Make your own mold-able Peanut Butter Putty, Salt Dough, Play Dough, & “Moon Sand”

Edible Peanut Butter Putty

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup corn syrup

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 cup or more dry milk

Mix peanut butter and corn syrup, add sugar and mix well. Add dry milk a little at a time until stuff enough to handle.

Roll dough into balls, logs, or other shapes.

You can also send this in plastic containers and let your children make their own shapes while eating.

Salt Dough

1 Large bowl
1 cup Salt
1 1/4 cups Warm water
1 Mixing spoon or mixer
3 cups Flour
Painting supplies, if desired

Pour 1 cup salt into large bowl.

Add warm water, little by little, and mix well until desired consistency is reached.

Add 3 cups flour, mix well some more.

Mold anything you want!

Store in air-tight bags, preferably in the refrigerator. Once molded, salt dough can be left in a barely warm oven and hardened, and even painted if you wish!

Play Dough

1 1/2 cups corn starch
1/2 cup flour
2 cups water
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup salt
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Food coloring (unsweetened Kool-aid powder may also be used)

Mix all ingredients together in sauce pan.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture gathers on the stirring spoon and forms dough. This will take about 6 minutes.

Dump onto waxed paper until cool enough to handle. Knead until pliable. Store in air-tight container.

Food coloring may be added to make different colors. Makes about 2 pounds.

“Moon” sand, dirt cheap.

6 cups of play sand (I got a 50lb bag from Lowes, it was $4.99 plus tax)
3 cups of cornstarch (most dollar stores carry it for $1 per box…you’ll need around 24 boxes for the whole 50lbs!)
1 1/2 cups of cold water (actual moon sand may use some vegetable or mineral oil in place of some water)
Food coloring (Kool-aid powder may also be used)

Mix the water and cornstarch together thoroughly, this will take a few minutes to get it nice and smooth.

Gradually mix in the sand, one cup at a time. You’ll need to really work it in with your fingers.

Play with it!

When you’re all done, pop it in an airtight container.

When you next play with it, you’ll need to revive it with 2-3 tablespoons of water. Just sprinkle it over and work it in.

Play sand also comes in different colors, so buy different colored bags to mix things up a little. Have fun!

Backyard Teepee

Just like the traditional Native American teepee that inspired it, this backyard shelter can be assembled and dismantled in a jiffy.

Fold the tarp in half so that it forms a 9- x 6-foot rectangle.

Measure in 1 foot along the fold and mark the spot.

Cut a 6-foot length of rope. Have your child hold one end of the rope at the marked spot while you tie the opposite end around the colored marker.

Step away from your child until the line is taut and move the rope in an arc, marking a line on the canvas as you go.

Cut the tarp along the line and then cut out a 12- x 6-inch rectangle to the left of the marked spot at the top of the teepee.

Loosely tie together three of the PVC pipes two feet down from the tops with a piece of rope, then stand them up like a tripod.

Lean the remaining poles against the tripod so that they are evenly spaced.

Drape the cut canvas around the tepee frame, overlapping the top a bit. Make 2 sets of holes through both layers of the overlapped portion and thread the chopsticks through them to hold the canvas in place.

To secure the lower edge of the canvas to the frame, first snip a small hole about 1 inch from one of the tarp’s bottom corners.

Loop a short length of rope through the hole, as shown, and tie the ends around the base of one pole (this pole will become part of the doorway).

Gently stretch the canvas around the PVC frame so that the canvas extends past the first pole to create a door flap.

Snip a small hole near the lower edge of the canvas where it falls on the remaining poles and tie it in place using the same method as before.

Courtesy of Family Fun

Bandana Clothing

Make these carefree days even sunnier by creating fun-to-wear children’s play-clothes out of colorful bandannas. The six projects here are easy for anyone with basic sewing skills.

Made mostly from standard 22-inch bandannas, the garments are approximately size 5. To alter the size, simply buy larger or smaller bandannas and adjust the measurements. Look for them at army-navy stores or outdoor markets. For vintage designs, try online auctions. Bandannas are classic American cowboy gear, but look closely: The designs vary from Indian paisleys to old-fashioned florals. Since most bandannas cost no more than two dollars, a whole summer wardrobe can be stitched up for a song. What could be cooler than that?

Apron

You will need: one 22-inch yellow bandanna and 1 1/2 yards white rope trim.

Fold and position bandanna as shown. Measure 4 inches from tip of top corner; cut off corner for a pocket. Hem raw edges of pocket and neckline. Topstitch pocket in place. To create casings for apron ties, fold over by 1 inch two edges adjacent to neckline; stitch in place. Use a safety pin to snake rope through casing from corner to corner, leaving extra at neck. Clamdigger Pants You will need: two 27-inch red bandannas and 24 inches of 1/2-inchwide cotton twill tape. Lay bandannas on top of each other, right sides facing. Bandannas are slightly rectangular; pin them together along long sides. Fold bandannas in half lengthwise, aligning pinned sides. Create arc for crotch as follows (left): Starting from top corner, measure 8 inches down one pinned edge; mark this spot. Measure 1 1/2 inches in from spot; make an X. Measure 2 inches in from top corner; make an X. Draw a line from X to X and out to pinned side, rounding off as shown. Cut along curved line (right). Unfold bandannas. Sew bandannas together along both crotches; stitch again to reinforce. Notch curves. Trim seams to 1/2 inch. Open out bandannas and shift so crotches are centered and aligned. Sew together along each inside seam. Trim seam allowances. To create casing for drawstring, fold waistband down 1 1/2 inches. Sew parallel to fold, making a 1-inch channel. Turn pants right side out; open front seam to create a small hole through which to thread twill tape. Using safety pin, thread twill tape through casing, beginning and ending at this hole. Halter Top For a top that’s as fun to make as it is to wear, all you need are a bandanna and some soft rope trim. To make, fold bandanna in half on diagonal. At neckline, fold center point over by 2 1/2 inches; stitch a seam parallel to the fold to create a 1-inch-wide casing. Snake rope trim through casing with safety pin, and tie at the neck; tie corners together at the back. Halter Dress You will need: three 22-inch pink bandannas and 1 1/2 yards cotton twill tape. From one bandanna, cut four 3-inch-wide strips to make straps, as shown. Stack other two bandannas (top), right sides facing, matching up designs. Pin together on long sides. Stitch together one pinned side, then other, stopping 6 inches from corner (for keyhole opening). Make straps (bottom): Sew one long and one short strip together end-to-end. Fold ends under as a hem and press. Fold resulting piece lengthwise; stitch 1/2 inch from fold. Turn right side out; press. Repeat with other two border pieces. Refold dress so seams are centered and opening is up, as shown. Stitch down, across, then up other side of opening. Hem dress at bottom, if desired. At top, fold down edge along print border; stitch parallel to fold to create a 1-inch channel. Run twill tape through channel with safety pin; leave ends free. With dress flat (not gathered), pin straps to inside, placing each 2 1/2 inches from center front seam. Stitch straps in place, securing tape with stitches so dress won’t gather at neckline. Tie straps behind neck. Courtesy of Kids

Make Your Own Barn Star

Make Your Own Barn Star

Fold-and-Snip Stars

Here’s a neat trick your kids can use to dazzle fellow patriots on Independence Day: take a plain sheet of paper, make a series of folds, snip once, and, presto! You’ve got a five-pointed perfect star.

Materials

Sheet of 8 ½ x 11 Paper (colored or plain)
Scissors

Instructions

1. Fold the paper in half from top to bottom, creasing it firmly.

2. Fold the paper in half again, creasing it lightly.

3. Undo the second fold.

4. Make a third fold, bringing the tip of the upper right corner to the crease mark at the paper’s left edge.

5. Fold down the upper left corner along the top edge of the section you folded in step 4.

6. Fold the paper vertically so that the left and right edges match up. Cut the paper at a sharp angle, as shown, creating a small triangle. Open the triangle, and there’s your star.

By practising with the angle of your cut, and adjusting the folds so the star bulges outward, you can make your own barn star!

Candy Animals

Candy Animals

Penguins

Toothpicks
2 small white gumdrops
2 large white gumdrops
2 orange jelly beans, halved
Royal icing
2 purple Necco wafers, halved
2 orange M&M’s, halved
Scissors
Black shoestring licorice

To make each penguin, use a toothpick to attach the small gumdrop (the penguin’s head) on top of the large one (the body). Snap a toothpick in half and use the same technique to attach the jelly bean halves to the penguin’s body as feet.

Using small dabs of royal icing, glue the Necco wafer halves in place as wings and the M&M half as a beak.

Snip off two tiny lengths of shoestring licorice and affix them with royal icing to make the eyes.

Polar Bears

Toothpicks
2 large marshmallows
6 mini marshmallows
2 white jelly beans, halved
Royal icing
1 brown mini M&M
Scissors
Black shoestring licorice

Using a toothpick, attach the two large marshmallows together to make Puffy’s body and head.

For each arm, thread two mini marshmallows onto one end of a toothpick and poke the other end into the body. For each leg, do the same, but use one marshmallow for the leg and one half of a white jelly bean for the foot (so the bear will stand up more easily).

Using royal icing, glue on two jelly bean halves for ears and the M&M for a nose. Snip two short licorice lengths and glue them in place for the eyes.

Give Thanks Cornucopias

Give Thanks Cornucopias

For kids of all ages, these make fun setting decorations, seasonal snacks, and a delicious craft for a rainy day…

8 ice cream sugar cones
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
Assorted fall candies
8 (2 x 3/4-inch) pieces lightweight cardboard, optional

Dip edges of cones into melted chocolate; let stand on wire racks or wax paper until chocolate is firm.

Place each cone on its side. Fill cones with candy corns, candy pumpkins and assorted colorful candies.

Optional: You may attach a place card to the top of each cornucopia by dabbing a bit of melted chocolate to the top side and when nearly dry, attach place card gently.

Crazy Crayons

Crazy Crayons

“Heat makes a crayon a little loopy; it may melt into a swirl or pool into a whirl. With this in mind, we chopped up crayons and baked them in shaped mini cake tins, making large blocks that are easy for toddlers to hold and will surely inspire older artists. Encourage kids to come up with combinations: A blue-and-white blend for drawing the sky, for example, and a mix of reds and oranges for sunsets.”

What You’ll Need:
A kitchen knife
Old crayons
Mini-cake tins (we used pans with heart- and circle-shaped pockets)

Technique
1. Parents can use the knife to chop crayons into pea-size pieces, taking care to keep colors separate so kids can combine them as they like.

2. Preheat the oven to 150° while children fill the tin with crayon pieces, arranging them in interesting designs.

3. Bake just until the waxes have melted, 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Remove the shapes after they have cooled. If they stick, place tray in the freezer for an hour, and the crayons will pop out.

From Martha Stewart Kids magazine

Easter Egg Coloring Formulas

Easter Egg Coloring Formulas

To color Easter eggs, mix 1 teaspoon of vinegar with each ½ cup of hot water, then add food coloring. Vinegar keeps the food dyes bright and prevents streaky, uneven colors.

Below are the number of drops of food coloring needed to add to make specific shades:

• Lime – 24 yellow, 4 green
• Purple – 15 blue, 5 red
• Cantaloupe – 24 yellow, 2 red
• Jade – 17 green, 3 blue
• Plum – 10 red, 4 blue
• Spearmint – 12 green, 6 yellow, 2 blue
• Raspberry – 14 red, 6 blue
• Maize – 24 yellow, 1 red
• Watermelon – 25 red, 2 blue
• Teal – 15 green, 5 blue
• Grape – 17 blue, 3 red
• Fuchsia – 18 red, 2 blue
• Orange Sunset – 17 yellow, 3 red
• Jungle Green – 14 green, 6 yellow

Edible Easter Nests with Jelly Bean Eggs

Edible Easter Nests with Jelly Bean Eggs

Originally from a peanut butter company, these no-bake treats are easy and oh-so-fun for the kiddos! )

4 cups chow mein noodles
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter
36 jelly beans (speckled Jelly Bellies look best!)

Break chow mein noodles into small pieces; set aside in large mixing bowl.

Combine sugar and corn syrup in large saucepan.

Cook on medium heat until the sugar is melted and there are bubbles at the edge of the pan.

Add peanut butter and stir until smooth.

Pour peanut butter mixture over crunched up noodles; toss until completely coated.

Let cool slightly to avoid burns.

Butter hands lightly and use approx 1/4 c. mixture and form a compact ball.

Make indention in the middle of each ball to resemble a bird’s nest.

Place 2-3 jelly beans inside each nest.

Serve on a bed of green-tinted coconut for extra festive look.

Eggshell Plant Pots

Eggshell Plant Pots

Make and decorate tiny eggshell plant pots for Easter. Then watch your plants grow.

Supplies needed:

• Eggshells
• Potting soil
• Grass seeds (they germinate in a few weeks) or bean seeds (they germinate in a few days)
• Tempera paint or Markers
• Hot glue or white glue
• A small square of cardboard or a small piece of a pipe cleaner.

Clean eggshells and dry them gently.

To give the tiny plant pot a solid base, glue a small square of cardboard to the bottom of the eggshell (or use a small piece of pipecleaner twisted into a circle ). If using white glue, let it set for a few hours; hot glue will set in a few minutes.

Using tempera paint or markers, decorate the eggshells. Let the paint dry.

Put potting soil in the eggshells (fill a little over half way). Add many grass seeds or two bean seeds (in case one doesn’t germinate). The grass seeds take a few weeks to germinate, but bean seeds will sprout in just a few days.

Cover the seeds with a little bit of soil, and sprinkle lightly with water.

When the seeds sprout, put the tiny plant pot in a sunny spot and enjoy.

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