DIY Memory Stone Pen Holder for Father's Day

One simple gift that I made several years ago for my husband still graces his desk.  A mug with a broken handle, some handfuls of multi-colored stones, and some very strong glue are all that I used to create this simple pen holder.  It is a perfect gift for Father's Day.

I was inspired to make this stone-covered mug by a friend who was gluing stones to old lamp bases, to give as wedding gifts.  So if you and your kids collect a lot of stones, you could also decorate a ceramic lamp (or two).  For us, stones found on the shores of the Great Lakes have special significance.  Not only have my husband and I lived in Chicago, near the beaches of Lake Michigan, we also had our honeymoon in Canada on an island between Lakes Huron and Superior.

Materials Used:

• Multicolored stones (a selection of 50 to 100 is ideal)
• Ceramic mug without a handle (I chipped off the remaining stub as best I could)
• Strong gel glue that bonds ceramics (such as Gorilla Glue)

Directions:

1. Wash and dry stones well prior to gluing.
2. Arrange stones on a table and then on the mug without glue to get an idea of where you would like each stone placed.
3. In a well-ventilated area, glue stones onto the mug, making sure to cover the broken-off handle area of the mug first.

Need a gift bag for this once it is done?  Check out this frugal gift bag made from newspaper comics.
 

A Springtime Picnic Snack

Today is graduation day for the college students in our tiny town.  While my husband dons an academic robe, I am home with the kids, two of whom are asleep.  On my second daughter's list of things to do today was "surprise for Mom." After lunch, she invited me outside for this:

 

 

Eco-Friendly Craft and Game: Reusing Plastic Eggs to Make Flowers

We were inspired to create our own garden math game during Easter break.  Real flowers outdoors are at least a month away, so it was cheering to add some color to our day.  Interestingly, it was my five-year-old son who was most eager to make these, and then knock the flowers down of course.

Materials Used:

• cardboard tubes (from toilet paper rolls or paper towels)
• cardboard cereal or cake boxes
• scissors
• paint
• paintbrush(es)
• clear tape
• leftover plastic Easter eggs
• tin can or softball

Directions:

1. Draw flower shapes onto cardboard, using the plastic egg halves as centers to give a sense of proportion.  Cut out flower shapes.
2. Paint flowers and use egg halves as stamps in the paint.  Let dry.
3. Paint or color cardboard tubes green to serve as stems.  We slit them lengthwise and rolled them tighter, securing with tape.
4. Assemble flowers by standing tubes upright to form stems, then adding flower petal layer, followed by the plastic egg halves to be the center of each flower.
5. To play a bowling type of game, roll a tin can (I stuffed ours with a plastic bag to add ballast) or softball to knock down the flower "pins."  Keep score of how many flowers are toppled for some fun addition practice.  Another version of a math game requiring a die to roll can be found here.

One of my children created this variation, which looks like mushrooms.

Find more creative ideas each week at Your Green Resource and these fun places.

Creating and Tracing Rainbow Light Patterns

Inspired by those magical moments when "rainbows" appear on the floor as glass breaks sunlight into its color spectrum, my daughter wanted to try to trace the color patterns. We improved our odds by placing a glass jar near a window on a sunny morning. 

 After playing with angles, my daughters started tracing the colorful light patterns that they found. It was a bit of a race against time, as the sun's angle changed, but we still enjoyed the process.

Watercolor paints would be even better because kids can paint more swiftly. Now that we've located our stash of paintbrushes, we'll have to try tracing with watercolors next.

This pattern was outlined later, and it seemed to resemble an island.

Simple Tip: How To Remove Melted Plastic From an Oven Rack

One of my bad habits is putting plastic containers and such in the oven to store them or dry them.  Sooner or later I forget to remove the plastic before I preheat the oven, and the results are predictably disastrous.  In the past, I have tried to remove plastic that I melted in my oven by reheating the plastic and scraping it off.  But this releases more fumes, some of which are probably toxic.  Chemical oven cleaner is another potentially toxic method of cleaning, and there is no guarantee that it would work on plastic, especially on a thick, hardened layer of goo.

I finally discovered better method of rescuing an oven rack. The first step is to cool the melted plastic so that it becomes brittle.  In colder climates, all this requires is stepping outside.  Or you can try fitting your oven rack into a deep freezer.  Once the plastic is cold, you can use a hammer to break apart the plastic.

To avoid warping the metal too much, you can use a wrench or another hard flat metal surface to brace the other side.

Then use the hammer claw to scrape off the bits of remaining plastic.  Voila!  No more plastic on your oven rack.

Have you ever accidentally melted plastic in your oven? How did you deal with it?

Tulip Napkin Rings {Made From Upcycled Cardboard Tubes}

Though I long for the warmth and colours of spring to arrive, the Canadian prairie is still locked in layers of snow and ice.  While I impatiently wait for the weather to change, why not add some beauty and creativity to our tabletop indoors?  Sandy Coughlin's ideas for creating a beautiful tabletop inspired me.  Just in time for Easter and spring, we now have some cheerful floral napkin rings to grace our table.  And you and your family can easily make a set too.  From start to finish, this manageable project can be done in 30 minutes or less.

Materials:

• Cardboard tubes (from paper towel rolls)

• Scissors
• Acrylic paint
• Paintbrush or cotton swabs
• Hot glue (and hot glue gun)
• Cloth strips or binding tape
• Green ribbon
• Sugar snap peas, optional 
• Flat toothpicks, optional

1. Cut petal shaped ovals from the cardboard tubes. The length of each oval should be parallel to the length of the tube (so that the petals resemble large fake fingernails).
2. Paint each petal with a thick coat (or two) of acrylic paint, making sure the brush strokes form a grain that is parallel to the length of each oval.
3. Cut rings from cardboard tubes, trimming them until smooth and even in size.
4. Wrap each cardboard ring with about 24 inches of cloth strips.  If using folded strips, overlap the edges so that the raw edges are concealed.  Secure inside ring with hot glue.
5. When painted petals are dry, arrange them in groups of three to form a tulip flower and fasten together with hot glue.  Attach the tulip flower to the cloth-wrapped ring with hot glue.
6. To add a stem to the tulip, cut an appropriate length of ribbon and attach it inside the napkin ring with glue, tape, or a pin.
7. Insert napkin and add sugar snap pea "leaves," securing the pea pods in a V-shape with a flat toothpick.  Trim toothpick as needed.

I'm sharing this idea at these fun places.

March Holiday Activity Ideas

While three kids are at school and my one-year-old is napping, I am enjoying a quiet moment.  It's a good time to make plans for the rest of the week and beyond.  While the sub-zero temperatures (Celsius) here don't suggest that Easter is coming soon, the calendar says otherwise.  I collected some colorful ideas for St. Patrick's Day and Easter that I hope will inspire me to create and celebrate these holidays with my children.  Perhaps you will fancy one or more of these ideas too.

For St. Patrick's Day, March 17th:

Green Snacks for St. Pat's

Rainbow Swirl Cake with Natural Colors

at my new food blog!

Rainbow Games

Shamrock Door Hanging

Shamrock Garland

For Easter, March 31st:

12 Ideas for a Healthy and Meaningful Easter 

Source: Uploaded by user via Sheri on Pinterest

Easter Egg Paper Craft

Recycled Paper Easter Baskets

Watercolor Easter Cards

Are you planning any special holiday activities for March?

Making a Multicolored Monkey Chain

Family Day is a relatively new celebration in some Canadian provinces; the basic idea seems straightforward--to spend time with your family.  And so why not take some time to craft together?

A recent care package from Grandma included some colorful pom poms and pipe cleaners.  My eldest daughter was excited to make monkeys out of them.  She had spotted the idea in a crafting book.  And craft we did, which led to an extra sparkle of happiness in her voice and expression.  Though I am often one to let my kids loose on projects, I haven't taken much time lately to sit down and do a hands-on project together.  It was definitely worth doing this together to see her beam.


Materials Used:

• Chenille stems (a.k.a. pipe cleaners)
  
• Pom poms in two sizes
• Scissors
• Tiny plastic gems (in lieu of googley eyes)
  
• Permanent marker
• School glue
• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue sticks
• Felt
• Fabric paint

Instructions:

1.  Cut out monkey faces from felt (we used tan colored felt).  Glue on eyes, using markers to form pupils.  Decorate felt faces with black fabric paint to create nostrils, and mouths.   Let dry.

2.  Cut pipe cleaners into pieces.  For each monkey you will need 3 pieces: 2 longer pieces for arms and legs, and one shorter piece for a tail. Twist them together to form the arms, legs and tail.

3.  Using school glue and/or hot glue, sandwich the pipe cleaners between two larger pom poms of the same color.  Affix a smaller pom pom on top to be the head.  Glue on the face.

4.  Bend the arms, legs, and tail into the desired shape.  You may like to try linking the arms and tails to form a chain of dangling monkeys.

No Bake Gingerbread Smoothie

Inspired by a recipe I pinned last month, today I blended up a new-to-me smoothie: gingerbread.  The recipe is by Girl Gone Green, and I was glad I made it.  Since I rarely follow recipes exactly, here are the changes that took this recipe to the next level for me:

• I added coconut milk to balance out the strength of the spices and add richness.
• I omitted the allspice, mainly because it was a busy morning.
• I eventually tried adding unsweetened coconut, because the amount of ginger called for was a bit too much for our tastes.
• I added a few drops of maple syrup, which were not necessary probably, after I toned down the spices.

The verdict:  Definitely a smoothie to repeat!  I'll just use half coconut milk and less ginger next time.

For more ginger-y goodness, take a peek at these recipes:

        

      Mighty Good Molasses Muffins

Summer Spice Ice Cream Sandwiches

I'm linking up to Janurary's From Pinterest to Real Life

at Simple Homemade and
 AP Tuesdays at New Nostalgia.

Mitten Letter Matching Game (with Snowflakes!)

Playing this winter-theme matching game recently was exciting because it showed me how much my five-year-old is able to do with letters.  First, we matched some upper and lower case letters.  Then I wanted to see if my son could read some three-letter words.  And he did!  

Read on to learn how we made the mittens and snowflakes and set up the game.

Mitten Letter Matching Game

     Materials Used: 

• Felt in two or more colors
• White paper (lighter weight copy paper works best)
• Scissors
• Fine line marker

1.  Cut identical mitten shapes out of felt.  I made 16 mittens.

2.  Cut snowflakes out of white paper that are slightly smaller than the mittens.  You want the mittens to be able to cover the snowflakes.

3.  Write sets of upper and lower case letters on the snowflakes.  One letter goes on each snowflake.  I had 8 sets of letters.

4.  Arrange the snowflakes and cover them with mittens.   I decided to use the same color for matching sets.  In the photo below you can see that "A" and "a" are both red.

5.  To play, turn over two mittens and see if the letters match (upper and lower case).  Take turns trying to find and remember where matching letters are.

6.  After the memory game, you can try to form short words with the letters on the snowflakes.  See if your child can read any of them.

More fun follow-up activity ideas:

• Make mathematical patterns with the different colors of mittens.  For example, green-red-red-green-red-red...
• Read The Mitten, a popular book for kindergarten kids, by Jan Brett.
• Play the Snowflake Stomp Game.