Monthly Archives: September 2013

Sep30

School Holiday Fun – Rainbow Spaghetti!

Posted on September 30, 2013 by thestick81

I actually made this for the little 2, thinking it would keep them entertained for an hour while I got some work done. Turns out the older kids loved it too. Can’t really blame them, it feels cool and looks so pretty! I just used one standard pack of pasta, if you were doing this at a birthday party, you might want to use 2 or 3 for lots of kids. Separate into equal groups of as many colours as you have, then cook each pile at a time, rinsing the saucepan between colours. You don’t need a lot of water, so it heats up quick. The whole process only took about 30 minutes for 5 colours. More details if you run your mouse over the images. Enjoy.

Water, food colouring, pasta.

Add colouring, then pasta, cook as normal or a little less for firmer pasta

You don’t have to add oil, but it makes it extra slimy fun.

Ms4 having a play

Resisting the urge to eat it.

Sensory play,

School holiday entertainment.

Sep29

Halloween Craft For Kids, Finger Print Gift Tags

Posted on September 29, 2013 by thestick81

Standard

Halloween Craft For Kids, Finger Print Gift Tags

I love finger print critters, and had never actually made them with my kids. So this seemed like the perfect opportunity. A bit of parent help is needed for the finishing touches, but there is plenty of steps the little kids can help with along the way. You can click on the pictures for more detailed instructions, but it is all pretty straight forward as you can see.

Cut up some coloured card. We used wiggly scissors.

Ms4 put holes in each piece of card

Getting into it.

Ms4 making some finger prints.

Finger printed cards

Adding the details,

Adding the eyes – because everything is better with googly eyes!

Mr3 adding some eyes #finemotorskills

Ms4 bundling up the lollies ready for string and tag.

Fastened with string and tag added

Halloween treats bags

Ready to give out.

All we used was some card, white paint, googly eyes (and some sequins) silver paint pen, ribbon, clear cellophane, and lollies to fill.

Sep22

Halloween Toddler Craft, DIY Treat Boxes

Posted on September 22, 2013 by thestick81

Standard

Halloween Toddler Craft, DIY Treat Boxes

I know many Australians still have not accepted Halloween, ‘it’s a silly American tradition’, even though it is not American, but anyway, they really should, because it is heaps of harmless fun and the kids love it. Our new neighbourhood really gets into it, I think I enjoy it more than Christmas!

But of course, it’s not just about the dressing up and lollies, halloween craft is lots of fun too. Maybe it’s because I am new to it, but it seems so much more fun than Easter and Christmas craft. Today I just did a simple project with the little kids as the older 2 were not home. I had another idea in my head, but have decided to keep that for later in the school holidays. I am hoping to get quite a few Halloween themed projects in over the next 2 weeks while the kids are off.

I cut out some Halloween shapes in the potatoes while Ms4 gathered the paint and plastic plates. The boxes were just from the grocery store, but they are available at many places, $2 shops etc. We had to allow each side to dry before doing the other side, as you need to apply pressure for best results, rather than trying to stamp the assembled boxes. Once both sides were dry we applied another coat of glitter paint, and some embellishments, again, one side at a time. The weather was nice today so the whole project only took a couple of hours even while waiting for things to dry.

Cut in your shape with a sharp knife, around 5mm deep.

then cut in from the sides until you hit the cut out,

Paint, boxes (or what ever you want really) potatoes.

Ms4 stamping away.

Ms4 adds some glitter paint.

Allow first side to dry.

Everything is better with googly eyes!

Add extra detail with a marker if desired.

I am pretty happy with the results. Would have liked some different coloured boxes for variety, and was disappointed we are out of black paint for the bats, but over all, not bad for an afternoons work.

Sep13

Mexican Fiesta Kids Birthday Party.

Posted on September 13, 2013 by thestick81

Standard

As kids get older, it becomes harder and harder to think of party ideas. But my darling niece, a girl after my own heart, decided she wanted a Mexican theme for her 10th birthday party. Now that is my kind of party! I couldn’t wait to help out!

Due to not getting the guests approval to post their photos, I have left out the games. There was however,

Best dressed senorita
Pin the moustache on the donkey
Donut eating competition
Dance off
Limbo

And that was plenty of entertainment for 2 hours. The make your own taco bar was a hit, with everyone going back for seconds.

The bold colours associated with the theme made it really easy to decorate. Reds, yellows and green for plates and cutlery, and of course colour coded jelly cups! They always last about 10 seconds. My sister managed to pick up heaps of cool sombrero, cactus, donkey etc, cut outs from $2 shops which finished off the decorating nicely. The ‘jumping bean juice’ are just cheap soft drinks, I created the labels in word, printed and covered with some cheap contact while they were still warm (so the contact actually stuck). Slow cooking the meat over night also meant less prepping before the party in the morning. I can take no credit for the cake though, that was the work of the birthday girls mother, who really needs to update her blog.