Posts filed under ‘Holiday’
St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Bin
Fill a bucket or bin with anything St. Patrick’s themed. I got my stuff at Joann’s and Dollar Tree. Let your kiddo play however he wants. Joaquin enjoyed laying out the glittered foam pieces and tossing the coins in the bucket.
Patriotic Fruit Snack
This mix of yummy fruit is the perfect snack to celebrate any patriotic holiday, or just any day!!!
1 apple
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup chopped strawberries
Very small star shaped cookie cutter
Slice the apple into very thin circles. You don’t need to core because you can work around it. Use your cookie cutter and cut out stars in each apple slice. Cut the stars out close together so you can get as many cut outs as possible. I ate the left over apple slices with all the star holes in them.
Mix in the blueberries and strawberries. Feel free to double or triple the recipe for large parties. This served about 5 toddlers.
Valentines Day Craft
Here’s What You Need
Celery Heart (the bottom with tops cut off)
Carrots with shapes cut into bottom
Cookie cutters
Paint
Paintbrush to mix colors
Tray to squeeze paint in
Paper
Drop cloth or plastic trash bag
Painters tape
It’s so easy! Just cover your table or floor with the drop cloth or trash bag, secure with painters tape and start stamping! The celery worked best when you use very little paint.
Jar Snow Globe
What You Need
Old Jar with Lid, clean and label removed (use a jar that does not have writing on it, like “Classico”)
Laminated photo, cut to outline body
Small stones or pebbles
Christmas decor, like plastic trees, or holly
Glue gun and glue
Baby oil or glycerin
Glitter
Spray paint and sand paper (optional)
The How To
Prepare the lid by making sure it is clean. You can use sand paper to scratch the inside surface to help the items stick better. To make the lid look finished spray the outside with spray paint, or brush paint on.
To prepare the jar make sure it is clean and use rubbing alcohol to remove any labels or stickiness left behind.
Prepare your photo by cutting out the body and laminating it. Cut out again and glue to the inside of the lid. Use stones to support the photo. Glue them around the photo and any other items you want to add. Walmart and dollar tree had great trees and light posts to put in your jar.
Fill the jar with baby oil, or if you are using glycerin put a few drops in (not too much) and fill with distilled water. Add the glitter. The first time I did this I added WAY too much glitter, you couldn’t see the photo. Just remember the glitter doesn’t sink right away, so you don’t need a lot. Maybe go slow and watch the glitter drop to see how much more you need.
The hardest part is gluing the lid on. Quickly put HOT glue around the mouth of the jar and twist the lid on. If you don’t don’t do this fast the glue will dry and your lid will leak.
Finish with a ribbon or just leave it. Perfect craft for a gift!
I got my supplies from the dollar tree and reused an old jar. Laminators are $25 on amazon.com and a great investment.
Day of the Dead Candles
These candles are simple and easy!
What you Need
Old jars with small opening
Mod Podge
Paint brush
White tissue paper
Glue gun
Flowers, rhinestones, or other accessories
Sharpies
Candles
The How To
Start to cover the jar with the white tissue paper by brushing mod podge on it. Gently press the tissue paper on the jar and re-brush with mod podge. You can do small pieces of white tissue paper or wrap a long strip around it like a roll of toilet paper. Make sure you cover the outside with a good coat of mod podge to seal and protect the tissue paper.
After the tissue dries you can draw on a skeleton face with the sharpies. Using the hot glue gun, decorate the top of the jar with your accessories. To adhere the candle put a ring of hot glue inside the mouth of the opening and gently stick the candle in. The hot glue will keep that candle in place so it won’t fall or slide through.
If you don’t have jars like this you can apply the same concept to an old spaghetti jar, or vase. Use the Tissue Paper How To from our blogger Debbie.
Here is what I did with my candles this year on our altar.
Halloween Party 2012
This year we decided to keep it small and had a couple of friends over to make caramel apples and have pizza. We decided to do caramel apple slices instead of the whole apple, they were much easier to decorate and eat! And instead of regular pizza we decided to make a yummy “Pizza Jack-o-Lantern”. It didn’t taste like pumpkin, but it sure does look like one!
Caramel Apples
Granny Smith apples on a stick, dipped in caramel sauce made with caramel candies in a crock pot. I just unwrapped them and threw them in on low with 2 Tbsp water per bag. I stirred every few minutes and once it was melted I turned it to the lowest setting.
I had every kind of sprinkle in Halloween colors, chocolate chips, marshmallows, and macadamia nuts. Everything was so yummy! When we finished decorating the apple we placed it on wax paper that was sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. They need to be in the fridge for at least an hour to firm up.
Pizza Jack-o-Lanterns
While the apples set in the fridge the kids decorated and ate the pizza. I pre-baked the crust. I used Martha Stewarts Pizza Dough recipe and rolled the dough out to look like a pumpkin. Then using gel food coloring mixed with a little water, I painting the dough orange and green. I baked it on 400 for 7 minutes. Not totally cooked, but not doughy.
I had pre-cut some pepperoni from the deli into eyes, noses, and mouths so the kids could make a pizza jack-o-lantern. Then I baked them again on 400 for 8-10 minutes.
Roasted Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Soup
Looking for a unique taste at dinner tonight? This soup is full of Fall flavors and has a little zing of citrus!
Ingredients
1 small butternut squash (peeled, deseeded, and cut into 1in pieces)
1 – 2 Tbsp Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 can pumpkin
1/2 cup apple sauce
Heavy cream
1 Tbsp orange zest
Cinnamon
Ginger
Nutmeg
Paprika
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle the olive oil over the squash in a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 20 minutes or until squash is tender.
Put squash in a blender and cover with 3/4 cup of water. Blend until smooth. Add 1/2 cup more of water and the remaining ingredients to blender. Blend until smooth a creamy. Salt and pepper to your taste and top each serving with pepitas.
Just a note:
I put mine in a pot on the stove at the lowest setting to keep warm until I was ready to serve. I also served it with a grilled cheese sandwich.
Tissue Paper Lantern
I’ve been collecting spaghetti jars for the past few months and I decided that I should actually do something with all of them! So here is the How To on super easy Tissue Paper Lanterns!
What You Need
Old jars or vases
Mod Podge
Cheap brush
Tissue paper in various colors cut into random small sizes.
(I went to Michael’s to get everything)
How You Do It
1. Take a clean jar and paint the mod podge on one side to use as a coat to stick the tissue paper on.
2. Stick the pieces of tissue paper on the jar. I placed them randomly but you could make cool designs if you wanted to.
3. After sticking the tissue paper on one half paint the other half of the jar. (What’s great about mod podge is it drys clear. So don’t worry if it might be white at first because after a few minutes you won’t see it). Once all of the jar is covered in tissue paper paint a final coat of mod podge over the tissue to seal and protect it.
4. After you’ve covered the jar and it has dried place an unscented tea light candle and watch it glow beautifully. Mod podge is non-flammable and it’s non-toxic, so this craft is 100% safe!
Here are a few ways to use this craft year round!
Creepy Message in a Bottle
What You Need
Small glass bottle with cork top (I got mine at Michael’s for $2.00).
Tea dyed paper with written or printed note/invitation (print or write on the paper before you dye it).
What You Do
Cut the width of your note to the height of the bottle. Roll up the note and slide it inside the bottle. Try to arrange the note so it’s all visible without having to be removed.
