Crayon Jars

My husband and I have been working in his classroom, getting ready for the school year. He has buckets and buckets of old crayons, and he was getting ready to toss them. I told him to wait, and I would look for some kids craft projects using old crayons. I found this one using old crayons and a jar. Since I was just giving it a try, I only used two colors, so my jar isn't as vibrant as it could be.

The project was pretty easy and fun. Click here for instructions on how to make one of these jars with your kids.

Peanut Butter Clay

I got this recipe for Peanut Butter Clay from my aunt when I was a little girl. I made it with my boys for the first time this morning. They played with it for a long time and had a ball.

Here is the recipe:
2 C. Peanut Butter
2 C. Powdered Milk
1 C. Honey
Mix all ingredients together, adding more powdered milk, if necessary, to get desired consistency. Make things and then eat 'em up!

Since this recipe has peanut butter and honey, I definitely would not make it for anyone under one year, and I would be careful when using it with toddlers.

We're Back

Sorry about the lack of recent posting. My family and I just got back from attending a family reunion in Utah. We will back to our regular posting schedule soon. Thanks for checking back in with us.

Shrinky Dink Keychains

I made some of these fun shrinky dink keychains with my kids and one of their friends today. I drew the outlines onto the shrinky dink plastic (that I picked up from a craft store), and punched a hole in the top. Then the kids colored them in and we baked them as directed on the package. They loved watching them shrink up in the oven. After they were cool, I added the keychain hardware. It was really easy and the kids loved it. Our friend didn't want to leave when her dad came to get her. She was hoping to make another one.

Leaf Tracings

My boys and I made these leaf tracings today. It took up some good time and they loved it! This is what we did.

1. We went into the back yard and picked leaves off of some of our plants. As you can imagine - I supervised this pretty closely.


2. We brought the leaves inside and laid them flat under pieces of scrap paper.


3. We unpeeled a few crayons and then rubbed the side of the crayon over the paper on top of the leaves.


4. The images of the leaves - and all their cool details appear before your eyes.

My two year old needed a lot of help with this one, but after I helped my 4 year old with one, he was able to do them by himself. They thought it was just like magic. We all had a great time with this.

4th of July T-shirts

Creative Chicks at Play have done it again! Click here for their simple and fun tutorial on how to make these cute t-shirts for the 4th.

Onesie with applique

I needed a quick baby gift today, so I tried my hand at some simple applique on a onesie. I thought it turned out pretty cute for how fast it came together.