Snow Globe, kind of

I had a bag of baby food jars that I was saving from ages ago but that person who asked for them must have forgotten.  I was going to toss them when I realized that I could probably find some crafting use for them.  One was put to work holding all those tiny colored rubber bands for Sweet Pea's hair.

I got to thinking about how much she loved her Grandma's snow globe that I should make her one. I went to my local cake decorating store and got a few cake toppers pretty cheap.  I cleaned up the glue from the jars. and picked some coordinating glitter colors.


Paint the lids to match the character

I hot glued Diego because he was not sitting flat, Minnie and Dora I used E3000, but use whatever works for you.

When they are dry fill the jar to the top with water and a tiny by of glycerine.  Put the lid on.  You can also glue it on so it stays tight and dry.

 Give em a little shake.

Playdough

I favorite in this house is playdough with the adults too.  One thing, I just can't stand the smell of the stuff the comes from the store.  Not to mention it is hard to get out of the container without making a mess of your fingernails.

I know there are only a million and a half recipes out there for it, but here is my favorite.

Playdough
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon peppermint/almond/vanilla extract (peppermint being my favorite)

Mix the dry ingrednets in a pan.  I like to use my old crappy nonstick pan.
Add in the water and oil, heat on medium high.
It is going to start to look weird as it cooks, just keep stirring it around so that the middle will cook because it will want to ball up a bit.  When it looks to be done about 2-3 minutes put it onto wax paper/cutting board.
Then divide it and start to color.  I find that using rubber gloves can be very nice.
 

Time to play.

Cookie cutters

Some people might think it is a problem but I don't.  I love cookie cutters and my new goal is to get all 50 US states in cookie cutter form.  Thus far I have one, that state of Michigan with upper and lower peninsulas.  But soon I will have North Dakota in my hot little hands, courtesy of an online friend.  But this post isn't just about me going on and on about my love for them although I could.  I was having issues with my cutters.






















They were somewhat organized but in gallon sized baggies and I could never remember where any were so I got some bins and got to organizing them.

Winter/Christmas

Easter/Spring

Shapes and other random stuff


Halloween/Fall

Valentines, who knew there were so many ways to make a heart.

Animals

Organized!

Freezer paper

I'm sure you've seen them on all the blogs at some time or another, but finally it was my turn to take a try at using freezer paper.  It was really easy and I used a simple picture to do it from.  I was pleased at how easy it was to do and I'll be doing it again sometime I am sure!

I decided to make a fabric bow because homemade by jill had some cute ones and so I used the same idea.  To make the bow I used a technique similar to this but with fabric.  I used hot glue to hold it together and to stick it to the shirt.

 I think they turned out pretty well.  I might have to make a goofy one next, Sweet Pea love that guy.  Here is a great place for some Disney images.

Ribbons

I don't have a ton of ribbons but those that I do have were driving me crazy.  Constantly, falling out when I did not want them and not going anywhere when I did.  They were stuffed in a few places, one being a gallon sized baggie (yes I know again with the baggies, what is wrong with me?) and I couldn't stand it any more.  So luckily for me on my facebook feed Craftzine had this tutorial, and I thought brilliant, cheap and easy!

Got them all out

Got my stick, measure and cut.

Done.

The only thing I can see that would not be fun is taking them out to add more ribbons, but you know, it isn't a terrible hardship.

Minnie or Mickey Mouse Cookies

When I started planning Sweet Pea's birthday I got mouse ears cookie cutter from the Disney store online and was trying to think of how to do her cake.  Then decided to go with cookies instead.  But I did not want to overdose the guests with black food dye so chocolate sugar cookies were the ticket.

We covered them with ice cream, black, red and white Mickey mouse sprinkles, (thanks Mom!) hot fudge, whip cream and a cherry to top it off.  I don't think anyone missed the cake but I sure caught a lot of flack for it before they tried the cookies.

Best chocolate desert ever

We had this great desert that one of the Mr.'s coworkers make for his birthday and I had to get the recipe.  It has a brownie/cake like base, topped with marshmallow fluff, topped with a peanut butter, chocolate melted and mixed with rice krispies on top of that.  Yes I did say it was amazing, not healthy.  I made it again for Vortex's baptism and it was a hit.  It is very easy to make, it just takes a bit of thinking ahead because some of the layers need a bit of time to set.

Chocolate Marshmallow Brownies

1 cup butter softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 cup all purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-7oz jar marshmallow fluff

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups (1 12oz pkg) semi sweet chocolate chips

3 cups Rice Krispies

In mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs. Stir in cocoa, flour, vanilla and salt. Spread into a 13x9 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. When cool, spread the marshmallow onto the brownies.

In a small sauce pan (or in microwave) melt the peanut butter and the chocolate chips. Remove from heat and stir in the Rice Krispies. Spread over the marshmallow layer. Chill before cutting.

 One

 Two

 and done!

 I highly recommend having someone around to help eat these.  They are delicious!

I Spy Jar

I've seen these I Spy jars around for a while now and finally found a cute enough container to put it in.  What it is, for those not in the know is a small container, jar filled with small items and rice that a child can rotate around to find objects in the rice.

I rounded up random stuff from the craft/play room and the kitchen.

Put some stuff in the rice, then more stuff.  Screw on the lid and give it a shake.  Sweet Pea liked it, I think.

New camera

No, not me.  Sweet Pea got a camera for her birthday and it has been a big hit.  The evening of her birthday alone I downloaded 220 pictures.  I think if she keeps it up our hard drive will crash.  Here is a sampling of her photog skills.

Not too bad, but then I've deleted the 200 pictures of the carpet and those that are a complete blur.