Raised Salt Art

 

If you're looking for a cool activity for a rainy day, this one hits all the criteria; fun, easy, fast, and somewhat educational (if you are exploring how color travels through salt).

This is more of a older toddler activity. Although my little did love this activity, he wasn't as impressed with it as I was. He loved the mess the salt made though, so to him it was a success. :)

 

What you'll need:

•  Elmer's Glue
•  Table Salt
•  Construction Paper (any color you want. black looks good against the bright colors)
•  Liquid Water Color Paints work exceptionally well for this, but I didn't have any so I used a little water with food color added. This isn't extremely bright, but add less water and more color for a vibrant color. Also, in the picture I showed regular food coloring, but I ended up using the Betty Crocker Gel Neon colors which worked very well also.
•  Paint brushes/Droppers/Pipettes
•  Tray

Mix your food coloring with your water, or use your liquid water color paints. I ended up mixing other colors as well for this project that aren't pictured. (the neon colors)

 

 

Add your glue to the paper. Whatever your little one's heart desires. Make shapes, rainbows, whatever tickles your fancy!

 

 

Once your happy with the design, add the salt. Place your paper on a baking sheet/cookie sheet before adding the salt to avoid a HUGE mess. (I learned that the hard way) Cover all the glue with the salt. (don't be chincy with the salt, the more the better)

 

 

Pour off the excess salt.

 

 

My little's design. Original I know! :)

 

Once the excess salt is gone, use a pipette/dropper, or use what I did, a small paint brush to add color to your glue. The second it drips on there it sort of travels which is pretty cool. The 5/6 year olds will love this part!

 

 

Now this craft is more about the process rather than the outcome. Once it dries the salt/glue tends to flake off, so if you were hoping to store this project for years to come, it definitely won't make it. The colors fade a bit when dry so this craft is definitely more about the whole making process.

 

 

 

Happy Crafting

 

 





GAK

 

A while back, I did a post on homemade slime. Although it was pretty cool, I wanted to make something a little more GAK like....When I was little, me and my grandpa would play with this stuff for hours. Anytime I got a spare dollar, Gak is what I spent my money on. I wanted to make this amazing creation for my little at home since crafting is our "thing".

We gathered our ingredients and went to work. This is easy, surprisingly clean, and fast!

 

What you'll need:

•  1 tsp. Borax (found in the laundry section at Wal-Mart)
•  2 Bottles of white Elmer's Glue
•  1/2 Cup warm water (plus the amount to fill the bottles)
•  Food Coloring
•  Mixing Bowl
•  Small mixing bowl or plastic cup



 

Pour your two bottles of Elmer's Glue into your mixing bowl. Fill the empty bottles with warm water and shake. Add that to your mixing bowl.

 

 

Add your food coloring. I used the Betty Crocker Neon gel colors, but any food coloring will do. I just thought that Gak just isn't Gak if it isn't that neon slime green color.

 

 

Mix that together well and set aside.

Add 1/2 cup warm water to your smaller bowl or plastic cup. Add 1 tsp of your borax to the warm water and stir. Add the Borax mixture to your glue/water mixture. You will notice it get stringy immediately.

 

 

Continue mixing with your hands until it all comes together. This literally takes 30 seconds. (I told you this was fast)

Amazingly once this is mixed it's clean and doesn't leave a film or stickiness on your hands at all. You may want to avoid getting it on your clothes or cloth of any sort. My little got it on his shirt, and it was kind of a blobby mess, but it did come off after a little scrubbing.

 

 

This kept my little busy for a LONG time, which is an A+ in this momma's book.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Crafting 



Puffy Paint

 

Our Sunday funday craft today was "Puffy Paints"

I saw this online somewhere and I thought it was just too cool. This is so easy and I bet you already have exactly what you need in the pantry!

Next time I make these, I'm going to put WAY more paint on the page, but I was just doodling today. It looks better if you cover the page in doodles/art. It looks too bare with paint just here and there. It still turned out pretty cool though!

 

What you'll need:

•  1 Tbs Self Rising Flour (if you don't have any in the pantry, I have a recipe at the bottom to make  your own)
•  1 Tbs Salt
•  Small Mixing Bowls
•  Food Coloring
•  Water

 

Add your ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir. Yes it's seriously THAT easy. There's no real measurement amount for the water. Just use your own judgement for what consistency you want. It should be similar to a slightly thick pancake batter.

 

 

 

Once you have it all mixed together, have at it. I believe the original idea I saw said to use cardboard as your paper. I did not have that, so I used a thick card stock paper that worked just fine. It may crinkle a slight bit if you cook it too long though.

Once you have it the way you want, put it in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds.

 

 

Once you do that, it gets hard and you can put it on display for all to see! :)

 

 

 

 

For 1 Cup of Self Rising Flour:

•  1 Cup All Purpose Flour
•  1 1/4 t. Baking Powder
•  1/8 t. Salt
  

  

 

Happy Crafting

 



Fall Wreath

 

As I was browsing the isles of Michael's recently, I saw a ton of things to make wreaths. I was going to just buy a fall one, but I thought making one would be more up my alley.

All of their supplies for wreath making is 50-60% off right now, so how in the world could I pass that up? I love me a bargain! I decided on a few things and when I got home I laid everything out on the counter, not having a clue how in the world I was going to do this, or what I even wanted this thing to really look like.

 

 

There's no real directions for a project like this, so this won't be my usual step by step craft. This just takes some patience and creativity.

I will show you the steps I used for this awesome (if I do say so myself) Fall Wreath!

 

I decided I wanted to put our last name initial on this wreath to make it extra special and unique to our family, so I got a wooden letter and painted it what color I wanted with some acrylic paints.

 

 

I hot glued all my leaves, pine cones, little pumpkins, gourds, & berries on in no particular way, and crossed my fingers that it would turn out good. Of which I think it did! :) Now that I know this is easy and do-able, my next one is going to be BIGGER!! This craft was pretty inexpensive. Since I got most of my supplies on sale, I'd say it was about $20 (maybe even less). I know you can buy one for that, but it's definitely not going to be as special as this one!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Crafting



Fall Decor

 

This Fall Decor idea was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest (OF COURSE)!

This has to be the easiest decorating idea I've ever seen! It's fast, cute, and totally customizable.

You can do this decor for any season or holiday...A Christmas green/red, Halloween yellow/white/orange, Easter pastel yellow/blue/pink/green...I mean I could go on and on, but I'll spare you the reading! :)

I did mine with a fall theme, so I used red, green, and yellow

 

What you'll need:

•  Unpopped Corn
•  Red/Kidney Beans (I also used Boston Baked Beans, I've never heard of these before, but  they were red and on the candy isle as I was searching for things to give me the colors I wanted. They were a bit larger than I liked though, so it's a preference thing).
•  Split Peas
•  Candles
•  Some sort of vase/container
•  Twine/String/Rope



Basically all you need to do is layer the colors to your liking.

Once you have it layered the way you like, tie a cute piece of rope or twine around the vase and call it a day! Easy Peasy!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Crafting

 





Cinnamon Honey Wheat Thins

 

Going along with my healthy sanckity snack kick is these Cinnamon Honey Wheat Thins.

My little loves anything cookie or crackers out of a box, but I figured I would make my own this time. Not only will I save money, but it's WAAAY healthier. I know what's going into these crackers which makes me happy happy happy!!

There's this blog that I fell in LOVE with reciently, and she is pretty amazing at coming up with healthy foods and snacks. Check her page out, because she is where I got my inspiration to make these healthy babies!! Weelicious is awesome!

 

What you'll need:

•  1 1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
•  1/2 tsp Salt
•  1 tsp Cinnamon
•  4 Tbs Butter (I used unsalted, but either will work)
•  2 Tbs Honey
•  1/4 Cup Water
•  1/4 tsp Vanilla

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In your food processor, add the flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter. Pulse until combined, and looks like crumbs.

 

 

In a seperate bowl, mix together the water, honey, and vanilla. Slowly add it to the food processor until a dough forms.

Remove from the food processor and seperate into 4 equal parts.

 

 

Roll out each part on a smooth floured surface. You'll want to roll these as thin as you can. Try for like 1/16 of an inch. Yea I know that's really thin, but the thinner the better here. Some of mine where a bit thick and didn't give that crunch I was looking for, but still yummy none the less.

Once you roll them out, cut them into 1 inch squares. Carefully put them on a parchment lined baking sheet, and bake for about 5-7 minutes. They will burn VERY easily since they are so thin, so keep a close eye on them. They will get dark much quicker if you put them directly on a baking sheet, so if you don't have parchment paper or a Silpat liner, watch them closely.

 

 

These turned out great. Not too sweet. Just right, and the little LOVES them!

 

 

 

 

Happy Crafting





Whole Wheat Cheddar Crackers

 

Today I was thinking of how tired I am of my little snacking on junk! I've had enough of this chip and cookie thing, that unfortunately, I've kinda let slide lately.

I was browsing the internet looking for healthy snackity snacks for my little to carry around that follows my criteria: easy, tasty, healthy, NON-messy, and definitely toteable!!! My little isn't a huge eater, more of a snacker. He eats a little bit of stuff several times a day. I guess this is why he has SOOO much energy, and I can barely keep up!

I came across a snack that met my criteria, so here we are!!

 

What you'll need:

•  2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese (you can use the pre-shredded kind, but it may not melt as   well)
•  1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
•  1 Tbs any salt-free seasoning (I make my own, but there's tons of salt/MSG free seasonings at  the grocery store ie: mrs. dash)
•  6 Tbs Unsalted butter (chilled)
•  1-2 Tbs Water

Pre heat your oven to 400 degrees.

Put the first three ingredients in a food processor and pulse to combine.

 

 

Once combined, add the butter in chunks. Pulse until it forms a ball. You may need to add one or two tablespoons of water to form the ball. Use your own judgement.

Once combined, roll out on a well floured smooth surface. Roll out to about 1/4 inch think.

 

 

Cut out shapes or cut into squares. I used cookie cutters that I had, stars, triangles, and squares.

Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 10-12 minutes depending on the size of your shapes. Just keep a close eye on them!

 

 

Our result turned out wonderful. I couldn't keep my little from getting into them. I even like snacking on them too....Healthy toteable snacks is what this is all about!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Crafting