Tuesday, November 30, 2010

make a clothespin menorah

More as a learning and play kind of menorah...no hot fire involved!

Materials:
*nine wooden clothespins
*tempera or acrylic paint
*paintbrushes & water
*splash happy work area
*small cardboard box with the top flaps cut off
*yellow and/orange felt
*scissors
*needle & thread, glue or a sewing machine
*small ruler or tape measure
*paper & pencil optional

scrumdilly-do it:
Set out your supplies making sure to cover your area for easier clean-up.
Have your kidlets paint up each clothespin in the manner that they choose. Go with all one color across the board or have your tots mix up their own colors. You can start with one color and add a little white each go to further tint up the color or add a little black to shade em out. It's all up to you and your young ones.
Snuggle the paint happy clothespins over the edges of the box to dry.
Gather up your felt and measure across the top of an unpainted clothespin to see how wide you need to set your "flames". If you wish, eyeball and do it yourself or turn this into a lesson in measuring and ask your kidlet(s) to give it a try. Practice drawing out some flame shapes on paper that match the measurements you took. When in doubt, a simple triangle will work.
Cut out your flame shapes and then glue and/or stitch them up. You should have nine.
Create the menorah by gluing tissue paper to the outside surfaces of the box you used to dry your clothespins on. Arrange your clothespin candles on top of the boxes' edges and pop a flame on the center one if you choose and proceed to "light" one up each night of Hanukkah. If you find your clothespins slipping down and going all crooked, layer up a couple of pieces of tape to the inside of the box. It shouldn't take much to anchor your candles in place. When you are finished with the menorah play, your kiddos can use the box to store their candles.

**I have a very bad habit of coming up with ideas in the middle of the night which causes much rushing around to write them down. If I were a better planner I would have one notebook with all my notes but I have many and this has been a project floating about for a few years now. Back when I thought of it, I took a cruise round the web to make sure I hadn't appropriated it from anyone else and proceeded. Then, since I took so long to actually make the darn thing I stumbled across this version (also done a few years ago) earlier today. So there you have it. Serendipity and a couple of different takes on making a clothespin menorah.

Friday, November 26, 2010

new memory games in the shop

need a nifty gift for a wee one or two? why not pick up a memory game from my etsy shop scrumdillydilly. you can of course, make yer own but if yer in a hurry, i think this wee moo set is pretty awesome!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

this one is for you to make for yer kidlets


turn your yo-yos into and advent calendar! your sew-savvy wee ones can definitely try their hand at this as well. for instructions, follow me over to craftzine.com and have a looksie! there are even three ways to display your advent...something for everyone!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Schooling for Sustainability

Smart by Nature: Schooling for SustainabilitySmart by Nature: Schooling for Sustainability by Michael K Stone

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Here is the most inspirational book I have read all year. Whether you or a teacher, parent, or person who is simply concerned for the world around you this is a must read. You will learn from it and your children will learn from it. My head is spinning with all the new books and schools I need to research. Where do I start? I will start small and that will be okay.



View all my reviews

Thursday, November 11, 2010

e-thanks for our vets, the 2010 version


  • This year's Veteran's Day card-making session with Ander and Zaza over here.
  • A super-cool-super-fast project in need of some scrumdilly-doing here.
  • scrumdilly-do Veteran's Day 2008 post here.
scrumdilly-doodle-dandy:
Spread out the markers and pencils and pastels, tell those family stories, photograph or scan the artwork, and send your children's messages of love and gratitude zinging around the ether with a note saying "pass it on..."


Friday, November 5, 2010

Roll-up Pumpkin Rolls

Earlier this year, we busted out this delicious cream cheese roll recipe and it was so tasty we made it again and again. Now that it is fall here in the states, I thought adding a touch of fall flavor would delight us even more and I was right! This is quite tasty and you can make up your own batch of homemade pumpkin butter using yer own pumpkin or a handy dandy can of puree, it's up to you. To make your own pumpkin butter, hop on over to scrumdillydilly for the recipe.

Ingredents:

*1 can of crescent rounds
*pumpkin butter
*chocolate chips
*cookie sheet
*parchment paper

You can use any store bought or homemade dough, the rounds are used for convenience and they look really purty when baked. Here are the steps in pictures...enjoy!