Oobleck! {Project and Recipe}

Long time, no see! It has been a bit crazy around here lately. But, at any rate, I have a new project! This is an easy, great, hands-on project which provides at least a couple hours of simple, messy fun around here! This isn't the first time I've made Oobleck for the kids. Girly girl came home from school one day talking about something she made in class. It sounded intriguing, so I had to look it up. I found a simple recipe. It calls for 2 mandatory ingredients, and one optional.

Oobleck

Ingredients/Materials

• 2 cups cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• Optional: Food coloring
• Large bowl

Instructions

Pour the cornstarch into a large bowl.

Thoroughly mix water and food coloring (if you are using food coloring)

This picture looked neat, so I had to include it. :) This color was purple and our boys did blue.

Don't panic if the color seems dark! It will most likely lighten up considerably once mixed with the cornstarch! :)

Add water mixture to cornstarch and mix until the water is completely incorporated into the cornstarch.

You might want to use your hands.

Have fun! It seems like a solid if you use force to dig it out, but then it seems like a liquid if you try to gently scoop it out. We discussed how cool it was and the kids experimented with different pressures and techniques to get the Oobleck out of their bowls.

Once you are finished, you might notice your hands are dyed from playing in the Oobleck. It will wash out after a a few washes with soap and warm water. Clean up is pretty simple. Our kids make a mess on the table. Simply take a wet washcloth to the table. If any has gotten on the floor, I suggest letting it dry and then you can easily sweep it up! :)

Wordless Wednesday-The things Moms find....

Valentine's Day Printable {Freebie}

Valentine’s Day Hugs Treat Baggie

For personal use only

Materials:

8.5” x 11”~110# White Cardstock
Sandwich Baggie Fold Over Card Template (2 cards per sheet)
Zip Top Snack Sized Baggies
Hershey Hugs
Scissors or Paper cutting tool
Stapler

Instructions:

Print and cut out as many fold-over cards as you need. I chose to use cardstock since it is sturdy, but I’m sure regular paper will work as well.

Place a handful of hugs into each baggie and seal.

Take your baggie cards and fold in half along using the light gray guide.

Take one completed baggie and center inside one of the folded cards. Staple twice along the top, make sure not to stable below the zippered part of the baggie. Staple again one each side of the cards.

Repeat with each of the baggies you have left.

Your Valentine’s Day treat baggies are all done! 

I don't have an example of this set, as I am actually using smaller baggies this go around. I will most likely share the template for the new version, once I am finished putting it together. To get an idea of how they look once completed, here are my Snowman Soup baggies. :)

Thrift Store Finds {Child's Chair Makeover}

I can't begin to tell you how great it feels to have a project finished and under my belt. I probably could have done things differently. I also probably could have done things in a way for them to be easier on me. Either way, I am done and very proud of how Baby Bear's chair came out.

I started the project on Sunday night around 4:30. I stopped around 6:30, because I didn't have quite enough of my original fabric choice to get both arms done. I was frustrated and threw in the towel for the night. Plus, I needed to get my older two rascals dinner.

It took another 2 1/2 - 3 hours Monday night to finish covering and reassembling the chair. Baby Bear was a little grumpy.

I can't wait to get the rest of my projects finished! I love being crafty. I'm starting to rub off on Girly Girl. She has been taking things we aren't currently using and adding her own little flair to them for use in organizing her room.

Happy crafting!

Thrift Store Finds

I, as many other crafters, have fallen in love with the wonderful world of Pinterest. If you aren't familiar with Pinterest, it is a tool used to "pin" links and favorites to your account, which in turn shares the links with other users on Pinterest. There is a wealth of information, links, and ideas.

You can follow me here -

I have found so many great ideas and inspirations on Pinterest. I am definitely looking at secondhand things in a new light. It is amazing how easy it is to transform things into something new. Things I would normally not give a second look, now ignite a creative spark in my brain. I can't wait to get my treasures home to begin their transformations.

On a recent trip with a sweet, awesome, funny and amazing friend of mine, we stopped at a couple area thrift stores. 

First, we stopped at good old Salvation Army. I had been here before, but it had been years. On this trip, I found this great, solid, aluminum frame containing a panorama of Munich, Germany. Aside from it being Munich, and aside from the fact we actually did live in Germany for 2 1/2 years, the price of the frame and picture was only *drumroll, please* $3.49! Yes, three dollars and forty-nine cents! It measures approximately 14" x 40." I couldn't pass this deal up. It is currently dismantled and ready for it's makeover.

 

I have been on the hunt for the base for those plastic bin toy units. I only need the base, and guess what, I found one! It is in good, sturdy shape. I'll just need to paint it to fit what I am using it for.

The next stop was this one thrift store I had heard of, but I had never stopped in, nor did I know exactly where it was located. I found several good deals here, and I can't wait to go back.

First, I found this...

It is the cutest little chair ever, except it is blue, and dirty. Baby bear is not a boy, although it really doesn't matter, I plan to give this a makeover as well. I've already taken it apart, and I'm in the process of putting new fabric on. I've had a few hiccups, but I think I've gotten the hang of it now!

I also found two apothecary jars, a CD rack and a small wooden tray. I plan to give the tray a makeover as well, and I just might do something with the CD rack..

This is a copper lantern I've actually had for years, but I didn't realize I could revitalize it by spraying it a new color. I think I might go with plain white, although I'm not 100% sure yet. You can see in the back how I've already started taping the glass off.

 Last project (for now) is to cover this magnetic dry erase board with scrapbook paper. Scrapbook paper covered dry erase board.

I figure papering it over vs. painting it will be better in case we decide to go back to this particular chore tracking system.

So, I just wanted to give a quick preview of what I've been up to lately! I can't wait to show off the finished products.

Snowman Soup

Good morning! I recently posted pictures on my personal Facebook page of a project my two oldest kids and I put together for their classmates. I received several requests for instructions on how to make our "Snowman Soup." 

Individual baggie

First, let me start by telling you how we came about putting this project together. As we are drawing closer to Winter break, festivities are being planned for most classrooms across the U.S. Our school is no different. My son's teacher sent a note home letting parents know each child would have a stocking and the parents and kids were welcome to send a little treat in to share. 


The wheels in my brain immediately started turning and I set out on an internet search to find something easy and cheap to make. Between the older two kids classes, there are 40 students. I found several good ideas, but I fell in love with the Snowman Soup idea. It is simple enough to put together, yet, I still feel like it is just enough to put a smile on any child's face.

19 completed bags

I bet you are antsy to get started! Here we go!

Materials needed:

8.5” x 11”~110# White Cardstock
Sandwich Baggie Fold Over Card Template (2 cards per sheet)  For personal use only
Zip Top Sandwich Baggies
Candy Canes
Hershey Kisses
Marshmallows
Individual Hot Cocoa Mix Packets
Scissors or Paper cutting tool
Stapler

For 40 students, I used 4 boxes of 12-count candy canes with 8 canes left over, 2 bags of the green, red, silver Hershey kisses combo, 1 bag of marshmallows (we used approx 1/2 a bag), and 4 boxes of 10 count Swiss Miss cocoa packets. 

Preview of the baggie card. You can download it through the link in the materials list above.

Instructions:

Print and cut out as many fold-over cards as you need. I chose to use cardstock since it is sturdy, but I’m sure regular paper will work as well. 

Place in each bag- one candy cane, a few kisses (I did 3), a few marshmallows (I did 6) and a packet of hot cocoa mix.

Take your baggie cards and fold in half along using the light gray guide.

Take one completed baggie and center inside one of the folded cards. Staple twice along the top, make sure not to stable below the zippered part of the baggie. Staple again one each side of the cards.

Repeat with each of the baggies you have left.

Voila! You now have a cute treat for your child’s class.\

A quick breakdown of what I paid.

		Individual
8.5” x 11”~110# White Cardstock		$0.06
Sandwich Baggie Fold Over Card Template (2 cards per sheet)		$0
100 count Zip Top Sandwich Baggies		$0.01
Candy Canes		$0.08
Hershey Kisses		$0.05
Marshmallows		$0.003
Individual Hot Cocoa Mix Packets		$0.128
		$0.33

Each bag cost roughly $0.33 cents to make and the total 40 bags cost around $13.24 with supplies left over.