold paints)
• bowl and spoon/s for mixing
• paint brush (or sponge, for paint application)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the shortening and cornstarch, and mix until smooth.
2. Spoon into the compartments of a mini muffin tin (or other containers, such as bowls.) I made 6 colors total, so I used all the sections of my tin. If you only want one color, you can skip this step.
3. Add food coloring. Spoons work well for blending the food coloring into the shortening/cornstarch mixture, and can be quickly wiped clean between colors. (I used 1 drop of each of the following: red, yellow, green, and blue. For orange, I combined 1 drop red + 1 drop yellow. I planned to make purple with 1 drop blue + one drop red, but wound up with gray instead. Weird! For purple, I would try the neon purple food coloring, straight up, next time.) 
4. Apply face paints to clean, dry skin. To remove paints, use a damp cloth. Soap was unnecessary for us.

{Color mixing snafu = adorable puppy face!}

Homemade Peppermint Bath Salts

A while back we made bath salts at a MOPS meeting, which I thought were great! After getting the link to where the idea originated, I decided to make more of my own, some of which we are giving as gifts. I'm very happy with how this year's teacher gifts turned out. They look pretty, they smell wonderful, and most importantly, they have been test-driven and given two thumbs up by this mama.

To get started, I chose three different scents: peppermint, orange, and lavender, and I found the essential oils at a nearby health foods store. Why did I choose peppermint oil for the gifts? Well, it is currently vying as my favorite fragrance of the three types of bath salts that I made. Orange is on top at the moment, but peppermint seemed like the obvious choice for Christmas. Plus, it has lots of health benefits like alleviating muscle soreness as well as stress, improving circulation, helping ease congestion, and promoting energy and alertness. These are all the curative properties that I will personally attest to. Peppermint essential oil is also said to help curb appetite, just by inhaling the scent, so that may be an added bonus I have not noticed yet. At any rate, these bath salts are a perfect no-calorie indulgence during the crazy-busy holiday season.

{Easy Christmas gift idea!}

Ingredients: (Makes enough to fill 2 half-pint mason jars)

• 3/4 cup Epsom salts 
• 1/2 cup coarse sea salt 
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• food coloring (I used 10 drops of red.)
• essential oil (The original recipe calls for 8 drops, but I found this to be much too faint once I got into the tub, so I have doubled it for the gift batches.)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients. (If making gifts for teachers, kids can help pour the ingredients.)
2. Add essential oil and food coloring*. (Kids may be able to help with this step. I helped Logan count out the food coloring, but I added the essential oils myself.)
3. Use a spoon or whisk to mix it all together. (Kids may help with this step, too as long as they don't stir to roughly.)
4. Store in an air-tight container. (It will clump together somewhat after time. This happens to store-bought bath salts as well, so I don't see this as a problem.)
5. Enjoy your bath salts or package them up and give as gifts. 

*Notes about food coloring:

• Food coloring is optional, and mainly just for presentation. 
• Once diluted in the bath, you don't need to worry about it staining your skin.
• When I made orange scented bath salts I used a combination of 3 drops red and 5 drops yellow to make orange. 
• For the lavender bath salts, I used 8 drops of neon purple food coloring. 

Notes on Where to Purchase:

• The best deal I have found for Epsom salts is at Sam's Club, but they are very reasonably priced and can be found near the first aid section of any grocery store.
• Coarse sea salt is found in the baking aisle. I have also used natural sea salt, which has smaller grains that don't look as much like the bath salts you might purchase, but it's a bit cheaper and it works the same.
• My essential oils came from a natural foods store, but you can also find them online.
• Lavender essential oil was the most expensive at $8.79 for a 0.5 ounce bottle, followed by peppermint oil at $8.29 for a 0.5 ounce bottle, and the least expensive was the orange essential oil, which was only $3.99 by comparison. (That may sound pricey, but since you will only use a few drops at a time, a bottle of essential oils will last a long time, so I look at this as a good investment.)

How I packaged my gifts:

1. First, I filled each half-pint mason jar with bath salts.
2. To make tags that read "Peppermint Bath Salts," I downloaded this free font. I put it in 24 pt. font, switched the color to red, and printed it so that I got 8 per page (in portrait layout). Then, I used plastic templates to cut them out, and then layered them on top of oval cut-outs of red card stock (which I made with another template.) I adhered the layers and then added a gold eyelet.
3. I used a glue dot to affix the bamboo spoon to the jar.
4. I cut a 21" length of red and white bakers twine, which I wrapped around the jar twice before tying on the tag.
5. Then, I added a red card stock circle to the top of the jar and topped it off with a cute peppermint button, which I bought a few years back from Oriental Trading, attached with another glue dot. 

DIY: Watercolor Paints

This recipe was one I first saw on Pinterest. Found here originally, this will make enough watercolor paint to fill 6 egg carton cups. If you want more colors, you can double the quantities, or just put less into each egg cup. I would probably just put less in each cup, since the yield for each color was quite a lot, considering that these are watercolor paints. This recipe is an easy and inexpensive way to make paint at home, and it's the first recipe I have seen for a true dried cake watercolor recipe. More importantly, it works!

{Trying out our watercolor paints}

Materials:

{Paint AFTER Setting Overnight}

• 4 Tbs baking soda
• 2 Tbs vinegar
• 1/2 tsp corn syrup
• 2 Tbs corn starch
• liquid food coloring
• empty egg carton
• mixing bowl
• spoons/skewers/popsicle sticks for stirring
• something to protect work surface
• paper 
• paintbrushes
• small container of water

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine baking soda with vinegar and wait until fizzing stops. 
2. Add corn syrup and cornstarch and mix. (Note: The original directions I found said until a "uniform consistency" but I found it glue-like on the top, and paste-like on the bottom, which is not what I would call "consistent" but it worked for me.)
3. Pour into egg cartons. You can pour it in without measuring, but I wanted to know quantities, and I found that one egg cup would hold 1 tablespoon of the paint mixture. Tip: For some reason our egg carton was leaking, so I quickly moved it on top of a cereal box liner (like free "wax paper"). I suggest covering your work surface before pouring the paint mixture into your egg cups to avoid leaks.
4. Add food coloring to each cup and carefully stir to mix. Tip: I tried using a spoon for this, but I found that it was sloshing the colors from one egg cup to the next. Then, I switched to a skewer, and had much more control. I used 5 drops each for red, yellow, blue, and green. To make orange, I combined 2 red + 3 yellow (this came out redder than I was hoping for, so maybe it needs more yellow) and purple was just plain odd. At first I combined 2 red + 3 blue and wound up with black! Then, I added 3 drops of neon purple and that combination made the nice deep violet that I was after.
5. Allow paint to set overnight. A couple of the colors had a little moisture on top when we used them, but this is okay.
6. Use wet paintbrushes to apply to paper. Tip: We used card stock, which worked fine, but watercolor paper is recommended. Thick paper is ideal. Tip: Paint shirts/smocks/old clothes are always my suggestion for painting with kids.
7. This paint dries quickly, which is nice because you can hang the paintings up much sooner than with other paints we have tried. Also, Mia liked that she could apply it thickly and get 3-D effects, not something that is normally achieved with watercolor paints. The colors do fade once they dry, but that is typical of watercolors, so I was not surprised by this.
8. This paint should keep for awhile, but with food type paints, it is hard to tell. (Note: Since I have the problem with the egg carton that is leaking, I am keeping mine on top of the cereal box liner for now. I may have to apply tape to the bottom in the future so that I can move this from my counter into our regular art supplies storage.)

{Finished Paintings}

DIY: Air-Dry Clay

Since we have enjoyed making oven bake clay, it made sense that we would like this recipe, too. When I saw it on Pinterest labeled as a "Model Magic" type clay I was intrigued. I have always wanted us to try out the Model Magic, but I had never wanted to pay for it. So, as you can imagine, I was pretty happy to find out how easily it can be made at home. Plus, I am always looking for more fun things to do with food coloring. You can also paint this clay after it hardens, I am told, but I have not tried that since I wanted to experiment with the food coloring.

We made this batch of air-dry clay back at the end of March, so it easily will last you 2 weeks if kept in an airtight container. I made some final beads with the last of this clay 3 weeks after mixing it up, and decided to bake it, which had mixed results. The pink came out very well after I sprinkled a small amount of corn starch onto a cereal box liner and started rolling it out. The purple, however, was very moist, and several additions of corn starch did not seem to remedy this. Undeterred, I made beads with both colors because I truly wanted to know how long this stuff would keep.

I also decided to try baking the beads since I realized the recipe was very similar to this one for Bright White Clay Dough (same ingredients, different proportions), which I had also seen on Pinterest. So, I baked my last few beads on a parchment-lined cookie sheet at 175 degrees for 2 hours, flipping half-way through the baking time. Then, I let them cool in the oven. The pink beads turned out great, and as expected, the purple beads did not. Although they firmed up and were functional, the color had turned a putrid shade of brown, so in the end, I tossed them out.

So, my final conclusions are that a) This recipe definitely works for making an air-dry clay cheaply and easily at home! b) You can also bake this clay, if you prefer not to give up counter space for a couple of days while it hardens. c) Food coloring will work for this clay. Colors fade after they dry/are baked, but that is to be expected. d) Clay will keep for 2-3 weeks in an air-tight container.

{Mia's sculptures + some purple beads, BEFORE drying}

Materials:

• 2 cups baking soda
• 1 cup corn starch
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• food coloring (optional)
• large pot
• spoon
• bowls (1 per color, if making more than one color)
• damp dish towel (1 per bowl) 
• optional clay tools: rolling pin, cookie cutters, straws, knife, rubber stamps
• container to keep clay (if not planning to use it all right away)

Directions for Making Air-Dry Clay:

1. Combine baking soda, corn starch, and water in a large pot. If desired, add food coloring. (Note: I actually divided this into 2 half batches in 2 different pots and added neon pink food coloring to one and neon purple food coloring to the other, 5 drops per batch.)
2. Cook on medium heat, stirring almost constantly until the mixture forms a mashed potatoes-like consistency.
3. Place clay into a bowl (I used 2 since I had 2 colors) and cover with a damp dish towel. Allow clay to cool.
4. Knead the clay until it is smooth. If damp, add a little corn starch. Tip: We did this on top of a cereal box liner (free "wax paper") and it worked very well to keep the counter clean. Plus, the clay didn't stick to the surface.
5. Make things with the clay. You can make free-form sculptures like Mia did. (Note: Parts of her sculptures did start to fall off and I don't know if that is because of the material or because of how she made things.) I chose to make beads. Another option that we didn't try this time around is making ornaments/tags by cutting with cookie cutters, using rubber stamps for designs, and punching a hole for hanging using a straw. How To Make Beads: 1) Roll clay into coils. 2) Slice segments with a knife. 3) Use a straw to punch a hole all the way through the clay.
6. Set aside to dry in a safe location. I found that this takes about 48 hours. 
7. Store extra clay in an air-tight container. I used old Cool Whip tubs, not at all fancy, but perfectly functional. As I mentioned, this clay still worked fine after 2 weeks, but only some of it turned out after 3 weeks, so that gives you an idea of how long it will last.

{Here are the oven-baked beads: 1 purple and 3 pink}

Homemade Bouncy Balls Experiment

Yesterday, we tried what was essentially a science experiment: attempting to make homemade bouncy balls. I found the idea on Pinterest. The only possible problem was that this blogger's directions very clearly stated that Elmer's Glue-All must be used, and I only had Elmer's School Glue on hand. So, I checked our local Wal-mart, but they were all out of the Glue-All for some reason. Then, I had the idea that Aleene's Tacky Glue is probably pretty similar to the consistency of Elmer's Glue-All, so I decided it was worth a shot.

The bouncy balls ended up being the right size, shape, and consistency, I believe. They bounced just a bit, which I think is the desired effect. I can't say for certain, since I did not try it with the Glue-All, but I think this worked as well as could be expected for homemade bouncy balls. Obviously, we could not expect them to bounce as high as store-bought balls. I think Mia was a tad disappointed by this because she said, "It just bumps a little bit." However, this provided some spring break entertainment without breaking the bank, which was what I was looking for in an afternoon activity.

{Finished Bouncy Balls}

{Bowl #2: BEFORE Mixing}

Materials:

• 2 Tbs warm water
• 1/2 tsp Borax
• 1 Tbs Aleene's Tacky Glue (or Elmer's Glue-All) not regular glue
• 1 Tbs corn starch
• 2 bowls
• spoons for mixing
• food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1. In the first bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of warm water with 1/2 teaspoon of Borax. Stir to dissolve. There will be some powder that does not fully dissolve. Add desired food coloring and stir to mix. Kids can help with mixing, and also with adding food coloring, if you are comfortable with that. Tip: If you are unfamiliar with Borax, it can be found in the laundry aisle of your grocery store. I bought mine at Meijer for $3.42 and it has lasted me well over 2 years, so it is very affordable. It has lots of practical uses including making homemade cleaning solution (which I use to clean practically everything), homemade laundry detergent (which I use to wash all laundry except for diapers), and growing crystal snowflakes.
2. In a second bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of Aleene's Tacky Glue (or Elmer's Glue-All, not regular glue) with 1/2 teaspoon of the Borax mixture from the first bowl. DO NOT MIX! Let it stand for 15 seconds, then stir the mixture until it is too thick to continue stirring any longer. This is a bit harder for little hands, so probably will need to be done by an adult.
3. Using your hands, quickly roll the mixture into a ball. Kids can help with this step. Allow it to harden. We let ours set for about 30 minutes before playing with them. (You may not need to wait that long, but I wasn't sure.)
4. Try out your bouncy ball. Have fun, but don't expect it to perform like a regular store-bought bouncy ball!
5. You can repeat step 2 as many times as you like while you still have the mixture from step 1 available. We made two balls, one per child, but there was enough left over to make several more.

   

   {Forming the Bouncy Ball}

{Trying out the Bouncy Ball}

25 Fun Things to Do with Food Coloring

Last month at a MOPS meeting, we were discussing activities to keep kids busy in order to beat those winter blahs. After ideas such as homemade play dough, snow paint, bathtub paints with shaving cream and food coloring were discussed, my friend Liz said, "I really need to invest in some food coloring because I don't own any!" And, I thought, Wow! What a great idea for a blog post! Everyone should have food coloring at home. It's very affordable. Last I saw, it was just $2.00 for a four-pack at Kroger. Now is the time to buy this since it will be on sale before Easter. Food coloring is also super versatile. Aside from dying Easter eggs, there are many, many fantastic, fun, kid-friendly things to do with it all year-round. Here are 25 projects that we have tried using liquid food coloring:

Painting Projects:

1. Bubble Painting
2. Condensed Milk Painting
3. Corn Syrup Painting
4. Dish Soap Painting
5. Egg Yolk Painting 
6. Shaving Cream Paintings like cupcakes, shamrocks, or rainbows or the Lorax Moustache on a Stick.
7. Spin Art

Homemade Art Supplies:

1. Basic Play Dough
2. Bathtub Paint 
3. Finger Paint
4. Glitter Play Dough
5. Oven Bake Clay
6. Puffy Paint

Hands-On Activities:

1. Coffee Filter Carnations
2. Dyed Carnations
3. Dyed Pasta for beads, crafts, sensory bins, etc.
4. Dyed Rice for sensory bins, crafts, etc. 
5. Fizzy Fun 
6. Wave Bottle

Outdoor Fun:

1. Sidewalk Chalk
2. Sidewalk Painting
3. Snow Painting

Someone's in the Kitchen with Mama:

1. Rainbow Cupcakes
2. St. Patrick's Day Cookies 
3. Tie-Dyed Eggs

Homemade Sidewalk Chalk Experiment #3

The third time's a charm, right? I think that I did, in fact, nail it this time. My first sidewalk chalk experiment was successful, but time-consuming due to the large size of the chalk. Also, I was concerned that the cost of the powdered tempera was a deterrent for some people. I wanted to find a more cost-effective solution that would also allow me to mix colors as I pleased. Then, I thought about the second experiment, and how it was good for color mixing, just not setting up as "chalk." I realized there must be a way to combine the Plaster of Paris from experiment #1 with the food colors from experiment #2 in order to get the best of both worlds. So, I looked online to see if anyone had done this before. Bingo! I found directions from this blogger, who also happened to share my dream of making shaped sidewalk chalks.

I used approximately 2 1/2 bags of Plaster of Paris mix. The box contained 4 bags and cost about $4 at Wal-mart. After two go-rounds, I made a total of 22 egg-shaped chalks, which works out to under 12 cents apiece if you are only taking into account the cost of Plaster of Paris. (I did not try to figure in the cost of food coloring. If you don't have some, get it because it is a super craft investment. Today, I saw that it was on sale at Kroger and 2 boxes were only $4.) This is comparable to the cost of store-bought sidewalk chalk, and this gives you the bonus of making it whatever shape you like! You can see that my egg-shaped chalks nest very nicely in a re-used egg carton. Wouldn't that make a cute gift for some of your favorite little people? So, now that I know how to make chalk with this method, I am way more excited by homemade chalk, and I can actually see myself doing this again and again.

{Homemade egg-shaped sidewalk chalk! Just in time for Easter!}

Materials:

• molds (I used 2 Jell-o Jiggler egg-shaped molds.)
• 1 cup Plaster of Paris
• 3/4 cup water
• container to mix in
• spoon
• funnel
• food coloring
• cake pan (optional)

Directions:

1. In a container (preferably something you aren't worried about "ruining"), mix 1 cup Plaster of Paris with 3/4 cup water. Tip: I used an old margarine tub.
2. Add several drops of food coloring. You can use any color or combination of colors that you like. For my first batch I used 15 drops of yellow. Stir until color is well blended.
3. Snap together your egg-shaped molds (or whatever molds you have -- I have not tried it, but I am sure you could do this in muffin tins, cake pop pans, or even Dixie cups. Or try toilet paper tubes as I did in experiment #1.) Tip: If desired, set the molds in a cake pan or on a cookie sheet to help catch the inevitable drips and dribbles.
4. Using a funnel, pour your Plaster mixture into the egg molds (or whatever mold you are using). Once filled, tap to get rid of air bubbles. I found that one batch filled about 3 and 1/2 of my egg cups. Tip: A skewer was occasionally helpful for getting some of the lumpier bits to pass through the funnel.
5. Set aside to firm up. You can remove from the molds after 24 hours. Tip: I used a butter knife to help loosen up the edges of the molds in order to get them open. Then, let them continue to air-dry for about another 48 hours before using the sidewalk chalk.
6. Repeat as desired. The first time I made these sidewalk chalks, I did three batches: yellow (15 drops), blue (15 drops), and green (15 drops). Once the molds were emptied and cleaned out, I made 3 more batches: orange (8 drops yellow + 7 drops red), red (20 drops), and neon purple (10 drops).
7. Enjoy your shaped sidewalk chalk! Note: In the photo, you can sort of see how my original batches have some color that has sort of risen to the tops as they dried. I am not sure why, but I don't think if affects how well the chalk work. The colors appear to be distributed throughout the whole chalks, and more importantly, I tested these out and they work beautifully! Plus, they are not dusty.

Basic Homemade Play Dough

We make a lot of play dough at our house. It's great stuff and I very much prefer it to store-bought play dough. My Little Man really loves homemade play dough, and he will spend an hour or more at a stretch playing with it. He also likes to help out in the kitchen, so this is a good activity that we can do together. Since his big sissy is sick and had to stay home from school today, I decided we should make a couple of batches of basic play dough for gift giving. He enjoyed helping me pour the ingredients, and once the play dough was packaged up, he got out our most recent batch of Kool-Aid* Play Dough and continued with the quiet play. (The quiet part was pretty important since Mia had fallen asleep on the sofa, and after getting sick several times during the night, I thought that she really needed some uninterrupted sleep.) But, I'm getting off topic.

The point is that play dough is super easy and quick to make at home with a few basic kitchen ingredients. The only item you may not necessarily have on hand is cream of tartar, which you can find in the spice aisle of your local grocery store for under $5. I recently decided to see how far one canister of cream of tartar will go, so I have been making tally marks on it each time we make a batch of play dough. I have used a few different recipes, each of which calls for varying amounts of cream of tartar, so it is hard to say how many total batches you could for sure get. I am up to 5 batches so far and there is about 1/3 of the canister remaining. I think that is pretty reasonable. I've lost track of where I originally found this recipe, but it's a good basic one.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 Tbs. cream of tartar
• 1 cup water
• food coloring
• 1 Tbs. cooking oil

Directions:

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a pan. Kids can help pour or measure and pour, depending on their age and ability.
2. Mix the desired amount of food coloring in with a cup of water* and add to the pan along with the oil. Kids can also help with this step. (Note: Being hopeful that we will be having spring weather very soon, I used our bottles of left over snow paint for this, blue for the first batch, and green for the second. Then, I decided to add about 5 additional drops of food coloring per batch.)
3. Cook the mixture on medium heat until a ball forms. Spoon the play dough out onto a counter top to cool. Tip: Waxed paper helps keep your counter from getting sticky or stained, so you may want to tear off a piece and place it on the counter first.
4. Once the play dough has cooled, knead it until it is soft and pliable. *If you want, you can also choose to add the food coloring during this step instead of step 2 along with the water.* Both ways work, but the advantage of adding it along with the water is that it is less likely to stain your hands. The advantage of adding it later is that you can add just a small amount at first, and then add more until you get the color saturation you are looking for, which is a little harder to do when you are diluting it in water.
5. Play dough will keep for several weeks in an airtight container. Tip: My current favorite storage containers are left over peanut butter jars. Cool Whip tubs also work, or you can use zippered baggies.

 A Few Notes on Homemade Play Dough:

• Although play dough is non-toxic, you should watch kids to make sure they do not eat it. I don't think they would eat too much, however, as it is quite salty.
• Keep this play dough away from pets. Trust me, our dog has eaten enough of it for me to tell you that the salt content will always make them sick. While this isn't harmful in the long run, it's no fun to be cleaning up vomit.
• If you're worried about messes, you can have kids play with the play dough on wax paper, cutting boards, or vinyl place mats or tablecloths.
• You do not need to buy any special play dough tools. Kitchen forks, spoons, and butter knives are all fun to play with. Rolling pins and cookie cutters are a perennial favorite at our house. My kids also like those little tracers/stencils that they get as party favors. We also use kitchen toys like pastry cutter, pizza cutter, and a little muffin tin. They also enjoy making impressions with things like bottle caps and toys (You only have to worry about play dough getting caught in things like Hot Wheels tires, but it's not really a big deal. It eventually dries and falls out or can be picked out.) We even have a few sandbox toys that have made it in with our play dough toys. So, really just about any thing you or your kids can think of could potentially be a play dough tool.
• If you don't have cream of tartar, or you don't want to buy it, here is another recipe that we have used, which calls for powdered alum instead. (Again, you would find that in the spice aisle.)
• If you want your play dough to have a little extra something, try making glitter play dough.
• If you want play dough that smells fantastic or has has vibrant color without the addition of food coloring, try Kool-Aid* play dough.
• Homemade play dough makes a terrific gift! I just package it up in one of my old peanut butter jars, print off the recipe (all of which I have saved in Microsoft Word, so that I can get three per page), trim it down with my paper trimmer, and adhere it to the jar using clear Con-tact paper. I make sure that the recipe covers up that last bit of sticky label residue that never wants to come off without more elbow grease than I am willing to employ. Then, for a little something extra, I tie on some inexpensive plastic cookie cutters. I recently found packages four spring-shaped cookie cutters for $1 in the impulse buy section of Target, so I bought several of them and set them aside for gifts. In the past, I have found 6-packs of plastic cookie cutters at Dollar Tree, so I also check for them whenever I am there.

Condensed Milk Painting

Yesterday, we tried out some condensed milk paintings. I saw this idea on Pinterest, but it comes from ECE Made Easy. I think we have tried making our own paints with just about everything that I have heard of, so we definitely had to give this one a whirl. I am so glad we did! It was lots of fun and we ended up with some neat results. They started off trying out different sized paintbrushes, including foam, and regular bristle brushes, and quickly switched over the finger painting, which is when things got really exciting. Mia came up with a paint dribble technique reminiscent of Jackson Pollack. And Logan, eventually learned that when he mixed all the colors together, it produced black. This paint produces colors that are glossy and vibrant. They are also very 3-dimensional, sitting well off of the paper's surface. All of these characteristics, reminded me quite a bit of when we did corn syrup paintings.

Even though it was messy to do, the condensed milk cleaned up easily with a damp washcloth (for the kids) and a damp sponge (for the table). So, please don't let the mess factor frighten you. This was pretty affordable. I only needed to purchase condensed milk, which was about $1.60 for the can. We ended up with 10 or 11 paintings total, and there was still some paint left, although as I mentioned Logan's had been mixed to the point of muddiness. Unfortunately, like the corn syrup paintings, since they are made from food, I don't see them lasting long term. Some of the paint was applied quite thickly, so it had to dry overnight. Now, it appears to have small white spots all over, which may be mold. However, it was a cool experience to do with young kids! I would recommend that you do it for the process, not the product.

{Condensed Milk Painting by Mia, Age 6}

Materials:

{The "Palette"}

• can of condensed milk
• food coloring
• mini muffin tins
• spoons for mixing (1 per color)
• paper
• paintbrushes (optional)
• vinyl tablecloth or something else to protect work surface
• old clothes/smocks are suggested
• cookie sheets (optional) 

Directions:

1. This is a messy project, so protect your work surface and make sure the kiddos are wearing old clothing or paint smocks. Mine wear designated "smocks" which are just old t-shirts of mine whenever we do stuff like this. Also, you may want to have a damp cloth on hand for cleaning children and a damp sponge for cleaning your table.
2. Pour some condensed milk into your containers. We used 12-cup mini muffin tins, which worked very well. You could also use bowls, cups, plates, Styrofoam trays, or ice cube trays. Tip: If doing this with more than one child, make it easier on everyone and give each child his own container.  
3. Add a few drops of food coloring to each container of condensed milk and mix it up. I used about 3 drops per muffin cup. Tip: I knew that I had to use separate spoons to avoid color contamination. So, to make it easier on myself, and to keep from going through all of the spoons in the house, I gave both kids the exact same colors and systematically mixed them one color at a time. So, I mixed red for one child and then used the same spoon to mix red for the other child. Then, I got a new spoon and mixed the blues, and then I got a new spoon to mix the greens, and so on. I still went through 12 spoons, but this was smarter than using 24 spoons!
4. Give the kids some paper and paintbrushes and let them create. Or, if you are don't mind, let them paint with their hands. We tried using cardstock, finger paint paper, and construction paper. I think all of these papers worked fine, so you should be able to do this on most any type of paper that you have on hand, especially since you are doing this for the experience, not the final product. Tip: You can first lay the paper on a cookie sheet, if you want. It won't contain all of the mess, but it will help.
5. Lay the paintings flat to dry. You should then be able to display them for a few days. Note: I am hoping to shellac a few to see if this will preserve them, but I don't know if it will work.

{Painting with a foam paintbrush}

{Perfecting her splatter technique}

{Condensed Milk Painting by Logan, Age 3}

How to Dye Rice (for Crafts or Sensory Bins)

You may remember this recent post about how to make your own Seek 'n' Find Bottles. Well, here are some basic directions for dying rice to include in these activity bottles or to use in sensory bins. (I know, I know, I kind of put the cart before the horse, but what can I say? I was totally geeked to post the activity bottles! Anyway, now I am finally getting around to including the instructions to actually dye the rice.) I had never actually dyed rice until I heard about it at a MOPS meeting a few weeks ago, and now I am wondering why I had not done this sooner. I found these directions that we used from Totally Tots. Rice is super inexpensive, it absorbs food coloring and dries quickly, and oh my goodness -- do the kids ever love it! (Okay, honestly, you don't even need to color it. Kids will enjoy playing with plain old rice, but these directions are handy just in case you want to jazz it up a bit!)

{Rice Dyed with Neon Food Coloring}

Materials:

• rice
• food coloring
• rubbing alcohol
• bowls (one per color)
• spoons for mixing (one per color)
• measuring spoon (I used a teaspoon.)

Directions:

1. Pour your rice into bowls, one per color of rice you wish to dye. The first time I did this, I used 4 bowls because I planned to make 4 different neon colors of rice. So I just took my 5 pound bag of rice and poured out what I thought were about equal amounts of rice into each bowl.
2. Add a few drops of food coloring to each bowl. I used about 10 drops per bowl. You can always start with less and increase the amount as desired.
3. Add a small amount of rubbing alcohol to the bowl, and stir to mix it all up. I used 1-2 teaspoons to get the desired effect I was after. Kids can help with the stirring. Why rubbing alcohol? Rubbing alcohol is the "magic" ingredient that makes the food coloring dry super fast. Really! I started the process while my Little Man watched an episode of Diego, and it was completely dry and ready for play by the time the show ended. Plus, once it evaporates, the smell dissipates and you are left with pretty rice that should be safe enough for little ones. Just make sure they are not eating huge quantities of it, and you should be fine. Note: This amounts of rubbing alcohol and food coloring will vary according to the amount of rice you are dying. The second time I did this, I only made 3 colors from a 5 pound bag of rice so it ended up being about 20 drops of food coloring per bowl and 3 teaspoons of rubbing alcohol.
4. Once the rice dries, you can use it for crafts like the Seek 'n' Find Bottle or use it for a sensory bin. Plastic bins with lids are commonly used. However, I have been using a cake pan with my kiddos. I give them spoons, bowls, cups, empty cardboard tubes, empty plastic containers, and funnels for pouring and sifting. Little Man also likes to drive his cars, trucks, and construction vehicles through the rice and bulldoze trails. When not in use, I put the lid over the cake pan, keeping the toys and rice inside for the next time. If I need to use my cake pan for something else, I just wash it out and store the rice in a plastic baggie. I have done this both with and without a vinyl tablecloth underneath, but I don't think it makes too much difference. This is a kind of messy activity, so you have to be able to let go of that and roll with it. We pick up as much of the mess as I feel is worth it after each play session and the rest gets vacuumed up eventually.

{Little Man loves playing with the colored rice!}

Dyed Pasta Beads: Speed-Dry Method

In the past, I used this method for dying pasta for bead crafts, and I still would do it this way in a pinch if I didn't have rubbing alcohol available. Recently, however, I found this way of doing it from Totally Tots. After dying pasta with rubbing alcohol, I have to say that the tremendous increase in the speed of drying outweighs the smell of the alcohol and the fact that you need to purchase it if you don't have it on hand. (Unlike vinegar, which is always readily available at our house. It has many, many practical uses, but that's a whole other post.) Rubbing alcohol is inexpensive and one bottle should last you quite awhile. The rubbing alcohol evaporates quickly, taking the yucky smell along with it, which I think makes it reasonably safe to have little ones use pasta that has been dyed with it. This is assuming that they are not allowed to consume large amounts of the pasta, which I am certain that no parent would find acceptable in the first place. 

You can dye any type of pasta, and you certainly don't need to use name brand. This is just what I happened to have. I have done this with bowties, corkscrews, tiny stars, and Ditalini to name a few. I like the Ditalini pasta because it is about the size and shape of pony beads, but costs a small fraction of what I would pay for actual beads. In the past, I have tried gel food coloring for dying, and I can say that liquid food coloring definitely works better. It is also very inexpensive, and most stores should even have it on sale right now since Easter is approaching. Liquid food coloring is versatile. You can mix your colors any way you want, or use them straight from the bottles. The neon colors, of course, are slightly more vibrant, however, there is not much of a difference between neon pink (on the right) and red (on the left). Also, blue and neon blue were only slightly more defined than pink and red.

{Dyed Pasta Beads -- shown while drying}

Materials:

• zippered baggies (1 per color)
• pasta (any kind with a hole will work for beads)
• rubbing alcohol
• food coloring
• measuring spoon/s
• flat surface for drying (cookie sheets work well)
• wax paper or similar for covering cookie sheets (optional)

Directions:

1. Separate the pasta into zippered baggies according to how many colors you would like to make. Tip: If you don't have any zippered baggies, you can also use regular plastic bags, but this could be messier, and I would not suggest having little helpers. (This is a good way to use up old bags that weren't too messy, but you still may not want to use them for foods that will be eaten. I like to wash and re-use my bags from other stuff, but that's just me. Once they have food coloring in them, I usually pitch them because it's not worth it to me to wash them again at that point.)
2. Add a small amount of rubbing alcohol (I used a teaspoon) and a few drops of food coloring. A little goes a long way so start with just a couple drops, and then add more if you want.
3. Close the bag, and shake to cover the pasta to the desired saturation.
4. Once the pasta is coated with food coloring, open the bags and spread the pasta out to dry. Cookie sheets work for this but you could also use plates. Tip: I first covered mine with the empty baggies that come in cereal boxes, which I had removed and opened up to make flat sheets of very cheap "wax paper." This keeps the cookie sheets clean and helps make sure that no pasta sticks to it. It is not essential, but I find it to be convenient for me.
5. Let pasta dry completely. Ours took no more than 2 hours, I believe. Enjoy!

Some Uses for Dyed Pasta:

• When letting kids work with pasta, you may want to first give them a cookie sheet to contain the beads since they often like to roll away and make a mess.
• Make necklaces. I like to take a small piece of tape (Scotch or masking) and wrap one end of a piece of yarn so that it resembles the end of a shoe lace. This makes it easier for little hands to string the beads. Also, the prevent beads from slipping off one end, I suggest tying a bead onto the opposite end that you used the tape. You can always remove the bead later, if you leave a bit of extra yarn for knotting once the necklace is complete. This is an oldie but goodie Mother's Day gift idea.
• Make bracelets. The simplest way to do this is the thread the beads onto a pipe cleaner, fit it to the child's wrist, and then twist off the ends. Cutting excess pipe cleaner is optional. You can always save the left over bits for other projects.
• I have also packaged up some of the dyed pasta beads along with some pipe cleaners and prepped yarn for necklaces, and Mia has given this as a birthday gift to friends.
• Make a spring Butterfly Garden Collage using dyed bowtie pasta butterflies and corkscrew pasta caterpillars. This is an idea for a Mother's Day gift.
• Make a spring bouquet of Pasta Petals from dyed corkscrew pasta. This could also be a Mother's Day gift.
• Make S'ghetti Skeletons for a Halloween craft.
• Make Beaded Indian Corn Mosaics for another fall craft option. 
• Use colored pasta in a plastic bin, cake pan, or similar container as a sensory bin. Kids can use bowls, spoons, cups, funnels, and their hands for scooping, pouring, and sorting the pasta. 

Fizzy Fun

According to Pinterest, I saved this idea 32 weeks ago, and we just got around to trying it yesterday. I'm not sure why I waited so long. It is quick to prep for, doesn't require many materials, and I don't think it cost more than a few cents (except for purchasing some eye droppers, which I know will get plenty of use). I don't know if this activity counts as science or art, or both, but it was pretty fun for my little man. I guess you could even argue that this helps develop fine motor skills because he was concentrating very hard while working with the eye droppers. Dropping colored vinegar onto the baking soda elicited lots of "Wow" reactions for 15 minutes. Truthfully, I was hoping this would entertain him for a bit longer, but being a boy, he had to find out what would happen when he dumped ALL of the vinegar into the cake pan of baking soda. At that point, he exclaimed, "Whoa! That BIG bubble is so cool!" 

{Note the tongue sticking out, the sure sign that a kid is hard at work!}

Materials:

• cake pan or clear glass baking dish
• baking soda
• vinegar
• food coloring
• muffin tin
• eye droppers
• tablecloth (optional)
• towels/washcloths/paper towels, etc. for spills

Directions:

1. Fill your cake pan or baking dish with a shallow layer of baking soda.
2. Fill your muffin tin cups mostly full of vinegar. (We used a 6-cup mini muffin pan and I filled 5 of the 6 cups. The empty cup we used as a place for resting eye droppers.)
3. Add a couple of drops of food coloring to each cup of vinegar. Stir to mix. I think I just used the eye droppers for this, but spoons work, too, of course.
4. Let your child use eye droppers to drop the colored vinegar onto the baking soda for fizzy fun.

A Few Notes:

• This is not a mess-free activity. We prepped by laying a vinyl tablecloth on the table. Then, we dressed Little Man in his paint shirt, an old t-shirt of mine that we close at the back of the neck with a clothespin. His hands got stained with the food coloring, which is not a big deal. It washes off eventually, but just be aware that this will almost certainly happen.
• We had one eye dropper at home, and I think it was purchased from a natural foods store. The other four eye droppers I just purchased this week at our local small-town grocery store. They are smaller and I found them near the checkout along with other candy making supplies. The four-pack cost $2.99, which I felt was reasonable enough.
• If you do not have food coloring, get some. It is very inexpensive, and you can do so many things with it. I recently found that the Kroger brand packages of four colors were on sale for $2.99. This is the time of year to find it on sale, with Easter on the way. I am planning to do a post soon about all of the different projects we have done using food coloring, so stay tuned for that.
• Don't have eye droppers? Check your medicine cabinet. You might have a dosing syringe or something left over from some oral medication. Or, see what ever else you can find that will work, and feel free to share your thoughts.