Getting Ready for the 4th

My kids and husband are heading to a ball game on the 4th of July, so I had to think of a way to get them on TV so I could see them. Then my Family Fun magazine came in the mail. Here is the page that I used in my magazine: Crown & Glory. This will give you the exact directions that I used. We couldn't find red, white and blue bendy straws, but I did find decorated bendy straws at Target for $1.99 each. Each kid used a full tube of 20 straws to make their hats. I had wired stars in the basement, and already had red & blue duct tape (I have every color they make).

The straws had the decorations on the bendy part of the straw, so I un-peeled each decoration, and the kids re-taped them onto the other side of the straw. It took awhile, but they were excited still.

When all the straws were done I measured each kid and laid out a piece of duct tape to the same size. The kids laid out their straws in the patterns that they wanted. Then we smooshed the straws between another layer of duct tape. The contracting color of tape was to sandwich the two other pieces on the bottom. I think mostly to prevent hair from sticking to the tape. I then measured it around their heads and secured with a smaller piece of tape to cover any exposed tape.

The kids then went into the bathroom to shape the straws how they wanted them. The boys added 3" pieces of wired stars to the inside of the straws, my daughter didn't want any because it made the straws heaver and she wanted hers to stick up strait.

Here is what they ended up with:

Hopefully with their "Circle me Bert" signs they made, they will make it onto TV on the 4th of July. They will also be wearing them to the fireworks later that night if they haven't destroyed them at the game!

Homemade Cookies

Who doesn't love a homemade cookie over a store bought one? Not to many people I am guessing. With the kids home from school, we have a tendency to go through a few more cookies. I have let my older kids go to town in the kitchen with my stand mixer to make their own cookie dough. Some have been good, and some not so good. We do also try every year at our local county fair to enter a few of the better recipes.



Here Matt won third place for his chocolate chip cookies. They were not the best he had ever made, but it was how they turned out that year. We don't use any special recipe for the chocolate chip cookies, we normally just alter a regular recipe.




This year Ali won first place for snickerdoodles , and Matt again took third for his chocolate chip. I make sure to not have them compete in the same flavor categories. Somebody will lose, and somebody will feel bad, so we avoid competing in the same categories.

Here is the recipe I gave her to use:

Snickerdoodles
(from Martha's web site)
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Put butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.

2. Stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into 20 (1 3/4-inch) balls; roll in cinnamon sugar. Space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

3. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes.


They are REALLY good. I have been known to eat a few at a sitting before. Be sure to store in an air tight container, or they will get hard.




Now I know this isn't a craft project, but it is a project to do with your kids. Grab your cookbook, dust it off, and find a new cookie you have never tried before. It could be a new family favorite.

Here is the list that my local county fair has for entries:
Chocolate drop
white drop
fruit - nut drop
drop - no bake
oatmeal drop
ginger
peanut butter
biscotti
chocolate chip
chocolate refrigerator
white refrigerator
fruit/nut refrigerator
lemon sugar
sugar - molded
sugar - rolled
snickerdoodles
Russian tea cakes

Try something new, and see if you can enter it at the fair this summer! If you do, take a picture and let us know about it!

Kids and Digital Cameras

Do you own an inexpensive digital camera? Do you ever let your kids use it? This summer teach them a few simple tricks with your digital camera, and let them use their creativity to see what they can come up with. All three of my kids take hundreds of pictures each year. And the best of the best end up being submitted to our local County Fair for judging. The picture above is from three years ago, but they often end up winning ribbons and prizes on their pictures.

Ali found her creative side last winter when she decided she was going to be a photographer when she grew up. I said "Why wait?" Take the camera and your brothers and see what you can do. They spent ALL DAY in her bedroom trying different poses and different backgrounds. The picture above is my personal favorite. I did help her with the editing on the computer to get rid of red eye, change the colors, and soften the edges. They all had a real fun time and were excited to see what they came up with. She will be entering this picture this summer.

Matt has an eye for nature. We have multiple pictures of different flowers from our Como visits. He also takes nature pictures in our own backyard. His subjects range from the dogs to frogs by the neighbors pond. He has taken some wonderful pictures of the trees all the way down to a close-up of new growth on a pine branch. He has a different way of looking at nature, and that is what makes them so unique and beautiful. He has learned that sometimes less is more in pictures.

And then there's Timmy. He started taking his own pictures when he was just 2 years old. We limit his pictures to the inside of our house. We also let him use the old digital camera in case he drops it. His pictures are all from his vantage point, so they are more abstract. I do end up deleting a good majority of his work due to fingers in the way, or him taking them to fast for the auto focus. But every once in awhile there are a few real good ones. The picture above is the inside of his new crawl thru tube. I never would have thought of this, but he thought it looked cool, and I like the way it turned out too. He is going to enter a few pictures into the Fair this year too. He probably won't win against 12 year olds, but you never know. It is always a good learning experience, win or lose.

YOUR PROJECT:

Let the kids lose with a digital camera this summer. Let them do whatever they want with it, and you will be amazed. The first few will be safe and predictable, then they will start to experiment and the pictures will get more creative. Print the pictures and put into old frames you already have around the house. every kid loves to have their artwork displayed. The best part is except for the paper & ink, it is pretty much free. You can just delete the bad ones and save the good ones on your computer. Start a file labeled with your child's name and Summer 2008. You will be able to look back year after year to see how they have improved.

Tie-Dying Fun

I forgot how much fun Tie-dying clothes can be. The above picture is of Matt winning his ribbon at the county fair for his tie-dyed underwear. You can tie-dye anything as long as it is 100% cotton! We have done pillow cases, socks, underwear, onesies, and t-shirts before. When I did daycare, we would have a tie-dye day every summer. All the daycare kids and the kids in the neighborhood would bring something to my driveway, and we would work on them all morning long.


I was remembering how fun it was when I was helping out my youngest at his preschool park day field trip. The three year olds were tie-dying t-shirts to remember their year at preschool. This is a picture of my son and our neighbor showing off their t-shirts at track & field day while we were watching their older siblings. The preschool had a different approach to tie-dying then I have done in the past.

I have always soaked the t-shirts in a soda ash bath to get the colors to pop. I used tie-dye kit that included everything and detailed instructions. I would normally purchase one kit with my 40% off coupon at Michael's every spring.

The preschool used an Easter egg dye with vinegar. Very smelly, and the colors were not as bright. I have to admit I have not washed the shirt yet, so I am not sure how the colors are going to stay. If they wash out, we will just redye it this summer. The kids need more underwear anyway!

Girl Scout SWAPS

My daughter was going away for a full weekend of "roughing it" camping with her Girl Scout troop. I was in the middle of a low attendance garage sale, and remembered we forgot to make any SWAPS. She was at school, and was leaving for camp 15 minutes after she was to get home from school. My friends agreed to watch the garage sale while I ran into the basement to figure something out.

I found an old page I had ripped out of the Family Fun Magazine, here is the link to their web site activity that I used. I liked the caterpillar because I thought I had a better shot at having those beads already in the house. I changed it up a little to use what I did have on hand. But you can use their directions too!

SUPPLIES:

wood beads, 6 per worm

pipe cleaners

small wiggle eyes, 2 per worm

hot glue gun

wire cutters

HOW I DID IT:

1. I started out by hot gluing each wiggle eye to a bead. I did not pick a particular colored bead, just the first one I grabbed.

2. Glue the "head" bead to the next bead so the eyes are on the sides of the head.

3. Put a small dab of glue into the second bead, and place the pipe cleaner into the glue.

4. Add 4 body beads total, make into a pattern or just randomly.

5. Snip the pipe cleaner with 1/4 an inch remaining. Put hot glue onto the pipe cleaner, and add the last bead.

6. Set aside to dry and cool completely. Start on the next worm.

7. When cool, add a slight bend to their bodies to make more realistic.

YOUR PROJECT:

The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. You can use ANY color beads, or make them as long or as short as you want. Use colored google eyes, or change the shape and make them huge.

This is a very easy project, but the hot glue gun should be used by an adult to prevent burning!

Wind Socks & Wind Chimes

This picture is from a few years ago of my oldest son and his two 1st place crafts at the local county fair. Both the CD wind chime and fabric wind sock were made by him.

Here is how to make them:

CD WIND CHIME

multiple "junk" CDs

contact paper

fishing line

small round mirrors

stick or dowel

2 eye hooks

chain

We found a stick in the yard to use for the base. Drilled two VERY SMALL pilot holes in the ends of the stick for the eye hooks to go into. This should be a parents job! Screw in the eye hooks and attach the chain. You can also use ribbon or yarn instead of chain.

Hang the stick so you can add the chimes. We added different lengths of fishing line to the stick. Then "smooshed" the fishing line in between the CD and contact paper. We used contact paper to cover the writing on the front side of the CD, any color will work. Trim the contact paper without cutting the fishing line.

After all the CDs are hanging and the chime is balanced it is time to start adding the mirrors. You can pick these up very inexpensively at the craft store if you don't already have some. We hot glued one back of one mirror then placed it on the fishing line, and covered it with another mirror. May be a parents job too! Make sure it is still balanced while adding the mirrors.

YOUR PROJECT:

Use anything you have around the house, not just CDs. We were going for the reflective look. Use old silverware with holes drilled into the handles, use old small toys, use doll accessories. anything you have lying around would work, just think creatively, and think about your child's interests.

WIND SOCK

We had to purchase 2 metal circle wires, but you could probably make your own too.

You need:

2 circles of some sort

fabric

yarn or ribbon

needle & thread

First figure out how long you want your wind sock. Cut your fabric to fit around the hoops by how long you need it. Make sure to leave a inch to the width for sewing. Sew a quick hem on one side of the fabric. Attach the fabric around the hoop using clothes pins to secure it. Make sure the hemmed side is on the outside. Start hand sewing the fabric to the hoop. (My son did it himself, it isn't pretty, but he did it himself) When done do the same for the bottom hoop. When both sides are done, make a running stitch up the hemmed side to close the fabric. Now all that is left is to add yarn or ribbons for a hanger on one side and leave some hanging on the bottom for the wind to catch. This is where you can get real creative and use up what you already have.

YOUR PROJECT:

I am sure you can see thousands of possibilities with this one. Different fabrics, from cottons to novelty furs, and different ribbons to the bottom. Let your kids tel you what they want, and you will see their creativity come alive.

Home-Made Play Dough

After cleaning out my basement getting ready for the garage sale next month I rediscovered my Play Dough box from when I use to do daycare. I am sorry to say that my 3 year old has never even played with the play dough toys I have collected over the years. My older children wanted to play with it, and as it is SNOWING today (April 26th) I thought it would be a good time.

The picture above is all the ingredients you need to follow the recipe below.

Saturday Play Dough:

3 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 tsp Cream of Tartar

Mix all the dry ingredients together.

Add 2 cups boiling water
3 tbs hand lotion (any kind you have)
2 tbs vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients together well, see video below. WARNING: My husband was watching a concert on TV at the time, so there is music behind the video!

Let cool for approx 15 minutes. Knead together when cool. Divide into sections for coloring. Add 5-10 drops of food coloring into center of ball and knead slowly so you don't get food coloring everywhere! Add more flour if needed to get right consistency.


Play with your play dough! When done, store in air tight containers or baggies. This should keep for up to 1 month.

There are many different play dough recipes out there. You can always Google home made play dough recipe to find more, including edible ones for those who can't keep it out of their mouths.