Chemistry Experiments

 

 

YIPPEE!!! I got a new laptop!!! After weeks of fighting with the old one and then over a week without one at all, I am so relieved! No more fighting The Hubby and Cailey and Colin over the desktop! LOL

I was taking to Cailey and Colin yesterday about what they wanted to do next in science. Colin says, “I want to be a mad scientist! I want to mix stuff together!” Ok, chemistry it is! 😉

This post is all about the hands on of chemistry. The more technical stuff (with printables and all that) will come later. Right now I just want to introduce them to the fun side of it and learn that way. 😉

 

 

We will be using this book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are TONS and TONS of science experiments books out there. Search your library system, you are sure to find more than enough. 😉

 

 

Chemistry Science Fair Project Ideas – Science Buddies

Kitchen Chemistry – PBS Kids

Chemistry for Kids – Ducksters (mostly info)

Chemistry for Kids – Science Kids

Chemistry Activities – ACS.org

More Activities from ACS

Chemistry Activities for Kids – Chemistry.About.com

Real World Examples of Chemicals and Chemical Reactions – Chem4Kids

Kitchen Chemistry – The Scientific Mom

50 Kitchen Science Activities – Science Sparks

Chemistry Resources – Unschool Rules

 

 

Chemistry Kits at Amazon

 

 

HAVE FUN MESSING UP THE KITCHEN! 😉

 

 

Even More Christmas Crafts for Kids

 

 

SHEW!! We have been busy little elves around here! The kids have been making things left and right! I have to keep thinking up new things to keep them busy!

 

 

 

We made cardboard stockings and painted them.

 

 

 

We made coffee filter snowflakes and decorated them with glitter glue.

 

 

We also made aluminum foil Christmas trees and painted them. That was a definite favorite!!

 

Then we made something very special for a friend but you won’t be seeing that until next week. 😉

We also played around with cornstarch and baking soda clay but they wouldn’t leave them alone long enough to dry. We ended up with crumbled messes all over the place. 😦

 

 

 

Christmassy Stuff and More Kids Crafts

We have been VERY busy lately with Christmassy stuff. Our tree went up the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was a day late! LOL

I took Cailey and Colin to the Lowe’s Build and Grow last Saturday. They made the cutest scratch and sniff Christmas trains!!

We missed the 2 kids workshops at Home Depot this month. 😦 One because of a bad tire (and NO place open to replace it) and one because of the ice storm (see yesterday’s post).

We’ve painted ornaments for the tree. Colin decided to go with an all black snowflake. LOL That child definitely has his own opinions about everything! 😉

The Hubby and I sneaked away for a few hours to go to his company’s Christmas party. It was sooo sooo sooo pretty! I was afraid that I was going to get thrown our for harassing the peacocks!

And we have been doing tons more Christmas crafts!!

You can find the template for the Christmas Tree puppet at Scholastic.

 

 

 

We made Rudolph with hand print antlers. Colin’s is on the left and Cailey’s on the right. She said she wanted hers to look like it was facing her.

 

 

We listened to The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies from The Nutcracker and I asked Cailey and Colin to paint what it made them think of while they listened to it.

 

 

Then I let them watch it with me and paint what they thought of it after watching it.

 

 

 

Here we did white crayons with water color paints over it. If you look very closely you might be able to see their snowflakes. I think next time we will try construction paper instead of butcher paper.

 

SHEW!! And that is what we have been up to lately. I’ll surely have more crafts and activities in the days to come! 😀

 

 

Christmas Crafts for Kids

 

 

 

We have been very busy the past 2 weeks with lots of Christmas crafts! SO MUCH FUN!!! We actually had more than I am going to show you but someone THREW THEM AWAY!!!!! ARGH!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

These are ornaments made from toilet paper rolls. Cailey used a little glitter glue to decorate her blue one. Unfortunately it didn’t show up very well in the picture.

 

 

 

Here are their Santa faces. They used a pencil to curl his beard.

 

 

 

They free painted Christmas trees and dabbed on the ornaments with their fingers.

 

 

 

 

Here are their winter scenes, done in white paint on black construction paper.

 

 

 

We’re calling these  mixed media works. 😉 White paint, blue, black, yellow and orange construction paper, cotton balls, and white crayons.

 

 

 

 

Here are their construction paper poinsettias!

 

We are doing more and more Christmas crafts every day and as soon as I have another big grouping I’ll be sharing them with you!

 

 

HAVE FUN CRAFTING!!!!!

 

DIY Cute Storage Box – No Sew!!!

 

 

This is a fast and EASY way to turn a plain cardboard box into a cute storage box!!

There are tons of tutorials about sewing a cover for boxes BUT they require complicated math formulas. BLECK!!! I get enough of those homeschooling the kids! 😉 With this one, you just need to measure and know how to multiply by 2. 😉

 

WHAT I USED – 

1 fabric remnant – toile

1 scrap piece of burlap

1 leftover piece of denim bias tape

smallish cardboard box – 8″ deep, 12″ sides

hot glue gun

 

 

I cut 2 pieces 18 x 26 (2x + 2″) and one piece to cover the bottom (can’t remember the dimensions). You want the bottom piece to be able to go up the sides by 1″.

 

 

 

Start by hot gluing the bottom piece, making sure to glue it up the sides as well.

 

 

 

 

Now for the sides. Draping the fabric over the sides, you want to leave 1″ at the bottom and both sides and slide the top down inside the box.

 

Gently lift the fabric to glue in place making sure of placement.

 

 

 

On the inside, put hot glue in the corners and on the bottom edge. Press the fabric into place and smooth (obviously not shown! LOL).

 

 

 

 

 

Now for the other 2 sides.

Fold the edge of the fabric over 1″ and glue into place on one side.

Now glue 1″ to the bottom of the box.

Drape the fabric over the sides and inside the box and start gluing in place.

When you come to the last side, fold over another 1″ and glue in place.

Then do the inside of the last sides.

 

 

This is what you will have.

 

 

 

I then glued a strip of burlap all around the sides and added the denim bias tape on top of that.

 

 

 

Lastly, I added the burlap bow!

 

EASY PEASY and super fast!

 

If the inside bottom of the box is going to show, cut a piece and glue it inside. 😉

 

 

HAVE FUN CRAFTING!!!!

 

Cute and Easy Can Craft

 

 

I had this old tin can sitting around with all our pens and pencils in it. It was so ugly!! I decided to pretty it up a little bit so it could sit on our table for the upcoming school year.

 

 

 

I had a bit of scrap owl fabric left over from my cousin’s pjs and I thought it would be perfect for this!

I used a fabric marker to mark the measurements. I left an inch at the top and bottom.

Next I took my trusty hot glue gun and glued the fabric around the side. I folded over the fabric at the end and glued it in place.

Then I folded the remaining inch at the top into the can and glued it. After that I folded over the remaining inch at the bottom and hot glued it.

I decided that it needed a little something else and added the ribbon (hot gluing it in place, too).

Now I have a cute pencil can for our table!  Simple, easy and cute! 😉

 

HAVE FUN CRAFTING!!!

 

YUMMY for the TUMMY

Yep, you guessed it! This post will be alllll about food. Maybe I should eat something BEFORE I start posting yummy goodness…..

These will all be recipes that I WANT to try, not ones I have tried. 😉 And they can all be found on my Pinterest boards!

Are you stuck in a cooking rut??? Well, I am…. I get soooooo tired of cooking the same old crap, day in and day out….. SIGH….. It makes me hate cooking! I really love doing the BIG meals like Thanksgiving and Christmas but even they are getting to be too much of the same. I need some NEW things to cook! And thanks to Pinterest yummies are easier to find than ever. 😉

Anyway! On to the YUMMIES!!!

Chicken Tortilla Bake by Homemaking Challenged

It looks SUPER easy and SUPER yummy!! I think my tribe will like it. 😉

Chocolate-Banana Pudding from Recipes.com

OMGosh!!!!!! Just OH MY GOSH!! Why have I never thought of this before???? But I think I would leave out the pecans… BLECK!!!!!

Truffle Pie from the Deen Bros.

And now I am drooling on my keyboard…. That is going to be a definite for Thanksgiving!!!!

I wish I could climb into my computer screen!!!!

Mini Mexican Pizzas from Dashing Dish

Minus the olives, please and thank you… LOL

This looks like another family pleaser. Quick, easy and cute! 😉

Heaven, thy name is Oreo Caramel Brownie Bombs!!!!

Let’s say that again. OREO. CARAMEL. BROWNIE. bombs. OH MY GOSH!!!!

Do not try licking your screen… it just makes a mess and tastes yucky. You will just have to trust me on that…. 😉

Dorito Chicken Casserole from Quick and Easy Recipes

Yep, another HAVE TO TRY recipe. I love finding new recipes for chicken! We eat a lot of it around here but I get sick of the same old casseroles. And you know kids will eat anything with Doritos in it!!! LOL

No, I don’t remember saying ANYTHING about healthy….. LOL 😉

Pumpkin Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Icing from Use Real Butter.

Now THAT would be absolutely PERFECT for Thanksgiving.

That’s OK, you can thank me later…. 😉

This site has 40 Breakfast Casserole Recipes!!!

Awesome for Sunday mornings or holidays!!!! And who says you can’t have breakfast for supper?????

Asparagus Gratin from Apron Appeal

Now, wouldn’t that make a different side dish?? Tired of green beans, carrots and peas?? Try that recipe out!

Classic Baked Ziti by Budget Savvy Diva

Tired of spaghetti and lasagna?? Try out baked ziti!

Taco Pie by BS Recipes

YUMMMMMMY!!!!!! A new way to do an old favorite. If you are tired of cooking tacos but the kids love them, here is a way to do something different but still keep the same taste! More or less… LOL

Pie Fries from Heather’s French Press

This is pure genius!!! Genius I tell you!!!! I can see it coming in handy for families like mine, especially. You have a ton of kids and they all like different pies… Here ya go! LOL

Top 5 Freezer Meals from Joyful Momma’s Kitchen

I have wanted to start doing some of this. I think it would realllllly be a blessing. Some days you just do NOT want to cook. When one of those days happens, just pop one of the pre-made, frozen meals in the oven!!

Slow Cooker Pork Chops by Eat Cake for Dinner

This is what I will be making today. I have made it one before and it was AWESOME!!!!!!

We are trying to use up all the meats we have in our freezer before moving day…. Almost there! LOL

Ok… OK!! So you really want something healthy… SIGH….. Here you go! 52 Quick and Healthy Meals from Greatest

Brownie Cookie Candy Goodness from Couponers United.

I have friends who have tried this and they have raved about how awesome they are. They would have to be, wouldn’t they???? LOL I can’t imagine them NOT being awesome. 😉

Bacon-Cheese Pull Aparts from Food.com

OH MY GOSH… those look soooooooooooooo good!!!! I need to start making my store list!! LOL

OK, so I think that’s enough yummy goodness for one day. I am now starving!!!! LOL

I will be back to sewing today. I finished Snoopy and will be mailing him out this afternoon. Now it’s time to start on Cailey’s Tinkerbell costume! I need to have it finished by Sunday night for the Halloween party at church!  Wish me luck!

The Hocus Pocus Skirt Tutorial

 

Here is it! My Big Idea… LOL I like it… It didn’t turn out EXACTLY how I wanted it to, but I’m satisfied… There is one part that I will probably go back and change, though…. I was trying to go for a multi-layer effect so instead of sewing the lace ON TOP of the underskirt hem, I sewed it to the back… I think I am going to grab my BFF , Sally the Seam Ripper, and go back and do that part over. It would look much nicer that way, I think….

Anyway! Here we go!

What I used–

2 yards of print for the upper skirt

2 yards of solid for the under skirt

1 old lace curtain LOL

2 old lace valances LOL

1″ elastic

 

I got some new curtains for the dining/sewing room/library and I have been storing the old lace ones in the linen closest. LOL

 

Step 1 –

 

OK, let me first explain about my short legs… They are Hobbit short, people… Seriously. Actually, I have Hobbit feet, too, just minus all the yucky foot hair…. LOL  Anyway, I cut the upper skirt at 23″. LOL S

So, cut 2 pieces, each the width of the fabric.

When you cut, make a curve at the bottom, like in the picture below.

 

 

 

Step 2-

 

I cut the underskirt at 27″. Cut 2 pieces, the width of the fabric and with a curve.

 

Step 3 –

 

I cut 6 1/2 ” off both sides of the curtains. You will need to cut the lace the width of the skirt fabric. So, you will also have 2 sections of lace.

 

Step 4-

 

Next, I cut the ruffles off both valances.  I left about 3″ of the plain lace above the ruffles.

 

Step 5-

 

Sew one end of the lace strips together.  Set aside.

 

Step 6-

 

Now, right sides together, sew ONE side of the underskirt together.

I promise that I ironed that fabric.. LOL I ironed and ironed and ironed and that is just as good as it would get. LOL But, really, I think it’s fitting for a Halloween skirt. LOL

 

Step 7-

 

Now, roll up 3/4″ of the bottom of the underskirt and press. The roll up 1″, press and sew your hem.

It would look MUCH better if you have brown thread… LOL I don’t. I probably should have used black instead of white, though…. 😉

Learn from my goof ups! 😉

 

Step 8-

 

Now, fold the 2 0r 3″ that you left above the ruffle over the lace strip, pin and sew together.

 

Step 9-

 

On this part, if I were you, I would pin the ruffle OVER the hem of the underskirt and attach it there, instead of behind…. Again, learn from my many mistakes! LOL 😉

Set this aside.

 

Step 10-

 

Right sides together, pin and sew up ONE side of the overskirt.

 

Step 11-

 

Fold up 3/4″  of the bottom of the overskirt and press. Fold up 1″, press, pin and sew the hem.

This probably would have looked better with the black thread, too… SIGH… Live and learn. Or better yet, SEW and learn! LOL

 

Step 12-

 

Pin the right side of the underskirt to the wrong side of the upperskirt and sew them together with a finishing stitch. (zigzag, overlock)

 

Step 13-

Pin the sides of the overskirt together and sew the side seam. Do the same to the underskirt.

 

 

Step 14-

 

 

Fold over the top 1 1/2″ , press, pin and sew the elastic casing making sure to leave an opening to insert the elastic through. 😉

 

Step 15-

 

Pin a safety pin to both ends of the elastic and insert the elastic into the casing.

 

Step 16-

 

Sew the ends of the elastic together using a zigzag stitch.

Now, sew your casing closed!

 

ALL DONE!!!!! 🙂

 

 

Here’s a close up of the bottom! 🙂

 

 

 

Please, let me know what you think about this tutorial. If you make the skirt PLEASE let me know!!!!! 🙂

 

 

I may be a little quiet the next few days. We are going to be leaving to go to Georgia so The Hubby can check out at least one job, possibly two!!!

 

Fat Quarter Skirt Tutorial

I was perusing the fabric aisle at Walmart the other day when I found PINK PANTHER fat quarters!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!!! They were on sale for $5 a pack!!!! So I grabbed 2… LOL I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them though. UNTIL the Cs had a sleepover. Then I knew! Cailey and her 2 BFFs could have matching skirts!! PERFECT!!! And you get a new tutorial! 😉

 

 

 

 

What I Used-

1/2  a package of fat quarter

 

 

 

Step 1 –

 

Take one piece of each design or 3 pieces. Set the unique piece aside (to use as a waist band). Then cut the fat quarters into thirds.

 

 

Step 2 –

 

Take the fat quarter that you set aside for the waistband and cut it into fourths. Set 2 aside for the waistband.

 

 

Step 3 –

 

Go ahead and stack the pieces in the order you want to sew them in.

 

Step 4 –

 

 

Pin your first 2 pieces together, right sides touching, and sew the seam!

I usually do a finishing stitch first and then do mu straight stitch, but I’m weird like that. 😉

 

 

Step 5 –

 

Continue pinning and sewing until you have used all your pieces! 🙂

 

 

Step 6 –

Apparently, I forgot to take a picture of this step… SIGH… Sorry about that!!!! It’s easy, though. You need to gather the top of the skirt!

On my machine I set both of my stitch settings to the largest number and run 2 lines of straight stitches. Then I pull on the bottom thread on one side and gather, then I pull on the bottom thread from the other side and gather.

 

 

Step 7 –

 

Now, take your 2 waistband pieces and sew one end to one end.

 

Step 8 –

 

Now, turn in 1/4 inch at the top and press. Then a 1/4 inch at the bottom and press.

 

Step 9 –

 

Fold in half and press!

 

 

Step 10 –

 

 

Open up the waistband and pin the skirt inside, leaving at least 5″ on each side for the ties.

 

 

Step 11 –

 

Run a straight stitch from one of the waist band to the other. This will leave the ends as ties and enclose the top of the skirt inside of the waistband.

 

 

Step 12 –

 

Fold over the ends of the ties, press and stitch across.

 

 

Step 13 –

 

Fold over the raw edges of the side of the skirt 1/4 inch and press. Fold over another 1/4 inch, press and pin. This will enclose those raw edges.

 

Step 14 –

 

Pin the sides together and sew the seam but be sure to leave 3 or 4 inches from the top of the waistband down. That will leave room for your child to get the skirt on and off.

 

Step 15 –

 

Fold over the bottom of the skirt 3/4 inch and press. Fold over another 3/4 inch, press and pin.

Sew your hem!

 

 

Press and you are all DONE!!!! YAY!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will be making one skirt with a button closure and one with an elastic waistband, that way the girls will be able to tell which one belongs to them. 😉

 

As always, let me know what you think! Was this easy to follow??? And definitely let me know if you make one!! I would LOVE to see the pictures! 🙂

 

 

 

 

COOL COTTON CAFTAN TUTORIAL

There I was……Sitting quietly and contemplating the dress I was about to make for myself… When, BAM!!!!! Inspiration struck again! LOL This time my eyes landed on the pink Hawaiian print cotton gauze that I picked up out of the remnants bin at Hancock’s for $2.  That’s when it hit me. It would make the cutest caftan for D!!! So I called her downstairs and showed her a sketch of what I had in mind. She seemed to love it! 😉 YAY!!!! I got right to work on it!

I had just over 2 yards of the cotton gauze and used almost all of it. I wanted it to be nice and loose just like a caftan ought to be. 😉

So here is what you will need-

2 yards of cotton gauze

2 packages of coordinating bias tape

That’s it! That’s all you need! 😉

Step 1 –

Remove the cat from the fabric…. It’s started already! LOL

Then measure and while folded, cut to the length you want leaving the selvages for the sides. D liked the thought of the fringy selvages being left on. I agreed. It looks cute that way. 😉

Step 2-

While still folded, cut the neck line. I cut this one in a boat neck style.

Step 3-

Remove the cutesy wootsie kitty from the fabric.

Yes, she is new. LOL I found her today at the dump. Someone had dumped HER!!! GRRRRR!!! She is such a sweet little loving thing! I knew we had to bring her home with us. J1 named her Cloud. She does look a little like a cloud leopard…. LOL

Sorry, ANYWAY! 😉

At this point slip the caftan over the head of the intended wearer and mark up the sides with pins.

Step 4 –

Now, open up your bias tape and pin it around the neckline. Sew it in place. DISCLAIMER 😉 This is not the “right” way to do bias tape but I find it works just as well and takes A LOT less time! 😉

Step 5-

Here I took a pencil and drew a straight line where I had pinned the sides. Then I just sewed a straight line down, creating the side seams.

Step 6 –

Time to hem!! This hemming is going to be a bit different…. LOL I SHOULD have hemmed it up before I put in the side seams…… But I didn’t… Sooooo I had to hem it on the right sides. No big deal but not the way it’s “supposed” to be. 😉

Anyway, press, pin and hem!

Step 7 –

Mark where you would like the openings for the ties to be.

Step 8 –

Then I used my buttonhole feature on the sewing machine to make the openings for the ties.

My buttonholer and I are still getting to know one another so that is NOT the neatest buttonhole you will ever see…… LOL  I’m just happy it worked at all! 😉

After you have your buttonhole, use your seam ripper to open it up.

Step 9 –

I took a package of bias tape and measured it around D at an empire waist height. Then I sewed the bias tape together to create a thing tie. 🙂

Insert it into the openings and you are DONE!!!

I think it would make a nice pool cover-up or even a pretty blouse with some white linen capris. 😉

I hope you like it and give it a try!! 🙂