Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Kid Science: Make orange soda!

There are so many neat scientific demonstrations out there showing how acids and bases react.  Last year, Chuck and I used vinegar and baking soda to blow up a balloon. Seeing that balloon fill up stayed on my mind for quite some time.  The balloon blew up because of the carbon dioxide released when the acid and base combined.  Carbon dioxide is also what makes soda taste fizzy on your tongue.   So I tried out some kitchen chemistry and created homemade soda, using an acid and base reaction.   

Easy Kid Science:  Let's Make Orange soda!


Make orange soda


Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Make Tortilla Art!

The other day I was staring at some leftover tortillas and a thought suddenly dawned on me.  These lovely flat circles would make great canvases.  So Chuck and I pulled out a couple of items from our kitchen and began painting some colorful edible art!    

Edible Art:  Let's Paint Tortillas!

make tortilla artwork


Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Corn Husk Paint Brushes

Last week my sister brought over a bunch of corn.  I roasted them in the oven with their husks on and they were yummy.   But as I cleaned up, I kept wondering if there was anything I could do with the discarded husks.  Last summer I used my husks to make a corn husk doll.  This time I tried my hand at making some corn husk paint brushes, since Chuck has been so keen on painting lately.

Corn Husk Paint Brushes

how to make corn husk paint brushes
(Note:  This post contains affiliate links.  Thanks so much for your support!)

Last time he really enjoyed making abstract art with cardboard.  This time he found it funny to paint with brushes make from food.  Now if you're eating a lot of corn too, your kids might like trying out this activity too! 


Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Easter Photos

Melted crayon easter eggs
Melted Crayon Easter Eggs


Since we were away in Australia for a bit, Easter really snuck up on me this year.  I felt like I didn't have time to prepare my heart for what it meant, and I didn't have time to prepare too many Easter crafts for the kids to do.  Fortunately, the holiday still came and went with a lot of joy, fun, and crafting.  This year we attended two Easter celebrations, one with a couple of good mommy friends, and the other with family.

As a mommy (and a blogger), I always try to bring my camera whenever we attend get-togethers.  I think those events are special and I want to capture all the beautiful memories, yummy food, and funny moments that inevitable occur.  But lately, I've noticed that when I pull out the camera to snap photos, I also miss out on a bit of the moment's magic.  Sure, I've captured a memory in photograph, but I also wasn't really a part of it (probably because I'm fiddling around with camera knobs... blech technology).  Does that make sense? Does anyone feel that way too?

Anyway, I guess this was a really long intro to just explain why this year's photos were kind of lacking... and why my shots were mostly of crafts.  We loved celebrating Easter with friends and family this year.... and I was just having a bit too much fun beiing in the moment to stop and capture the moment.


Monday, April 21, 2014

Make Easter Egg Weebles

This Easter we had a lot of fun hanging out with family and friends.  I kept meaning to take lots of photos.... but I was having too much fun doing activities with the kids.  I'll try to upload my one or two photos this week.  Today I just wanted to show you this really quick DIY Easter Egg Weeble Craft.  Yup, you read that right. I made Chuck a couple of cute little Easter Egg Weebles from plastic Easter Eggs.  They're weighted, so they don't fall down.  (Scroll down for a video of Chuck trying to run them over with a Jeep... yup... that's my kid.)

Cacti and Farm Animal Easter Egg Weebles

Make Plastic Easter Egg Weebles

If you still have your plastic eggs lying around, you might like making these little guys too.  Keep reading to find out more!

Friday, April 18, 2014

Marshmallow Peeps Play Dough

After celebrating many, many Easters.... I've realized something.  I have a love-hate relationship with Peeps.  On the one hand, they're just so cute and colorful.  I want to pinch their squishy blobby cheeks.  On the other hand, they're way too sweet and taste gross on their own.  Blech!  If you dislike the way they taste too, here's a fun activity to try with your uneaten sweets.  Microwave them and turn them into some Marshmallow Peeps Play Dough.!

DIY Peeps Play Dough

Marshmallow Peeps Play Dough


I found the original recipe from Tip Toe Fairy.   The dough is fun to make, edible (although yuck, I still think it tastes way too sweet), and will certainly wow any kids at your Easter gathering.  Keep reading to see how we made our Peeps Play Dough!


Friday, April 11, 2014

Freezer Paper Stenciled Canvas Bags

We're back from Australia!  Chuck had a ton of fun playing with his cousin.  I'll try to upload some photos next week once we get readjusted to East Coast time.  (Eeek.)  In the meantime, here's a quick post showing how I made these freezer paper stenciled canvas bags.  A couple of weekends ago, I hung out with some old college friends.  Wanting to give them something handmade, I whipped up these colorful bags. 

Freezer Paper Stenciled Tomato, Pear, and Flower Canvas Bags

freezer paper stenciled tomato, pear, and flower canvas bags
Like the designs?  I think they're happy and bright, but I can't take credit for them. I modeled the images from ones that I saw via Pinterest


Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Make Pretend Play "Dirt"

Does your child love playing with construction toys too?  If so, today's post is just for you.  It's all about dirt, glorious dirt.  Since it's freezing cold outside (and we live in an urban environment), playing in real dirt just isn't an option for us.  But no worries, I whipped up a batch of Pretend Play "Dirt" and we had a blast playing with it inside. 

Make Pretend Play "Dirt"  


Make pretend dirt for kids to play with

The coolest thing about this recipe is that you only need three common household ingredients to make play "dirt."  (It was inspired by MollyMoo's Leprechaun slime recipe.)  So keep reading to see how you can whip up some play dirt at home too

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Oil and Colored Ice Cube Science

When you were a kid, did you enjoy seeing how oil and water would not mix?  I always thought that was so neat.  (I'll even admit, sometimes even now as an adult, I shake salad dressing bottles at the store just to watch that happen.  Is that weird?)  Eh hem... anyway... a couple of days ago, Chuck and I played around with this phenomenon.  We placed some colored ice cubes into cooking oil and watched them melt.  The results were just really, really beautiful.


Observing colored ice cubes melting in oil


Colored water droplets in oil
Can science be dreamy?  I hope so, because that's the best word that I can think of to describe what I saw.  Now Chuck didn't appreciate how the colorful bubbles looked like jewels, but he did enjoy swishing and moving the liquids around.  

Keep reading to see how we played with oil and water!


Friday, March 7, 2014

#2redfruitloops (and why social media stresses me out)

What should I give up for Lent?

This year for Lent I thought long and hard about what to give up.  Midnight snacking?  *Jiggles belly fat*  Yeah... that would probably be good.  Television?  Yeah, that would probably be a good choice too. 
But then I heard a bloggy friend saying that she was giving up social media and I thought... oooh, now we're onto something.



On wanting to be a kid blogger... and that pesky thief named Comparison

Last January I participated in something called #riskrejection, where a couple of bloggers and I shared how we were daring to take scary risks even if it meant getting rejected by others. That weekly challenge has now become a monthly one.  (If you'd like to participate in this month's, you can link your risks here.)

For my first risk, I shared my (now not-so-secret) desire to somehow make a career as a kids' craft blogger.  Since then, I dove into the huge social media ocean and

Yurp.  It's been great and I've learned a lot... but it's also been pretty overwhelming.

Both groups are made up of super talented, super hardworking, super social media saavy moms and I am  in awe of them...and honestly, supremely intimidated by them. 

I know I shouldn't compare, but it's hard not to.  Every time I look at my newsfeed or check my email I see how hard they've been working, how much they've created, and how many shares or likes their posts received... and  I get stressed out.

Blogging definitely becomes less fun when those pesky "What ifs" "Maybe I shoulds" or "Why am I nots" pop into my head.



Stepping back from Facebook and Page views


So for this month, I'm stepping back from social media, specifically Facebook.  I'm trying not to check every feed, comment, like, or update... and I'm also really trying hard to not worry about stats or pageviews.

It's going to be a battle till Easter, but boundaries are good right? 



#2redfruitloops


Instead of obsessing, I'm going to try trusting that God somehow has a plan and a place for all of us... and I'm going to do something that makes me happy.... draw red fruit loop doodles!  I love seeing all the artists on Instagram who doodle scenes around real objects.  So I've challenged myself to draw doodles that include 2 red fruit loops in them. (Why red fruit loops?  Because they're yummy and they make me happy.)  So if you want to follow my red fruit loop journey, you can just find it on Instagram using #2redfruitloops.

 Here's my first doodle:
(I feel like that's me... always trying to see what the future holds...)

Whoa.  I've been reading for an hour... just how long is this post anyway?

Way too long, apparently.  Wow.  You're still here? High five.  I'm sorry for this long, long personal post, but I needed to take this risk, share what was on my heart, and let everything out.

Let's be brave and hopeful together friends, shall we?

Thursday, March 6, 2014

4 Easy Kids' Crafts


Today Chuck's sick and we're stuck at home.  Boo!  I was going to skip posting today and instead just upload our everyday craft photos onto my Instagram account.  But the photos were so cute... so I gave in and I'm uploading a collage here too, just in case you're looking for some crafty inspiration.

4 Really Easy (Practically no prep) Kids' crafts



Keep reading to see how we made each craft:

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Homemade Gluten free Puffy Paint Recipe and free Lincoln Coloring Page

Recently I found this great recipe for homemade puffy paint from  Happy Hooligans.  It was a simple recipe and called for only four ingredients, one of them being self-rising flour.  Since Chuck's allergic to wheat, we only have gluten free baking mix at home.  I was curious whether we could obtain the same results.  Well, after messing around in the kitchen we painted Mr. Lincoln's beard and hair with our very own homemade brown puffy paint.

Four score and seven years, our puffy haired fathers....
Homemade gluten free puffy paint and LIncoln coloring page

Would you like to see how we made our own homemade gluten free puffy paint?  Keep reading to find out!

Thursday, February 13, 2014

DIY Sprinkles and Hot Glue Cake Toppers

Sprinkles are the happiest decorations in the world.  They're super colorful and remind me of sweets and cake.  So I made these sprinkle cake toppers to turn boring rice krispies into something a bit more festive and Valentines-y for our toddler group. 

DIY Sprinkles cupcake toppers
They were super easy to make and added a happy touch to my snacks.  Keep reading to make them for yourself!

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Painting Valentine's Day and African Inspired Pasta Necklaces

Alright, this post's title is completely wackadoo, but hear me out.  Chuck and I painted pasta necklaces to wear on Valentine's Day.  But after painting a bunch of pasta pretty pastel colors, my eyes yearned for primary colors.  So while Chuck slept, I peeked online and found some really beautiful beaded African necklaces.  And then this mama went to town and painted her own pasta pieces with African inspired colors and designs.

painting pasta necklaces with kids

Keep reading to see how we painted them!

Monday, February 10, 2014

Make butter by Shaking up Heavy Cream

Did you know that if you shake heavy cream long enough, it will make butter?  *Pause for effect*  Yup.  It's true.  It takes about 20-25 minutes to turn 1/2 a pint of heavy cream into butter.  You don't even need special equipment to do it!  How do I know?  Because I roped hubby into making some homemade butter with me this past weekend!

Let's Make Homemade Butter from Heavy Cream!

 
Make easy homemade butter by shaking up heavy cream

Why this sudden interest in making homemade butter?  Don't worry, I'm not swearing off all processed foods.  I recently found out that February 7th was Laura Ingalls Wilder's birthday.  She was one of my favorite authors as a young girl.  I loved reading Little House on the Prairie and thought this would be a great way to celebrate her (and try out some cool food science too.)

Keep reading to see how we made our own homemade butter from heavy cream!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Two Bird Feeder Crafts: Toilet Paper Roll Feeders and Ice Feeders

Earlier this week my posts focused on sending some lovin' to the special people in your life (Click herehere and here.)  Well, that's all well and good.  But what about sending love to others?  How about the birds?  With the freezing cold weather outside, our feathered friends are bound to need some loving too.  So why not try out these two bird feeder crafts?  Chuck and I made some toilet paper roll bird feeders and some heart shaped ice feeders.  Both were really easy to make and currently dangling on a tree outside our building.

Here's an up-close shot of our Toilet Paper Roll Feeder:
Toilet Roll Bird Feeder Craft

To see how I made the toilet paper roll feeders and ice feeders, keep reading!

Monday, January 27, 2014

DIY Valentine's Day Gifts: Candy, Coffee, and Tea

When hubby and I first started dating, we were grad students and super strapped for cash.  For our first Valentine's day, I gave hubby Hershey Kisses with little slips of paper stuck to their bottoms.  Each slip of paper contained a special memory that we had shared together or was simply blank (symbolizing memories that we were still going to make.)

Right now we're about to celebrate our ninth Valentine's day together... and for some reason I got thinking about that first gift.  It was easy to make and didn't cost very much.  But, it was really special for both of us.  Feeling inspired by that first Valentine's gift nine years ago, here are three really easy, affordable, and sweet DIY gifts to make for your loved ones.


To see the details for each one, keep reading!

Monday, January 13, 2014

6 ways to entertain a toddler at home

Looking for some easy ways to entertain your toddler in the winter?

So... how about that polar votex?  Boy, oh boy, that was some crazy weather.  With the snow, ice, and freezing cold winds, Chuck and I hunkered down at home. 


After a couple of hours of reading the same books over and over again, and playing with the same toys over and over again, and listening to the soundtrack of "Planes" for the trillionth time, I finally cracked.

Redrum, redrum?

Thankfully, we didn't make it to that point.  But, we definitely bounced off the walls a bit.  To maintain some sense of sanity, we had to do something to make the time at home more enjoyable.  So here are a couple of fun activities that kept us sane and smiling...

1.  Yarn family portrait craft

yarn hair family portrait craft
Chuck loves using scissors and the glue sticks, so this activity was a hit.  First he helped me cut tons of short, white yarn strands.  Then, I doodled a bald family on a piece of paper.  Then, he helped me glue hair onto all of their heads.  The result is this cute and funny family portrait. 

Keep reading to see more ways we entertained ourselves at home...

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Make flowers and leaves from gumdrops

What would you do with a bunch of leftover gumdrops?  Would you eat them or toss them out?

Or, would you try something a bit different?  Would you burn them... or melt them... or nuke 'em?  Eeek. What evil candy torturer would do that?  Oh wait,  I already did all those things in my 6 strange things to do with gummy bears post... muah ha ha.

This time I took a different route and turned my colorful gummy candy into gumdrop flowers.  Why, you ask?  Why not!  After seeing these lovely gumdrop rose petals I pulled out my candy and got a'smooshing and a'cutting.  By the end of the night I had me a lovely bouquet of gumdrop flowers:

Ooooh.  Perrrrrty....

Have I intrigued you?  Keep on reading to see how these lovely flowers were made...

Friday, January 3, 2014

Sweets, Graham cracker Houses, and the Dentist (Eeek!)

So... I've got a confession.

I was looking through some holiday photos and I realized... eek I may have gone a bit  WAY overboard with the sugar.  Yikes.  Apparently I have a tiny HUGE sweet tooth.

On top of the lovely goodies that we ate at parties, hubby and I also devoured sweets at home.  Hrmm... all that sugar.... maybe we're part Elf?  Here's a review of some of our homemade holiday goodies... 

1.  Hubby made us a couple of  homemade cafe mochas.  He mixed 1T cocoa, 1T hot water, and 1 T sugar in a cup.  Then, he added 1 shot of espresso (or double strength coffee) and topped that with with 1/2C of warmed and frothed milk.  Sweet and yurmmy...

Keep on reading to see more sweet goodies...