On the homefront

Family = unconditional love. Loving each other at our best and at our worst. With our warts and all. I find that home is our little haven where this happens a lot. We take down our guards and the masks come off. It's where we exchange our suits for pjs- figuratively and literally. And yes, sometimes we get whiny and throw tantrums (not just our two year old).

Our love is messy and real. In my world, I think playtime should be no different. There are epic successes and epic fails in trying new things as a family but when you find something that clicks with your brood it just makes it that much sweeter. You create your own traditions so to speak. Here is some of the craftiness that has been going on this fall in the Karraker abode:

*Building using cardboard boxes: Cardboard boxes, hammers, nails, and screws and with supervision they "build" with daddy

* Watercolors in the bathtub: Nothing fancy just cheap washable watercolors instead of expensive bath paints! It cleans up soooo easy.

The girls also loved mixing different colors with shaving cream and painting with their concoction.

*Forts under the table: Mismatched blankets, a lantern, books, and goofiness required

I love the little feet that are peaking out from underneath the table  lol =)

 *Jumping on beds: Our bed, their bed, beds on the floor. All the time. Why not?

If it wasn't so blurry maybe you could see my big ol baby bump he he

*Paint by #'s: Nevaeh has incredible patience and this has been such a great craft for her. It has now morphed into almost a family puzzle of sorts as each of us have taken turns to paint with her a little bit at a time. Even grandma got to do some spots.

* Toddler go to activities: "cooking" with play dough

* Using tongs- I'm amazed at how entertaining this is for her!

*Coloring on butcher paper: on the walls, on the floors, with roads and cars. Geez I love butcher paper.

 * Pom pom activities- sorting & matching the colors into different containers

* Large beads on elastic

Get your felt on

It's insane how fast time is going (this coming from a preggo lady who is in denial about having baby #3 in just three months!!!!!) and I can't believe Thanksgiving is just next week! Which is another opportunity to practice thankfulness and of course nerdy craftiness.

Last Christmas, we decked the halls with felt christmas trees and let the kids decorate them to their hearts content. I've secretly been waiting all year to bust them out again. He He. It's suddo important to this mama that we teach our children the spirit of gratefulness not just on a holiday but what it looks like on a daily basis. For Thanksgiving, I really wanted to do another felt craft but also something that had some significance. Thus, the thankful turkey was born.

Meet Mr.Thankful Gobble Gobble

Get a variety of cheapo felt

Draw out your pattern & cut (or just eyeball it). Keep in mind that you will need a larger pattern that can be placed on the wall first so that the turkey body and feathers have something to stick to.

Have your child write down different things they are thankful for on each feather. I'm planning on having them add to their feathers yearly with different pens and perhaps smaller handwriting =)

 Ruby decorated/scribbled faces on a few of her own and Nevaeh jotted down some of her sister's ideas such as yo gabba gabba or "smiley faces".

Mount your larger piece on the wall (adhesive putty works the best) and let the kids go for it!

What I love about felt decorations is they can last forever. This nerd is going to have a tote full for every holiday. Better yet, I should just make a flannel board....it worked in Sunday school right? lol I can see it now. Instead of Mary & Joseph, John will be showing the girls how to survive zombies with little figurines on the board!

Fun in the dark

BLACK LIGHT ARTWORK



I have to say this has been our favorite activity/discovery to date! John had recently purchased a black light for halloween and just happened to plug it in above our kitchen chalkboard and low and behold the chalk glowed!!!!!! The rest was a no brainer. We got out the chalk we had made (see link) prior and the girls went to town doing grafitti, all under the blacklight.

BLACKLIGHT EXPERIMENT

Next, we took the same black light fixture and using an extension cord, went around the house on a hunt to find things that would glow. Some things were truly fun and surprising to see transform like certain picture frames or toys and others were a little disturbing like the sinks in the bathroom! The simplist things are the most amusing to kids. They love to be little scientists and go on mini adventures and this let them do both.

SHAPES WITH GLOWSTICKS

Family dance parties are nearly a weekly must in our household. We play fun music and try to have a small supply of dollar store glowsticks tucked away for the fun occasion of doing the dance party in the dark.

Recently we found a new "game" by making shapes with the glowsticks. By placing the shutterspeed on our camera on a low setting, we were able to capture different designs. We didn't need a tripod for this but simply took the picture and within the time delay, drew different designs into the air. The kids were entertained for over an hour experimenting with different techniques to create these fun pics. Ok. We were ALL entertained!

"Everyone draw a heart!"

"Ready set go. Everyone draw a square! Triangle! Star!" It became sort of like simon says and our youngest had fun at attempting to draw the shapes too =)

Gotta love glowing rainbows!

 



Just wanted to share some family creativity in the dark!

DIY Makeup Part 2: Powder

Ready for round two? First I tried homemade lip gloss which you can read about here . I really have been using it daily and would recommend it to anyone. Now onto making homemade makeup powder!!!

What's baffling to me is why I hadn't tried this sooner. Besides, the ingredients are straight out of the kitchen pantry!

Here's what you'll need:
* Baking Cocoa
* Cornstarch
* Cinnamon
* Empty plastic container (or re-use one from previous powder)

*NOTE: Cinnamon is optional. If your skin is naturally sensitive like mine, apply a small amount to the side of your hand, blend, and let sit for 24 hrs to ensure that you don't have a reaction before you mix it with other ingredients

The cocoa is naturally good for your skin on it's own. I used baking cocoa that was dutched which means it was treated with an alkalizing agent and is less acidic.

To make your powder first start with the cornstarch as your base then add cocoa and if desired cinnamon to get the right shade for your skin (I used both). Go a shade darker then your natural skin tone by adding a little bit of cocoa at a time.

Blend the ingredients together thoroughly and apply to your beautiful smiling faces daily! Because we are always beautiful and smiling right lol

 So proud of my miniature makeup collection. Feels good to do things on your own doesn't it?

Doggy Birthday Party

Last week was Mochi's very first birthday and for the last few months Nevaeh has been crucially planning a doggy birthday party. That's right folks. A dog party. How exactly do you throw a birthday party for a dog you ask? I had no clue but with the help with my 6yr old we pulled off a simple and fun party.

Just ask this birthday boy!

After Nevaeh made her own invitations and passed them out, she got to work on the goodie bags. We used paper bags and then chalkboard signs on small clothespins for each doggie guest.

Each bag had a ball and a chew treat. Next was making a dog friendly dessert! We used this simple recipe:

Carrot Dog Cake
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup shredded carrots
1 egg

Mix all the ingredients & shape the batter into a large bone onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 min (30 min if using a cake pan).
*Optional: Use 1/2 cup of peanut for frosting. That was the funnest part for the girls!

 The leftover cake batter was then used to make bone treats. Fill each cookie cutter only 2/3rds full & bake for 8-12 min depending on size.

 

When they were done I left the room for a few minutes & when I came back...well the dog friendly cake & treats had sprinkles on them. So we went with it.

The location was at the park which meant very little clean up & instant fun for the kiddos!

Now if only the girls parties could be this simple! The only thing I really did was buy capri suns & scooby doo fruit roll ups "for the humans". Oh yes. And birthday hats for the dogs. Didn't you know that's a requirement?

Happy Birthday Mochi! You have added a whole lot of crazy and fun to our lives and we love you!

DIY Makeup: Part One

Making your own makeup is not a new concept but it was a major why- the-heck-not light bulb for me after seeing a similar idea from Miss Indie. Really though. Why not? Besides, I was one of those kids that took the liberty of mixing together everything I could get my hands on in the kitchen and then daring my sister to eat whatever nasty concoction I came up. Ketchup and pepper and fruit- nummmmm. So in a way I had experience being a creative mad scientist already right?

It really is SO easy to make. And it happens to be a sweet gift idea too. Here's what you'll need:
* Petroleum jelly
* Blush or eyeshadow
* Shimmer (optional)
* Empty round makeup container
* Vanilla extract, Jasmine extract, or Peppermint oil for fragrance (only add a drop)

Add your ingredients and then mix them together and your set! The more powder you use, the darker your final lip gloss will be. I used some old blush that had been broken and then ground it further into a fine powder and then added a very small amount of white fine shimmer.

 As far as the vanilla, the upside is that it smells amazing. The downside is, it makes me want to eat a tub of cookie dough every time I use it. Not so great lol  Lastly, I modpodged some pretty paper to the top of the container and I love how it turned out!

What do you think? Would you create your own makeup if it was easy and cost effective?