Totally Groovy

So we embarked on another adventure in creativity today. Today we decided to make our own "lava lamps". The kids were mesmerized by these. Of course they needed some help with adding the food coloring, oil, and water, but overall they had a blast. . . especially when they added the alka seltzer pieces. They don't light up, but I can definitely see my kids going back to add more alka seltzer often. You can find the original steps here, but after our first time making it we made a minor change on our second batch since my son wanted an Aqua color.

Here is what you need:

I seriously recommend bigger bottles than what I have, but I didn't have anything else on hand. 

We filled our bottles about 1/4 way with water and then added the food coloring. Shook the bottles to insure the colors were mixed well and then added the oil. :D

These are our final lava lamps. The girl decided she wanted a simple blue. Easy peasy.

The boy wanted a cool aqua color. 

I wonder what is on our agenda for tomorrow's craft time. . . 

Until next time. . . 

Finger Paint Fun

The boy is out of school for the summer, which means I have three kids home all day; luckily for me the baby  is still sleeping most of the time. This kids complain more often than not that they have nothing to do, so yesterday we decided to get a little crafty. It took like no time at all and the kids were at the table painting. Tons of fun and we didn't have any stains; probably only because I added the food coloring. LOL We got lucky and had everything on hand, but barely. :D

Here is what you will need:

1/2 cup cornstarch
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups cold water
food coloring

Here is what you need to do:

In a medium pan, mix all the ingredients together to make the finger paint. Cook over low heat 10 to 15 minutes. Keep stirring the finger paint mixture until it is smooth and thick. After the finger paint has thickened take the pan off the stove and let the mixture cool.

After cooling, divide the finger paint into storage containers depending on how many colors you would like. Add a few drops of food coloring to each container. Stir the coloring in to the paint to determine the shade of color. You're ready to finger paint! Cover tightly when storing.

The kids had tons of fun making these. They are now sitting in our hall closet until they want to paint some more, which will probably be today, but at least they'll be occupied. 

During their creative process...

The boy's masterpiece. . . 

The girl's masterpiece. . . 

You can find the recipe we used plus a couple of additional recipes right here. 

Until next time. . .