The 5 Days of Spring Break {day 4. basic watercolors}

What kid doesn't love to paint? I know mine do & watercolors are a perfect medium to work with.  Not only do they clean up easily & are inexpensive, it's easy to try different techniques.

Here are a few basics...

1. Tape your paper down {masking tape works best to keep your art intact}.  When you use water colors the paper tends to curl up, make sure you tape all the edges down to keep that from happening .  Use watercolor paper or paper made for paint and markers.

2. Lightly wet the entire surface of the paper.  This will help your water colors "flow".  Use a good amount of water when painting, water colors are not meant to be bright and bold.  Make a mistake, simply dilute it with a little water & paint over it...just be sure to not use so much water that your paper begins to tear.  Less water = brighter colors, more water = lighter colors.

3. Watercolors are a great way to practice mixing colors.  Paint stripes of two different colors near to one another,  see what happens when they meet & the colors begin to blend together.  Go beyond the basics of red & yellow make orange...or blue and yellow make green.  Experiment with your colors!

4. Use salt.  This is a fun and easy technique that kids love to watch.  While the paint is still wet, sprinkle with salt.  Try different types with varying coarseness. Allow your paint to dry completely, then brush the salt off. We used table and kosher salt...

5. "Secret messages"...as my 7 year old dubbed them.  Use a white crayon to write a message or draw a design before wetting the paper.  The crayon will repel the paint. 

6.  Try blowing the paint around with straw...or use a sponge after painting to pick up color & leave a design.  Be creative, water colors are very forgiving :)

 **watch for an upcoming tutorial on how to make your own gallery wall-- just like mine.  It's a perfect place to post all your kids' art work**

The 5 Days of Spring Break {day 3. popsicle stick bracelets}

H and I had a great time making these bracelets together.  These are the perfect size for her {she's going on 10}, and if I can find some craft sticks big enough, I'll be making some for me too :)

I've seen some tutorials around to make these using a drinking glass to mold them.  Honestly, it didn't work out so great for me.  One, I don't have drinking glasses that small, or that have straight sides.  Two, I had a problem with them not staying put & popping out.  I really wanted to make these with H, so I set out to find the best way & after a couple attempts, here is what I came up with:

Supplies:

*Wooden craft sticks (we used 6 x 3/4 inch)
*Saucepan & water
*rolling pin
*zip ties that are a few inches longer than your craft sticks
*Strips of paper cut just slightly longer & wider than your craft sticks {it's always easier to cut away excess, then try to line up perfectly}
*Decoupage glue {such as ModPodge}
*Scissors




1. Place your craft sticks in a large sauce pan, cover generously with water.  Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for at least 15-20 minutes {the longer you boil, the softer the sticks become}
Drain, and allow to cool slightly {they cool off rather fast}.



2. I used a rolling pin to mold the initial curve, by wrapping the craft sticks around then letting them go...just made it a little easier to bend them in the next step.

3. Loop around a zip tie & secure on the first notch (biggest loop) possible.  Mold your craft stick into the zip tie, try to overlap the ends just slightly so that the ends curl around too.  Tighten the zip tie.  You want to mold these on the small size.  They will expand when you un-mold & decorate them.

4. Allow to dry over night-24 hours...make sure the are good and dry.











5. Un-mold and decorate.  It's best to follow the directions on your decoupage glue, but here's how I do it: brush a thin layer onto the craft stick; adhere paper, then trim excess; add multiple layers of glue on top using a brush, allowing to dry in-between each; sand lightly if necessary.


**if the bracelets expand a little too much after decoupaging, just slide them back into the zip tie {carefully!} after they are dry to the touch and leave for a few minutes, it doesn't take long to get them back into shape.**

You don't have to stop there, try decorating them other ways :) Instead of decoupage try wrapping with thin ribbon, yarn or string.  Glue all sorts of rhinestones and gems on...or simply color with markers (just don't use washable).  Have fun creating!

The 5 Days of Spring Break {day 2. pinwheels}

Pinwheels are perfect for a sunny spring day...and making your own is as easy as it gets. Simple enough for almost any age, if you can use scissors, you can make a pinwheel. Here's how...  

Gather your supplies.  You will need:

*squares of paper, ours are 6 inch squares

*un-sharpened pencils

*ball head straight pins

*scissors

*paper piercing tool (optional)

*sharpened pencil

*ruler

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1. Draw a line from each corner about 3 inches long toward the center.  Regular weight paper works best for this project.

2. Cut along drawn lines, erase pencil marks.

3. You now have 8 points on your square.  Pierce every other corner {one per section}.  This step is optional, but it makes it just a bit easier when pinning.

4.  Working  with the wrong side {white side} of the paper towards you.  Curl around the first point and stick your straight pin into the first marked corner, from the printed side of the paper. {The head of the pin should show on the printed side}.  Continue with every marked corner, holding the paper on the pin as you go around.

5. Push the pin through the center of the pinwheel and into the eraser of an un-sharpened pencil.  Place the pin in to the eraser near the metal, then push the pin downward until it hits the metal on the opposite side, so that the pin cannot poke through & hurt little fingers :).  Bend the pin slightly so that the pinwheel is parallel with the pencil.

And your done...have fun!

The 5 Days of Spring Break {day 1. Cornstarch Quicksand}

Cornstarch Quicksand

This is a super EASY and fun science experiment for kids.  It keeps my kids occupied for the better part of an afternoon, easily.  It looks super messy, buy believe me, it cleans up very easily with just water :)

Cornstarch quicksand is a Non-Newtonian Fluid, meaning it has properties of both a liquid and a solid.  Have fun testing how it reacts to pressure, when it is squeezed & when pressure is released...what happens when an object is placed on top or when an object sinks into the mixture...just have fun!

Here's what you need:

1 part water {1/2 cup}

2 parts cornstarch {1 cup}

food coloring...if you like...I opt to not add it :)

Just mix it up...It works best when you use your hands.

Then start experimenting!

It's hard to get a good picture of what happens with the quicksand, so here are a few videos of my kids in action {sorry about any baby babbles in the background} :)

Easter Re-Post {sugar eggs for easter}

For the eggs, you'll need:

1. Mix 1 cup sugar with 1 tsp. water and a few drops of food coloring.  Mix well with your hands until all the sugar is dyed (you can wear gloves for this if you like, but the sugar keeps your hands dye-free).

2. Press sugar firmly into your mold.  I used large, plastic easter eggs.  You can also use egg shaped molds found in the cake decorating or soap making aisle at your craft store.  You can also find them on Etsy.

3. Gently scoop out some of the sugar from the center, making sure you leave a good edge.  You will be able to make the egg thinner in the last step.  Make sure the sugar is still packed into the mold tightly.

4. Carefully turn eggs out onto wax paper (like you are building a sand castle).  Allow to dry for a few hours to overnight (I think overnight is best).

**Each batch of sugar made two of my easter eggs with a little left over...It made one large egg. If you like you can use the leftover sugar to make marbled eggs, by just packing in 2 or 3 colors**

5. When the eggs are comletely dry, use a table knife to clean up edges and scrape out the center of the eggs a little more.

Now we're ready to decorate, for the Royal Icing you need:

1. In a large bowl, with a mixer fixed with a whisk attachment.  Slowly mix together 1/4 cup meringue powder (available in the cake decorating aisle) and 6 Tb. of water.  Scrape down the sides as needed.  When mixed well turn mixer up to high and beat until stiff peaks form.  Add powdered sugar and beat until thick and fluffy.  It should look like this <---. 

2. Add coloring to your icing if you like.  Fit your pastry bags with couplers and decorating tips.  Fill bags with icing.  Royal icing dries very quickly, cover any leftover icing with a damp cloth.

3. Decorate...have fun and be creative :) I added little sugar pearls to mine...there are lots of sprinkles and decorations that would be fun to add.  Allow icing to dry and fill with jelly beans or small candies...Although the eggs may look tasty, I don't recommend eating them :) 

Happy Easter! 

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Easter's On Its Way!

I'm still here, I promise.  Sorry my blogging has been sporadic, at best.  Things are a little crazy around here, but then when aren't they with 4 kids around?  Baby O has become mobile, which has cut down on my time to get, well, anything done.  He is also quite the human vacuum cleaner :) If it happens to be on the floor..it's in his mouth...sigh.


But Easter is almost here, and honestly I haven't done much about it, which is odd for me.  But here's a treasury of some lovely finds on Etsy for the kiddos in your life, {be sure to click HERE, and then on each item to visit each shop}

And here are a couple Easter Goodies from my shop...perfect if you are entertaining this Easter:

{Decorate-Your-Own Easter Place Cards}

{Color-Your-Own Easter Place Cards}

Happy Easter!

Valentine's Day

Did you have a wonderful day? 

We did...as with most years, our Valentine celebrations are centered on our family, not just the hubby & I...

Here's how it went...

For the dining room I hung streamers of bright pink curling ribbon (curled slightly in sections), cut out paper hearts & paper heart chains

The place settings....

Scalloped felt place mats: cut a rectangle out of red felt (any size you like.  Fold accordion style and round each end.  Unfold and trim/clean up and scallops that need it.

Conversation jelly beans in a pink paper cupcake liner made for fun dinner talk & the kids were dying to eat their brownies (baked in a muffin tin) before dinner started.  

To make the cupcake topper, cut 2 circles of coordinating card stock, one measuring 1/4 inch larger. Decorate smaller circle with a heart sticker, then affix to the front of a bamboo fork with a glue dot.  Affix the larger circle to the back of the bamboo fork, making sure to center the smaller circle on the larger.

On the menu, heaping portions of homemade lasagna (recipe follows), garlic bread & Sprite with maraschino cherries

  

Our Favorite Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef, browned & drained

1 pkg. no-boil lasagna noodles

1 extra large (or 2 regular) jars of your favorite marinara sauce

1 small container ricotta cheese

2 eggs

salt & pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese + additional

3-4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (depending on just how cheesy you like it)

1. In a bowl combine: ricotta, eggs, salt and pepper, & Parmesan, set aside.

2. In a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish layer:

1 cup sauce

4 lasagna noodles

1/3 of the ricotta mixture

1/2 of the ground beef

a good handful or so of mozzarella

1 cup sauce

4 lasagna noodles

1/3 of the ricotta mixture

mozzarella

1 1/2 cups sauce

4 lasagna noodles

last of the ricotta mixture

last of the ground beef

mozzarella

1 cup sauce

4 lasagna noodles

remaining sauce

mozzarella & extra grated Parmesan

3. Cover with foil, bake at 350 degrees, until bubbly & noodles are tender, about 50 minutes.  Remove foil and cook additional 10 minutes or so until cheese is brown & bubbly.  

4.Allow to cool 10 minutes (at least) before cutting...this will ensure your layers stay pretty & together :)