Dyed Pasta: Multi-Purpose Entertainment!

Who knew a couple of boxes of pasta and some food coloring could provide my kids with multiple fun and learning activities enjoyed over a couple of days' time?! One of my son's home school lessons this week showed how to dye pasta and make beads to string. We dug out several kinds of noodles and prepared several cups of colorful beads. But the necklaces were just a start...we have actually used these noodles for three more activities so far. And happily, it took a whole 10 minutes of prep with things I already had on hand!

First, for the dye job. Materials needed:

• dry pasta in various shapes
• vinegar OR rubbing alcohol (the vinegar smell will linger, but may be preferable option if you fear a noodle "taste-test")
• small plastic ziploc bags
• food coloring
• paper towels on trays
  

Put a cup of dry pasta in a ziploc. Add 1 TBSP of the vinegar OR rubbing alcohol and several drops of food coloring to the bag. Close it up and gently smoosh it around to color all the pasta.

Empty it on paper towels to dry. Best to leave it overnight.

I only had food coloring gel around, and a couple of the colors didn't dye the pasta so well by this method. So I actually mixed the gel with the rubbing alcohol and a cup of water in a bowl and we let the noodles sit in it for 7-8 minutes until the color "took." Not too long or the noodles would get mushy. That worked much better for us.

Noodle Fun #1: Beading!

String the beads on plastic elastic cord for necklaces or bracelets. Love the bright colors!

Noodle Fun #2: Sorting!

Using the sorting idea from this post, I gave my 2-year-old a muffin tin and several colors of pasta mixed together in a bowl. I showed him how to sort the colors in separate tins.

He LOVED it and sorted over and over for an hour-and-a-half! My 4-year-old thought it was super fun and did it several times too...first by color, then by shape.

Noodle Fun #3: Math Manipulative!

Use the pasta to make patterns. I laid out a pattern of various colors/shapes on a paper, and then asked my daughter to copy it. I hadn't tried this before with her, and she really liked the activity. She even made a complicated pattern for ME to copy! Noodles=learning fun for everyone.
 

Noodle Fun #4: Easter craft!

I drew an Egg shape on colored paper, added some craft glue, and then had the kids decorate their Easter eggs. They loved their pretty eggs.

Gotta love when you can make several new and exciting activities for FREE with a few supplies from the pantry!

Pretend Play: Felt Mail Envelopes

My daughter needed a project one recent rainy day while her older brother was busy with school. Since she had just recently learned to sew buttons onto scrap fabric, I thought a "real" button sewing project would be fun for her...such as felt Mail Envelopes that the kids could use for pretend play afterwards.

These are super easy to whip up, whether you use a sewing machine or hot glue gun.

I cut 4 different colors of felt into 7" wide by 12" long rectangles. Then I angled one end to make it look like an envelope flap.

The button was to go on the end that still had square corners, about two inches down from the edge and centered. She chose her favorite buttons from my little jar and got to stitching. She was super careful and made sure the needle went back in the same side it came out...great progress from her first lesson!

Next I folded the end (with the button) up a little more than a third and stitched the side edges together. Hot glue would work great too, or a young seamstress could even hand stitch those seams.

Then I folded the Flap side down and cut a slit to fit over the button.

Finally, we cut out little felt Stamps and hot glued/stitched those on the front of our envelopes. 

They've had fun writing notes and delivering mail to each other. Best perk of this project: my sweet little love notes!

Defend yourself! Create-A-Shield.

Around here, we have spent the past few days playing with foam swords that I picked up (yes, impulse purchase!) at Target in the dollar bins.  The intense indoor action has been just the energy release the kids (especially boys) have needed.

I expected the swords to break; they were $1 and we've invested in foam swords before. They last about an hour.  
Last night I decided to wrap them in colorful Duck^® Tape to help make them last a little longer.  I am in love with all the duct tape options out there! It is fun and my mind is spinning with all the things I can wrap and make with these tapes.

I also realized that by wrapping them with tape, I was turning our harmless foam swords into respectable weapons.  So, this morning I decided we needed to create shields to even the playing field.

Although a pillow and belt make an excellent shield, I had some extra mat board that was perfect for the job. Of course any cardboard or old boxes would also work.  First, I drew a simple design on the board and cut it out.  Then I divided it into sections for my daughter to decorate. We did a quick search for some shield decoration ideas by looking at pictures online.  My daughter colored hers with crayons and I did a few lines in duck tape for my little guy's shield.

  

For the handles on the back, I simply used an extra piece of mat board for the arm holder and cut a circular loop from an old yogurt container (I have 6 million of them in my pantry) for the small handle.  I wrapped them in duck tape for extra reinforcement and we were ready for battle.  It isn't very pretty, but it is strong!

At this point we ran out of the lovely blue and white tape and had to resort to my husband's plain black gorilla glue tape--it was super thick and I hope he doesn't mind that we borrowed it!

Once our shields were decorated and strengthened with even more tape, we were ready for battle!  This project was a success.  We combined artistic fun and creativity to make a useful toy of protection!  I am sure these shields will last as long as the swords, and if/when they are demolished, I'm sure the kids will be thrilled to make a new shield!

Family Tree Calendar with Bottle Cap Accents!

If you are ready for a project with tons of room for creative variety, then today is your lucky day!

I know the new year is already here, but for those of you who didn't receive a calendar for Christmas, or for those (slightly crazy) people who want to begin a special 2012 Christmas present, then here you go.


To get started, you will need several things.
A sheet of metal. You can find this at your local Hardware store. My husband cut our metal sheet to 15"X15."
The following can be purchased online or at a craft store:

• Bottle caps
• Epoxy 1" bottle cap toppers like these
• Magnets
• Super glue & craft glue
• Decorative craft paper (for tree) and cardstock to print numbers

After the metal sheet was cut, my husband framed it nicely with painted wood. This is optional, the metal sheet is nice by itself, but since we are trying to make this an interactive family calendar, the sharp metal edges made me nervous. If you don't have a custom framer in your home, I'm sure some decorative duct tape or something similar would work well to frame around the edges. 

Once we had our metal ready to go, I cut out my tree.  I drew a tree freehand onto a manila envelope; once I was happy with the size and shape I cut it out as a stencil. Then I traced this tree onto a large piece of black scrapbook paper with a white pencil.  I used an exacto knife and sharp scissors to carefully cut the black paper.  This is not a project that you are going to just whip out in a few hours!  It is a labor of love.

Next, I used craft glue to adhere the tree to the metal.  Not just any glue will work since it is a metallic surface.  If you have a favorite glue that will spread quickly and easily over the surface of the tree--go for it!  Carefully spread a layer of glue over the back of your paper tree and place it wherever you want it on your calendar.  Press and smooth it down as much as possible...it is slightly tricky!


While your tree is drying, you can begin thinking about how you want to decorate your family calendar.  Disclaimer: I was inspired by this neat idea in October and am just now finishing up, so don't be discouraged if you don't get around to it right away!  It will take a while to gather all the materials, etc.
First, decide how you want the Month displayed at the top. I scratched out several ideas along the way.  If you have the colorful magnetic alphabet letters on your fridge at home, then this might be an option.  You will need several uniform packets to have enough letters, but it will be bright and fun.  I also printed out and laminated the month, but I didn't like how that turned out.  I ended up using these wooden letters that I found in a packet at Hobby Lobby in the wooden crafts aisle.  They were very cheap (less than $5 for 2 packets) and I only had to super glue a magnet to the back.  Quick and done.

1st attempt using fridge magnets

2nd Attempt using wooden circle letters

Now it is time to start having fun with bottle caps.  I have been introduced to the world of bottle caps and there is no turning back.  There are now mysterious 1" holes throughout many paper products in my home thanks to this project.  If you don't have a 1" paper punch, it is definitely an investment ($10 or less) that I recommend!
For this project, I created a template to have uniform numbers on our calendar.  Like I said though, this project can be modified so much.  Feel free to let your kids track down all the numbers in magazines and punch them out so that each number is unique! If you like uniformity, then here is a printout for you:

Simply print this on cardstock and let your 1" paper punch do the rest.  If you haven't had time to collect 31 bottle caps, you can buy them at most craft stores.  I used a hot glue gun to secure all 31 numbers inside their own respective bottle cap.  When the glue was fairly set I placed a clear epoxy bottle cap cover on top.  After that I used Gorilla Glue (super glue) to attach a circular magnet to the back of each bottle cap.  This process is tedious, but each bottle cap is a mini work of art!

 

I used clothespins to hold the magnets still while the glue dried!

Now it's time to put everything together!  To finish our calendar I printed a picture of the kids and laminated it.  I used a few flat, adhesive magnets on the back, and they were ready to go! Start adding your magnetic letters and numbers and watch your calendar come to life.  To hang our calendar, I screwed an eye hook on either side of the back of the frame and tied wired ribbon through the back. 

My kids have enjoyed seeing which magnets will work on our calendar, and it will be fun to add a new magnet for each day of the month.  I plan on making (or having Kylee make...) a little bag to hold the extra numbers that are not in use until the end of the month.  I also plan on making special bottle cap magnets for days like birthdays, no school, vacation, anniversary, etc.  I want to add our family name to the top with large letters or painted directly onto the metal. I intend to decorate the tree with leaves in the Spring and snowflakes in the Winter, and the inspiration goes on and on.  

This is a fun project that the whole family will enjoy on a daily basis for many months and years to come. I'd love to hear all about your success stories and variations if you choose to tackle this calendar. Have fun!

Tomato Cage Christmas Tree!

How do you display your Christmas cards? Hung on a doorframe? Taped to the wall in a tree shape? In a basket? I am typically frustrated with constantly propping them back up on my mantle, and couldn't wait to try this super-cute AND decorative display idea that Tara ran across...using Tomato Cages!

We realize it's probably a leee-tle bit late to make a Card Holder for this Christmas, but maybe you'll want to tuck this idea away for next year. Tara happened to have two colorful cages in her garden just begging to be trimmed for Christmas. Plain wire ones (new or charmingly used) would be just as cute! She tied the legs together with floral wire to make the tree top, and we each had an instant wire tree.

I wanted to decorate our Card Tree on the cheap (free, actually), so I pulled out some pages from an old book, retrieved my craft bin, and we spent a couple of fun hours creating little ornaments. My kids loved tracing Christmas cookie cutters and then outlining them in glitter glue. I folded some pages like fans and then glued them into circle shapes, adding colorful scrapbook paper accents. A snowflake wearing a little fabric yo-yo with a button center formed our tree topper.

We tore paper into snowmen and added scrapbook paper buttons and faces. Paper strips glued together made stars. We clipped everything in place with mini-clothespins and mini-binder clips.

We love our little Card Trees...and how they proudly display each lovely card received from family and friends!

Short and Sweet: 5 Quick Christmas Activities!

Whether you are a fan of chaotic messes or not, the December forecasters are calling for mounds of crumpled Christmas wrapping paper, flurries of pine needles and occasional sprinkles of sprinkles. 'Tis the season for glitter and boxes and clutter. 
Embrace it and hang in there; you will have plenty of time to clean it all up in January and February when you are trapped inside your home staring at your walls.
Around here, the kids are beside themselves with energy from the combination of Christmas activities and sugar, so yesterday I tried to channel the excitement into some fun little activities for them.  Here are a few quick suggestions that will keep your little elves busy, happy, and involved in some fun this season.
Yesterday my kids came up with the idea of creating their own Christmas Party in their rooms.  Of course the party required decorations, which is where I came into play. The first thing we did was:


1. Make a decorative paper chain.
The paper chain has been around for many centuries and many holidays, but the timeless joy created by a few simple pieces of construction paper, scissors and staples (or tape) is classic.  It took me 5 minutes to cut strips of paper and staple them into this chain. This was nothing fancy, but the kids thought I was a super hero.

2. Glue and Glitter: Don't be scared of it.

You are going to be vacuuming up pine needles and dried leaves and cookie sprinkles for the next 4 weeks anyway--this is the perfect time to let the kids go ahead and break out the glitter.  If your kids are big enough to use the Elmer's to write something on paper, let them do it! Otherwise, make some signs for your Christmas Party or personalize (and glitterize!) those impersonal Christmas cards you know you will be sending out shortly.

3. Paper Snowflakes. Remember those?
We might assume that everyone knows how to make a paper snowflake, but this might be the first year for your child to experience the joys of folding, cutting and opening a wonderful paper snowflake. It's exciting and unique every time!  If you forget how to do it or want a little help, here is a great sight with some templates.  Simply print, fold and cut. 

4.  "I'm already tired of wrapping presents!"
You might be tired of wrapping presents, but it will turn into hours of fun for your kids!  My kids are planning to exchange gifts at their little party, so I simply provided them with some paper (those useless, oblong leftover scraps are the best!) some tape and scissors and let them wrap up random toys and books in their rooms. I gave my daughter an empty box to fill with little toys so it would be easier to wrap. They enjoyed the wrapping and are even more excited to let each other open the special gifts tomorrow!

5. Tripping over Amazon boxes?
Create the Polar Express!  Last week I counted 6 various boxes throughout the house that were the result of Cyber Christmas shopping. While I gathered the boxes to throw them away, I decided I might as well let the kids play in them for the rest of the day.  We didn't even decorate them, we simply lined them up and the rest is left to the imagination of your little ones.  If they have wrapped up their little presents, it might be fun to let them have a Christmas train and push their "train" filled with gifts around the house.

**More Bonus Thoughts**
If you have a Light Bright in your home, tucked away in the tallest shelf of your closet with the glitter and the Easy Bake Oven, now is the time for Light Bright to shine.  You will already be busy vacuuming up pine needles and cookie sprinkles, so you might as well be on the lookout for those tiny lights that are sure to scatter and hide across your carpet.  Pull out the green, red and white lights, and be prepared to see some smiling kids.

Finally, a word about tinsel and bows from Dollar General.  Remember, our kids are only little for a few years.  If you are willing to clean up some messes, you will reap the reward of fond childhood memories with your kids.  This year I got a packet of tinsel for $1 and it was by far one of the best dollars I have spent in a while.  The kids LOVED placing tinsel on the tree--the strands that are splotched all over our tree and the pieces that have gracefully fallen to the ground are marks that we live in a home filled with kids.  If you are unwilling to let them decorate the main tree, maybe you can let them toss some tinsel on a little tree in their room (or in the yard!) And although it is nice to carefully decorate and wrap each present and put all that Pinterest pinning to use, if you are willing to set aside a few gifts to let your kids help wrap (Grandparents, cousins, etc.) they will love being involved.  I picked up a large packet of sticker bows at Target for $1 and my kids really enjoyed removing the stickers and matching up bows with the gifts.
Enjoy making a mound of memories this season!

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” 

~Dr. Seuss