Crafts – Page 7 – Our Beautifully Messy House

Melted Crayon Rocks

January 22, 2015November 3, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

I remember doing this craft as a kid and how much I loved it, so today I introduced MELTED CRAYON ROCKS to L. And of course, she loved making them as well!!! It was the perfect way to spend this snowy afternoon!

This is definitely a craft to do with older kids, as the rocks get extremely hot! L was just old enough at 3 yrs of age. I constantly reminded her not to touch the rocks and kept a close eye at all times!

Materials needed:

rocks
crayons
tin foil
towels, cardboard, or newspapers
oven mitt or tongs
oven

First, clean and dry the rocks if there’s any dirt on them. Lay them out on a cookie sheet and place in the oven, set at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes I turned the oven off, leaving the rocks in there until we were ready to use them. I removed one rock at a time as we went along.

As the rocks are heating up, remove the paper from some crayons. If you use a knife to carefully cut down the side of the paper, it comes off in one nice, big piece. Prepare your work area with towels, cardboard or newspapers beneath a sheet of tin foil.

When you are ready to create, remove one rock at a time using an oven mitt or tongs. Obviously, be very careful…you don’t want to burn yourself or have the rock fall, roll and burn anyone else.

Gently press crayons onto the rock and watch the wax melt down the side. Sooo relaxing and mesmerizing!!! You can draw pictures, designs or make them completely random! It’s a fun craft to experiment with!

MELTED CRAYON ROCKS would make sweet little gifts for family and friends…a fun surprise to leave in your neighbor’s garden or on their front steps! I think we’ll be making more this coming month to hand out on Valentine’s Day, because LOVE ROCKS!!! Enjoy!!!

DIY Planetarium for Kids

January 21, 2015September 27, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

Have your kids ever daydreamed about going to the moon? To Mars or the Milky Way? By making a PLANETARIUM FOR KIDS you can take them to outer space without even leaving your house!

Last week L and I turned our dining room into a PLANETARIUM complete with the all the planets of our solar system, constellations, “telescopes,” MOON DOUGH!, Glow-in-the-Dark Glitter Bottles, Sprinkle Star Sugar Cookies and more! Once you get going on this project the possibilities are endless…your kids will be entertained, playing and learning for days on end!

First, start by making the planets in our solar system. Find a good picture of the solar system, in a book or online, and talk about the planets. Depending on the age of your kids, you can keep the research brief or stretch it out, talking about the facts and properties of each planet. (I included Pluto when teaching L about our solar system…it was always my favorite planet and last I heard, it was back in the solar system!) Next, cut out circles of construction paper to resemble the sun and each planet. Have your lil one color them!

Tape your planets to the underside of a table! Depending on what your child is interested in, feel free to add the moon (made out of tin foil), some constellations…anything you all think is important and fun! Having a good time learning about outer space is the most important part here, so if your lil one wants stars all over in random places, go with it! Why not!? Among our randomly placed stars we included the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia.

Hang some foil stars from the sides of your table for a lil extra pizzaz as well. This was WB’s favorite part!

Throw a blanket and some pillows under the table, grab a flashlight and get ready to star gaze! “It’s a real campout!” L exclaimed.

Having a flashlight is a must! You can put some SENSORY BAGS (click here) over the flashlight to change colors.

Make some sparkle bottles as well! The GLOW-IN-THE-DARK BOTTLES (DIY here) were a lot of fun with this activity! How many stars can you count? Can you see any constellations in the bottle?

Make a “TELESCOPE” too!

Materials needed:

paper towel tube (or paper rolled up)
clear plastic (sandwich bag works well)
star stickers
rubber bands

Cut the plastic sandwich bag into a small square. Stick some star stickers on top. Place the plastic over the cardboard tube and secure it with two small rubber bands. Looking out the window or at a light with the “telescope,” your child will see stars! Maybe even a constellation!

You can also do the reverse…punch some holes out of construction paper (best if they are in the form of a constellation), and shine the flashlight through! The stars will appear upon the wall!

Getting hungry? Make some SPRINKLE STAR SUGAR COOKIES (recipe here) with your kids! It’s a quick and easy sugar cookie recipe and perhaps you’ll find more constellations as you snack!

Another fun mess to make as you’re exploring outer space is MOON DOUGH! (recipe here) One of our favorites…the silky powder can be molded into shapes and forms and only includes 2 ingredients!

Have fun with this one!!! What else will you all come up with as you venture out, past our atmosphere???

Moon Dough!

January 19, 2015September 26, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

There are lots of recipes out there for MOON DOUGH or, as some like to call it, “cloud dough.” This recipe is one of our favorites! It’s one of the easiest things to make, consisting of only 2 ingredients, and, if stored properly, it will practically keep forever! The consistency of MOON DOUGH is amazing…similar to sand it holds its shape when molded, though at the same time it easily crumbles back into its silky powder form. I have to warn you, it does make a mess…but a glorious, entertain-the-kids-for-an-hour mess! Just put a blanket down on your kitchen floor first or, when the weather is nice, take MOON DOUGH outside!

Ingredients:

1 cup baby oil
4 cups flour

Simply put the baby oil and the flour into a large bowl or plastic container. Using a whisk, spoon or your hands, mix the ingredients together. Easy peasy!!!

Fun tools for the kids to play with are spoons, forks, small measuring cups or bowls, a muffin tin, sand castle molds, plastic jewels, straws…

L enjoys building castles, searching for “treasures,” making pretend cakes, and pretending her lil fairies and dinosaurs are walking on the moon. So much fun!!!

To store MOON DOUGH just put it in an air-tight container…any plastic container with a lid should work just fine…and keep it in a cool, dry place. Enjoy!!!

Sensory Bottles, Sparkle Bottles, Glow-in-the-Dark Bottles, and an Ocean in a Bottle

January 18, 2015September 26, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

We love SENSORY BOTTLES at Our Beautifully Messy House and have been experimenting with them for years! There are so many things to do with sensory bottles and sparkle bottles…some people use them as “time-out bottles” to help calm down their toddlers when they’re having a meltdown. We like to play with our SPARKLE BOTTLES outside in the summertime, pulling them around in wagons, burying them in dirt…and inside in the play areas of our house. (Okay, I admit…that’s every room of our house!) We take SENSORY BOTTLES with us on long car rides for simple, quiet entertainment. The kids love to bounce them around in the bathtub as well! The GLOW IN THE DARK BOTTLE is great for helping kids wind down at night and drift off to sleep. So much fun and so many possibilities!!!

I find the best, smoothest and cheapest bottles to use (esp. if you don’t drink soda regularly and have a collection already) are the soda water bottles. Just look in the water or beverage aisle of your grocery store, seeking out the cheapest option…usually only $2-$3 for a pack of 6. Instead of dumping the soda water down the drain, entertain your kids with the fun “Raisins + Soda Water Experiment” while you’re mixing up the SENSORY BOTTLES.

SPARKLE BOTTLES

Materials needed:

empty plastic bottle
Elmer’s glitter glue
glitter, sequins, and/or beads
water
superglue

First, put a small pot of water on to boil. When you add the water to the bottle you will want it to be hot, but not boiling. I like to bring the water to a boil, remove from heat and set aside for a few minutes to cool.

Meanwhile, add the Elmer’s glitter glue to the empty bottle…enough to fill the bottom inch or so of the bottle. Next, add some glitter, sequins and/or beads.

When the water is ready, carefully pour it into the bottle as well. I like to use a measuring cup or a funnel to make this step easier. Once the bottle is filled, use superglue to secure the lid. Now it’s time to shake, shake, shake!!! Shake the bottle for a few minutes, until all the glue melts into the hot water. You shouldn’t see any globs or streaks of glue once the bottle is complete. While the bottle is warm, the glitter and sequins will fall very quickly to the bottom. Once it cools down completely over the next hour or two, the glitter will fall much slower. So relaxing… I’d like to put myself in “time-out” with one of these bottles, wouldn’t you?

GLOW-IN-THE-DARK BOTTLES

Materials needed:

empty plastic bottle
Elmer’s glitter glue
glitter paint
glow-in-the-dark paint
glitter, sequins, and/or beads
glow-in-the-dark stars
water
superglue

Meanwhile, add the Elmer’s glitter glue to the empty bottle…enough to fill the bottom inch or so of the bottle. Next, add a squirt of glitter paint and a squirt of glow-in-the-dark paint. Add some glitter, sequins and/or beads.

When the water is ready, carefully pour it into the bottle as well. I like to use a measuring cup or a funnel to make this step easier. Once the bottle is filled, screw the lid on tightly, but don’t superglue it yet. Now it’s time to shake, shake, shake!!! Shake the bottle for a few minutes, until all the glue melts into the hot water. You shouldn’t see any globs or streaks of glue once the bottle is complete. The bottle will be a milky color compared to the SPARKLE BOTTLES because of the glow-in-the-dark paints. Once the bottle is shaken and cooled a bit, add the glow-in-the-dark stars and superglue the lid in place. I guarantee your little one will be excited to go to bed tonight with a GLOW-IN-THE-DARK BOTTLE in hand!!!

OCEAN IN A BOTTLE

Materials needed:

empty plastic bottle
oil (vegetable oil or baby oil)
water
food coloring
superglue

First, fill the bottle about 1/3 of the way full with water. Add a few drops of food coloring and screw the lid on tight. Shake the bottle a bit until the food coloring is evenly dispersed throughout the water. Next, fill the bottle the rest of the way with oil…using a funnel is best. Superglue the lid onto the bottle. Complete!

Have fun swishing the bottle from side to side or shaking it all up, just to watch the bubbles of oil pop while the water settles at the bottom and the oil at the top. This is a great time to talk to your kids about the density of liquids as well! It may be a bit over their heads if they’re really young, but you’ll be surprised at what they will comprehend and remember! Basically, the water weighs more (has a higher density) thank the oil and will sink below it in the bottle, no matter how much you shake your OCEAN IN A BOTTLE and attempt to mix the two together. So cool!!!

Sprinkle Star Sugar Cookies (GF)

January 17, 2015September 27, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

The “DIY Planetarium for Kids” we built under our dining room table this week inspired these SPRINKLE STAR SUGAR COOKIES. (Since we use gluten free flour in everything we bake around here, these too are gluten free!!!)

I browsed around on the internet looking at other sugar cookie recipes and found a few recipes for “Sprinkle Cookies.” I adapted the recipes to what we had on hand and…Voila! SPRINKLE STAR SUGAR COOKIES!!!

These really are the quickest sugar cookies I’ve ever made…no refrigeration necessary before baking! And aren’t they adorable??? All those lil stars and mini-sprinkles… So yummy! So colorful! So much fun!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1 (1.25 oz) jar of Star sprinkles
1/3 – 1/2 jar mini-rainbow sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a med-large bowl, beat butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. (It’s important that your butter is at room temperature, nice and soft.) Add egg and vanilla, mix until combined. Next, add flour mixture 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until the dough is well-combined.

Add the stars and rainbow sprinkles. Mix, using a large spoon or spatula, until the sprinkles are evenly distributed.

Place tablespoon-sized balls of dough on cookie sheet. Make sure you leave about 1 inch on each side for spreading.

Bake for 8 minutes. The cookies will not brown and are still soft coming out of the oven, but as they cool they will harden. Let cool for about 5 min on the tray before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yumm!!!! See any constellations in your cookies???

DIY Heart Wreath

January 14, 2015January 12, 2016 Porter Leave a comment

I’m so glad I dreamt this HEART WREATH up last night…it’s that time of year when your Christmas wreath needs to come down off the front door, but it’s not quite time for your Spring wreath to go up. This HEART WREATH is cute, simple, sweet and perfect to get us through the months of January and February!

Materials needed:

wire coat hanger
fabric scraps
scissors
pliers
ribbon

First, untwist the coat hanger apart. It’s easiest to do this part with your hands, holding the top of the hanger in one hand and untwisting it from below with the other.

Once the hanger comes apart, try to smooth out some of the bends. Gently fold the hanger in half as well.

Next, bend the hanger into a heart shape, looping the ends together with the pliers. It’s okay if your heart isn’t perfect…the fabric scraps will hide any blemishes.

Once you are satisfied with your wire heart, it’s time to cut some fabric strips. Each strip should be about 1-1.5 inches wide and 5-7 inches long. They do not all have to be the exact same length!

Now to assemble your wreath…simply knot the fabric strips around the wire. Pull each knot taut and, every once in a while, push the knots down so you can squeeze on as many fabric strips as possible.

If the fabric you’re using is blank on the underside, simply fold it in half before knotting.

Once your heart wreath is made, use a ribbon to hang it on your front door! So sweet!!!

This wreath would also be beautiful hanging inside in a kitchen window or on a wall! Enjoy!!! Happy Valentine’s Day!

Winter Shelter for Strays

January 12, 2015September 27, 2015 Porter 3 Comments

Though we don’t own any furry pets ourselves, our neighborhood seems to have its own little cat community. On any given day we may have up to 5 or 6 cats playing in our yard, hiding under our front porch or napping beneath our Little Free Library. Some of the cats have collars and tags, though quite a few do not. With the temperatures dropping well below freezing, L and I decided to make a warm place for our kitty friends to rest.

Materials needed:

styrofoam cooler (found at your local grocery store)
knife
paints (optional)
old towels or bedding
tape

First, remove the lid and turn the cooler over. Using a knife, cut a small doorway for the cats to go in and out. Next, paint the cooler whatever snazzy way you like!

Once the paint is dry, fold up some old towels or bedding (we cut up an old mattress pad) and place it inside the lid.

Put the cooler on top of the lid and tape it in place.

(My friend Helen takes this project a step further…she places the styrofoam cooler inside a plastic rubbermaid-like box with a hole cut out and layers hay in between! Extra warm and cozy!)

Now for the final step, find a safe place near your home to put your WINTER SHELTER FOR STRAYS, preferably up against a building and out of the wind.

We put our Winter Shelter in our backyard where we often see cats passing through and, an extra bonus, we can see the shelter from our kitchen window. I know L will be watching for her feline friends first thing every morning! She was so proud today knowing she was helping others!

Giant Ice Marbles

January 9, 2015December 3, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

How cool are these GIANT ICE MARBLES!? I’d seen pictures of something similar before, but never a “how-to” on making them. Figuring it couldn’t be too hard to do, we gave it a try! There is definitely a list of things not to do we quickly found out. Haha! Hopefully I can help you avoid such mistakes! These GIANT ICE MARBLES are just beautiful in the snow!

Materials needed:

regular sized balloons
food coloring
warm water
below freezing temps

First, put 5-10 drops of food coloring in a balloon. Next, fill with warm water and tie off with a knot. Do not try putting food coloring in last…your hands may become dyed blue for a day or two if you do. Make sure to use warm water instead of cold…it helps the coloring spread evenly around the entire balloon. If you fill the balloon to only mid-capacity it will help make the marble round as a ball. Before tying the knot, very carefully let any air residing just above the water line out of the balloon…simply do this by loosening your grip on the mouth of the balloon until a bit of water starts to leak out.

Now, it’s time to put the balloon outside. Placing the balloon partially on its side (like the balloon pictured on the far right) and in snow is best…helps it keep a nice round shape rather than flattening out.

Leave the water-filled balloon outside in below freezing temps for 36 to 48 hours. Even if the temperature is in the single digits, one night is not enough for the entire balloon to freeze. As you can see with this one, the water in the center will flow right out.

Finally, after the water is completely frozen, cut and remove the balloon from your GIANT ICE MARBLE. Beautiful!!!

DIY Fairy Folk

January 8, 2015September 27, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

L and I made these FAIRY FOLK this morning and she’s been playing with them all day long! She loves them!!! L has made up a house, a bed, a car for them…a phone, bathtub, table and chairs, a crib and even a change of clothes! Tomorrow we shall have a “Fairy Tea Party” in their honor. The fun never stops around here!

Materials needed:

wooden peg people
acrylic paints
felt or fabric scraps
hot glue gun and glue

First, paint the fairies’ bodies.

Next, paint hair and eyes on the fairies. I tried to make each of ours a little different.

Then draw and cut a little fairy wing stencil. You can trace this on the felt or fabric before cutting out the wings. After a few, I just winged it! Ha! I liked having some big, some small. (Cut a few extras for fairy “outfits.”)

To complete the fairies, attach the wings to the bodies using just a touch of glue with your hot glue gun. Now, time to play!!!

Our “Acorn Cap Treasures” were perfect for the fairy folk. As was the “Fairy Furniture” we made last Summer.

A toy teacup was just the right size for a bath and one of WB’s socks made a roomy bed.

The fairies also enjoyed skating on this melted-bead ice rink and, of course, driving in their jam jar car.

A change of wings for the fairies…

I’ll be sure to post our Fairy Tea Party details later this week so your lil ones can join in the fun! Enjoy!

DIY Flower Garden Entrance

January 7, 2015September 27, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

I made this FLOWER GARDEN ENTRANCE for WB’s first birthday this week and I just love how it turned out! We put it up in our kitchen, but eventually we’ll move it to brighten up the entrance to her bedroom! A FLOWER GARDEN ENTRANCE is the perfect decoration for birthday parties, tea parties, or anytime you want to bring a little sunshine inside! You could hang it in a doorway or above a window!

Materials needed:

adjustable shower curtain rod
2 rolls of green tulle
silk flowers
florist tape
hot glue gun and glue
piece of string

(Silk flowers are on sale during the winter months at most craft stores…I got these all 50% off!)

First, I measured the height and width of the doorway where our FLOWER GARDEN ENTRANCE would be. Our house is old with doors of various heights and widths…I wanted to make sure that if I made it in the kitchen doorway it would fit in the doorway to my daughter’s room.

Next, put up the curtain rod and tie a piece of string around the middle. You will thread the tulle through this, so make it not too tight, but not too loose.

Now thread the tulle through the string, cutting strips in similar lengths. The tulle will travel along the top of the rod and straight down (see the next steps), so measure and cut accordingly.

Next, wrap a small scrap of tulle around the middle a few times, tie and cut. You can now remove the string that was holding everything up.

Do the same at both ends of the curtain rod…wrapping a scrap of tulle around the long tulle strands, tie and cut.

Now, figure out where you want your flowers to go. For long stems, I used floral tape to secure them to the curtain rod in various spots. With individual flowers, I just used a hot glue gun to glue them in place. Other smaller stems can be tucked in and behind the rest and may not even need tape or glue.