Let's Play Ball Gift Basket ... School Auction

Cole's class room theme was sports for the school Auction.  And yet of course I didn't want to buy just a bunch of random things and give it to the school.  I thought it would be fun to make a themed basket myself to add to their basket.  I was going to do football but I couldn't find what I wanted so I went with baseball.  I'm so not a sports girl so I thought I was pretty awesome when I found the basket in the colors of the Mariners (our Baseball team) ... only to have Rick tell me yes it's a Seattle color but that would be for the SeaHawks football ... lol.  Oh well I tried and I don't think any one is going to complain.

I hit Walmart and got all the items I needed:

What I used:

Fabric Basket $1/97

Baseballs $1.57 Each

Cracker Jack $.99

Vitamin Water $.99 Each

Sunflower Seeds $2.97

(I wanted to get some big league gum but couldn't find it for the life of me)

I took some scrapbook paper ($.59 Baseball & $.49 Grey & Brown) and cut it to fit the basket.  I then hit up my Cricut and cut out a fun saying of Let's Play Ball.  I took some spray adhesive (that I found in Rick's man cave) and sprayed the paper onto the basket.

It took me less then 5 minutes to put together but I think it would be a cool gift for your sports fan in your life!  

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  We have a one party plus my women's group from church is having a dinner out!  Yes I'm so excited it's going to be a good weekend!

Homemade Play Dough ... School Auction Gift

Now on to the next item I made for the kids auction.  I have made play dough in the past but why not show it again!  This was one of the easiest recipes to make and I bet you have most of the items if not all of them in your pantry.  I love using Jell-o it has a great color to it and of course the smell is great!  Ok NOTE to self DON'T make a post late at night when you've been working since 5AM you will end up typing Kool-Aid instead of Jell-o!!!!

Homemade Play Dough

Ingredients

1	cup of water
1	cup of flour
2	teaspoon of cream of tartar
1	tablespoon of cooking oil
½	cup of salt
3	oz Sugar Free Jello

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients, except for the jello. Microwave it for about one minute and stir. Cook for about 30 more seconds. Keep repeating until the playdough is dough-ish. Knead the playdough and place the jello to color.

I picked up some containers at the dollar store that reminded me of the containers play dough comes in and put it in there.  I made a label that said what it was and we were ready to rock and roll!

This is a fun item that the kids can help you make and then they have fun playing with the play dough after.  I hope you give this a try it is so fun to do and you can find some many great colors with the jello.

Homemade Sidewalk Chalk ... Kid School Auction

The boys school is having a silent auction in a week.  Each classroom has a basket that they put together and auction off.  Each Classroom has a different theme.  Caden's Kindergarten class theme is playtime.  They wanted art supplies etc.  I of course couldn't just go buy something I wanted to make some fun things.  Yes you can roll your eyes at me, Rick does every time I tell him what my plan is.

So I set out on a plan to make sidewalk chalk, playdough and crayons.  First off we have Homemade Sidewalk Chalk (recipe found on Oh My! Handmade), which I must say was pretty darn easy to make.  The hardest part was finding the Plaster of Paris, finally found it at Micheal's for like $7.99 and I have enough to probably make 64 chalk pieces.  I made 12 for the auction.  Caden picked out the colors of Blue, Pink and Green.

I used my silicone rectangle pan for the mold to make them the same size and easy to pop right out.  I put them in clear plastic bags and tied them with ribbon.  I printed out a label so who ever wins the basket will know what they are.

What you will need:
•    Toilet paper or paper towel tubes (or Silicone Mold)
•    Scissors (I didn't use)
•    Duct tape (I didn't use)
•    Wax paper (I used saran wrap)
•    Small bucket or disposable container to make the recipe
•    ¾ cup of warm water
•    1 ½ cups Plaster of Paris
•    2-3 tablespoons of tempera paint
•    Paper bag or a “mess mat”

ALEXIS NOTE ** Now I used my silicone mold with saran wrap instead of the toilet paper rolls with the wax paper.  It came out perfect and easy. **

Step 1: If you are using paper towel tubes, cut each tube in half, so it is roughly the length of a toilet paper roll tube.

Step 2: Cover one end of each tube with duct table to hold the contents within.

Step 3: Cut as many pieces of wax paper as you have tubes. Roughly 6 inches X 6 inches. Roll the wax paper loosely and insert into the tubes so as to effectively line the tubes. The top of the wax paper will be higher than the tubes. The wax paper liner will keep the chalk mixture from sticking to the cardboard tubes and will eventually be peeled off.

** Alexis Note My Step 1 - Step 3 was put saran wrap in my silicone mold **

Step 4: Pour the warm water into your bucket. Sprinkle the Plaster of Paris over the water and stir the mixture with a plastic spoon. The Plaster of Paris roughly starts hardening within 20-30 minutes, so you need to work fast so that it does not harden too quickly. ** Alexis note mine took a long time but still best to be prepared **

Step 5: Next you will want to pour the tempera paint into the Plaster of Paris mixture and stir so that it is mixed thoroughly. If you would like brighter colors  add more tempera paint into the mixture. 

I think they turned out pretty cool and will be using the rest of my Plaster of Paris this summer for the boys!  I think I have a few birthdays coming up that I will have to make them for also.

Enjoy, I think this is a fun craft to do with the kids and would be a awesome gift for any kid!