Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Summer Rain



We are trying to squeeze every last ounce out of summer, so we weren't going to let a perfectly good rainy day go to waste! I love that about summer rains...you can still play outdoors and its a totally different kind of outside adventure for kids.









squealing with delight after mommy runs through the puddle too












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Homemade Fall Decorations from Play Create Explore

Fall is here!
Ohhh how I love Fall crafting!
Homemade decorations are so easy to do in the fall
because nature provides you with most of your supplies!




Door Hanger
This was one of my favorite crafts to make.
I even used a drill with a tiny bit to make the holes to tie off the rope.
Everything is from our backyard (except those leaf buttons of course!)
 So simple, but I love it



Homemade Candle Holders
I wanted some nice looking candle jars but didn't want to pay the money so I DIY'd a few.
They aren't perfect but I'm pretty pleased with them!



Click on the directions link for each one of the following



Pumpkin Bird Feeder






Autumn/Thanksgiving Centerpiece that kids can make







Gittered Autumn Treasures






Corn Husk Candle Holders







Waxed Autumn Leaves Garland







Homemade Felt Cornucopia






 Sweater Vases



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Make Your Own "Dinosaur Egg" or "Treasure Rock" with Coffee Dough


You can call these "dinosaur eggs" or "treasure rocks"
but one thing is for sure...
your kids will LOVE them!


My son is VERY much into Dinosaurs and so I recently had a dinosaur themed playdate for L's pals. I made these dinosaur eggs as playdate favors for the kids who came.

What you Need
(This recipe is for a small batch. I quadrupled this recipe to make lots of dino eggs)
    •1 cup flour
    •1 cup used coffee grinds.
We don't drink coffee so I called Starbucks and asked them to save me some coffee grinds. They saved me an hour's worth, which was PLENTY!

•1/2 cup salt
•1/4 cup sand
•3/4 cup water
•mixing bowl
•small plastic toy dinosaurs or other treasures
I used small plastic dinosaurs and plastic diamonds


What you Do

Make sure you've dried out your coffee grinds beforehand.
 I let it set out overnight. Our house smelled delicious!



1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
2. Slowly add the water and knead with your hands until the mixture is like bread dough.
(You may need to add more flour and sand to make it a dough-y consistency.
 I added MUCH more flour and sand and it still baked out fine)

3. When the Coffee Dough is at a very moldable state, shape your "dino eggs" or "treasure rocks" however you'd like. If you are putting trinkets in them, youll take your trinket and basically shape your rock around it, adding more dough to cover exposed parts of the toy.

4. You can air dry these for several days OR bake them on a cookie sheet at 150 degrees for about 15-20 or until you poke them and they arent soft anymore.
(My dino eggs were fairly large, so I baked them for about 45 minutes)



Here are the Dinosaur Eggs from my Dinosaur Themed Playdate
I arranged them in a "nest"


The kids took them home in plastic baggies


Pictures of my son opening his "Dinosaur Egg"








Here's a few pictures that some of my friends from our
 Dinsoaur Themed Playdate sent me of their kids opening their egg


"M"



Its a baby dinosaur!


"G"


Its a diamond!


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