DIY: Cloud Dough

For the past year, I've been scouring the web looking for fabulous indoor sensory and learning activities to "homeschool" my toddler. It was about this time last year that I discovered the joys of Pinterest, which ended up making my search that much easier (and stealing any free time I had in the evenings!).

I ended up coming across a Pin to make Cloud Dough a few months back.  It was a super easy recipe based on the Juggling With Kids' post.  However, I was hesitant to do this because my son has tons of Play Doh® already, and this just seemed like more of the same. I was completely mistaken! 

The cast of characters are 8 cups of all purpose flour, 1 cup of baby oil, a measuring cup, and a tub preferably with a lid.











It only took about 3 minutes to combine all of the dough with the oil. MonkeyBoy was right in there with his cars and sand molds before I could even finish mixing.

He absolutely loved the feel of the dough.

The consistency acted like wet beach stand, so you could mold it, but it felt like silk. What a great combination. Plus the smell of the baby oil made it all the more appealing to mama.

If you follow the link above to the original post, a few of the commenters had tried other flours and oils with huge success, so I encourage you to go there.

 I think I'll go with just a diaper next time, since "keeping it in the box" is still a major challenge and a very hard concept for a little toddler to grasp :)

He was determined to get himself right in that box.

So, my overall impression of this sensory exercise was a huge success. My son was able to watch me mix two things together to create something new, the smell of the baby oil was so relaxing, the silky-smooth texture felt so good when squished in our hands, plus you could mold shapes out of it. I also found that the cleanup was very easy.  I just sealed the lid on the Sterilite container* and stashed away for another day. The consistency of the oil and flour just swept right up off the floor in a matter of seconds. His clothes may need wringing out before they hit the washing machine, however.

It'll get to the point in a couple months when playing outside in the sandbox will require chisels. I think this little experiment just enabled us to have a sandbox in the house for the winter.

Plus, I think the smile on this little monkey's face says it all.








Yankee Doodle Dandy,
–TYG


*NOTE: the link to the Sterilite box is to show the image of what I purchased at Walmart. I purchased just one of these totes for about $6 or $7 dollars. Why their website says it costs $38 is beyond my capacity for rational thought.

DIY: Driftwood Photo Frames

My fifth wedding anniversary is this weekend, and I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what to get my husband.

Over the summer, we spent a long weekend up in New Hampshire, and on one of those days, we had a fabulous time at Ellacoya State Park on Lake Winnipesauki. While my boys were playing on the beach, I took a walk and collected a pile of drift wood that I thought would be awesome for a craft.

Between the fantastic shots I got that day and this pile of wood, I finally came to the conclusion to make a framed photo to commemorate that wonderful weekend.

On top of this, my husband's office had just gotten remodeled, and it was itching for some personal touches. Hopefully these pictures will fit the bill.

We tend to not throw ANYTHING away these days, and upon rummaging through the garage, I found two planks of plywood 7" x 16" each.

I started to go through all the photos from that day, and cropped a couple that I thought would work. I was limited by time and what my local CVS same-day printer could handle, which meant I could only go as wide as 10".

I took some textured poster board, cut pieces to fully cover the front, then Mod Podged it. I put a top coat of Mod Podge over the poster board, and then added the photo.

Once that was dry, I began applying the drift wood pieces around the plywood. I didn't have any rhyme or reason, just what was pleasing in terms of texture and composition.

With all that wood, the photo became pretty heavy, so I opted to screw in two eye hooks and frame wire to the back for hanging.

The way the wood worked around the frame on this one, it left a pretty obvious space.

So I printed the locale and date on craft paper; then outlined it in twine to maintain that "by the sea" feel.

I ended up having plenty of drift wood to make two frames. The wood pieces I chose for this one filled in the empty space without me having to add a placard. And if the two photos are hung together, there really is no need for two placards.

I'm pretty thrilled with the results and the natural, organic quality.

Plus, as an added bonus, I had no idea that the traditional five-year wedding anniversary gift was wood. So major win for me!









So, all the supplies I had on hand were already in my craft stash from eons ago, or were free on a beach. I only had to pay $7 for the two photo prints. Handmade with meaning...that's what I love!!!

Yankee Doodle Dandy,
–TYG

A Dollar Store Spooky Village DIY

Another Pinterest find from 36th Ave totally worth doing:  a DIY Dollar Store Spooky Village. This village, as shown, cost me $8 for supplies at the Dollar Tree, and left over spray paint I had in the garage.

Well, I  guess it's too much to ask for the Halloween stuff to be put out in the stores in August, I guess I shouldn't be surprised about the Christmas items already in stores now. Well, for this project, it turns out to be a plus. The Dollar Tree has started to put out their Christmas Village ceramic pieces. I purchased four houses, the gate, and a pack of three villagers ($6).

I then used a matte black spray paint that was leftover from refinishing our fire pit and gave all the pieces two light coats. I assume that I will never be setting the village on fire to test the High Heat resistant paint. However, it was the only matte black I had; everything else was a high gloss, and I agree with the source website that the matte really makes the village look old and spooky.

I used candle sticks that I already had to put the houses at different levels. I purchased a piece of creepy cloth ($1) to drape under the village, and purchased a bag of spooky, plastic rings that had bats to have them fly around the village ($1).

I'm really happy with the results, and I can see this little village growing year after year. I would love to add some trees, cars, coffins...Oh, the ideas are endless!




I hope you have a Spooktacular Halloween Season!

Yankee Doodle Dandy,
–TYG