Make It Monday: Pom Pom Critters

I have been wanting to make busy bags for quite a while. What is a busy bag? It's an activity that is small enough to be kept in a bag and is perfect for those times when you need to keep the kids busy and quiet (restaurant, church, doctor apt., nap time, car ride, etc.) They are so convenient and good for learning and imaginative play. And some projects (like this one) take very little time to prepare. So why did it take me so long to make up some myself? Oh, you know, it's just one of those things that gets pushed aside when there are always so many other things to do. Our recent vacation was motivation to finally start assembling some bags though. Yea!

I saw this idea here, and knew that I could easily make them myself. And so can you. Here's how:

You'll need googly eyes, pom poms, and something for feet (I used little plastic glob thingies. You could use buttons, foam, beads, etc.) You'll also need a hot glue gun and glue.

The directions really don't even need to be told:

1. Put a glue gun stick in the glue gun.
2. Plug the glue gun into a socket.
3. Once the glue gun is hot and the glue is melty,  squirt a drop of glue onto a googly eye and quickly place it on a pom pom.  Repeat as desired.
4. Squirt a drop of glue onto a "foot" and quickly place on bottom of pom pom. Repeat as desired. 
5. Repeat steps 3-4 as needed.
6. Play with your critters.

Easy, right???

Ok, so I had to try to make it as least sound as complicated as possible because they really could not be any simpler and I just had to have something to write. Seriously though, just throw some glue on a few embellishments and plop them on a pom pom. There. You're done.

 And aren't they so cute???

I made them one night after the kids went to bed so they'd be surprised. We were driving along, many hours into our trip, when I handed them the bag with the critters. They loved them! (I'm pretty sure the feelings were mutual, too.) In fact, when we came home, the kids asked if we could make more. They are so simple and so fun.

Plus, they're really super cute.

What more could you ask for?

Make It Monday: Gingerbread Play Dough

The kids and I baked up a batch of gingerbread cookies. But instead of cookie dough, we used play dough; and in place of the sprinkles we used googly eyes and beads. And technically, instead of baking we smashed them up to make them again and again! Either way, the house smelled delicious!

 They were so excited to make the dough. We even had a couple extra helpers.

Dump the dry ingredients into a bowl. Jake was impressed by how pretty it looked with the different shades of brown.

Use your big strong muscles to mix it up.

 Add the wet ingredients.

 Combine well. Once it gets too thick to mix with the spoon, knead the dough with your hands.

They had a very hard time waiting until the dough was completely cool before they started cookie preparations. In fact, they didn't wait. They dough was still slightly warm when they first rolled out their dough and began cutting their shapes.

We had our very own bakery setup in the kitchen. 

 We baked up some traditional gingerbread men . . .

 and Christmas trees.

And some not-so-traditional cyclops trees with pink bellybuttons . . .

 and even a pet rock cookie.

We certainly have been busy. We are now officially open for business and taking orders for all your Christmas needs! 

The kids (ok, me too!) had so much fun rolling, cutting, and decorating our "cookies." They really did look and smell like the real things. Jake asked a few different times, "Can we bake these for real? They smell so good!" A tablespoon or two of some of these spices might be a little costly to be used for something like play dough, but I expect it to last a long time. In fact, the play dough we made last year is just about on its last leg. It's survived 3 kids for over a year. Definitely cost effective. I actually ended up finishing off a few of our spices to make this dough, so I'd better add them to the grocery list for our annual baking extravaganza coming up! Besides, now we'll have fresh spices for our real baked goods.

My favorite part was a conversation that took place between the 2 kids -

Jake: "Look, the candy canes look like J's for Jesus."

Alyssa: "And for Jacob!"

Jake: "Yeah, but Christmas isn't about me. It's all about Jesus."

And he couldn't be more right.



Gingerbread Play Dough
Ingredients:
2 c flour                                           1 Tbs cinnamon
1 c salt                                            1 Tbs nutmeg
2 Tbs cream of tartar                      2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 Tbs ginger                                    1 1/2  c boiling water

Directions:
1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Add in the vegetable oil and boiling water.

3. Mix well. Once the mixture becomes too thick to stir with a spoon, use your hands to knead it until it is soft and thoroughly combined.

4. Allow mixture to cool before playing.

Make It Monday: Hand Print Turkey

I'm really behind in posting this week. It has been a busy week for all, I'm sure.

But what would Thanksgiving be without a hand print turkey???

 Paint your hand and thumb brown for the turkey's body.

Find a helper to paint stripes on your fingers for feathers. 

Apparently, Alyssa was making a tropical turkey. Hey, they celebrate Thanksgiving in Hawaii too, right?

Gently press your hand on a piece of paper, being careful not to wiggle your fingers around . . . too much. 

After you lift your hand, add the finishing touches to your turkey - a beak, a gobbler, legs, and a googly eye. Allow the paint to dry and proudly display your turkey for all to see.

Along with our tropical friend, we have a meatloaf inspired turkey, complete with ketchup on top. Maybe the poor turkey will get a reprieve from the feast this year. 

Then again, maybe not.

Happy Thanksgiving!