Arts & Crafts

Super Easy Edible Play-Doh

~ The Clarks ~ Leave a comment

We have had an unusually high amount of rainy days this summer. The little monster is becoming more and more challenging to keep entertained indoors all day long so today I decided we would make play-doh.

I love this recipe because it only has a few ingredients, they are cheap ingredients, they are ingredients most people have and my kid can safely eat it. 

I mixed 1 cup of oatmeal, uncooked. 1/2 cup of flour (I used whole wheat because that was the bag that was opened). 1/2 cup of water. Divided it out and mixed in some color. I let it set for about 15 minutes just so it wasn’t as sticky. Oh I also put a dash of cinnamon in.

The dog was excited that the monster was in his seat. She was anticipating meal time. Sure enough, the first thing the monster did was take a bite. He actually liked it. 

He enjoyed exploring by tasting, squishing, squashing, smashing and rolling. 

Again the recipe is 2 parts oatmeal, 1 part flour, 1 part water. Add cinnamon and food coloring if you would like. 

Practical Father’s Day Gift

~ The Clarks ~ Leave a comment

When it comes to gift giving for these sort of holidays, and you have multiple people to think about, I like to keep it simple and find a gift that will suit everyone, that is practical, meaning they will actually use it and reasonably priced. For Father’s Day I have to think about my husband, father, father-in-law and step-father-in-law who all have very vast interests. One thing they all enjoy (or at least we think they enjoy, or maybe their wives just make them do it) is grilling. They also all love your little guy, so he needed to be included in the gift too.

Here’s what you will need to make your own grilling platter:

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  • Rubbing Alcohol
  • Paint Brushes
  • Multi-surface/ceramic paint
  • plain white platter
  • paper towels

I purchased everything at Walmart. The platters were located by the other plates and dishes and cost $9 and some change. I purchased multi-surface paints, just be sure that you can use them on ceramics. These particular ones were 97 cents each.

Here’s what you will need to do:

  1. Per directions on the paints, clean surface with rubbing alcohol before painting.
  2. Begin painting. I started with the words, because if I messed up, or wasn’t happy with the placement, I could wipe it off with rubbing alcohol and start over without messing up any of the art work.DSC_0170

    3. Add hand and footprints. (Easiest if you have someone else to help you)

     

    DSC_01754. Paint the details. I tried to think of things that could be grilled and were easy enough for me to paint.DSC_0172

    5. Set the paint so that you can use the platters. There should be directions on your paint bottles. For these paints they needed to air dry for 1 hour, and then be placed in a cool oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. The other option was to air dry for 21 days, ain’t nobody got time for that!

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    They came out great! I know that all the grandpas and my husband will love them!

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Making Colored Rice For Sensory Play

~ The Clarks ~ Leave a comment

Colored rice is a great sensory activity, here’s why I think so:
1. It is SUPER easy to make.
2. Inexpensive
3. Appropriate for a wide range of ages.
4. It covers a lot of senses, touch, sight, put it in containers to shake and hear.
5. You can reuse it for art projects too.
6. Short list of ingredients.
7. It’s fun!

Here is what you will need:

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  • Tablespoon measuring spoon
  • Pan and parchment or wax paper for drying
  • Baggies for mixing
  • White Vinegar (1 tbs per cup of rice)
  • Food Coloring
  • Rice

Here’s all you have to do:

  1. Mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar with about 20 drops of food coloring into a baggy.DSC_0016.JPG
  2. Add 1 cup of rice.DSC_0017.JPG
  3. Mix it around so that all of the rice gets color on it.
  4. Spread it out on the pan.DSC_0018
  5. Stick it in the sun to dry. Every 5-10 minutes spread it around and break up any clumps. (You can also just dry it in your house, but it will take longer. I am sure a low temp. oven would work too, just didn’t try that myself.)

I mixed one color at a time simply because I don’t own a ton of pans, and I wasn’t in a hurry. Little man enjoyed helping mix the bags.

Having a variety of colors to explore with makes it even more fun! We mixed red (which came out more bright pink), yellow, green, blue and purple.

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Helpful tips:

  1. Be sure the rice has dried completely before storing it.
  2. Storing the rice in containers with lids ensures moisture won’t get in, and they are also fun to shake around.
  3. Get a large container with a lid for playing in that can double as storage. (The ones I picked up I got at the grocery store, it was reasonable for a two pack)
  4. You can mix more rice of each color, just adjust the amount of vinegar, amount of dye and size of your baggy.

 

The best part about it was watching little man’s delight at feeling the rice and mixing the colors. I am big into just letting him explore and figure things out on his own so, I just let him go at it whatever way he wanted. He preferred using his hands to put each color in individually, then mixing them. He also preferred playing with the empty containers. Playing outside made cleaning up even easier.

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When we shook it all together at the end, the result was pretty cool looking. All the rice is stored away in the same container we used to play in for the next time. We did not spend time to sort the colors back. HA.HA.

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Hand Print Frame for Mother’s Day

~ The Clarks ~ 1 Comment

I love creating homemade gifts for different holidays. They are a great way to mark milestones when you have little ones, they can be more cost effective, they come from the heart and everyone seems to appreciate them.

I was looking for something simple for our toddler (14 months) to make for Mother’s Day for myself, my mom, my husband’s mom and his step mom. This project appealed to me for a few reasons. One, I could easily get the materials. Two, it wasn’t overly complicated. Three, it was a project that didn’t need to be perfect but could still come out looking good, which is key when working with a toddler. And forth, it was within our budget.

What you will need:
Paint, I used paint I already had, but similar paints can be purchased at Walmart for around $0.50.

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Picture frame with a large mat that can fit handprints. The frame I used is a 15×17 frame with an opening for a 5×7 picture. In fact, it’s actually meant to be a signature frame. I purchased these at Hobby Lobby. Continue reading →