Homemade Silly Putty

I've done gak before and silly putty once before but I'm bringing it out again as a gift this year. My boss has a radio show every Saturday, while I work on Saturday's I listen to the show to see what is going on. A few weeks back they were talking about their son loving silly putty. I thought that would be the perfect gift for him, and not the store bought kind the homemade kind!  PBS Kids had the most popular link for the recipe so I'll give them credit. I wish I had some newspaper on hand to show it better but I was out and had to ship this out before the next batch of mail came in. I made 3 colors and didn't get good pictures of making the blue so you see below the making of the pink and the blue final (just having a little fun with you .. lol).

Materials Needed:

1 Cup Elmer's Glue-All multipurpose glue

Food coloring

1 Cup Sta-Flo concentrated liquid starch

Directions:

Mix the glue with the food coloring until the color is even throughout.

Pour the liquid starch into the colored glue mixture.

Stir and let it sit for five minutes.

Pull the putty out of the mixing bowl and set it on a paper towel. Knead the putty in your hands for five to ten minutes.

ALEXIS NOTES: I ended up using regular's Glue (which I've read on several blogs you shouldn't, it worked but I think the All Multipurpose is probably better). I had the Sta-Flo on hand from another project, I've also read you must use this brand.

Thanks for Stopping by!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.

Girls Just Want to have FUN ... Youth & Tween Girl Birthday Gift

As most of you have figured out by now I'm a HUGE fan of giving a gift in a basket.  One of my besties daughters were having a birthday party together (she does this every year).  I must say I have been known to give them a combined gift.  I just couldn't do that this time since they are getting older.  So I thought why not cool gift's in a basket.

For the Tween Gift I found some of what I thought to be the best and favorite things.

What you need:
DVD - I picked up Tooth Fairy
Candy Bars / Candy
Lip Gloss
Glow Sticks
Stickers
Pedicure Set
Hair Bands
Gum
(other ideas, Teen Mag, Make up)
Basket
Wood Letters
Wood Character (something they like)

I put a little tissue paper in the basket and then filled it with all the fun items.  She is really into Soccer so I found a soccer ball at Micheal;s and letters to spell her name.  I used my favorite item the Glue Gun and hot glued it all on!  It was a simple but super fun gift!!

For the Youth Gift I wanted to switch it up a little so her basket had a few different items

What you Need:
Bubbles
Glow Sticks
Movie (Open Season)
Candy
Chap stick
Stickers
Nail polish
Hair bands
Baton
Basket
Wood Letters
Wood Flower (or what they like)

I put a little tissue paper in the basket and then filled it with all the fun items.  Caden found a pretty flower he wanted to use for her  at Micheal's and letters to spell her name.  I used my favorite item the Glue Gun and hot glued it all on!  It was a simple but super fun gift!!

This was another simple one but a huge hit!  Hope you all have a great day and give this a try!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Easy Caramel Corn

Here we are on another easy gift idea!  The PTA President and myself had the brilliant idea to make caramel popcorn for all the kids for the upcoming Christmas program this Thursday.  Sure I can do that ... hehe she said to herself not thinking how long it would take to make 120 of these bags!  Now if you are just doing a normal batch this really is easy heck even at the quantity we did it was pretty easy just a little time consuming.  To make it go easier before she was off work I went and popped all the popcorn.  I made 3 brown paper grocery bags full!  I found this amazing recipe for Easy Caramel Corn on Our Best Bites website.

Easy Caramel Corn

12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)
1 C brown sugar 
1/4 C white Karo syrup 
1/2 t salt (if you are using salted microwave popcorn then omit salt here) 
1 stick real butter 
1/2 t baking soda 
1 t vanilla

Pop popcorn and set aside. Place brown sugar, Karo syrup, salt, and butter in a microwave safe dish. I cut up the butter into chunks so it melts better.
Are you ready for the directions? I’m warning you, it’s complicated. You might want to take notes. Here we go. Microwave for 30 seconds. That should be enough to melt the butter at least half way. Stir it all to combine. Now microwave on high for 2 minutes. Take it out and stir. Microwave for 2 more minutes.

While the caramel is cooking, put the popcorn in a big bowl. Use one that is way bigger than you think you’ll need. Try to get any un-popped kernels out so you don’t break a tooth. When the caramel is done cooking, take out of microwave and add baking soda and vanilla. Sit back and watch it do cool things like bubble and foam.  Stir it well and then pour it over the popcorn. Mix it up well with a big spoon. I usually spread it all out on a piece of foil and let it cool for a minute so it doesn’t get stuck in one big clump. The longer it sits out, the firmer it will get, but it won’t ever get crunchy-hard unless you bake it.

What I did was pop the popcorn doing my microwave trick (click here to find directions).  I used my Pyrex 4qt glass bowl with 1/2 cup popcorn kernels.  This made the exact amount for the recipe. 

I promise it was super easy to make and put it together.  For the kids we put it in nice little treat bags.  The extra I had left over I put in these cute plastic containers I found at the dollar store a while back.  I can't wait to pass them out!  I hope you make it for someone special.

Kids Treat bags (bags from Dollar Tree)

 Treat for the adults (from Dollar Tree)

Have a wonderful day!!

Haul out the Holly Christmas Card Holder

For several years I have a Christmas Card Tree (it is an actual metal tree that holds cards) but it's seen a better day.  So when I came across this idea to make a Holly Christmas Card Holder I was sold.  I picked up the items except for the wire hanger and spray paint at the dollar store.  Note to self the dollar store clothes pins are very cheaply made and may just be worth spending a little extra  money to buy a higher quality version.  This was a simple one to make just took a little time but I think it was worth it since I so can use it again next year.

You'll need:

wire clothes hanger

yard of ribbon

1 pack of clothespins

green spray paint

pony beads

wire cutter/pliers

glue gun (I skipped this and just used the pliers to pin it together in a circle)

empty box (I used a piece of plywood clipped them to it and sprayed)

Pull the flaps off of the box, and clip all your clothespins (or do like I did and clip on plywood). Spray 3-4 coats of paint on the clothespins. Make sure to get in between the two parts as best you can, and underneath as well. Let them dry for a day or so.  (I was impatient and only sprayed 2 coats and should have done a little better and let them sit over night). Cut the hook off your wire hanger, and shape into a circle. Grab your beads. Then, alternating bead and clothespin, slide onto the wire. Continue until your wreath is almost full, and the wires overlap about 1.5 inches. Glue them together with the glue gun-lots o' glue here (this is where I just took the pliers and bent the heck out of the wire to hold it). Cut a piece of ribbon, and tie it around the wire, then trim the ends and glue that to the wires (I used a thicker ribbon then she did). Using the rest of your ribbon, tie a bow and glue that on top of your hanger (I skipped the glue part just tied it on).  I promise it is really easy!  

Hope you had a wonderful week and you may try this out!

Cookie Lover Gift Idea

So here is another gift I made for the Christmas party we went to last weekend.  I saw this idea on Pinterest but it just lead to a photo so I'm sorry I can't give credit to anyone.  I took the photo and kind of made it my own.  The original photo was a square potholder with a cookie cutter attached and a bag of cookie mix.  I wanted to give some cookie tools so the person who got it could whip up the cookies, I had a feeling a kid would get the gift since adults and kids were grabbing and either or would like this gift.  This is a simple one that would cost you around $10 (most of the items you can find at the dollar store.

You need:

Christmas Oven Mit (found it at dollar store)

Betty Crocker Spatula (dollar store)

Betty Crocker Measuring Spoons (dollar store)

Bettyy Crocker Measuring Cups (dollar store)

Bag of Betty Crocker Cookie Mix (Sugar Cookie for $1.29 Walmart)

Cookie Cutter (Ross $2.99)

Put the cookie mix and the tools into the oven mit.  I then picked up a cookie cutter a nice metal one at Ross for $2.99.  I took some scrapbook paper and made a sign.  I found the wording that worked perfect on label on Make it Do's Website.  Then stuck it together with some glue and tied it on with the ribbon I used for the cookie Cutter.  The perfect gift for the baker in your life.

Hope you make this it was so cute and the person who got it really liked it.

Root "Deer" Gift

As I mentioned yesterday the boys and I went to a Christmas party with some friends from high school.  It was so much fun and they had a gift exchange, instead of just buying something I thought it would be fun to make some fun gifts I've seen on Pinterest.  Since we did Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer "Peanut Butter Fudge" yesterday, why not stick with that theme!  I wanted to try these Root "Deer" gifts I saw on Magnolia Manor.  This was so easy, the only hard part was getting the labels off (I tried keeping them on and putting the eyes on but it didn't look right).

Root "Deer" Ingredients:

Root Beer (in bottles in the cardboard container - had to go to 2 stores to find it)

Brown Pipe Cleaners

Googly Eyes

Red Pom Poms

Glue

Take off the label on the top of the bottom (I ran under water and peeled off).  Take a pipe cleaner and wrap around the top, I then formed to look like antlers.  I took some Elmer Glue and glued the eyes and pom pom on.  Put it back in the cardboard container and done!  You can even make a sign to go on front that says Root "Deer", I ran out of time and didn't do that.

Hope you have a wonderful day and make someone's day with this special gift.

End of the Year Teacher Appreciation

Cole’s last day of 2nd grade is on Friday {insert sad face here, and maybe a little panic of a house full of kids}.  His school is a private school with small class rooms, his current class is 1st and 2nd grade.  So he’s had the same teacher for the last two years.  I wanted to do something a little special for her.  And of course my love of Pinterest has given me many ideas.  I have made two for her today, tonight I will be making cake pops that look like graduation heads … lol wish me luck!

First off I made this really cute personalized Water Bottle I found on Circuit your Classroom.  I used my cricket for the first time to make it.  You can always print onto construction paper if you don’t have a cricket (a personal cutting system).

You Need:

• Water Bottle
• Construction Paper (2 colors if use cricket)
• Tape
• Ribbon

You can either print out the words on the paper or use the cricket: “Have a Cool Summer Mrs/Mr. ….”.  Cut paper to fit your water bottle.  I used a large flavor water from Walmart.  I found some cute desk tape at the dollar store that had numbers to tape the top and bottom.  You can also tape and then put ribbon on top and bottom if you like.  I tied some celebration ribbon on and it’s done!

My second project was a fun Summer Tote I saw on Skip to my Lou.  I found everything at Walmart for around $30 to $35.  My bag was a little larger then the one I saw on Pinterest so I added some tissue paper on the bottom to bring everything up.

You need:

• Beach Bag
• Beach Towel
• Flip Flops
• Cup
• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen Lotion
• Magazines

Open your bag (if yours is large like mine fill with tissue paper).  Arrange the items in the bag.  I also added the personal water bottle I made from above.  I added the tag she had her link didn’t work so I printed in word the words and then used my cricket again to make a yellow and then an orange sun (make one smaller and place on top so you see both colors) to make the tag.  Words “All year you worked hard to make learning fun. So now it’s your turn to relax in the sun!”  Add a cute little sun chair from clip art and your done.

So there you have it some fun thing to do for the teacher in your life!  Here are a few more pictures to show you .

Christmas 2011 Gift Jars

Finally I got my gift jars photos together to post them.  I found these really cute jars at the dollar store that I used instead of the mason jar’s I usually do.  First off I made an Oatmeal Craisin Gift Jar.

Next on the list was a silk Hot Cocoa Gift Mix, I didn’t have the chocolate jello so I used the jello mousse caramel flavor, figured that would be  nice touch!

Then for the coffee & hot cocoa lover. I made this Spicy Mocha Mix.

Then I found these peppermint mallows that worked prefect for this Peppermint Dark Hot Chocolate Mix.

So there you have this years gift jars!  I think I’m done, maybe  few little treats for my church friends.

Hope you all have a wonderful day!  I’m going to put up a giveaway tomorrow for icaughtsanta pictures!

Have a S’Moretstastic Day

Yet again it has been crazy around here I can barely breath or sit down just for myself.  I do have my gift jars up but haven’t had a chance to download the photos and put them together.  So we go to something fun I did.  My friend Debby posted about making this little s’more bags and told me it was on her pinterest site.  So I hoped over there and found them and thought what a fun project to do with the kids.  I even found one to make for Cole’s teacher!

I found this easy S’more Teacher Appreciation gift to make for Cole’s teacher.  A free printable label is there also!

Then I made this S’more gift for our friends, it has the link for a free printable also.

Crazy times here we don’t have anything go on tonight so I hope to clean up hurricane Alexis in the kitchen. And maybe lay down I now have a stupid headcold again! UGH

So what are your plans tonight?  And more special treats to make?

Homemade Ornaments

We’re onto some fun ornaments to make with the kids.

Now I saw these Candy Cane Reindeer a few years back.  An engineer at my old company made them for his friends at work.  No sadly I wasn’t one of the lucky ones.  Yup not bitter about that or the baby blanket his wife made for the engineers that had new babies but not this assistant .. lol.  These are super fun and easy to make with the kids.  REALLY you can pick everything up at the dollar store.

I made these Snowmen Handprint Ornament last year and I loved how they turned out that I want to do them every year. This year the kids moved there fingers so my snowmen were a little on the thin and then fluffy side … lol.

And for the last ornament I found this Cinnamon Applesauce Holiday Ornament that were a not as fun as I thought to make … hehe.  I’m honest they were kind of a pain.  They smelled good and are cute but my applesauce sucked up cinnamon like a sponge.  Now the gal I got the recipe from had the whole ornament with glitter.  I emailed asking how she got it on, I should have frazed it did you bake it with glitter or after. hehe she sent me and email back with just the word Glue. HEHE she so thought I was dumb.  So for you who want to know after they are baked you can glue.  I found glitter glue at the dollar store and we bedazzled from there.

Wow so there you have it some fun things to do with the kids!

Remember to stop by my Friend Amy and her Round Robin: