Tools and Materials
Natural dyeing agents (red cabbage, turmeric, onion skins, beets, and coffee)
3-quart pot (or larger)
White vinegar
Strainer
Small bowls
Eggs
Large metal spoon
Paper towels
Drying rack

Deep Gold: Boil eggs in turmeric solution, 30 minutes.
Sienna: Boil eggs in onion-skin solution, 30 minutes.
Dark, Rich Brown: Boil eggs in black coffee, 30 minutes.
Pale Yellow: Soak eggs in room-temperature turmeric solution, 30 minutes.
Orange: Soak eggs in room-temperature onion-skin solution, 30 minutes.
Light Brown: Soak eggs in room-temperature black coffee, 30 minutes.
Light Pink: Soak eggs in room-temperature beet solution, 30 minutes.
Light Blue: Soak eggs in room-temperature cabbage solution, 30 minutes.
Royal Blue: Soak eggs in room-temperature cabbage solution overnight.
Lavender: Soak eggs in room-temperature beet solution, 30 minutes. Follow with room-temperature cabbage solution, 30 seconds.
Chartreuse: Soak eggs in room-temperature turmeric solution, 30 minutes. Follow with room-temperature cabbage solution, 5 seconds.
Salmon: Soak eggs in room-temperature turmeric solution, 30 minutes. Follow with room-temperature onion-skin solution, 30 minutes.

Dye Recipes
Select a dyeing agent, and place it in the pot using the amount listed below. Add 1 quart water and 2 tablespoons white vinegar to pot; if more water is necessary to cover ingredients, proportionally increase the amount of vinegar. Bring to a boil, then lower heat. Allow the ingredients to simmer for 30 minutes. Strain dye into a bowl.

Red-cabbage dye: 4 cups chopped cabbage
Turmeric dye: 3 tablespoons turmeric
Onion-skin dye: 4 cups onion skins (skins of about 12 onions)
Beet dye: 4 cups chopped beets
Coffee dye: 1 quart strong black coffee (instead of water) Cold-Dipping Method

Cold-Dipping Method
With this method, the eggs and the ingredients for the dye are boiled separately. Using a metal spoon, lower cooled hard-boiled eggs into a bowl of cooled dye, and let them soak for as little as 5 seconds or as long as overnight, depending on the depth of color you desire. Remove eggs with spoon, pat dry with paper towels, and let dry on a wire rack. The cold-dipping method produces subtle, translucent shades, but can result in uneven coloring unless the eggs are rotated vigilantly while in the dye. For hollow eggs that will last indefinitely, cold-dip raw eggs, then blow them out after they are dyed.

Boiled Method
This method involves boiling the eggs with the dye; the heat allows the dye to saturate the shells, resulting in intense, more uniform color. Set raw eggs in a pot of strained dye; bring to a boil for the amount of time specified in our color glossary. Remove and dry eggs as with the cold-dipping method.

Finish (optional)
Natural dyes tend to fade over time, so finish any eggs you plan to keep with a matte or gloss acrylic spray varnish. To create an egg-spraying stand, stick a 6-inch length of wire into a block of Styrofoam; prop a hollow egg onto the wire through one of its holes. Spray egg with a coat of varnish in a well-ventilated area, and let dry.

Food

Broken Glass Jello

4 small boxes of jello, different colors
1 can sweetened condensed milk (Like Eagle or something)
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
water

Dissolve each box of jello separately, into one cup of hot water. Pour into individual containers (small tupperware works well) and chill overnight.

9×13 pan.
Cut flavors of jello into small blocks.
Mix together carefully in pan.

In a separate bowl, dissolve 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water. Add dissolved gelatin to 1 3/4 cup hot water and condensed milk. Cool.

Pour cooled milk mixture over jello and chill overnight.

This makes for great party food. The colors are so pretty your guests will be impressed, like you took hours to make it!

Finish product                                   Step 1                               Step 2                    Step 3

Semi-Homemade Donuts

This recipe for semi-homemade donuts starts from a can, but comes out baked hot and fresh. Using ready-to-use biscuit dough, these donuts are easy and fast to make.

* biscuit dough - ready to use or from scratch
* small circle cutter - I used a medicine cup that came from children’s Tylenol
* 1/4 - 1/2 cup cooking oil - vegetable or canola
* tongs
* paper towels
* cinnamon and sugar mix

Open the biscuit can and spread all the rolls out. Then using a small circle cutter, press out a donut hole right in the middle. (View pictures below)

Then get your pan on medium heat with 1/4 - 1/2 cup oil. Depending on how many you make, you will need more oil. You want enough oil to cover half of the donut when cooking. Place 3-4 doughy donuts into the pan and leave until the bottom is golden brown. Don’t do anything else but watch these, as they cook fast and don’t want them to burn. Then turn them over and cook another minute or so. Using tongs, place the cooked donut on paper towels to drain and cool slightly.

Now place the donuts on a plate and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Use a shaker You could also top your donuts with a powdered sugar/milk glaze. Even a chocolate frosting with sprinkles would be yummy.

Easy Treat

You need a bag of pretzels
Chocolate wafers 2 colours from the bulk store (milk chocolate, strawberry or vanilla)
1 Measuring cup
Wax paper
Candy sprinkles(optional)

Pour 2 cups of wafers into a glass measuring cup
Heat for approx. 1 min. stir, repeat as needed for 1 min
Then dip your pretzels
While they are hot, sprinkle candies!
Take an opposite colour of chocolate and drizzle onto the pretzel, vice versa

Rainbow Cake

I stumbled upon this really neat way to make a rainbow cake.

Click on the link for step by step instructions!

Fun activity to do with the kids on “Family Day”!

http://omnomicon.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-make-rainbow-cake.html

Making things using items around the house!

A great activity for the kids on rainy/snowy days or Birthday parties!

Save your paper towel rolls, NOT toilet paper rolls

Take an exacto knife and cut rings of different thicknesses

Set out markers, feathers, buttons, fabric, magazines etc.

Have the children glue the items to the paper towel rings

Set aside to dry

Once dried, cut a slit and they have now created a bracelet.

Balloon Car

This air-powered carton car needs just a huff and a puff to get its little wheels rolling.

Use a clean, half-pint milk carton.

Loosely tape a balloon to the top so that air can get through.

For the wheels, slide two thin dowels through two straws (the dowels should be thinner and slightly longer than the straws).

A parent should use an awl to puncture a small hole in four plastic jar or bottle lids (four of the same size or two sets of different sizes).

Slide the ends of dowels into the holes of lids (the holes should be small, so that the dowels fit snugly into them).

Tape the straws to the bottom of the carton. If the car seems unbalanced, tape a washer to carton’s bottom or side. Rev up the “engine” by inflating the balloon, and then release so that the car can get going.

Siblings can have races on the kitchen floor!

22 Boredom Activities

Find that letter
Pick a letter and take turns naming items in the store that start with it. Get creative: “B” is for banana, but also for a box of cereal! 4 and up

I-Spy times three
Name three items your child can look for, like something that’s bigger than his fist, something that’s liquid, and something that’s red. 3 and up

Banana notes
Pick up a banana and let your kid draw a picture on the skin with a pencil eraser. By the time you get home, your artist’s work will magically appear — just in time for a snack! 3 and up

Grocery store entertainment

Color scout
Choose a color for the day. Tell your child that her job is to watch and tell you every time you put something of that color in the cart. 2 and up

Basket case
Challenge your child to find another shopping cart with two items that are the same as two already in your cart. 3 and up

Build a word
Have your child try to find all the letters in her name on a package from your cart. If your kid’s older, pick a simple sentence (”I love to eat cheese!”) and have her search the box for each letter. 4 and up

Doctor’s office pick-me-ups

Little Picasso
In the exam room, whip out a crayon so your child can draw on the paper covering the table. Older kids can play tic-tac-toe or hangman. 18 months and up

Hide-and-seek
Grab three paper cups from the sink and turn them upside down. Hide the cotton ball under a cup, switch the cups around, and see if your child can guess where the ball is. Try it again — and then give him a chance to trick you. 3 and up

Floss art
At the dentist’s, see if you can snag your free dental floss before the exam. It’s fun to arrange into different shapes and to figure out how to make animals or flowers. 3 and up

Card shark
Pull a bunch of subscription postcards from various magazines in the waiting room. Deal them out and play Go Fish: “Do you have one with yellow on it?” 4 and up

Sock toss
Take your child’s sock off and roll it into a ball (you’ll have to take his shoes off for the weigh-in anyway). See if he can toss it so that it lands on a magazine placed a few feet away. 2 and up

Walk this way
When you’re brought to the exam room, ask a nurse if you can have a cotton ball and a tongue depressor. The challenge for your child: Carry the cotton ball across the room on the tongue depressor. Can she make it? How many times? 4 and up

Post office diversions

Got a stamp?
Make a show of hiding stamps in all of your child’s pockets. Have her search for where you actually put them. 2 and up

Fill in the blanks
If your child knows how to write her name, grab one of the mailing forms and have her fill out as much as she can (give her a hand with the rest). This’ll help her memorize important information, too! 4 and up

Mime games
While you’re standing in line, designate a leader and a follower. As the leader makes motions or funny faces, the follower mirrors the action. Try to be sneaky enough that nobody else knows you’re playing. 3 and up

Number hunters
If your post office has personal mailboxes near the line, read a number from one of the boxes and see if your child can find it. 3 and up

Post your pic
Have your child draw a picture. Put it in an envelope that you’ve addressed to yourself (or Grandma), then have him stamp it and mail it before you leave. 2 and up

Restaurant fun

A sweet deal
Arrange the silverware in a tic-tac-toe grid and use packages of sugar (white) and artificial sweetener (pink) as X’s and O’s. 4 and up

Pepper picker-upper
Sprinkle a teaspoon each of salt and pepper onto a napkin. Have your child rub a plastic spoon (not one you’ll eat with!) on his hair for about a minute. Then, if he holds the spoon over the napkin, you can watch as the static electricity makes the pepper — but not the salt — jump onto the spoon. 4 and up

Straw magic
Have your child put two straws in her mouth. Put one into her drink and leave the other on the outside of the glass. See how much of her drink she can swallow. Odds are, not much! 3 and up

Who’s next?
Guess who’s going to walk through the door or past your table. Will he be wearing a hat? Something red? Or maybe a beard? See how many correct guesses you can make as a group. 3 and up

Modern art
When your child gets antsy from coloring the kids’ menu, use the crayons to make rubbings of the things you have on hand — a fork, a penny, a rough table surface. Just put a paper menu over each item, rub with the side of the crayon, and watch the textures appear, in color! 2 and up

HOPE THESE FEW IDEAS HELP FOR THE FUN WEEK WITH THE CHILDREN!!

I have created 4 diaper cakes in the past year but still have not had time to video tape the instructions so I am adding a link from “You Tube” a 10min. detailed video!  The second link is how to make little flowers out of sockies and wash cloths!!

Once I have a little time, I will be creating my own video…..

Diaper Cake tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc1Se-CXfJA

Create roses using baby wash cloths and baby ribbed socks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7kGIrestrE&feature=related

Find that letter
Pick a letter and take turns naming items in the store that start with it. Get creative: “B” is for banana, but also for a box of cereal! 4 and up

I-Spy times three
Name three items your child can look for, like something that’s bigger than his fist, something that’s liquid, and something that’s red. 3 and up

Banana notes
Pick up a banana and let your kid draw a picture on the skin with a pencil eraser. By the time you get home, your artist’s work will magically appear — just in time for a snack! 3 and up

“Grocery store entertainment”

Color scout
Choose a color for the day. Tell your child that her job is to watch and tell you every time you put something of that color in the cart. 2 and up

Basket case
Challenge your child to find another shopping cart with two items that are the same as two already in your cart. 3 and up

Build a word
Have your child try to find all the letters in her name on a package from your cart. If your kid’s older, pick a simple sentence (”I love to eat cheese!”) and have her search the box for each letter. 4 and up

“Doctor’s office pick-me-ups”

Little Picasso
In the exam room, whip out a crayon so your child can draw on the paper covering the table. Older kids can play tic-tac-toe or hangman. 18 months and up

Hide-and-seek
Grab three paper cups from the sink and turn them upside down. Hide the cotton ball under a cup, switch the cups around, and see if your child can guess where the ball is. Try it again — and then give him a chance to trick you. 3 and up

Floss art
At the dentist’s, see if you can snag your free dental floss before the exam. It’s fun to arrange into different shapes and to figure out how to make animals or flowers. 3 and up

Card shark
Pull a bunch of subscription postcards from various magazines in the waiting room. Deal them out and play Go Fish: “Do you have one with yellow on it?” 4 and up

Sock toss
Take your child’s sock off and roll it into a ball (you’ll have to take his shoes off for the weigh-in anyway). See if he can toss it so that it lands on a magazine placed a few feet away. 2 and up

Walk this way
When you’re brought to the exam room, ask a nurse if you can have a cotton ball and a tongue depressor. The challenge for your child: Carry the cotton ball across the room on the tongue depressor. Can she make it? How many times? 4 and up

“Post office diversions”

Got a stamp?
Make a show of hiding stamps in all of your child’s pockets. Have her search for where you actually put them. 2 and up

Fill in the blanks
If your child knows how to write her name, grab one of the mailing forms and have her fill out as much as she can (give her a hand with the rest). This’ll help her memorize important information, too! 4 and up

Mime games
While you’re standing in line, designate a leader and a follower. As the leader makes motions or funny faces, the follower mirrors the action. Try to be sneaky enough that nobody else knows you’re playing. 3 and up

Number hunters
If your post office has personal mailboxes near the line, read a number from one of the boxes and see if your child can find it. 3 and up

Post your pic
Have your child draw a picture. Put it in an envelope that you’ve addressed to yourself (or Grandma), then have him stamp it and mail it before you leave. 2 and up

“Restaurant fun”

A sweet deal
Arrange the silverware in a tic-tac-toe grid and use packages of sugar (white) and artificial sweetener (pink) as X’s and O’s. 4 and up

Pepper picker-upper
Sprinkle a teaspoon each of salt and pepper onto a napkin. Have your child rub a plastic spoon (not one you’ll eat with!) on his hair for about a minute. Then, if he holds the spoon over the napkin, you can watch as the static electricity makes the pepper — but not the salt — jump onto the spoon. 4 and up

Straw magic
Have your child put two straws in her mouth. Put one into her drink and leave the other on the outside of the glass. See how much of her drink she can swallow. Odds are, not much! 3 and up

Who’s next?
Guess who’s going to walk through the door or past your table. Will he be wearing a hat? Something red? Or maybe a beard? See how many correct guesses you can make as a group. 3 and up

Modern art
When your child gets antsy from coloring the kids’ menu, use the crayons to make rubbings of the things you have on hand — a fork, a penny, a rough table surface. Just put a paper menu over each item, rub with the side of the crayon, and watch the textures appear, in color! 2 and up

Here are a few suggestions on how to make your “Family Day”  fun with the kids!

Breakfast

Here is a really cool recipe/directions on how to make fun pancakes in the morning

http://www.makeandtakes.com/pop-up-pancakes

Activity

Bowling - Using plastic water bottles, tissue paper, glue/water mixture (mod podge)

http://blissfullydomestic.com/creative-bliss/make-a-bolwing-set-from-water-bottles

Desert

Here is a really cool recipe to create a rainbow cake!  Great for desert with the family

http://omnomicon.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-make-rainbow-cake.html

Fun Recipes

Basic Salt Dough
1 cup table salt
1 cup flour
1/2 cup water
food coloring

Directions:
Mix food coloring into the water before adding it to the salt and flour. For scented and colored dough use a package of unsweetened Kool Aid instead of the food coloring. Doesn’t have a very long shelf life. It is great if you are going to let dry and harden.

Cooked Salt Dough (longer shelf life)
1 cup of flour
1 T. vegetable oil
1 cup water
2 t. cream of tartar
food coloring
saucepan

Directions:
1. mix the food coloring into the water
2. heat all the ingredients over low heat until the mixture forms a ball
3. knead when cool

Puffy Paint/Glue
Mix equal parts of shaving cream with glue. You can add food coloring for color if you want. Use a craft stick to stir and to put on paper. The mixture will puff up when it dries.

Silly Putty
In a zip loc bag, place 1 tablespoon Elmer’s glue, 1 tablespoon water and 2 drops of food coloring Mix well. In a container mix 1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoon Borax. After the glue, water and food coloring have been mixed, add 1 tablespoon of the borax mixture. Close Ziploc and mix well. The result is a very close resemblance to the real silly putty.

Homemade Stickers
1 Tbs. Jell-O (Any Flavor) 2 Tbs. BOILING water. Mix water and Jell-O until dissolved. Paint to back of pre-cut shapes of paper. When dry, children can lick and stick, and they taste good.

Homemade “Shaving Cream” Paint
Great for painting the shower walls!
Mix 3 teaspoons shampoo with a small amount of water in a mixing bowl. Whip with an electric mixer until it becomes like shaving cream. Add food coloring if desired.

Sidewalk Paint
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
6-8 drops of food coloring
Mix the cornstarch and cold water together. Add food coloring and stir. Repeat to make different colors. NOTE: This paint can be easily washed off with water and is great for painting large areas temporarily!!!

Floam
2-Tsp. Borax
½-Cup Water
¼-Cup White Glue
¼-Cup Water
1-1 qt. Zip Lock Bag
Food Coloring
Styrofoam Beads (about 2 - bathroom 3 oz. cups full for above)

Directions:
1. Dissolve 2-Tsp. Borax Completely in ½-cup water.
2. In a separate bowl mix ¼-cup white glue and ¼-cup water. Add food coloring of your choice to this solution.
3. Pour the glue solution into a zip lock bag. Then add 1-Tbs. of the Borax/water solution to the glue solution.
4. Add Styrofoam Beads to the mixture to make “Floam”.
5. Seal bag and knead by hand until thoroughly mixed. Let stand about 15 minutes, and then knead by hand again. Take out of bag when the gel (“Floam”) separates easily from the inside bag walls. It will have the consistency of dough. When not in use store in sealed plastic bag to prevent evaporation.

Not only are they healthier to use, they are also environmentally friendly and saves you money!

Glass Cleaner
1 cup distilled white vinegar (Let the cup sit for at least 48 hours to distill)
2 cups distilled water
1/2 tsp dish soap
10-15 drops essential oil
Spray Bottle

All Purpose Cleaner
Distilled water to fill spray bottle
10-15 drops of tea tree oil
Spray Bottle

Disinfectant
Hydrogen Peroxide
10-15 drops essential oil
Spray Bottle

Hardwood Floor Cleaner
4-5 Tbsp Murphy’s Oil Soap
2 Cups distilled Water
Spray Bottle

Furniture Polish
2 cups oil (vegetable or olive)
1 squeezed lemon
15 drops of lemon essential oil

Air Deodorizer
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp vinegar
2 cups water
10 drops essential oil (Lavender)
Spray Bottle

Sleepovers are so much fun, playing games, eating junk food, doing crafts, watching movies and staying up late!

They say the number of guests should be the age the child is turning….I never paid attention to that, of course my Mom always tried too but their was always a new person added each day.  I averaged approx. 12 - 15 friends at each party had a blast.

I now get to enjoy them with my children and experience them all over again!

Here are a couple of suggestions to help you out with your child’s sleepover party

Sleepover theme cake

Here is a link to create a easy sleepover theme cake using a cake slab and twinkies!  This is a great activity that your child can help be a part of.

http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=50198

Top 11 Movies not in any particular order (The older movies you may find at a thrift store/goodwill)

Ella Enchanted

Breakfast Club

Valley Girl

The Outsiders

Grease

Saturday night fever

Pretty in Pink

Top gun

Goonies

Footloose

War games

“Crafty Kits” provides kits to help you out, you may visit the information on the tab “Sleepover”

A birthday party does not have to cost 100’s of dollars, the best parties are done at home.

Here are a couple of  “Green” options to add to your child’s special day!

Loot Bags

For a couple of bucks you can buy paper lunch bags

Cut the bags halfway down if needed

During the week before the party, have your child decorate the bags with markers, stickers, foamies etc

Have them write the name of each guest on the bag, this also helps with children’s printing skills/spacing

Fill the bags with homemade treats or theme gifts

Activity - Paper beads

Grab a bunch of old unused colourful magazines and press the link provided below, which shows you detailed step by step instructions on how to create beads using recycled paper!

Each child takes home their creations, if enough time allows, have them create a bracelet and necklace, play some music and watch the little ones have fun creating their masterpiece.

Enjoy, Have Fun!

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Paper-Beads

We thought about it, as “Crafty Kits” emphasis the importance of family spending time together, so instead we will be posting a “Family Day” idea page the second week of February on how to create items/memories using things that you will find around the house, rather then creating a kit.

We hope you will check back and see the things that we have come up with!

In this activity the child uses a small spoon and places one marble in each section of the ice cube tray.

Also helps with eye/hand co-ordination!