Homemade Playdough - no cooking required

I have been wanting to make some playdough using Kool-aid drink mixes.

So I got 5 cheerfully colored mixes in the store. When I got home, I only had 3...

I looked everywhere, but the two missing ones where nowhere to be seen.

So we just made 3 different colors.

(Of course a few days later I found them: in the fridge, tucked in between some other things I got that day in the store...)

It is simple, and SO fun.

I MUCH prefer the texture over the store-bought version, and my girls just loved the fruity smell of it. 

It's also nice to know all the ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup salt
1 Tbsp. Cream of tartar
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 Tbsp. oil

 Several packages Kool-Aid Unsweetened Drink Mix

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients.

Then, carefully add the boiling water and the oil.

Stir well with a fork, and once it has cooled down (which is pretty fast), knead it well.

Divide the dough in as many portions as the number of colors you want to make.

Add Kool-aid little by little to each portion and knead, till you made the desired color.

This last step is something that my girls really enjoyed.

This made a pretty good batch, we were able to fill six containers:

(I only pictured 3 here)

I used empty baby food containers, 

and put some Wrap&Seal over it too keep it air tight.

It seems to work well to keep the dough soft.

I will definitely try this again!

My kids had fun playing with this, and I thought it would also make a cute party favor or small handmade gift.

I linked up with Craft-o-maniac.

Crochet Doily Coasters

I had fun making these crochet doily coasters.

I like doilies, and these are fun to make, and a nice little addition to our coffee table.

I found the pattern in the newest "Stitch Craft Create" magazine.

I also tried a different pattern to make the coaster below:

These coasters are a little bigger, and the pattern can be found HERE.

It is a neat pattern, but the other ones are quicker to make, 

so I decided to stick with the first pattern to make a set.

Free Father's Day Printable - Scallop Tags

With Father's day around the corner, 

I decided to create these scallop tags.

Use these free printable scallop tags to create cards, make cupcake toppers, decorate crafts, for scrapbooking, etc. 

When the page is printed full size (8.5 by 11), 

the scallops can be punched out with a 1 3/4 inch punch.

For personal use only.

Enjoy!

Handmade Graduation Cards

In the past couple weeks I made several graduation cards.

Here are some pictures, and links to their tutorials.

What I like about all of these,

is that you don't need any special 'graduation-themed' tools,

like stamps, punches, etc.

In all cases, some cardstock, a few basic tools and adhesive is sufficient.

They are gender neutral, and simple, but fun.

The following card is folded from black cardstock,

and shaped like a graduation cap.

Instructions can be found HERE.

The next card is one I came up with 2 years ago:

Instructions can be found HERE.

And my favorite,

with a pop-up graduation cap hidden inside: 

It's kinda hard to take pictures of this one, the card folds completely flat, 

and on the inside that whole cap folds out once opened. 

Pretty neat if you ask me!

The person who designed it gives a pattern and good instructions:

Instructions can be found HERE.

Cherry Cheesecake Brownies

If you like cherries, cheesecake and brownies, 

this is the perfect dessert for you.

I tried the recipe HERE.

It's simple and really good...

Propeller seeds: fun and easy kids activity

Last week, on our walk home from school,

my girls saw these 'propeller seeds', and asked me what they were.

I told them they came from a tree,

and showed how you can throw them in the air,

and see them spin like a propeller.

They thought it was the coolest thing ever.

So we collected some and took them home.

They had such a good time playing with them.

SOOO nice when kids are so easily entertained...


I told them that these were actually seeds, and that the wind helped new trees to grow when the seeds were planted elsewhere. I realized they understood, since my 7-year-old said: "Just like dandelions..."


We decided to plant some of the seeds.
I wasn't sure if we should stick the whole thing in the dirt, or peel the seeds out, so we did both.


Today it's exactly ONE week later, and we have this:

So our little experiment was very successful...


And I have 2 very proud girls, who check on the progress daily.

We might transfer some to our yard even...

First Grade Birthday Party Ideas

Our oldest turned 7, so we invited some of her classmates for a party.

I have the hardest time coming up with things to do, 

so in case there is anybody out there who recognizes that,

I will share what we did :)

MAGIC DRINKS

We started our party with "magic" Sprite and snacks.

I had put a drop of food coloring in the clear cups I used to server their drinks. (I did that ahead of time.)

I served them one by one, holding the bottom of the cup in my hand, so that they couldn't see it.

They were AMAZED to see that the clear Sprite turned into a colorful drink.

And even more amazed when the next ones turned into different colors.

Fun, but simple, and a great way to start a party.

(And yes, eventually they did figure it out, but it took a little while.)

After seeing several similar games online, I came up with the following game:

POM POM RACE

The things you need are pictured above.

Start with one bowl filled with pom poms.

The kids race the pom poms on the spatula to the other bowl, which is placed some distance away.

Give them a certain amount of time to do it. (We did one minute, but you can try it yourself to see what time and distance is appropriate.)

They can't touch the pom poms with their hands, and anything they drop doesn't count

Then count the pom poms in the other bowl.

The kid who managed to transfer most pom poms is the winner.

DECORATE PICTURE FRAMES

I had them decorate picture frames:

I painted them in girly colors beforehand,

and had them decorate it with glitter glue, flower sparkles, paper punch-outs, etc.

TREASURE HUNT

And, they went on a Treasure hunt.

I wrote on the lid of a disposable cake pan with Sharpies,

and put sparkly stuff inside.

I hid envelopes throughout the house, containing hints where the next envelope would be,

and the last one pointing to the treasure.

(Would have loved to do this outside, but the weather didn't cooperate.)

They were very excited about this game.

I had much more planned, but these things, combined with cake and opening gifts, were plenty.