Frozen-Inspired Play Dough

Living in the Chicago area, we've had plenty of snow and cold to last a lifetime.

My kids absolutely LOVE the snow. They could spend hours on end outside, no matter how cold it was.

On days that got particularly cold (with wind chills well below zero), I'd opt to bring the snow inside and let them play with it in cake pans. They love this and would spend hours playing with their little toys and figures (especially their little Frozen dolls) in it in the warmth of our home. I would just go back-and-forth refilling the pans that would melt with fresh snow to continue the fun.

This got me thinking about making up some snow play dough that we wouldn't have to worry about melting or surrounding puddles. This certainly wouldn't completely replace bringing snow inside, but I figure it to be a nice alternative.

Ingredients:
2 cups water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
food coloring (optional)
peppermint extract (optional)
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 teaspoons cream of tartar

1. Mix 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, 4 teaspoons of cream of tartar, and glitter (optional) in large pot.

2. If desired, you can put food coloring in the 2 cups of water (if you want a color other than white) and/or you can put a teaspoon of peppermint extract or any other kind of extract in the water, if you want to add a scent.

3. Add the 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to dry mixture already in the pot.

4. Stir until the mixture starts to form a solid consistency, scraping the bottom and sides of pot.

5. Once it's at the desired consistency, carefully remove from pot as it will be hot, and place on a flat surface lightly floured for kneading.

6. Let the play dough completely cool before storing. You can use ziploc bags, tupperware, and/or shallow mason jars.

My kids have been having snow much fun playing with the play dough :)

Free Rainbow Loom Valentine Cards

Use this free downloadable Rainbow Loom Valentine to pass out to classmates and friends.

Simply print the free downloadable image (3 cards will print on one 8.5" x 11" sheet of card stock).

Using a paper cutter or scissors cut them apart.

You can just wrap a rainbow loom around the edges of the card, just under the word "sweetness".

Or you could even use a hole punch to make two holes and feed it through, closing it in the back of the card.

Again, you can download these valentines free here & just wrap your rainbow looms under the word, "sweetness" or create hole punches and feed the bracelet through, closing it in the back of the card.

Spread the love :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Just Look at that Mug

 

This is just another Sharpie mug idea for Valentine's Day.

Just grabbed a mug from the Dollar Tree and used red and gold oil-based Sharpie markers to draw some heart arrows on the side of the mug.

Baked it in the oven at 350 for an hour.

 

In my first attempt (pictured above), I used Frog tape to help make the lines straight.  

I quickly realized that the markers still bled through the edge. 

So I thought, in this instance, I'd be better off free-handing it even if the lines looked crooked.

This might be fun to give to a friend or teacher filled with some chocolate candies.

Spread the love :)

The Vase of Love

 

If you're looking for a fun way to display the flowers your honey gets you, look no further than the Dollar Tree.

You can pick up a plain glass vase and a sack of clear, flat marbles ($1/each) and simply hot glue them to the vase. 

 

You can glue them in any shape desired.  It might also be fun to mod podge images to the marbles before gluing them down to add more to your design.

I happened to do a quick heart shape, but obviously, there are many possibilities.

It would also be fun to give as a gift to a friend or loved one.

 

We used ours to display the tissue paper flowers the kids made on a snow day.

Spread the love :)

No Soup for You

If you're looking for some last minute accents to add to your holiday buffet line, table, or hot chocolate bar look no further than your cabinets.

Dress up empty soup cans to hold silverware, etc...

You can also turn them upside down or use full soup cans and just glue or tape festive items on top to add some height and texture.  Things such as pinecones or ornaments add a fun touch.

In this pic above, I just wrapped an empty can with kraft paper and taped punched-out paper snowflakes before tying baker's twine around the center.

With the upside down can next to it, I cut a strip from some cute owl wrapping paper and taped it around the center of the can with washi tape bordering above and below to cover the uneven cutting on my part, leaving part of the silver can's edges exposed.  I also used double stick tape to add the little silver ornament on top.

In the picture above, I cut out an ornament from wrapping paper so that I could tape it to the center of the soup can that has a single strip of washi tape wrapped around.

Between scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, washi tape, paper punches, twine, etc...the possibilities and combinations are endless.

I usually like to use what I already have around the house or in my current craft stash.

Below is a picture of a utensil holder, with a doily and baker's twine, that we used in the spring for my daughter's communion party.

Using birthday wrapping paper with bright colors would be fun for a birthday party, with the age of the guest of honor wrapped around the cans.

These are just some examples of simple ways that you can use what you already have to spruce up the decor for the occasion.

Deck the Halls

 

 Chalkboard sketch inspired by this adorable print from Etsy.

Merry Christmas!

Linking up with:
The Nesting Place's 2013 Christmas Tour of Homes

Alternative to Store-Bought Thank You Cards

In lieu of store-bought thank you cards, we've had the kids write notes of gratitude on the back of a picture print for the past couple of years.  We either include a picture of them at their birthday party or a posed pic of them, tying in the theme of the party.

We just order them as 4x6 prints, so it's really inexpensive.

This particular pic was a thank you note from an 8 year old painting party.  

We had her hold the brush up like she was painting the letters and then, in Photoshop, we used a paint stroke font and changed each letter to a different color.  Lastly, we added a little "paint" on the edge of the paint brush.