Sunday, February 20, 2011

Thinking of Green

I've been thinking of green a lot lately. Not being green (well, that too) but green food. St. Patrick's Day is coming up and if yer anything like we are, you like to take advantage of any day that can be a celebration. So for now, my head is swimming with rainbow crafts and green recipes. What do you think? Do you have any favorite green recipes you make? Fun desserts, savory sandwiches, veggie dips? I have a lot of ideas in my head for flavors that may appear more sophisticated but they're not. I know oodles of kidlets that like to chow down on pesto and greens and such so I may pop a few of them up here on the 'do but if you have anything you'd like to share, send us an email at scrumdillydo, gmail and we'll pop it up here for all our scrumdilly-doers to try. Or, you can post a pic in the flickr group (please do, it's a little lonely in there). Yay for green!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

valentine's day (or any day) ::::::::::::::: moustache love

"Why, hellllooooo there.  You arrrrre loooking verrrrry bee-oo-tiful.  
Would you be my Valentine?"


Here's a silly, speedy (and sugar-free!) Valentine's (anytime!!!) project that is certain to stand out in a classroom mailbox full of Transformer and Jonas Brothers Valentines!!!


These hilarious handlebars would also make excellent quickie-costumes, father's day gifts, and/or party favors, and can be made in whatever color scheme your kidlets prefer.


You will need:
*2 or 3 sheets  (8.5" x 11") of stiffened felt in Valentine's colors (ours was glittery!) -- by why limit yourself?  'traditional' hair colors or rainbow-brites would be just as suave!
*Coffee stir-sticks (we 'borrowed' ours from our local branch of a coffee mega-chain.  ahem.), popsicle/craft sticks.  We considered using dowels, but worried that they might be too poke-in-the-eye-prone...
*Hot glue or craft glue (if you have some extra time for drying or are working with somebody under 8)
*Smallish, sharp, pointy scissors
*Heavy scrap paper (card-stock or a magazine cover works well)
*Marker, pencil


scrumdilly-do it!



Draw one or more styles of moustache on your scrap paper using marker or pencil, and cut them out, cutting OUTSIDE the lines.  Need some inspiration?  Go here.


Ander's 'staches were between 4 and 5 inches wide, but they can be whatever size you prefer.  



Turn your felt sheet FACE DOWN (glittery side or felt-ier side down) on a protected work surface, and trace around your paper templates with a permanent marker (Sharpies or similar seem to work the best).


Cut out your felt 'staches, this time cutting INSIDE the line, so no marker is left on your 'stache.


Let your glue gun heat up while you're busy trimming moustaches.  Have a shallow bowl of cold (not iced) water nearby in case of any drip-burned fingers.


With your moustaches laying FACE DOWN on a forgiving work-surface, draw a vertical line of hot glue (or craft glue) on the right side of the 'staches.  If you are making a moustache for a lovely lefty, your glue stripe will go on the left.  


Immediately press a coffee stir stick into the glue at a right angle to your moustache.  Try not to let any stick show above the top of the 'staches.  The glue will be flexible for a bit, and you can adjust things -- just make sure not to burn yourself!


Wait a few minutes for the glue to cool, pick off any glue 'webs,' and model your creation!  Be sure to affect a reedeec-u-luss accent of some sort and waggle those brows!


You may also want to write a sweet Valentine's greeting right on the flat surface of the stir-sticks, or pop your 'stache-sticks into small craft paper lunch sacks (left flat), folding and stapling them shut with a note on the outside like this:


Group photos are strongly encouraged.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Valentine's Day: Doily Butterflies

Here's my take on the ever happy and popular coffee-filter butterfly, use large paper doilies instead!

You Will Need
*paint or markers
*paintbrushes
*wooden clothespins
*large round paper doilies
*pipe cleaners
*scissors
*toilet paper tube
*glue gun (optional)

scrumdilly-do it!
Set out yer supplies in a mess friendly work area.
Have our kidlets paint or decorate their clothespins as they will. Set atop your paper tube to dry.
Grab a doily and fold in half. This is just to mark the center of the doily so the butterfly has "even" wings.
Lace doily through the gap in the clothespin and gently bunch up the remaining bit of doily to create the wings. It may be easier to turn the clothespin upside down and then jam the paper in.
Cut your pipe cleaner into 2" pieces and fold in half. Use a glue gun or other sticky-tacky glue to affix pipe cleaner antennae to top of clothespin. You may instead, wrap one whole pipe cleaner around the neck of the butterfly before angling it to form the antennae.
Affix a valentine note or write a message directly onto the clothespin and use as valentines. You could also create a mobile or holiday wreath it's all up to you, Happy Valentine's Day!

Friday, February 11, 2011

Valentine's Day: Token of Affection w/ Fingerprint Heart Stamps

A little chocolate goes a long way with these sweet handmade valentines. The best part is that they are silly easy and quick to make and so very, very sweet!

You Will Need
*index card or large tags
*small vellum envelopes
*gluestick
*chocolate or bubblegum coins
*markers/pens
*scrap paper
*ink pad
*stamp shaped paper punch (optional)

scrumdilly-do it!

Use your scrap paper and paper punch to punch out blank stamp shapes. If you do not have a punch, cut out one inch square squares.
Have your kiddos press their left pinkie onto the ink pad and then press their pinky-print at a slight angle pointing to the right onto a blank stamp/square.
Repeat process but use right pinky and press onto blank stamp/square pointing to the left to create a heart shape. You can use one or two colors of ink, it's your choice. If you do not have an ink pad available you can use watered down paint or even a marker colored directly onto your kiddos pinky. Make sure to use a washable marker if you do that (wink wink).
Adhere one stamp per envelope using the gluestick. You of course do not have to use a vellum or glasine envie, you can use any small envelope or make your own by creating a template.
Gather index cards or large manila tags and cut down so that they will fit the envelopes. Write your valentine message across the top, in this case:
A TOKEN OF MY AFFECTION
works perfectly and have your kiddo sign their name at the bottom. If you are computer savvy (unlike me) you can print out the message on cardstock and cut out your cards by hand. This would work for a very young kiddo who has only mastered his or her name. A label would work too if you know how to avery it up (again, unlike me).
Next, have your kiddo smother one side of a candy coin with a gluestick and affix the"token" to the center of the card. Use a pen, marker or crayon to circle around the token to add a bit of color to the valentine.
Insert candy laden card into envelope, add a name to the outside and get ready to deliver a little bit o' sweetness to friends and family! Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day: Heart Shaped "buckets"

This nifty heart-shaped carry-all was made from one painted manila folder. A ten pack can often be found at your local dollar store and makes for a very happy and budget friendly project for a group or family. You can also repurpose some of your kiddos already made art if you wish. What happier way to transport your homemade valentines?

You will need
*one manila folder per kiddo
*paint, markers, etc,
*pipe cleaners
*white glue
*scissors
*ruler
*pen/pencil
*sheet of scrap paper
*hole punch

scrumdilly-do it!
Set up your mess friendly work area and have your kiddo paint one side of their folder however they please. Set aside to dry.


When dry, flip over and paint the other side. One fun way to do this is to dribble paint on top of folder, place a sheet of wax paper over paint and smoosh, smoosh, smoosh away. Allow to dry.
While paint is drying, grab your scrap sheet of paper and assess how big you want the container to be. The heart here is about 8" across and 6" tall. Fold sheet in half and draw your half a heart. With scissors, have your kiddo cut along the line you drew to create their heart.
Once the paint is dry, refold folder in half with paint facing in and set back on work surface.
On one side of your folder, measure up from the bottom, 5" and in from one edge 3". Use your ruler to draw your lines at your measured points. Make sure the bottom fold of your folder is utilized.
Cut out rectangle with scissors. Including the fold, you will now have a long strip of painted paper. Please make sure to let your kiddo do the measuring and cutting if they are capable and wish to do so. Rulers are kinda fun to play with and allow for a nifty talk on measurements, etc. If only I understood the metric system. Gotta learn that, I really do.
Next, measure in from each length 1/2" and fold edges in along your marks.
Make a number of small incisions from edge to crease about every quarter inch or so. Begin by snipping along the center fold and work your way out. Set aside.
Place your heart pattern atop the remaining bits of the painted folder and trace. Once you have your heart traced, carefully use scissors to cut it out. You should now have two cut hearts all paint splattered and happy.
Grab the glue and squeeze one dot onto each flap on one side of the long strip you cut out. Don't use too much glue otherwise it will get sloppy and your paper will take too long to stick. Challenge your kiddo to making tiny dabs of glue.
With one heart shape paint side down on your work surface, carefully line up the edges of your glue happy strip along the edges of the heart. Use the center fold of the strip at the bottom point of the heart to line everything up and keep your sides even. This is where things get sticky but take your time and slide and position the cut strip to the contours of the heart. Hold in place for just a moment or two then set aside to dry.
Repeat with other side once the first side is dry. Making the cuts in the rectangle allows the whole shebang to curve where you need it to. Set aside to dry.
Now that your heart container is dry, punch through each side at the top once on the left and once on the right.
Thread a pipe cleaner front to back just a smidge and twist to anchor. Loop the other end through the other hole on the same side and repeat with your second pipe cleaner on your other side. Be careful, pipe cleaners can be pokey! Use ribbon or yarn instead if you wish, anchor each end to a bead to keep from slipping out of the holes. Decorate the outside more with stickers and extra bits o love.
Fill up your happy heart-shaped bucket with handmade valentines, snacks and sweets. Happy delivering!

*you will probably have some left over painted folder on your hands, why not cut out as many hearts as you can and stitch them together for a happy valentine garland? I turned my extra scraps into clouds.