Tag: Crafts

Jungle Animal Cupcakes Recipe!

I recently took my kids to our local Zoo and they loved it! They asked for a fun animal-themed recipe, so I think that I’ll make these cupcakes! If your kids love zoo animals, as much as mine, then check out this adorable Jungle Animal cupcakes recipe! Let us know what you thought of this recipe and how yours turned out, we’d love to know! You’ll need:

Cupcakes and Frosting

• 1 box Betty Crocker™ SuperMoist™ yellow or devil’s food cake mix
• Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
• 1 1/4 cups Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting
• Black food color
• 2 1/2 cups Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting
• Yellow and red food color

Lion Decorations

• 1 1/2 cups caramel popcorn
• 12 brown miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits
• 12 pretzel sticks
• 12 pieces Cheerios™ cereal (any flavor)

Tiger Decorations

• 12 brown miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits
• 12 orange chewy fruit-flavored gumdrops (not sugar coated), cut in half crosswise, top halves discarded

Monkey Decorations

• 12 brown miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits
• 6 miniature marshmallows, cut in half crosswise, pieces flattened
• 12 small round chocolate-covered creamy mints

Zebra Decorations

• 6 round vanilla wafer cookies
• 24 brown miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits
• 6 black chewy licorice-flavored gumdrops (not sugar coated), cut in half vertically

For additional details on how to make this tasty treat, click here!

•  Emptied eggshells
• Paint (we used washable tempera)
• Tissue paper
• A glue stick
• Optional: A canvas- you could also use poster board or paper

Instructions:

1. Use a butter knife to gently crack the top of the shells, making a hole big enough for the egg to pass through.
2. Give the eggshells a quick rinse with warm water and anti-bacterial soap and place them back into the carton to dry.
3. Fill the eggs with paint.
4. 
5. Seal them using tissue paper and glue.
6. Use a glue stick to cover one side of a tissue paper square and then gently stick that over each egg opening.
7. Allow the kids to freely throw the eggs at a canvas.
8. Let the canvas dry and decorate your wall with your kiddos egg art!

I got the idea of these Easy DIY Yarn or Twine Decorative Balls from a friend of mine that has creatively placed her own DIY project all over her house.  You would never know they are a DIY, they are so cute!! I have posted some pictures to give you ideas on how to decorate with the yarn or twine balls. The directions are pretty straight forward, scroll down past the pictures to get to them in the post. If you do this DIY, send me a picture I’d love to see your creation!

Materials

• Balloons
• Plastic bags or a dropcloth to cover the floor
• Cooking spray
• School glue
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup hot water
• Scissors
• Yarn or twine
• A mixing bowl

Instructions

1. Blow up balloons to different sizes (filling balloons only halfway will help you achieve a more spherical shape) and knot each balloon
2. Create a drying area (If you’re working outdoors or in the garage, hang up a clothesline. If you’re working indoors, suspend a string between two chairs. Be sure to put a dropcloth or plastic bags under the drying area to catch any drips.)
3. Hang balloons from strings above the drying area
4. Spray balloons with cooking spray (to make removing the yarn/twine easier later)
5. In the bowl, mix hot water with cornstarch
6. Add a bottle of white school glue and mix thoroughly
7. Dip yarn/twine into the glue mixture and gently squeeze out the excess with your fingers — you may want to wear rubber gloves.
8. Beginning at the knot-end of your balloon, wrap your balloon with the wet yarn. The more you wrap, the denser the ball will be
9. Wrap in all directions, top to bottom and side to side
10. When you’re satisfied with the wrapping, cut the string.
11. Repeat the process with the remaining balloons
12. Allow the balloons to dry completely. This may take about 24 hours. The yarn should be stiff and dry
13. Pop the balloon. Try very gently kneading the balloon before popping it to separate it from the yarn. Remove the popped balloon

Tip: If the ball collapses a little, inflate a new balloon inside the ball to gently push the collapsed spot back into place, and then remove the balloon.

https://www.pgeveryday.com/home-garden/crafts/article/diy-yarn-balls

Thanks, pgeveryday!

Make Your Own Puffy Paint! Easy & Inexpensive!

One of my daughter’s favorite Saturday activities is painting! I have to watch her carefully, because paint may end up on the walls. Buying paint can be expensive, even when shopping at Walmart or Target. So, why not make your own Puffy paint at home? What you’ll need:

• Shaving Cream
• White School Glue
• Food Colouring

I have not yet tried this DIY, but I will this weekend. I’ll let you know how it goes. Be sure to let us know how your kids liked this DIY project and what you thought. We always love to hear from our readers.

For additional directions on how to make this paint, visit the One Little Project Webpage.

For some spring is already here, and for others spring is right around the corner.  Gardening season is quickly approaching.  Here are some easy gardening hacks and DIY’s to help make this years gardening successful!

Make your own garden markers using stones you found outside.

Supplies:

• Round river rocks
• Acrylic paints
• Paint brushes
• Scrubbie & soapy water
• Spray paint sealant

Instructions:

1. Wash off the river rocks with a scrubbie and soapy water.
2. Once the rocks are clean, sit them out in the sunshine to dry.
3. Paint river rocks with desired design and let dry.
4. Spray the painted rocks with the spray paint sealant with up to about 5 coats.
5. Lay out in your garden to label your plants!

A terra-cotta pot filled with a mixture of sand and mineral oil makes a holder for your small gardening tools. The sand is abrasive, so it sharpens your tools. The oil in the sand keeps your tools well-lubricated, protecting them from rust and dirt build-up.

Supplies:

• a mid-size terra-cotta pot
• spray paint (optional)
• pottery sealer (optional)
• a large bucket
• sand
• mineral oil

Instructions

1. Start by painting your pot (optional)
2. Spray paint the pot with 2 coats and out to cover the pot completely.
3. Once the paint was dry to the touch, spray a layer of pottery sealer.
4. While the paint and sealer are drying, you can mix up your sand and oil.
5. Pour your sand into the large bucket, along with 20-30 ounces of mineral oil. (If you can’t find plain mineral oil, you can also use baby oil – which is simply mineral oil with fragrance added!)
6. Use a trowel or other garden tool to stir the sand and the oil together until the oil is distributed evenly throughout.
7. If your pot has a drainage hole at the bottom, cover the hole with a couple of pieces of duct tape.
8. Fill your pot with the oily sand, and lightly pack it down.

Coffee grounds keep pests away and also enriches the soil!!

Use an old milk jug for a makeshift watering can!

Sprouting your seeds 24 hours in advance helps the plants ready to take root and grow strong.

Catalog your seeds in a photo album.

Place washed, dried, and crushed eggshells around the base of your plans to protect them from insects and nourish the soil with calcium!!