End of Year Gift ... Have a "Chalk-ful" Summer of Crazy "Kool" Fun

Now for a gift for Caden's classmates.  I found a cute idea on Mud Pie Studio's for end of the year gifts for under $10.

What You Need:

Chalk (Can find at Dollar Tree)
Kool-Aid Packets (I bought a water flavor at Dollar Tree - Kool-Aid better to go with tag)
Bookmark (I couldn't find but Dollar Tree usually has)
Clear Bag (25 pack Dollar Tree)
Card Stock
Stapler

Put the chalk (2 pieces), kool-aid and bookmark into the clear bag.  I made up my own tag (click here for download, if it gives you grief let me know). Cut the tag out and staple to the bag to hold it shut.  Pass them out to the kids :).

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

Easter Egg Sidewalk Chalk

For Caden's kindergarten class I wanted to make something fun but not something with sugar since I knew they would be having a lot of candy from the other kids.  I found a cute gift tag to add, since they go to a faith based school I found one that had a bible verse.  You can always add a regular Easter tag if you would like.

I went to my sidewalk chalk recipe I used for the auction gifts I made.  I then pulled out my Jell-O Egg molds (you can pick these up FREE every year if you buy a box of Jell-O), I saw on Pinterest people using plastic Easter eggs also if you don't have this mold.  I didn't want to do just one color so I did 3 colors.  NOW don't overfill your eggs like I did, this will MAKE it so hard to open them you will almost think you need to throw away the whole batch (almost did that).  Taking them out of the mold will be hard if overfilled and will cause a heck of a mess next time I will do over a paper bag of newspaper.  I got a lecture from Rick about our counter-tops when he saw the mess ... lol.

What you will need:
•    Egg Mold (I used Jell-O Mold you can use Plastic Egg)
•    Vaseline (to grease the egg)
•    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”

Step 1: Take Vaseline and grease the inside of the eggs.

Step 2: 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.

Step 3: 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. 

Step 4: I added my first color to one half of the egg, filling about 1/3 of the way.

Step 5: I let it set up for about a half hour then repeated with the next color (following step 2-3)

Step 6: I filled the top and the bottom of the egg with two colors then filled the 3rd color on top of each color in each egg.  I then let it set up for about 10 minutes and let closed the top and the bottom of the egg so it will become one egg! (See Picture)

Step 7: I let it set up over night and then went to open.  I over filled mine so when I went to open it was almost glued shut.  I took a knife to get the dried plaster off and pry the egg open.  I made extra thankfully so the few that broke didn't have to be used.  

Step 8: I added 2 eggs to a snack size zip-lock and added a fun Easter Note.  You can use anyone you like we go to a Faith based school so mine had a bible verse on it.

I found an awesome bible verse label on Detail Oriented Diva! Again you can find a free printable with a bunny if you would like.

We had a few break and I made a mess :) but overall it was so fun!

Yes a Mess

A few causalities.

I think they turned out so cute!  I hope the kids love them.  Today is our last day of the week so I will bring them in today.  We go to Spring Break tomorrow in time for Good Friday and Easter.

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!