Kids Craft Christmas Decor

Say that one ten times fast!  Between Tim and I we were really starting fresh with Christmas decorations.  He came with a cute ceramic tree from his childhood and a stocking and I had some ornaments my mom gave me along with ones I inherited from my Dad.  Now that we are in our own house and living on a budget I was really missing my mom's endless boxes of Christmas decorations.

Bear and I were feeling crafty and in the holiday spirit and made up some great easy decorations that kids can help with too (ages 3+)!

We made a Pom Pom Garland and a Christmas Star for the window.

Pom Pom Garland

Pom Poms in various sizes and colors
Thread - we used a sparkly silver thread we had leftover
Needle

Thread your needle - I didn't cut my thread to size since I didn't want anything to get tangled.  Have you preschooler choose the pom poms and help you thread them on. We used ones sized .25 inch, .5 inch and 1inch and used neon colors since that's what we had lying around from other crafts.  We didn't worry about the spacing until it was hung up.  We used about 38 pom poms spaced 2" apart to go over our big window in our living room.

Make sure when you are threading them to poke the needle through the center of the pom poms or they will fall off.  They didn't slide around once we spaced them out so we didn't bother to tie any knots before/after each pom pom (too much work)

Christmas Stars

Popsicle sticks - 10 per star and large or small size is fine.
Tacky Glue - I find this works best with popsicle sticks/wood crafts
Modge Podge - any finish will work fine
Foam Brush
Tissue Paper - any color(s)
Thread - for hanging

Arrange your popsicle sticks like shown below and use the tacky glue to hold them together on the ends in the shape of a star.  Let dry (this is a good time to make a pom pom garland or have a Christmas dance party).

Once dry tie your thread around the top of the star - cut long enough for your star to hang where you'd like when it is finished.  Using the foam brush and modge podge, paint on a thin (ish) layer on the back of the sticks and start putting on some tissue paper.  We found it was easiest to make 4 x 4 torn pieces of tissue and to work from there.  You want the paper to go over the edges of the sticks.

Then turn your star over and modge podge the other side and fold the edges over.  Add more modge podge and tissue paper until satisfied.  We only had two colors so we made a green star and a smaller purple star (broke the sticks in half for the smaller star).  Let dry and hang!  I think these would also look really cool with different colored papers collaged on.

What crafts are you going to do this winter?

Love,
PlusPeace

Craft Necessities

Bear has been really into crafts lately and I don't always have a project ready to go so here are my Top 10 Craft Supplies to Keep on Hand

Markers & Washable Paint/Brushes

Craft Paper (that includes plain paper, construction paper, watercolor paper, anything)

Googley eyes

Pom Poms

Pipe Cleaners

Glue (Glue Sticks, Elmers, tacky) & Tape

Popsicle Sticks

Clothes Pins

Scissors (fun punches optional)

Yarn (multiple colors)

These are all cheap and can be stored in a Rubbermaid. From here, the supplies can be split into craft baggies or just let your little one be free with all of it.  We have a big cutting mat that I let Bear use on the floor since it’s plastic, it wipes easily and I don’t really care if it’s caked in glue.

Here are just a few crafts that you can do with these basic supplies..

Monster Buddies

Cut feet from the construction paper glue a pom pom to the feet and then glue on eyes

Halloween Decorations

Cut out ghosts, pumpkins, spiders, etc from the paper and hang them around the house.  We got glow paint for this so our ghosts glow in the dark but just as fun without.

Make a yarn web in the window and make pipe cleaner spiders to live there

You can also make houses from popsicle sticks, butterflies and airplanes with clothes pins, flowers with paper and pipe cleaners.

The possibilies are literally endless and if you are looking to spice up the craft selection you can keep these special items on hand too:

ShrinkyDinks (or equivalent)

Tissue Paper

Pony Beads

Fabric Squares

Puffy Paint

What are your favorite crafts?

Love,

PlusPeace

Solar Powered Pumpkin Jars - DIY

Thank you, Nana for this amazing craft!  My mom and Bear made these cute pumpkin lights (powered by solar garden lights) and I just had to share

You will need:

Paintbrushes (preferably with long handles)

Various glass jars (jelly jars, pastene jars, canning jars, etc)

Acrylic paint – think pumpkin and fall colors: Orange, Red, Brown, Yellow

Sticky-back Black Foam

Solar Garden Lights – Try Target, Walmart or clearance sales at HomeDepot for cheap

Electrical Tape

Scissors

How To:

Put a dime sized blob of 1-2 colors of paint inside each jar and let your little ones use the brushes to coat the inside of the jars.  Cut out eyes, nose and mouth shapes from the stick back foam.  You can also do spiders, shapes or anything your imagination can come up with.  Stick them to the outside of the jars.

While the paint dries, remove the sticks from the solar garden lights and use the electrical tape to put the light up parts onto the top of each jar.  Make sure you pull the tape tight so they stay in place.  If you use mason jars, remove the lid inserts and tape the lights to the rings). 

Leave them in the sun and watch them glow at night!!

If you have trouble finding solar lights use the battery operated votive candles (Target, Walmart, craft stores and some dollar stores)

Love,

PlusPeace

Grab Bags - Preschool

It has been a stressful few weeks but we've gotten through it!  Bear did excellent for his surgery last Thursday and recovered almost immediately.  The nursing staff and Doctors at Mercy are AMAZING! We topped off the week with a great trip to Story Land in NH which was really fun because it was a surprise for Bear.  He was so giddy when he figured out where we were going :)

Iv'e bit off more than I can chew lately so, unfortunately, SillyKids Box is going to be QUARTERLY but will include more activities.  I just can't commit to a monthly thing when I am working a full time job and trying to start up a small business.

I poo-pooed Kiwi Crate for a while because I figured there was no way it could be worth the cost but recently received a deal from them and we got our first box.  I have to say, I love it.  What I ended up doing was splitting up the three activities in Kiwi Crate and the activities from last month's SillyKids Box and making grab bags for the winter (the boring times in Maine).  Take a look below:

Gallon Sized Baggies

Puke Bucket from the Hospital (shh) Don't worry, unused.

I am really excited to use all the activities and can't wait to add more!  I also got the "Creative Room" cleaned up this weekend (AKA my office/Bear's mini classroom/guest room).  And Bear spent some time giving play-doh hair cuts and painting pretty pictures for the walls.

That about wraps it up for now! Also, check out the August SillyKids Box post for some pictures of how te finished Robot City looks - updating it now!

Love,

PlusPeace

August SillyKids Box is HERE!

Well, I finally got everything to work out!  I don't have the pictures up yet but will post them by the end of the week and the folding tutorials later today (I will just update this same post so bookmark it).

DOWNLOAD IT HERE!

Edit 9.16.13: Here is how your Robot City will look after all the towers and building have been folded.  Don't worry about them being perfect, I cut these out (not Bear) because I ended up putting this activity into a grab bag and didn't want to have to deal with scissors so Bear's role will be decorating his robot and putting the towers back on.

Love,

PlusPeace

Weather Willy Felt Board DIY

When I was little my mom made us a Weather Willy.  He was fantastic and made for a great project.  I made one for Bear last winter but he is just now starting to understand the concept and how to use this great learning tool.  I have a few adjustments to make to ours before it's the way I'd like but I want to share with you the general idea as well as the templates and how to.

Weather Willy is a daily activity for you and your child, it's short, sweet and simple and the name pretty much explains it.  Will is a kid, every morning he looks out his window and then decides what to wear based on the weather outside.  On a sunny day, he'll be rockin' his shorts and t-shirt and on cold rainy days he'll grab his umbrella and raincoat.

What is fantastic about this is you can tailor it to your area very easily - have fun with it.  If you live in an area with tornadoes, heck, make a tornado! If you have ice storms, make some nice icey shapes.  In a warmer climate?  Make lots of sunshine and different types of clouds!

I got all of my supplies at AC Moore but any large craft store will do (Michaels, Walmart, Jo-Ann Fabrics, etc).

You will need:

Picture Frame – ($10-20) I chose an 11 x 17” frame with a nice thick wood frame.

Felt – ($0.25 each) You will need to plan out your colors.  The attached templates work well for the Northeast so below is the list of colors I chose and how many. I bought 8.5 x 11 sheets so I’m going by that.

Background/Grass – 2 Light Blue, 1 Light Green

Willie –  Peach,  Light Brown

Willie’s Clothes –  Orange, Red, Yellow, Camo, Black, Lime, Dark Brown, White

Weather – White, Light Gray, Yellow, Light Blue

Tree – Dark Green, Dark Brown

Tacky Glue

Fabric Markers or Sharpies

Scissors (sharp ones preferred)

Pen

Printouts - Download them HERE

Note: Weather Willie can easily be made Weather Winnie – just make some dresses and longer hair!

For the Board:

Remove the cardboard from inside the frame – this is going to be your base.  Remove the glass (we don’t have another use for the glass in this project).  Glue down the two light blue felt sheets, lining the top edge of the felt to the top edge of the cardboard.

For the grass, cut one 11 x 5" strip and then attack with the scissors (make it look like grass) be careful not to cut the blades too small or gluing it down will be a pain.  Glue down your grass layer.

Place the cardboard back into your frame to the felt faces out like a picture and that’s that.

Willie or Winnie – Use the template to cut out your character.  My template is for Willy, Hair as well as the “undies” pattern.  For Willie, I used light brown for his hair and made his undies white but get creative.  Glue the hair and undies right to him so he doesn’t get cold.  Use markers to add features (eyes, nose, mouth, “pee hole” on the undies, etc). 

Now for the clothes!  I used the Willie template as my outline for all the outfits so they fit him.  Make sure all the clothes are a tiny tiny bit larger than Willie so he is covered. Here is a list of clothes & accessories I made…

Overall Shorts, Tee Shirt, Sneakers, Ball & Sunglasses

Raincoat, Rain Hat, Frog Boots & Umbrella

Camo Pants, Long Sleeve Shirt & Baseball Cap

Winter Jacket, Snow Pants, Boots & Beanie

Here are the different types of weather I made some pieces work with multiple forecasts..

Snow – Gray Clouds, Snowballs, Snow Lumps, Snowflakes, Snowman

Sunny – A Big Sunshine, Some Flowers

Cloudy – Gray Clouds (if you want to throw in some earth science make different types)

Rainy – Rain Drops, Puddles, Gray Clouds

Stormy – All Rainy Parts + Lightning Bolts

I also made some critters and scenery…

Robin & Blue Bird

Fox (included in template)

Bunny

Evergreen Tree

Some other fun things you can do…

Make the backside of your board night time with constellations and planets

Make seasons using what you already have as well as some leaves

Bear and I plan to start a weekend home schooling starting at the end of August.  The school where he goes to daycare isn’t going to offer their 3 preschool until November and I’d really love to spend some learning time with him.  I am going to revamp our Weather Willy and include this in our “classes”.

Love,

PlusPeace

Toddler Learning Activity

So I see these blogs and pictures of what claim to be learning activities for toddlers and every time I think "Pshht - B would NOT sit still to do that!" but over the weekend was pleasantly surprised at this activity..

We have been verrrryyyy sloooowwwllyyyy finishing up the basement.  We made a huge step back in November when we leveled and laid the floor in the third bedroom and painted then we didn't touch it until Sunday when we installed my office in the closet downstairs - yay!  I have big mason jars filled with wonderful, colorful crafty things and Bear chose to play with the clothes pins and pom poms.  He started by just throwing pom pom's at the kitten and then I gave him the idea of dumping out the pom poms and using a clothes pin to drop them back into the jar.

He did REALLY well and enjoyed it!!  I'd like to think he was learning how to be patient and how to control the small movements (or it was just that the pom poms were colorful and he was pretending to be an excavator).

Oh to be three!

Love,
PlusPeace

Pom Poms - Kid Craft

We made super cut pompom monsters caterpillars this weekend.  I ran into AC Moore to grab some eyes for Monster Minibets and saw a big bag of neon pom-poms on sale for $1.99 and we have craft foam and googly eyes at home.

You Need:

Tacky Glue (or elmers)

Googly Eyes

Pom Poms

Craft Foam

For Caterpillars you need a needle and thread as well.

The feet are just hearts I cut out.  I left Bear assemble them and I did the glue dabbing. For the caterpillar just use a needle the thread the pom poms in a line, when it is as long as desired run the thread through the opposite direction and tie the ends (they make nice antennae)

Good craft for before dinner - they are done drying after you eat.

Love,

PlusPeace

10 Indoor Party Games

My friend Sofia and mother of three is throwing an indoor party.  It's so easy to throw the kids outside with a ball and call it a day but what if you can't?  Entertaining kids inside sounds daunting but it got me thinking and I've put together a list of indoor games and activities fit for kids 3+

GAMES!

Bean Bag Toss
Get bean bags or foam balls (foam may be better in a smaller more...breakable...setting) from the dollar store.  There are two ways to do this, start by marking your "standing line" at one end of a hallway or stretch of room with masking tape.

Option 1 (probably better for older kids) cut holes in the tops of boxes and number the outsides with point values.  Place them at different distances from the start spot.

Option 2 (for the younger crowd) make squares are various distances on the floor with masking tape and number them with different point values.

Have the kids line up and take turns tossing into the spots.  Keep track of points on a poster or paper OR just throw for fun!

Best Buds Relay
Get several medium sized balls that are lightweight (the ones from grocery stores or dollar store are good - soccer ball? Not so much).  Designate a starting and ending point - for little kids a straight line is better, for older you can add obstacles like circle the couch twice.  Have the kids pair up and put one arm around the neck of their partner side by side and put the ball between them (held between their sides above the hip)

If you drop the ball or touch it with your hands you have to start over, the first pair to reach the finish win!

image from Parenting

Freeze Dance
I LOVE doing this with kids.  They are so cute dancing and get all giggly when you stop.  What I like about this is it is not as rough as musical chairs (which can get pushy and end in tears).  Get some good kids songs and a nice wide space for dancing.  Dance crazy while the music goes but when it pauses everyone has to stop!  If you want it to be less competitive just have a kid stay frozen for one dance if they don't stop when the music stops.  Then they are not sitting on the sides by themselves.

Simon Says
Pretty similar to the above - and we all know how to play.  This is not only learning how to listen but also super fun!


Laser Gazer
I've seen this one all over the internet so I apologize that I don't have the source for the original image.  Tape red yarn from wall to wall at various angles.  The object is to get through without knocking any down or touching them.  A toddler will most likely just rip it all down so may be better for older kids.

PRETEND PLAY!

Under Table Home
Get a table cloth or sheet that hangs over your table and just touches the floor.  Make a slit from the floor to just below the top of the table OR just cut out a door.  Use tie-backs to hold the door back and draw some windows with sharpie and any details you want - tada! Playhouse that is gone in a snap!

Carpet Town (or wood floor)
Using masking tape, you (or some kids) can plan out an entire city - use the tape to make sidewalks, roads, city lines, building lots, etc.  Feel free to incorporate leggos for buildings, play people and lots of toy cars!

Exploration Station
Collect a bunch of toilet paper and paper towel rolls.  Cut them all the be the same size (about 5 inches) and staple two side by side and use a hold punch to make holes on the sides for a yarn neck-strap.  Make enough sets for each kid and let them decorate with markers.  Make bingo sheets that picture objects around the house.  At each object you drew place a sheet of stickers next to it. Pair up the kids (if younger) when they find the object they put the sticker on the image and the first to get 4 in a row wins!  The binoculars just make them look like little explorers - not really necessary :)

CRAFTERS!

Its getting late and it was a long day so I am just going to list off a few and count them as Nine and Ten on my list :)

Rock Painting - can be done with markers so there is no paint mess
Make Your Own Hat - make pre-cut pieces of yard]n, tape, colored paper, crimpy scissors, small boxes, etc and award each kid with different things (pre-make "best blank" plaques on paper. Ex Tallest Hat, Prettiest Hat, Most Colorful Hat...
Egg Dying - not just for Easter!
Party Plate Masks - get cheap white plates, markers, yarn and stickers.  Cut eye holes and make masks

Any more ideas from any of you creative Mommas?

Love,
PlusPeace

FREE Printable Roundup

I am a big fan of printables - let's be specific - FREE printables.  Lots of blogs offer them (and if I could figure out how to customize my blog with tabs, I would make a whole bunch too) until then, here is my toddler friendly printable round-up!

I love TinyMe, their products are adorable and they add stuff to their print section all the time.  Bear and Nana made the "Color-Me-In" stick puppets a few weeks ago.  Some require a color printer and some do not. Free Printables Here

image from TinyMe

Spoonful has lots of creative ideas for little kiddos.  Check out their "create" tab for fun activities.  These are their Top 25 Printable Mazes & Games. Free Printables Here

image from Spoonful

Babble has it goin on - I could get lost on this site for hours but stumbled on these 10 Fabulous & Free Printables.  These require paper and little imaginations. Free Printables Here

image from Babble

Mr. Printables is the mother-load.  There is everything from Robot Masks to Snake Puppets and flash cards.  All is well designed and eye catching. Free Printables Here

image from MrPrintables

I definitely need to get my printer up and going again :)

Love,
PlusPeace

Kid Craft - Craft Stick Planes

I have been trying to find craft sticks and clothes pins for over a month.  I tried the dollar store and the craft store wanted a rediculous amount of money for junk wood pieces so I put this project on the back burner...

Well the hubs and I went away this weekend (yes just the two of us) if you are in New England, I highly recommend a romantic weekend away at the Golden Apple Inn in Glen, NH (near North Conway).  We have never stayed in a suite before so this was a real treat.  Jacuzzi, king size bed and fireplace IN the room - bliss.

I digress, we went out to Walmart (yes we went to walmart on our mini vacation) and I found Craft Sticks and Clothes Pins SUPER cheap!  When we got home today I figured Bear and I would do some coloring and we decided to color on the craft sticks with crayons which was fun but then he noticed the clothes pins on the table and wanted to play with those too.  I gave him a few only to turn around and find he's made airplanes all on his own!!  I didn't even mention it to him yet (genius) and I like his version better.  Way more two year old friendly and NO glue-mess.

You will need:

No skill for this one, just let your two year old do the work!

Small Craft Sticks (walmart)

Clothes Pins (walmart)

Crayons

Two year old

We started by coloring on the craft sticks and then the clothes pins.  You have unlimited options but we made both airplanes and dragonflies.  

For dragon flies take two craft sticks, cris-cross and pinch with the pin.  Draw eyes on the pin.

For airplanes just pinch one craft stick in the middle with the pin.

Now flyyyyyy!!! After we were done we pinched the pins around the edge of a jar and put the sticks inside - easiest clean-up EVER!  For a dragonfly add-on we put nerf darts on the ends of our dragonsflies wings and tail.

Love,

PlusPeace

Boys & Their Cars

Bear had the pleasure of joining me at work today!  Luckily Fridays are fairly slow but we made the best of what we had and wanted to share with you!

We all know that little boys (and girls) love cars around age 2-4.  Whats not to love?  Toy cars come in every shape, color and size and can be purchased SUPER cheap (check out Dollar Tree or BJ's has a tube of 70 HotWheels for a mere $19).  What's even better about toy cars is that they trigger imagination!

Check out this "super fast zoomer tunnel"  AKA old cardboard roll of sorts taped to a tissue box...

It was fun to see what cars fit in the tunnel and which did not and why.  For example he has a semi truck that fit but was too long to come out the bottom and the jeep was too big to fit inside at all.  The matchbox car went a lot faster and farther than the plastic tonka trucks.  See - we learn while we play!

Then we made this magnificent garage out of a case of tissue boxes and also another tunnel out of Bear...

Some other great ideas not pictured:

Post-it note race track - line up all the post-its on the floor like a chain and race down the center.  Make it curvy, straight, loopy etc.  Best part is you can break it and move it around.

Masking tape parking center/town - as pictured in my blog post: Washi Tape?

Tape Tunnel - we had a leftover box - decent size - it was a case of Girl Scout cookies (yes i ordered a case) and I folded in all 4 flaps and cut a U shape into the center of one of the sides and another parallel.  I taped the inside of the U's to make a tape tunnel so cars would not get stuck inside when it was flipped over.  Bed 2 minute project!  I decided to take a picture of that as it sounds confusing...

We will have to try this paper towel tube car track as pictured here this website is clearly not the original and is in Chinese (sorry) but the picture is explanatory.

Do you have any easy match-box car activities?

Love,

PlusPeace

A Little Boy Bag

So I, unfortunately, did not document this bag with pictures.  I made it on a whim but it can be easily made with some canvas scraps/fabric scraps and a general idea of how a bag is put together.

There are 5 Pieces to this bag.  I used leftover from the Two Hour Teepee which is just a canvas drop cloth from Home Depot.  My sizes in the illustration are approximate so feel free to make it as large or small as you would like. 

If you change the size, here are some basics:

The strap (A) will need to be 2 inches longer on each end than you actually want it to hang off your little one. The bottom and sides (D) must be 1 inch longer than the two sides and bottom of the front of the bag (B)

The bag flap and bag back (C) should be one piece for convenience. You can make the flap as long or chort as you'd like.

The pocket (E) is an add on. You don't need it for a functional bag.

Instructions: These are pretty basic.  I used plain white multipurpose thread and a straight stitch.

Step 1: Fold strap A in half lengthwise and sew along the length with a 1/2 inch hem.  Turn inside out (seam inside) and lay flat with the seam now going down the center.  Iron flat.

Step 2: This seems tricky, but once you do it once - easy!  Take the bottom and sides strip D and pin it around B starting at the top left corner and working down around to the top right corner.  Sew a 1/4-1/2 inch hemp all the way around the three sides you pinned.

Step 3: Fold all 4 sides of your pocket E inward to make clean edges and sew the top edge.  Then pin your pocket to the OUTSIDE of B (the side that will show from the front of the bag) with the OUTSIDE of the pocket showing, sew around three sides (left, bottom, right).

Step 4: Now pin the bottom half of C to D (the same as you did in step 2, make sure the inside (hem exposed) edges are on the outside and your insides are facing each other.  Sew around your hem.

Turn your bag right side out, it should now resemble a bag.  If you are using fabric that does not fray, you do not have to do this step and you can skip to step 6.  If not, keep reading..

Step 5: Pin ALL your edges (around the opening of the bag as well as the 3 sides of the flap) about 1/4-1/2 inch inward.  Sew in one continuous loop all the way around that hem to make it look clean and avoid a fray.  The corners can be tedious but you should be a pro after the corners of step 2.

Step 6: Sew one end of your strap to the top left inside of the bag and the other end to the top right inside. DONE!

I will make another and give a picture tutorial (I am a visual learner so I understand when written directions suck)

Now - you can decorate it! What I love about the canvas is now Bear can paint it any colors he wants or glue stuff to it.  I plan to stamp this one with heat-set ink (tutorial to come).

Love,

PlusPeace

Washi Tape?

I love the idea of all the washi tape trending on Pinterest BUT I don't know where to get it nor do I want to stick it to everything only to have to peel it off and toss it later.  Bear was getting restless and I was trying to cook dinner (more on that below) and I needed something fast to distract him.  Playdough requires too much attention lately and coloring is not active enough.  I grabbed a roll of masking tape of the counter and told Bear to pick out some small cars.

I started with "parking" and made a road down to a building of sorts.  Then once he started playing he wanted to add the train tracks to the mix - genius! This was quite possibly the easiest activity we've done all week. Works on hard wood or carpet and leaves no sticky residue.

And now for dinner.  This is a $6 dinner that takes 15 minutes to cook and feeds 4 - yes that is only $1.50 per mouth! 

Tasty Baked Ziti:

1lb Box Ridged Ziti

Newmans or Classico red sauce (both were on sale but we used newmans)

Italian Blend Shredded Cheese

Boil water - add pasta and cook to directions (about 8 minutes).  Drain noodles and add to casserole dish.  Stir in red sauce and sprinkle cheese on top (do not stir).  Place in the oven and broil for approximately 3 minutes or until the top is bubbly.  

Garlic bread is optional, we had both italian bread and garlic on hand.

Enjoy!

PlusPeace

Dance, Love, Learn

I found this mix on Pinterest and downloaded all of them - I am in love with this mix and cant wait to sing and dance with a my little dude...

You can listen to them over on Small Fry


Enjoy!
PlusPeace

Glow Bath

We went to Target over the weekend and grabbed a tube of 15 glow bracelets from the $1 bin (good deal).  I sort of had the idea of what I was going to do with them but it ended up being 10x more fun than I thought.

The first night we only put 5 in the tub and it was not super interesting.  Tonight we put in a whole bunch and connected them to line the whole bath.

I highly recommend this!

Then we decided to have some fun with the shutter speed...

...and then the fun continued into the bedroom...

Keep in mind these have small parts and although they are not easy to break, they can.  Do not leave your kid unattended in the bath with these - or in general don't leave your kid alone in a tub of water :)  If one does break, I would call poison control just in case but my friend's little brother broke one in his mouth and poison control told us that they just taste really bad and wont harm you (but don't take my word for it).

We also like to add the sesame street water dyes to the tub at night.  A can of 25 was only $3.49 at RiteAid.

Love,
PlusPeace

Pretty Rice

I got this idea from momtastic but decided to use our neon food colors.  I didn't have much rice but this will be a craft we definitely do again and again.  As we were playing with it for the second day in a row, I think I plan to use this for a future "space" themed birthday party - moon sand anyone?  Bear really enjoyed playing with it in the baking pan with trucks and trailers.

Here's my how-to:

1 bag uncooked white rice

White vinegar

Ziplock baggies

Desired colors food coloring

Separate rice between baggies, pour in 2 tablespoons of vinegar/1 cup rice.

Add 4 drops of coloring/1 cup rice.

Squeeze out air and seal baggy.

Pour rice out onto a flat baking pan and store in a safe place (turned off oven) until dry.

Love,

PlusPeace