Walnut & Cranberry Oatmeal in a Jar

In a one quart jar, add the following in the following order:

2 2/3 C old fashioned oats
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Once those ingredients are in the jar, gently shake it to mix it all together. Then add:

1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C walnuts
1/3 C packed brown sugar (as top layer)

Label to attach to jar:

Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal

Shake jar to mix together all ingredients.  Add 2 C boiling water to contents of jar. To make 1/2 jar, just make sure to mix entire jar together. Add 1 C boiling water to 1/2 contents of jar (or microwave on high for 2 minutes.)

Yuletide Sand Art Cookies

These posed to be a bit more difficult - the original recipe that I found didn't quite fit in the jar. Once I figured out the measurements and the layers, things worked out better. So I did all the work and here's what I found to work for these 'pretty in the jar' and 'yummy in the tummy' jar cookies:

Dry Ingredients to be Layered in Jar:

1 C flour (bottom layer)
1/3 C green sugar
1/3 C red sugar
1/2 C flour
3/4 C dried raisins
3/4 C white chips

Colored sugar: I just added drops of food coloring to white sugar and used a whisk to mix it thoroughly together.

Use a funnel to pour ingredients in the jar and then 'tap' jar on flat surface to help settle the layers.

Label for the jar:

Ingredients You'll Need:

1/3 C butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Beat the butter until smooth. Add egg, vanilla and almond extract and continue beating until well combine. Stir in contents of jar.

Drop by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Enjoy!

Add labels, fabric and an optional bow and there you have it: Yuletide Sand Art Cookies!

Citrus Peppermint Body Scrub

Last year, I did Candy Cane Bath Salts. This year, it's Citrus Peppermint Body Scrub. It's a great body scrub to keep by kitchen sink for those rough hands.

Ingredients:

1 C carrier oil (grapeseed, olive, almond or any combination)
(I acutally used a combination of those three and included vitamin E oil)

1 C sea or epsom salt

1 C sugar*

 *you can just use all sugar or all salt, but the salt is much more abrasive by itself

15-20 drops of lemon essential oil

15-20 drops of orange essential oil

15-20 drops of peppermint essential oil

Combine all the oils in a small bowl. In a seperate bowl, combine the salt and sugar. Add the oil to the salt/sugar mixture and mix everything together. Store in an airtight container (such as a glass jar).

Add labels such as directions for use and ingredients and fabric or a decorative bow and viola! you've got a great (and easy) jar gift!

Rice Krispie Apples

These treats are awesome! I made a bunch for my son's class during their apple unit and apparently, they were a hit!

Ingredients:

1 10 oz bag of marshmallows

4 tablespoons butter

1 small box of cherry (or strawberry) Jell-o

red food coloring

6 cups rice krispies cereal

tootsie rolls

green gum drop candies

non-stick spray for your hands

wax paper

Directions:

*  Melt butter and marshmallows in pan - stirring constantly

*  Once melted, add package of Jell-O and food coloring to desired redness

*  Once the Jell-O, marshmallows and butter are mixed well, add cereal (I combined all in a separate plastic bowl)

*  Combine until the cereal is well coated

*  When slightly cooled, spray hands with non-stick cooking spray and mix ingredients well and then begin to form into apple-shaped balls

*  Slightly indent the top for the tootsie roll 'stem'

*  Stick half of a green gumdrop next to the tootsie roll  (cut the gum drops in half)

I went back and formed each apple a little more to make sure they retained their apple shape.

For us, one batch made about 18-20 apples (on the smaller side...but perfect for kids)





Apple Cookies on a Stick

We made these for our Pre-school Garden of Eden/Forbidden Fruit Sunday School lesson.

What you'll need:

*  1 pkg of sugar cookie dough (or I suppose you could make       homemade cookies, but come on, who's got the time?)
*  flour
*  apple shaped cookie cutter
*  popscicle sticks
*  wax paper
*  1 can of white frosting
*  M & M candies
*  small tube of brown/black gel icing 
*  green food coloring
*  red food coloring

1.  Prepare the cookie dough
2.  Roll out dough on floured surface
3.  Cut out apple shapes from the 1/4 in thick flattened dough
4.  Put the cookie apples on the cookie sheet
5.  Place a popscicle stick on top of the cookie and slightly push down
6.  Use a small piece of dough to cover the portion of the stick that is on the cookie
7.  Bake as directed

After baking, let cookie pops cool on wire racks

While baking & cooling, prepare the frosting:

*  Take about 3/4 the container of frosting and add RED food coloring (as much as you'd like depending on how red you want it)
*  Take the other 1/4 and add GREEN food coloring (again, however much you'd like)

Once cookies have cooled, frost them!

Frost the apple red, the leaf green, and use the brown or black gel icing for the stem. (Pretty much common sense, eh?)

If you would like to add a smiley face and eyes simply put 2 dots of icing for the eyes and then put the M & M candies on that (the frosting will cement the candy) and then use the gel icing to draw a smile.

Eat!

Slime! (or silly putty)

Oh, yeah, another cool thingy made out of Borax.

You need:

- 1 Tbsp of Borax (where do you get Borax, you ask? The laundry aisle)
- water
- clear school glue (or regular school glue)
- food coloring *
- glitter *

* optional, but added fun

Ok, I don't have exact measurements because I couldn't find exact measurements anywhere.

Borax (sodium borate - Na₂B₄O₇)

But you need to dissolve the 1 Tablespoon of Borax into 1 Cup of water and set that aside.

Then pour probably half a regular sized bottle of glue into a bowl. Add water (not a ton) to that glue and stir it together.

Clear glue makes see-through-ish slime and the regular glue makes more of a pastel color.

Add the food coloring and/or glitter in this step, if you choose to do so.

And now for the FUN part!

Pour in the water/Borax mixture and begin stirring it together. It'll get really goopy and stringy (the polymers doing their thing) and then knead it together with your hands. (I suppose you could let the kids help)

The more you knead it, the less gooey it will be. It will eventually turn into a lump of almost rubber-like material. If you prefer it to be 'slimey',  you can add more water. My boys play with it until it dries out a bit and then add it to a bowl of water and it gets all stringy again. (Then I take a slotted spoon and spoon it back into a zip-lock baggie)

Store it in an airtight container or you no longer have 'slime.'

Yes, it will wash out of clothes. BUT, I highly suggest playing with this in a room that doesn't have carpet!

Tornados! in a bottle

You will need:

- 2 empty 2 Liter bottles (clear works better, but green will do)
water
- plastic vortex connector (sold at teacher stores or online)
if you can't find the vortex connecter, you can make this with a drill, caulk and duct tape (you can make anything with duct tape!)
- food coloring *
- glitter *
- dish soap

* optional, but fun



How to do it:

- empty (aka drink) the plastic bottles and rinse them out
- remove the labels
- fill one bottle 2/3 full of water
- put in glitter and food coloring (and/or even a drop of dish soap for bubble effect)
- screw the plastic vortex thingy on the bottle and then screw the other bottle into the top

Ok, you've got your bottles ready to make your tornado!

Tip the bottles over so that the bottle with water is on top. Spin the bottle to create a cyclone or tornado!

** To make this without the plastic vortex connector: simply drill a hole in the center of each bottle lid. Put the lids back on the bottles (after filling one with water) Put a dab of caulking on the lids and connect them. Then secure them together with a lot of duct tape :)  I personally think it's easier to purchase the plastic thingy.

Homemade Lava Lamps

You will need:

12-16 oz empty plastic bottle (preferable clear)
Vegetable oil
water
food color
Alka-seltzer tablets (1 package)

Directions:

Fill plastic bottle 3/4 full of vegetable oil.
Fill the rest of the way with water, leaving some space at the top.
Next, add 10-12 drops of food coloring (or more - the darker the better!)
Break the Alka-seltzer tablets into 8 pieces
Add 1 piece of tablet at a time - wait until completely dissolved until adding another

Once all the Alka-seltzer has been added & dissolved, put the lid back on and you have a cool 'lava lamp.'

Place a flashlight behind the bottle for a cooler effect.

Crayon Shaving Stained Glass Easter Eggs

I've always loved this one. In fact, we have done a crayon shaving stained glass 'something' for just about every holiday since Colin was tiny!

Obviously, this one is for Easter - we used an Egg pattern.

You will need:

2 pieces of black construction paper
wax paper
crayon shavings
iron (and something like a towel, newspaper, etc. to put under the iron)


1. Cut out the pattern and trace it onto both sheets of black paper.
2. Cut the pattern out of the center of the black papers.
3. Use a pencil sharpener or cheese grater to make crayon shavings of various colors.
4. Glue or staple one piece of wax paper to each piece of black paper.
5. Spread the crayon shavings on one sheet of wax paper. Make sure not to use too much and if you are mixing colors, don't use too many colors in one spot or you will get a big blob when you melt them.
6. Place the other wax paper/black paper on top and carefully iron on the wax paper to melt the crayons.  Don't leave the iron in one place too long or it will blob. 
7. You can glue or staple the edges of the black frame together if you choose to once they are cool.
8. Attach a piece of yarn or string to the top and hang in the window!

The crayon shavings



The boys adding the shavings to the wax paper



The finished product

A dark picture of the boys, some jelly beans, Kitty, and the Egg pictures

Bath Bombs

aka: 'Dinosaur Eggs', Bath Fizzies, etc.

Bath Bombs are a fun thing to make with the kids. My boys love "Dinosaur Eggs" that we purchase at Walmart. They make the bath water fizzy and colorful and a little dinosaur 'hatches' as they fizz.  (We've saved all these little 'dinosaurs' to put in our homemade ones.)  My youngest son has eczema and the store bought bath bombs (among all the other store bought fun bath stuff) wreaks havoc on his skin. So here's a natural, fun, Gavin-friendly bath thing!

It's also a great science experiment!

So, today we tried our first attempt at "Bath Bombs". I'm guessing the moist weather had something to do with why they didn't hold their shape that well. However, they still worked great (and smelled good, too!) in the bath. In fact, the boys are still in the tub...

I plan to try some different combos in order to perfect the recipe.

Anyway, you will need the following:

Dry Ingredients


4 oz. Baking Soda
2 oz. Citric Acid (find it in the canning section)
2 oz. Corn Starch
2 oz. Epsom Salt (Dead Sea and mineral salts could also be used)

Wet Ingredients


2 tsp. water
1/2 tsp fragrance (such as essential oils) We used a mix called "Revitalize" that contained lemon, lemongrass, lavender, cloves, rosemary, and some other stuff....It was hard for Colin to decide between Lavender, Geranium, and Clove.
1 Tbsp. oil (I used Almond Oil)
1-2 drops of food coloring (I have this thing against food coloring because of Colin's behavior issues with yellows and reds and Gavin's skin issues so we didn't use any.)

1. Start by weighing dry stuff.  Once you've weighed the dry ingredients - totalling 10 oz - put them in a plastic bowl and set aside.

2. Now measure wet stuff.  Mix in plastic bowl (or shake in a glass jar) You should have a total of 2 tablespoons of wet stuff. You may or may not use all of it depending on the day - if it's raining, you may need less...

3. Add the wet ingredients by the teaspoonful into the dry ingredients SLOWLY.  (That could also be where we went wrong?) If you add too fast, it will start to react. If it does (starts foaming, acts like a volcano) quickly mix the reacting ingredients into the non-reacting ingredients.
You want the consistency of damp sand.  It should clump together when squished. If you have too much moisture, add some cornstarch.

4. Now mold it:  We used those little plastic Easter eggs. Fill your mold with the mixture,  compressing the powder into the mold tightly.  (Here's another place we went wrong) You can either remove it from the mold or leave it in there to dry. We removed ours and they didn't keep their shape.  You probably should keep it in the mold until completely dry. 

(Let it dry for 24 hours)

5. You'll know they are done when they are HARD and DRY.

Keep them in a dry place (in an airtight container or bag) and they will last about 6 months. Humidity will make them react (Like ours did on this rainy day)

Plop one into your warm bath and enjoy the scented fizziness.

Toothpaste - it's not just for teeth

Permanent Marker Removal

Unfortunately, we live in a small house so craft time is at the kitchen/dining room table. Gavin was coloring a picture one day (boy, it was beautiful). Oops! He was using permanent maker and it soaked through the paper all over our table!  How on earth do you get permanent marker out of wood? I tried numerous things to no avail. Then I did what every resourceful mother does and googled my problem.  Whoo hoo! I found an answer. A little unexpected, I'd say. But here it is: toothpaste!

I simply squirted toothpaste on the marker.
Took a rag and gently scrubbed.
Amazing! The toothpaste took the marker right off!

Zit Cream

Another use of toothpaste that I found back in high school -- big zits. If you have a pimple that is unresponsive to any other anti-acne cream, put a dab of toothpaste on before bed (I know, not very attractive) but by morning, the pimple should be ready to pop or dried out.  

Colored Ice Balls

This one is cool!  And I have to credit Grandma Barb - she made these and had them outside their store (Legends of the Celts) on Main St in Hayward during the Birkebeiner weekend. So many people stopped to admire them and my kids thought they were pretty neat, too. So we made our own.  This is how we did it:

Supplies Needed:

Balloons (probably 10-12'' work best)
Cookie sheets (or something to put filled balloons in to transport)
Food coloring
Kitchen faucet

Steps to Make "Ice Balls":

Put a few drops of food coloring inside the empty balloon.
Fill the balloons with water and tie, placing on cookie sheet (or some container)

After filling balloons with water & food coloring they need to be frozen.  We placed ours on the cookie sheets outside. Luckily, it was a below zero night here in the Northwoods and they froze overnight.  Quite possibly, it may take a few nights for them to freeze solid. 

Once the water is frozen, simply cut open the balloon and peel it off the ice.  (Ours weren't completely frozen solid, but the water just oozed out the middle and they kept their shape perfectly.)

My husband suggested rotating them every hour or so at first if you want more uniform color.

And next time we make them, we will try to place them in the snow to freeze - that way they won't have flat bottoms and sides where they are touching other things!

There you go! You now have colored ice balls to decorate your yard, planters, or as my son did, patio.  Great winter fun! (I'll post pictures later...)

Everyday Essential Oils Spray Cleaner

As anyone with children knows, cleaning is a never ending process.  I truly feel like it's all I do! And if you use traditional cleaners with all those chemicals it's really not that good for anyone either.

I have to give credit to Aunt Karen for this one. One Christmas a few years ago, she gave all of us cute little bottles of essential oils spray cleaner.. I don't think I've used anything else since...It works on absolutely EVERYTHING (and smells great, too!)

Her recipe may have been different but this is what I typically use now:

Everyday Essential Oils Spray Cleaner:

1 empty spray bottle (I like to recycle like an old glass cleaner bottle)
fill the bottle about 2 inches from the top with water
add a few drops of natural dish soap
add a cap full of vodka
10-15 drops each lemon, lavender, and eucalyptus oils
(Sometimes I'll add rosemary, grapefruit, or orange to change things up)

Shake it up and spray away!

I use it, seriously, everywhere. I clean my counters, kitchen, bathroom, windows, laminate flooring, ceramic tile, and more.

Sometimes, I put the ingredients in a bowl and use it to clean my floors. The house sure smells wonderful afterwards!

Scented Play Dough

We've tried various play dough recipes, but today's was the best so far. I hadn't had cream of tartar on hand so I was looking only for recipes that excluded it. However, I think it's a huge bonus to use it! And just for the fun of it, I used some essential oils to make the play dough smelly. (I'm sure others before me have done the same, but I hadn't seen any recipes for it and I have a tendency to try essential oils in everything.)

Scented Play Dough Recipe

2 C flour

2 C warm water

1 C salt

2 Tbs vegetable oil

1 Tbs cream of tartar

Mix all the ingredients together in a pan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. It will be lumpy and look like mashed potatoes. When it starts to peel away from the sides of the pan, it is done. However, if it is still very sticky, cook it longer.

(Mine was pretty sticky but I couldn't really stir it to cook it any longer so I added just a bit more water and then cooked it again.)

Once it has cooled enough to work with it, place it on wax paper (or something like that) in 4-5 balls.  Here comes the fun part!

Make a little crater in the balls of dough.  Then add 4-5 drops of food coloring and 4-5 drops of essential oil*. ( I suppose you can use other things to color - like unsweetened drink mix; and other things to scent but this is what I used)

Fold the dough over on top of the color and oil. Continue to mash and knead it until the oil and color are evenly distributed and absorbed. (Use rubber gloves to avoid rainbow colored hands, if you so choose.  My hands are nice and colorful today!)

Add more color or essential oil, if needed. **

Today's scents: peppermint, lemon, lavender, eucalyptus, geranium

** Be careful, though, not to add too much oil.  Essential oils are very concentrated and you really don't need much at all!

Store in air tight containers. I placed mine each in a separate sandwich bag (immediately to keep the scent and moisture locked in) and am demanding that my children only play with one color at a time! (Maybe we won't have to make another batch of play dough in another day if they don't mix them and leave it out!)

* see my blog post (when I finally get it done...) on the benefits of various essential oils. Hoping that they work their magic on my kids while they are playing with the play dough...