Homemade Chalk

Here is a fun Summer Craft to make.

Supplies
Craft Sticks
Cornstarch
Water
Food Coloring
Plastic throw away cups

Take 1 1/2 cups of cornstarch and 1 1/2 cups water and mix together
Divide it between the plastic cups
Add different color food coloring to the cups
Place a craft stick in each cup
Let harden
Once hard remove the cup by cutting it away
Instead of cups you could also use an ice tray or silicone shaped trays

Rainy Day Crafts

 With Summer approaching I like to begin thinking about crafts for those rainy days when the grandchildren come to stay. I have a craft closet where I keep lots of paper, glue,colored pencils, crayons, water color pain,scraps of colored paper, construction paper,Paper Plates,Yarn and all sorts of stickers. They love going in grabbing some supplies and use their imagination to create art. Sometimes I'll have a craft project planned but most of the time they just create whatever they want. I always keep a lot of Paper Plates on hand the kids love using them to create all sorts of things. Like the projects below. The Jelly fish They turned into kites and then attempted to fly them in the back yard.

Cupcake Bouquet

I love making and decorating cupcakes, but after a while a plate of cupcakes seemed boring. So after searching Pinterest I saw several ideas but this one in particular caught my eye. It could serve 2 purposes a centerpiece and dessert. This would be great for an afternoon tea.

Supplies:
1 dozen cupcakes your choice
Flower pot
Tooth picks
A styrofoam ball that fits in the flower pot
Ribbon

You can buy a flower pot already painted or buy one unpainted and decorate it yourself
Place the styrofoam ball inside the pot, stick tooth picks into the styrofoam ball. Add the cupcakes and tie a ribbon around the pot.

Butterfly Party Favors

I made these cute butterflies at Easter one year for my grandchildren. They are an easy project and would make a great party favor. Your kids could even help to make them.

Supplies
Small sandwich plastic bags
Clothes pins
Pipe Cleaners
Small google eyes
Assorted candies
Assorted craft paints

Directions
Paint the clothes pins and let them dry.
Glue the google eyes on
Cut a pipe cleaner in half and glue each half on either side of the clothes pin for antenna
Fill the plastic sandwich bags with the candy and close it
Pinch the bag in the center with the clothes pin, making sure the candy is equally divided on each side to mimic wings

Cucumber Bites

Cucumber bites with herb dressing is a quite easy but fancy appetizer.

Ingredients

For the herb dressing
4oz cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup Ranch Dressing
2Tablespoons dill
3-4 long cucumbers skinned and sliced into 30 1in slices
15 cherry tomatoes sliced in half
Salt
Paprika

Directions
Put the cream cheese, ranch dressing and herbs in a stand mixer and mix until well combined.
Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a star tip.
Prepare the cucumbers remove pee, using a fork score the sides, slice into 1 in slices.
Using a melon baller remove a portion of the of the center of one side of the piece of cucumber,leavinvg a half moon crater.
Pipe the herb mixture into the crater, enough to stick out about 1/2 in of the top
Add 1 half of cherry tomato partially buried into the cream cheese mixture
Sprinkle with a little salt and paprika
Chill until ready to serve.

Egg Salad

I make egg salad at least once a week. It's easy and something I like to serve when guests come for lunch. I sometimes serve it over lettuce, or in a sandwich, but for a ladies luncheon I use croissants, because it's fancier.

Ingredients
Hard boiled egg's
Mayonaise
Honey Mustard
Scallions
Lettuce
Croissants

For perfect hard boiled eggs:
Place eggs in a pan of cold water, once the water starts to boil time it for 1minute. Turn off the burner, cover and let it sit for 15 minutes. Rune them under cold water.
Peel and chop the eggs and place them in a bowl. Add the mayonnaise,about 1 tablespoon of honey mustard, and the chopped scallions.
Slice the croissants,  add some lettuce  and a nice scoop of the egg salad mixture.
I sometimes serve them with fresh cut up fruit.

After School Snack

Here is an easy and quick after school snack that even the kids can make.

Ingredients
Granny Smith Apples
Peanut Butter
Raisins or Dried Cranberries

Core the apples and slice in 1/4 inch slices
Spread each slice with some peanut butter
Top with either the raisins or dried cranberries
Enjoy

Mom

This is the 6th Mothers Day without my Mom. She was the one I got my love for cooking and crafting from. I remember as a child her organizing the ladies in the neighborhood months before Christmas for a weekly craft day. They'd meet in our basement and create holiday crafts out of things they had around the house. Like trees made out of old readers digests or Angels made out of different shaped pasta.She taught me how to make spaghetti sauce from scratch, snickerdoodle cookies and the best meat loaf ever. She wasn't much of a camper until much later in life when my husband and I bought our first Motor Home. She went with us a couple of times and although she said she had fun I think she would have preferred staying in a hotel. She loved life,spending time with her family and friends was one of her greatest joys. I miss her everyday but I feel her with me and I know someday we will be together again. Love you Mom.

Eggs on the Grill

One morning while camping my kids gave me this look that said "not cereal again". Being a newbie camper I cooked what was simple and easy.I kept telling myself we're camping we don't do fancy. I would buy those small boxes of cereal that came in the variety pack. It was a quick and easy go to for breakfast  My kids couldn't understand why we did't have pancakes or eggs like they saw other campers having. I tried to explain that cooking over an open fire was not like cooking on my stove at home. I was intimidated, and I have to admit burned a few meals.
The one thing about campers is how friendly they are and their willingness to share their ideas. One such camping Mom showed me how she cooks eggs over an open fire. She uses a muffin tin, sprays it with cooking spray, cracks an egg in each cup and places it on the grate . How simple is that. So on our next trip I came prepared with a muffin tin a dozen eggs and some very happy kids.

Camping Hacks

The first time I went camping I thinkI took everything but the kitchen sink. We packed the back of our Jeep with the tent, sleeping bags, cook stove, cooking utensils and ran out of room.So we hooked up our small trailer for duffle bags of clothes and coolers with food and jugs of water. Once we got to the campground setting up camp and trying to figure out where to store everything became a burden. I soon realized there had to be a better way. So I started watching what other campers did. Instead of bringing pancake mix and everything they needed to make them they mixed the batter before hand and put it in an empty catsup squeeze bottle. They used empty egg cartons to hold charcoal briquettes for grilling. Another great idea I saw was freezing water in milk jugs  to not only keep food cold but  also  once it melted it could be used in cooking, drinking or wash water. Using a lot of these hacks cut down on the amount of things I had to pack and made camping easier and less stressful.

Garden Helper

I saw this idea on where else Pinterest and I think its worth doing. Right now I have a shelf in the garage with my gardening tools. Its sometime a pain when I'm working in the garden and have to keep stopping what I'm doing to go get something. If I had this in the garden it would save me many steps.
I think it would be a cute accent, decorated with decals or paint.

Garden scape with stones

When we moved up to the Lake the landscaping left a lot to be desired. Actually there were no gardens to speak of. What the previous owners had done was plant things that spread which is ok but everything spread within each other. There were Lily of the Valley growing all over along with ground cover and succulents. It took most of last Summer to try and clean it out and even this year I notice some of the old plants creeping back. I marked out my 3 gardens with large rocks added nice black dirt and planted perennials. I add annuals for pops of color all Summer. I also like adding stepping stones which my grand children made. This year I saw this really cute idea using pebbles and stones of different shapes and sizes. I find all kinds of rocks just walking down the road or along the lakeshore. This is one I am going to work on this Summer,finding the right shapes and sizes might be tricky but I'm up for the challenge.

Old Drawer Planter

Here is a cute idea I found for an outdoor planter. Find an old dresser drawer and some old legs from an old chair or you can purchase legs from your local Home Depot. Paint the drawer and legs.Distress the legs if you bought new and attach them to the bottom of the drawer. Line the drawer with a cocoa liner,add dirt and flowers and place it on your porch or deck for a very cute and unique planter.

Skkidewalk Squirty Chalk

Kids playing with sidewalk chalk is one of Summers favorite activities. This chalk is easy to make and wows the kids with its magics changing colors. Kids not only get to create Art, but they get to explore Science and review color theory. 

Supplies:

Squirt Bottles

Corn Starch

Food Coloring or washable water colors

Vinegar

Method

You will want 6 squirt bottles. Fill 3 bottles 2/3 of the way up with baking soda and corn starch.I did equal amounts of each,add a few drops of food coloring to each bottle(one red,one bluenose yellow) fill the rest of the way up with water. Use a butter knife and stir well, place the cap on and shake well.

Fill the remaining 3 bottles with vinegar, add food coloring one red one blue one yellow,vinegar.

Send the kids outside to play

Mixing the colors like blue and yellow will make green. The yellow chalk and blue vinegar will make a magically green fizzing color. Combining the blue vinegar with the red chalk makes purple fizzing Art. Let them experiment. When their done easily clean up with a hose. If using food color have the kids wear old clothes or substitute the food coloring with washable water colors.

 

Pasta Salad

This is your everyday pasta salad with a twist. Its made with red, white and blue pasta. I buy regular pasta, cook it and then divide it into 3 sections and using food coloring dye one red one blue and leave the other white. You could also use different shaped pasta, which would give it a different look. I then add my fixings green onions, black olives,celery,cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese. I toss it all with an Italian dressing, and serve it chilled. You could add tuna fish and instead of dressing add mayonnaise the possibilities are endless. I make this for our memorial day and 4th of July celebrations.

Camping with Kids

Camping with kids doesn't have to be scary. Most campgrounds have all sorts of things for kids to do. Swimming,biking,game rooms and once in a while planned crafts. Sometimes though you have to have a backup plan. When I know the grand kids are coming to camp with us I always make sure I have some things planned. They can only swim, and  bike so much, before boredom sets in and then its "what can we do?" I have print outs for scavenger hunts,where they are sent out to find all sorts of things,Sometimes I change it up and I give them a list of questions to ask other campers. Its fun and gets them to meet other kids. I also have collected flat rocks and painted pictures on them. Then at night sitting around the campfire they use them to tell a story. Another great idea using the stones is to write the places you've been on your many camping trips,addding the date and year then place them in a jar. Its fun to go back and see where you've been. I also make sure to always have games and puzzles available for those rainy days.

Fire Starters

Camping and bonfires seem to go hand in hand. I remember the first camping trip we went on,I had planned everything we needed down to a T. We arrived at our camp site, set up camp and while I prepared for our cookout over an open fire, my Husband built or tried to build a fire. After many attempts a nearby camper, who probably felt sorry for us came over to help. He handed my husband a small rolled up ball, said put this on the logs light it and you'll have a fire in no time. He had purchased these little miracle workers at the camp store.  His kindness saved what was about to turn into a disastrous first Camping trip.
I hadn't thought about those starters in years until moving up to the lake and found out that my neighbor makes them from shredded paper, and wax. She puts this concoction in a paper bag ties it shut and you have a fire in no time.They have come in very

handy when the grandkids are up here visiting and want to do S'mores,or just want a fire to sit around.
Our fire pit is loaded and ready with twigs from yard clean-up after a long winter and we are going to put these to work as soon as the weather  cooperates.

Sizzling Summer Salad

Now that its getting warmer outfits time to crank up that grill. This recipe is easy and very good.

Ingredients:
1 package of sweet Italian sausage links
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 T olive oil
1garlic clove crushed
1T capers
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
5 cups baby spinach
1cup raspberries
1/4 cup basil leaves sliced
2T dried currants
2T pine nuts toasted
Parmesan Cheese for garnish

Preheat the grill to Med heat. Cook sausage for 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally,remove and keep warm.
In a large saucepan combine the vinegar, oil,clove,capers,lemon zest and pepper.Place the pan on the grilling heat until well blended and warmed through. Remove from heat add spinach and toss to coat.
Divide the spinach mixture between 4 plates, place 1 sausage on top, sprinkle each place with raspberries, basil,currants and pine nuts. Drizzle with any leftover dressing and garnish with parmesan cheese,
Serves 4

Button Craft

We all have extra buttons. I have a mason jar that over the years I have tossed any extra ones in and now I have quite a collection. The question is what can we do with all these extra buttons. Well they are great for all kinds of crafts. I have made pins,book marks, and heres another cute idea for the kids' button tree.

Supplies:

A jar of assorted buttons

Paper

Water color paints

Glue

Instructions

Paint a tree trunk with branches on the paper

Glue buttons on the branches for a beautiful Fall tree