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.