kool-aid playdough

Who would have thought that you could make playdough with Kool-Aid???
Not me!
I looked up this blog that Laurel linked to a few days ago.
As I was browsing it and mentally storing away ideas for future crafts,
I ran into this recipe. I thought it sounded easy enough
and the only ingredient I didn't have on hand was
a packet of Kool-Aid.
We went to the store that evening to buy a few packets
 and I made some the next morning.
I made Tropical Punch Playdough for our first batch.
The kids LOVE it!

I love it and it smells so good!
It's a cheap craft to make and play with.
Hands-on is such a preschool thing and it produces at least a half hour of quiet play!

I will say, though, that if you decide

 to make some of your

own Kool-Aid playdough,

 I would recommend

cutting the oil down to 1-1 1/2 Tablespoons.

I used the 3 T. that the recipe called for and it

is so greasy!

saturday nite

sewing man

FYI, My awesome husband can sew. Have I mentioned that before?

Yeah, he got a little sewing machine for Christmas.

He asked "Santa" for one!

He hadn't used it yet and I felt like it was time for that

little puppy to be put to work.

I got a notion that he should

sew the girls 4th of July dresses for, well,

4th of July.

I wanted him to make them each a

pillowcase dress with matching

fabric.

So, we made a little visit to JoAnn's and

found a pattern and some material we both agreed on.

James knew what else he would need so we got that there too.

We then headed home and James went right to work.

Shortly after we got home, Lynn and Jackie

came over to return our kids to us.

Jackie used to sew for a factory and just really has a lot

of wisdom and tricks under her belt for sewing.

She couldn't seem to help herself. She went right to work

assisting James and giving him very helpful advice.

It was fun to watch the Aunt and Nephew work together

so sweetly.

Lynn has done her fair share of sewing too but her grandchildren

demanded her attention.

James finished Naomi's dress on Saturday night and Marcail's dress

he finished on Sunday afternoon.

I am so happy that he finds this kind of stuff fun.

Watching him sew and cut and trim and all that other stuff

that goes along with sewing didn't even tempt me to

want to try my hand at it.

He had a decent time of the sewing and I know he was proud

of his work.

I know I am!

I will get photos of the girls in their

pillowcase dresses next Sunday.

watercolors

We did a watercolor project earlier this week.

I made it simple for my preschoolers.

I drew a large flower on a piece of paper.

Then, I had the kids paint it in.

Clockwise from left: Naomi's, Mine, Henry's and Marcail's painting.

the day before easter

The kiddos had blank dala horses to color on so we took some time Friday afternoon to get the markers out and color them in. The kids really enjoyed doing that. We also colored eggs for Easter and did some baking and cooking for Easter. The weather was lovely so the kids spent a great deal of time outdoors as well!

James and I were able to go on a date that night as well. We visited Target and then took in a movie at the Salina theater. We watched The Last Song. A complete chick flick but we both enjoyed. Thank you Mom and Dad for watching your Grandcuties for us! We really appreciated it.

it's done!

Marcail's painting! I did this today and she is so happy with it. Yay!

crafting days

My walls have been bare since moving to our little apartment. We have a tight budget and so just going to buy decor for our walls is somewhat out of the question. So, as I wandered the aisles of Target on Sunday evening I found myself in the folder and notebook aisle. There were folders on clearance and I brightened with the idea to buy some of them to cut out and frame for my walls! I didn't have to worry too much about buying frames because on Christmas my aunt-in-law got me a boxed set of black frames. So, in all, my wall decor cost me roughly $3.00!

The first thing I did was take a folder, open it up and cut it in half. I then cut to size as I went. It was very time-consuming but lots o' fun!

These are from one of the folders I chose. They're in the living room.

These are in the entryway. My friend Anele suggested I put a solid 'W' in the biggest one so I will do that when I get a spare moment. I'm going to do white. I'm looking forward to getting that done!

This one is in the hallway to the bathroom.

This is the last one I did and it's in the bathroom. I have more of this paper but ran out of frames so more for the bathroom will have to wait.

Today, I was invited to another friend's house, Jaime, for a craft day. Jaime also goes to our chapel and she is majorly into crafting, of all sorts! It was a fun day to get together and there were other ladies from the chapel that were able to come as well. I picked up Anele and her son Izaac to come along since they only have one vehicle and her hubby uses it to go to work. I'm happy to be able to pick them up!

Anyway! So, Anele had some canvases she was glad to let me use and some paints and we each painted a picture for the kid's room. I painted Henry's pirate ship and Anele painted Naomi's hula cow.

We didn't have enough time or another big canvas to paint one for Marcail....another day. But, I'm so happy with the way these turned out. It was such a fun day to visit and paint at Jaime's house. The kiddos got to play with the other kids that were there as well. Such a blessing of fellowship.

gettin ready for valentines day

I like the holidays. I like Valentines Day and it's fun to get the kids involved. I have been giving the kids easy art crafts to do. I drew some hearts for the kids to color.

Henry's is the one on the left, Naomi's is in the middle, Marcail's is the one on the right and mine is on the bottom.

I got some heart-shaped cookie cutters and let the kids use those to dip into paint and they liked that. I also cut out some hearts and gave the kids some Valentine's stickers to put on them. Marcail's painting is the one on the left and Henry's is the right. The red hearts are from left to right: Marcail, Henry and Naomi.

This is Naomi's painting.

I also made heart pretzels today. They are yummy!

Happy pre-Valentines Day!

halloween readiness

Today seemed like a good day for wearing Halloween shirts. Found these cute shirts at Target. I splurged cause I like Holiday shirts! I was glad when the kids were cooperative enough to pose in their shirts for me.

This morning, I felt brave enough to let my little monsters paint. I squirted some paint onto two plates and gave them each a little paintbrush. We also used some Halloween cookie cutters as stamps. They worked well! But, after stamping, the kids painted over them-so that extra effort probably wasn't worth it. They had a great time painting, though! I believe Henry is going to be artistic. He took a lot of time and thought as he painted. The girls practically had their paper covered in paint within a few minutes while Henry still had lots of empty space on his. He did so well.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to make pumpkin cookies and let the kids help decorate them after they've been iced. Also, we will probably carve our pumpkin!