Another fun activity for the kids.
Inspiration for playing with baking soda and vinegar
This is pretty self explanatory. Set up a bin and give the kids baking soda and vinegar to pour together and watch the reaction. I added food coloring for fun. This activity is pretty much completely full of win. It's extremely cheap (2 for $1 1 lb containers of baking soda from the dollar store, and a gallon jug of vinegar for $2 will keep them occupied for quite awhile), both kids (15 months and almost 3 years) can enjoy it together, and instead of making a mess, it actually cleans my house. After they're done, all I had to do was mop my floor with a dry mop. The baking soda and vinegar are actually natural cleaners, and mopping quickly left my floor cleaner than before! I could not love this activity anymore than I currently do.
Total cost: $2
Total time: 2 lbs of baking soda and a gallon of vinegar kept them both occupied for about 45 minutes
Total mess: A quick mop actually left my floor cleaner!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Cloud dough
I'm always looking for fun toddler activities, and I've pinned a whole bunch of them. Here's one we tried over the weekend with great success.
Inspiration for cloud dough
We went to the dollar store for a bunch of materials for different projects we're planning. So while we were there, we picked up a big bag of flour and a container of vegetable oil (each for a dollar). Once we were home, I got out some old plastic containers and small bowls and let my son have at it.
He played for about an hour before he started beasting and throwing the stuff all over the kitchen. As you can see, my attempt to keep the kitchen floor clean with a cheap plastic tablecloth failed miserably. But it did allow us to save a lot of the cloud dough that would have otherwise been spoiled by the excessive amount of dog hair all over my kitchen floor. All in all, a 5 minute clean up and quick sweep took care of the mess. Because of the consistency, the cloud dough is neither sticky nor dusty. It doesn't really leave any film on your hands and, unlike plain flour, it sweeps up easily and doesn't leave any residue on the floor. I didn't even have to mop afterwards. It was a definite win as a toddler activity.
Total cost: <$1 (we used about 1/4 of the bag of flour and oil that we bought for $2)
Total time: almost an hour of occupied toddler
Total mess: about 5 minutes to clean up and one set of clothes that needed to be washed
Inspiration for cloud dough
We went to the dollar store for a bunch of materials for different projects we're planning. So while we were there, we picked up a big bag of flour and a container of vegetable oil (each for a dollar). Once we were home, I got out some old plastic containers and small bowls and let my son have at it.
 |
| Please excuse his ridiculous bedhead. This was an early Saturday morning activity. |
He played for about an hour before he started beasting and throwing the stuff all over the kitchen. As you can see, my attempt to keep the kitchen floor clean with a cheap plastic tablecloth failed miserably. But it did allow us to save a lot of the cloud dough that would have otherwise been spoiled by the excessive amount of dog hair all over my kitchen floor. All in all, a 5 minute clean up and quick sweep took care of the mess. Because of the consistency, the cloud dough is neither sticky nor dusty. It doesn't really leave any film on your hands and, unlike plain flour, it sweeps up easily and doesn't leave any residue on the floor. I didn't even have to mop afterwards. It was a definite win as a toddler activity.
Total cost: <$1 (we used about 1/4 of the bag of flour and oil that we bought for $2)
Total time: almost an hour of occupied toddler
Total mess: about 5 minutes to clean up and one set of clothes that needed to be washed
Menu Board
One of the first things I pinned was a menu board. I loved the idea of a menu board to organize our grocery list and meal planning. One of my New Year's Resolutions was to pay closer attention to our grocery budget and spend less money on groceries. A great way to accomplish that is to have an organizational system in place to plan meals and write grocery lists.
Inspiration for menu board
I really wanted a menu board that had room for 2 weeks of menus, so that I could see what we are eating the current week, but also plan for the following week and have a grocery list that coincides. I also wanted an all inclusive menu board, with room for a grocery list as well as a place to store grocery receipts to help with the budgeting. So this is what I came up with.
Here's my materials list. I bought the cork board, clothes pins, stickers, index cards, note pad and push pins at Walmart for approximately $12. The rest I already had laying around:
Step 1: Cut out 14 small hearts from an old piece of cardboard. I used an old beer case (no joke). I did this free hand and they turned out fine, although it was somewhat tedious. Then place the appropriate letters on the hearts to indicate the days of the week.
Step 2: Use Elmer's glue to attach 7 clothes pins to each side of the cork board. I didn't bother to measure, as it seemed like more effort than it was worth. But I put a clothes pin 2 inches from the top, and then one every 1.25" down, approximately. This left enough space for the envelopes at the bottom and enough room for the menu cards to be attached to the clothes pins.
Step 3: Use Elmer's glue to attach the hearts with the appropriate day of the week onto each clothes pin. Then use Elmer's glue to attach the notepad in the center of the cork board. I did measure the center of the cork board to place the note pad to make sure it looked right. I put it slightly higher than the exact center because of the size of the note pad I bought. Leave the board alone for 10-15 minutes to give the glue a chance to set.
Step 4: Use fabric glue to put two small pieces of fabric around the top of the cork board to make it look fancy. Then use more stickers to label "This week", "Next week" and "Shopping" (or whatever words you like) on the top of the board.
Step 5: Cut the index cards into small strips and label each with a different meal. Use one sheet of paper to make a heading such as "What's for dinner?" and place it at the top of the board. Use two other sheets of paper to make small envelopes at the bottom of the board and label "Meals" (to store your meal strips) and "Receipts" (to store your grocery receipts).
And, viola, you have an all inclusive menu planning station!
Unfortunately, my final picture is missing an "e" because I need to buy another pack of stickers for that one e. I also think I want to redo the envelopes on the bottom and make them into simple boxes. I just used the push pins to attach the top banner, because I wasn't overly impressed with my quick "What's for Dinner" sign and will probably make a new one. I may revisit this project, but for now I love how it turned out!
Total time: ~1.5 hours (it took me a little over 2 hours, but that's because my 15 month old was "helping" me)
Total cost: ~$12
Inspiration for menu board
I really wanted a menu board that had room for 2 weeks of menus, so that I could see what we are eating the current week, but also plan for the following week and have a grocery list that coincides. I also wanted an all inclusive menu board, with room for a grocery list as well as a place to store grocery receipts to help with the budgeting. So this is what I came up with.
Here's my materials list. I bought the cork board, clothes pins, stickers, index cards, note pad and push pins at Walmart for approximately $12. The rest I already had laying around:
- 14" x 14" cork board
- small clothes pins
- letter stickers
- index cards
- note pad
- push pins
- elmer's glue
- fabric glue
- white ribbon
- an old piece of cardboard
- a few pieces of colored paper
- a sharpie pen
Step 1: Cut out 14 small hearts from an old piece of cardboard. I used an old beer case (no joke). I did this free hand and they turned out fine, although it was somewhat tedious. Then place the appropriate letters on the hearts to indicate the days of the week.
Step 2: Use Elmer's glue to attach 7 clothes pins to each side of the cork board. I didn't bother to measure, as it seemed like more effort than it was worth. But I put a clothes pin 2 inches from the top, and then one every 1.25" down, approximately. This left enough space for the envelopes at the bottom and enough room for the menu cards to be attached to the clothes pins.
Step 4: Use fabric glue to put two small pieces of fabric around the top of the cork board to make it look fancy. Then use more stickers to label "This week", "Next week" and "Shopping" (or whatever words you like) on the top of the board.
 |
| I really have no idea why there were bananas in my living room while I was doing this project. I blame my 15 month old. |
Step 5: Cut the index cards into small strips and label each with a different meal. Use one sheet of paper to make a heading such as "What's for dinner?" and place it at the top of the board. Use two other sheets of paper to make small envelopes at the bottom of the board and label "Meals" (to store your meal strips) and "Receipts" (to store your grocery receipts).
And, viola, you have an all inclusive menu planning station!
Unfortunately, my final picture is missing an "e" because I need to buy another pack of stickers for that one e. I also think I want to redo the envelopes on the bottom and make them into simple boxes. I just used the push pins to attach the top banner, because I wasn't overly impressed with my quick "What's for Dinner" sign and will probably make a new one. I may revisit this project, but for now I love how it turned out!
Total time: ~1.5 hours (it took me a little over 2 hours, but that's because my 15 month old was "helping" me)
Total cost: ~$12
So I finally signed up for Pinterest...
and I am just as addicted as everyone else. In an attempt to not have all the time I'm spending "pinning" be a waste, I've decided to start this blog to document the crafts, projects, and ideas I have made that were inspired by my pinterest pins. So here is my blog that I hope to update at least twice a week with pictures and descriptions of projects I've finished. Enjoy. And feel free to pin!
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