Crapty cardboard cereal box giraffe

So this is the adorable cardboard giraffe that I fell in love with.  

Meet Chloe. (Isn't she darling?)

And here she is au naturale:

This time I used a tissue box to make her.

I can't take any credit for this template.  My talented momma friend Vanessa made it up and let me share it with you.  This little giraffe was super easy to make and fun to decorate too.  (Polka dots... oooh la la!)

Best part is that little elephant Ella now has someone to play with...

Beasty besties

Just download this free giraffe template to make your very own Chloe the giraffe.

Happy making, friends!

Fun with food coloring, soap, and milk

We've now had 2 days of cold and wet weather.  Baby Chuck and I try to go out in the mornings, but we usually stay at home in the afternoons because parking spots are so difficult to find.  (Curse you, parallel parking!)

So... what's a cooped up mama and 16 month old baby to do?

Well, yesterday we tried another food coloring activity.  This time we found Steve Spangler's amazing science page.  He had a demonstration that involved food coloring, dish detergent, and milk.   Look what we were able to do:

Ooh.  Psychedelic!

Materials:
- milk  (we used whole... but I bet you could use other types of milk... but the intensity may differ...)
- bowl / container
- food coloring
- dish soap
- cotton swab

How to make cornstarch toddler paint

Now that Baby Chuck is down to just one nap a day, I'm working on finding new and cheap ways to entertain him.  Earlier this week I made toddler paint using a recipe I found at the Stay at home educator.

Here are some photos from our first painting session.    

For some reason he really wanted to hold a bottle of cooking wine... *sigh*  artists...

I was worried that he would get paint all over himself, but  he did a good job keeping it on the paper.

Tada!  Here's his finished work:

Baby Chuck Norris?  Nay... today he was Baby Chuckson Pollock.

As the paint dried it took on a thick, crumbly texture, so I don't think this would the recipe to use if you wanted to frame your child's artwork.  But, if you're looking for a fun, new, (and cheap!) experience, then I highly recommend this simple three ingredient recipe.  The paints were easy to make, Baby Chuck had fun, and clean up was super easy.  

To make your own toddler paint, just mix together

• 2 T cornstarch
• 4 T water
• a couple of drops of food coloring.  (I put in 4 drops and then dipped my finger into the paint.  Eeek.  Bad idea.  It turned blue and the color took a while to scrub off.   That's why we ended up using paint brushes instead of just painting with our fingers.)

Psst- if you have any ideas/suggestions for cheap and simple ways that I can keep Baby Chuck entertained during the day, let me know.  The cold and wet weather outside has forced us to stay indoors.  Needless to say, we're getting a bit stir crazy.