DIY - framed chalkboard

this is my 50 cents garage sale find that i turned into a chalkboard for avery.

use 3 coats of chalkboard spray paint.

and let it dry for a few hours between each coat.

prime by rubbing the side of the chalk onto the entire chalkboard. then erase.

i decided not to paint the frame yet.

since this little girl will be busy writing pretty soon.

DIY - homemade playdough (part II)

last summer, i made my first homemade playdough for avery. she played with it a few times before i found this recipe.

combine ingredients in a bowl & stir until smooth. pour mixture in a pot & cook on medium high heat for about a minute. stir constantly & make sure it does not stick to the bottom. remove from the pot & cool in the counter. knead a few times until it is nice & soft. 

 

this is the basic recipe & can be doubled or tripled. for more colors, divide the mixture before adding the mixade (or food coloring). then cook individually.

the playdough is so soft...much softer than a stress ball. and it is actually therapeutic [for me]. =)

DIY - sensory pasta box

we missed avery's playgroup today.

so to keep her occupied, i made a sensory pasta box.

i used her toy box, colored pasta in assorted shapes, plastic containers & a big spoon.

i just had to get a close up photo of the pasta.

it sure looks pretty!

 

she calls it "noonols". and yes, she did put it in her mouth once. [probably wondering why it's crunchy].

and the fun begins! scoop, scoop, scoop!

a couple of spills here & there. it's obvious that my girl doesn't really need much to be entertained. she was so engrossed & didn't even get distracted with the camera at all.

time to dump the "noonols" back in the box.

she enjoyed sliding everything in the cardboard tubes.

and after she's done, i saved all the pasta in airtight containers. [to play again, ofcourse].

thanks to the imagination tree blog for this fun idea.

DIY - ball maze box

here is my version of a ball maze box that i originally found in pinterest. i used a medium sized box for this project. for the maze, i cut the sides of two cereal boxes. then, i attached each one diagonally inside the box using a glue gun. finally, i cut a hole above the maze. done!

she played with dad's golf balls. it is pretty much what i can think of when i made this. but when she's older, marbles will also be good. [i found a bag full of marbles in one of hubby's boxes of keepsake].

yes, it does not take much to entertain her. but i have to make sure that i watch her playing all the time. she is such a destructiod. she throws, tramples or tears anything. 

oh well, it is part of learning and growing up [for both of us].

DIY - homemade edible finger paint

whew! after last week's heat wave, we finally got some reprieve. don't get me wrong, im not complaining. after all, wisconsin summer is my favorite season.

avery hasn't played in our porch for some time now because it was just too hot. then last friday, it was nice & cool for a change. i whipped up some edible finger paint for her to play with. again, i read this brilliant & fun idea from a mom blog "the imagination tree".

i scaled down my ingredients to half of the original recipe. also, i decided to experiment on a different method for preparing the paint.

microwave 2.5 cups of water for 2-3 minutes. in a separate bowl, mix 1 cup of cornstarch with half a cup of cold water. gradually pour the heated water in the cornstarch mix while stirring. at first, it will look lumpy. then place it back in the microwave & heat for about a minute or until you see the mixture starts to bubble. remove & keep stirring. eventually, it will look smooth, pasty & gooey. pour in different containers & add mixade (koolaid) for color.

i only used 3 different mixades (red, yellow & purple).

after combining the mixades, i got pink & light purple.

i even used paprika & came up with the brown mix.

finger paint & brushes...she's ready to go!

she got busy right away. grabbing the brush &

started painting on the paper plate.

and another paper plate....

now she's painting with both hands.

she dunked her hand in the paint & loved the mushy texture.

she clapped & the paint was flying all over the place.
it made her giggle.

she was doing it over & over.

messy but a lot of fun for sure. {yep, she got a good scrubbing after this}.

DIY - homemade play dough

now that avery's older, i'm constantly on the lookout for different activities for her to do. i came across this amazing mom blog called the imagination tree. it's very informative & most of the activities are very simple & achievable. it got me excited. first on my list was cooked play dough.

in a cooking pot over low heat, mix together 3 cups of water, 3 cups of flour, 1.5 cups of salt, 2 packets of mixade (kool-aid), 2 tbsp of vinegar & 3 tbsp of vegetable oil. constantly stir the paste & cook until it thickens about 5 minutes or so. remove from heat & let it cool down.

this was my first batch & i only used one color.

i added oatmeal for texture.

i rolled them into balls & laid it out in the table. at first, she hesitated. eventually, she started playing - poking the clay & transferring them in her plastic containers.

she is so engrossed! i think the oatmeal also intrigued her.

she's pretending that its a phone.

after about 30 minutes [yes, she gets bored quick!], i stored all the play dough in covered plastic containers.

next project, edible finger paint!