july 4th: last minute patriotic flair three ways

Need and activity to keep the kiddos busy? Make friendship bracelets! You can go the usual route and use red, white, and blue embroidery floss but I like to use variegated yarn. One, because you only need to purchase one ball of yarn, and two, because yarn is a little bit easier for little hands to hold on to.

This red, white, and blue ball of yarn is made of all cotton fiber. If you do not have one handy or your local shops are not open you can make your own ball using a couple of sharpies, white yarn, and a craft stick, like this.

To create this lumpy bumpy bracelet I knotted three strands of yarn around one strand using the basic friendship knot. Click here for a video demo I made a few years ago.

This bracelet uses the same basic knot. To make it knot one strand of yarn around the other two and switch to use the next color. The way my yarn was dyed I had to use three separate strands to create the blocked red, white, and blue look.

The final bracelet also uses three strands but instead of knotting them up I braided them. A safety pin is a great tool to add tension to the yarn as you knot and/or braid. You can pin it to your pant leg or a pillow.

Have a Happy Fourth, get crafty and stay safe! For more 4th of July fun, click here!

fourth of july: coconut chia pudding parfait

This past school year, the kiddos were really into cooking, prepping, baking, and eating. The last recipe we tried was making chia seed pudding. If you are not familiar with chia seeds as a thickener or over all super food, check out this article. It was ridiculously simple and two of the children gobbled it up before it could set. I still need to post photos from our recipe day but here is a super easy patriotic parfait you and your children can whip up in a flash. Set time is at least two hours but an overnight rest is even better. If you want the texture to be firmer, add more seeds. If you want it to be sweeter, add more honey or other liquid sweetener of your choice (maple syrup is a good substitute).

Here's what you need to make four small parfaits...small meaning an 8oz mason jar. I added a little half n half to give the pudding a richer flavor. You do not need to do this. Some people add coconut water as well, some add different juices or other milks. I went with straight up coconut milk (the refrigerated variety, not canned) and it's just dandy. Chia seeds are on trend right now so the cost is a bit inflated. Trader Joe's sells a nice smaller bag for around $4 (I think it is 8oz). When I made the pudding with the kiddos at school, I picked up a cup of seeds from the bulk bin at Whole Foods. If you have never tried chia seeds I would try to find them in bulk. If the pudding is something you do not cotton to, you can add the seeds to smoothies, oats, cookies, or salads.

Pour your coconut milk into a medium sized bowl (I used a 4 cup measuring cup) and add your half n half. Next dump your chia seeds into the milk and add your honey as well. Use a wooden spoon to mix it up and add your vanilla. I also added a dash of cinnamon...I was feeling whimsical. Mix it all up and pop it into your refrigerator. If you think of it, after an hour or so, pull out the mixture and give it another stir or two. The seeds tend to settle on the bottom.

The next day, once the pudding is set you can assemble your parfaits. Place a handful of blueberries in the bottom of the jar, spoon a quarter cup or so of the pudding on top of the berries, add sliced or chopped strawberries and top with granola. I have to admit, chia pudding is will not win any beauty contests. Admittedly it looks a it alien and goopy. The mister will not touch it. You may want to liken it to the consistency of tapioca but that isn't right. The chia seeds are not as firm as tapioca or boba if anything the texture is a bit like a cold malt-o-meal...sort of. If you find that your mixture is too goopy, add another tablespoon of chia seeds, stir and let set. This recipe is really loose and you can play with the ingredients to get the texture you like.

This tiny jar full of goodness is adorable and ready for the 4th! Tie with a length of variegated cotton yarn or twine and throw a happy shindig!

Really, look how cute that is! It's tasty too! I suppose you could try making this pudding with any type of milk beverage. Oooh, I wonder what it would taste like with horchata? Or what if you got all decadent and omitted the coconut milk and used straight up half n half? The possibilities are immense!

See? Easy peasy. Kiddos can easily measure, pour, dump, and stir it all up. This is not an exact recipe so there is a lot of wiggle room. Now getting the young ones to eat it up may be a different story. Happy July 4th!

diy beaded fireworks

This is a patriotic take on a project I originally posted for Valentine's Day. You can turn this into a fun color sorting project by having your kiddos sort out the red, white, and blue beads from a random bead assortment. I picked up my beads a few years ago from a craft store. You can use assorted beads, pony beads, or perler beads even. If your beads are clear, you will want to stick with white, pearl, or silver pipe cleaners.

Materials:

*pipe cleaners

*assorted beads

*plate or tray for sorting 

Step 1: Sort out the colors you wish to use, for the fireworks we used red, white, and blue beads.

Step 2: Hook one end of a pipe cleaner.

Step 3: Thread on a bead and push it to about two inches from the hooked end.

Step 4: Continue adding beads. The opalescent pipe cleaners are bulkier than the foil so beads with smaller holes will not thread onto them.

Step 5: Thread on a small tight fitting bead when you are about an inch from the end. This will keep the beads from falling off.

Step 6: Twist up the end tail for added protection and hang in a happy place!

 For kicks you might try using one of those GIANT pipe cleaners and larger wooden beads or painted pasta noodles. Ooh...that has given me an idea!

mini fourth of july round-up!

*patriotic french sodas

*napkin medallions

*spin art egg carton fun

*popcorn bag garland

*pom pom wreath

*sharpie tie-dye flags

*cupcake liner garland

4th of july in a jar

 

 

 

Okay, this simple sweet treat was meant to be posted BEFORE the 4th. It's a french soda, with a twist. All you need is a favorite juice, milk beverage, and whipped topping of choice. The magic comes from your candy straw and a smattering of sprinkles on top. We made the blue potion using fizz water and snow-cone syrup. Had I been on it, we would have used pop rocks instead of sprinkles. Yeah, we did.

make faux tie-dyed paper flags

 

Here's another project that was inspired by pinterest. There are quite a few pins (and thus, blog posts and videos even) out there relating to this so I cannot attribute it to a single person. Oh and it was also at the San Mateo Maker Faire so there ya go.

 For this project you will need paper, scissors, permanent markers, rubbing alcohol, masking tape, straws or pencils, and either a small misting bottle, ear swap, or eye dropper.

 

Set up in a mess friendly area. I used a vinyl tablecloth with a large sheet of wax paper on top.  To create eight flags you will need a single sheet of white paper 11"X17". You can also use index cards or smaller sheets of paper but I wanted to use a large sheet to get your kiddos into paper folding and cutting on a line. Have your kiddo fold their paper so that they have eight squares. Hand them a pair of scissors and have them cut long the folded lines.

Gather up your permanent markers and get to creating a happy flag. The more marker lines you add, the more blended and colorful your flag will be.

 

Now it is time to add the rubbing alcohol. It goes without saying that you should not leave your child alone while working on this project. The alcohol is a bit intense in scent but so are the markers. It also looks a lot like water so make sure you use a very small container to hold it and never leave your child unattended. The more alcohol that is dripped and dribbled onto the paper, the more it will spread and fade. If you wish for a brighter result, use a cotton swap to "draw" the alcohol onto the marker lines. A fine mister bottle would work as well for older children. Set aside to dry.

 

Once dry, use tape or glue to attach a straw or pencil to the back to create a handle. Ta-da! Fun flags you can wave at your very own Fourth of July parade! Omit the pencils and straws and you cn turn this into a garland by gluing or taping to a couple yards of ribbon.

spin some fourth of july art

This nifty doohickey was made from egg carton pieces and beads. Add a bell or two and you can call it a wind chime!

Back in 2009 I shared with you my fondness for spin art. This year I discovered this awesome idea from Not So SAHM via pinterest. I thought the idea of using egg cartons in the salad spinner was brilliant and tucked it away in the noggin for a Fourth of July project. The only problem was I no longer had a salad spinner and so I kept my eyes peeled for one at the thrifts and scored this basic model for $3.25! Cutting it quite close to the wire, I managed to actualize what I visualized and now I have a diy for you!

Materials:

*salad spinner

*egg carton cups

*acrylic, tempera, or biocolor paint

*embroidery thread

*fat needle

*assorted beads

*scissors

The first thing you need to do is liberate your cups from a paper egg carton. This is not a kiddo project as the pulp from the egg carton is a bit wonky to cut. Keep this part for the grown-ups. Sharp scissors work best.

Place egg carton pieces into your salad spinner and add paint. Your kiddos can easily do this and will thoroughly love squirting the paint on top of the egg carton pieces.

Place lid on spinner and have your kiddo give it a whirl or two. There are at least three different styles of salad spinners out there. We use all three at the preschool I work at as each of them offer different challenges to children. Keep this in mind when hunting for a salad spinner. Will your child be able to turn, pump, or pull the mechanism? For toddlers we use a pump model. The pre-k children love the pull model and the threes like to crank away.

Set aside the egg cartons to dry.

While the paint is drying, have your child sort out red, white, and blue beads from your assortment.

When paint is dry, thread a needle with a longish length of embroidery thread. Double the thread and knit it. This will keep the needle from slipping off (I did not double my thread and lost my needle twice).

Begin adding beads. You can ask your child to count out and thread a specific number of beads to practice counting or let them create patterns as they thread away. After they have threaded a series of beads it is time to poke the needle through an egg carton piece. Poke the needle up through the inside of the cup so that the cup faces down over the beads. Add more beads, then another egg carton cup, then more beads, repeating until your child has their desired number of cups and beads on their thread.  Tie of thread into a loop and use scissors to cut off any excess.

 

 

Hang in a happy place and watch it blow around in the breeze. Add bells to the bottom before beading to create a wind chime of sorts.

Happy-almost-fourth!

make a paper napkin garland

 

To create a fun, festive garland all you need to do is glue your napkins to a a few yards of ribbon in an ABAB pattern, allow to dry, then hang! To conserve napkin use, cut your napkins in half before gluing. Have fun!

last minute july 4th decor your kiddos can make!

All you need to create a fun garland and these medallions is a couple of packs of holiday festive paper napkins!

materials:

*three paper napkins

*scissors

*glue stick

*yarn

*ribbon

*white glue

I found my napkins at Target on sale. I had been eyeballing them for a while and was pleased to find them discounted. Party stores may also be a good source for holiday themed napkins. Open napkin so that it is a rectangle shape, cut in half. Kiddos can practice their cutting skills while doing this.

Next, accordion fold each rectangle up from the bottom, about four folds. Fold in half to create a fan shape. Draw a line of glue with a gluestick on one end of your folded napkin and adhere to the other.

You will need three napkins per medallion (that's six small fan shapes) so repeat the cut and fold process three times. Use glue stick to glue all edges together to create a circle.

Give your finished medallion a small snip with your scissors (a hole punch will not work) and thread with a length of yarn that can be doubled and knotted for easier hanging.

That's it! You can also use paper for this project easy peasy.

make a popcorn bag garland

This is a fun project I posted at scrumdillydilly. Switch out the sewing machine and add some glue, washi tape, and/or staples and your kiddos can create one just as nifty!

from the archives: july 4th round-up

 

*newspaper pom-poms

*repurposed art mobile

*spin art fireworks

*fireworks bunting

*fireworks painting

 

July 4th: newspaper pom-poms

I am sure there are oodles of tutorials out there for paper pom-poms but I have one for you anyway using the swath of painted newspaper I did up earlier. It's really easy and will give yer kiddos something to do between melty popsicles and fireworks. Here's how I did it.

Grab a sheet of painted up newspaper. One large piece is a good start. Cut or tear it in half and then in half again.

Fold each piece in half width-wise and cut up from open-edges almost to the fold every finger-width or so. The thinner the cuts, the pommier the poms.

 Take two cut pieces for each pom and smoosh them into each other while still folded. Tuck into a painted or paper covered cardboard tube and staple or tape into place. You may wish to use a bit of double stick tape or glue here. A little shaking can shake all sorts of shakey paper loose. Next,  fold tube in half length-wise and staple again to create a handle.  If you wish, decorate the handle with stickers and other bits of fun.

Take yer new poms out and go a little rah-rah crazy. Happy 4th!