back-to-school cones (the post we always remember after the fact)

Seriously. We've been MEANING to write up this post for years now. (Hence the Amazing Growing Kidlets in the photos throughout.)

Let's (finally) SCRUMDILLY-DO some SCHULTUTEN!!!

Also called German School Cones or First Day of School Cones, a Schultute is a candy-toy-and-school-supply-filled cone traditionally presented to first graders in Germany.

I can't remember if it was my dear friend Anne, living in Germany, who told me about them, or if I first saw some lovely oooooold photo on flickr. But I'm always looking to adopt old traditions, and I'm all about encouraging Ander and Zaza to be SOSOSOSO EXCITED about the start of school. And then of course there was the excuse to shop for (me) and/or make (jek) cute/teensy/tasty/cool stocking-stuffer-like goodies a whole three months before Christmas!

(Positive reinforcement or mama-style brainwashing? You be the judge.)

Pressed for time a few years' back, I found and purchased our Schultuten on-line. Maybe next year I'll get around to making some... (Nudge me next August, jekky-poo!)

There are gorgeous -- and intricate -- templates all over the web these days, but why not keep it simple, repurpose something from around the house, and perhaps get the kidlets involved in the cone-making (while you handle the cone-stuffing)?

You can make your cone from any half-circle of cardstock, posterboard, old poster, or cereal box. Oooh! How cute would it be to use an old Pee Chee folder? If you have ever made those wee, sweet, conical May Day baskets we used to leave on neighbors' doorknobs as kids, then you already know what you're doing -- just make 'em BIGGER. No photo tutorial needed, right? Right. You just need to make a big half circle. Easy-peasy. It doesn't have to involve geometric equations or a compass (unless you want it to), and it doesn't need to be perfect (unless you can't help yourself).

Your half circle of stiff paper can be cut to whatever size you prefer, collaged/painted/stickered or covered with fabric, curled into a cone shape, and sealed up along its seam with hot glue, double-stick tape, craft glue, Velcro, staples, or even hole-punched eyelets and ribbon laces.

If you're worried about goodies spilling out, you can attach fabric or tulle along the top (inside the rim) of your cone, which can then be pulled up over bulky items and tied closed with a ribbon.

Let the wild cone-stuffing start!!!

Crayon-shaped chocolates (Cost Plus World Market, I think?), sugar-free breath mints or gum, personalized pencils, Japanese erasers, pocket dolls, barrettes, funky socks, markers, stickers, a mini stapler, a roll of pennies or quarters, a globe-shaped pencil sharpener, mini Composition notebooks, hi-lighters, mini bottles of hand sanitizer, pins and buttons and patches for decorating backpacks, tape, a fun ruler, comic books, flash cards, sticky notes, trading cards, vials of glitter...

...finger puppets, Silly Putty, Pez, balls of yarn, wind-up robots, Playmobil 'guys,' Legos, pom-pom balls, pipecleaners, rubberband balls, fruit leather, worry dolls, marbles, jacks, a harmonica, a magnifying glass, animal crackers, a 'magic' wash cloth, headbands, temporary tattoos, a toy car, paint brushes (tiki heads optional, see below), gift cards... The possibilities are endless, and can be as minimal or as, um, baroque as you see fit.

When Ander first started preschool, I made the mistake of giving him his cone on the morning of his First Day. Disaster! Chocolatey, whiny, hyper, over-stimulated, rush-rush-rushing disaster!

Since then, Ander -- and now Zaza too -- get their cones the day before their first day of school. I usually include something in their cones that they may want to bring or wear to their first day, and I have found that the 'first day eve' celebration ramps up nicely to the actual first day's excitement. You may prefer presenting the cones on the afternoon of the first day, when everyone is home again, and first day stories have been shared with the family.

***UPDATE***

Linky-do to pictures of 2009's Cone-A-Rama!!!: http://anderandzaza.blogspot.com/2009/09/day-before-first-day-back-to-school.html

odds & ends art in the style of louise nevelson

last summer i took a class on women in art. it was more awesome than awesome and i finished up the whole adventure with a deep yearning for more. one of the projects we did was a sculptural project based on the large scale installations of Louise Nevelson we began with a flat square of cardboard, a bottle of tacky glue and an enormous assortment of small wooden pieces. after we framed and layered and glued ourselves silly, we took our projects outside for a coating or two of black spray paint. it's interesting how everything looks nicer when it is all monochromatic.early this summer we were attempting to begin the big purge in my casa and had two kidlets in tow. we set them up in the garden with all sorts of doodads. plastic bottle caps, popsicle sticks, cereal boxes, wooden discs and anything else that was destined for the recycle bin. after all the glue dried, the kidlets picked out their paint colors and we did our own takes on a Louise Nevelson piece.creating an art project based on an artist's style is not meant to emulate their masterpieces but to tie it all in so that your kidlet can connect the two. they may not remember the artist's biography but chances are, once you have them do their own Nevelsons, Warhols or Picassos they will remember a familiarity with that artist's work and they will remember the joy they felt when making their own creations. children are never to young to receive art and creativity as long as we make it a joyful experience.

other Lousie Nevelson projects:
Art Projects for Kids
Art Lessons for Kids
Modern Art Projects for Kids
Art is Messy

**this is a project to do on a day when the kidlets are bored. it is a "use what you have" kind of project. it may use up your recyclable materials and you may be able to repurpose much for this but in no way am i trying to claim this is an environmentally sound project. using spray paint kinda takes away from that idea. you are free to, and encouraged even, to use other types of paint though those may not cover all your areas as nifty. however, by doing so, you will add another step for your kidlets to complete and a mess happy art experience for them as well. happy arting!

winners of the strawberry basket giveaway!

i had wanted to post a pretty picture and clever entry but the day ran away from me so here ya go...from the random number gnerator, the winners are comments number 2 and 14...that means Vone and Ginny win! email me your addresses and i'll send along some crafting goodies and yes, strawberry baskets! (if i don't hear from ya, i will hunt ya down!)

**and i know, i know that 160 baskets seems like a lot of baskets but if you go into the purchase with a few friends, you will find that 40 baskets or so disappear quite quickly! sheesh! thank you everyone for playing along. i enjoyed your comments and they made me laugh outloud! happy almost September!

10 things to do with a strawberry basket & a giveaway

1. store trinkets in it
2. turn it into a bubble wand
3. dip into paint and print with it
4. stencil with it
5. use it for weaving
6. turn it into a mobile
7. turn it into a mouse/fairy/bug house
8. turn it into a basket with handle
9. cut it up and make a pin
10. use your imagination and make something grand!

you can find plastic berry baskets here and if you leave a comment, i will add your name to a basket/craft kit giveaway. what say you? the winner will be drawn on monday!

10 things to do with egg cartons

working as a nanny i found that the most usable and open ended items for the kidets to play with were the things we had at home. paper towel tubes, boxes, thread spools, buttons and egg cartons! i remember playing with these very items for hours on end so of course i should make sure to keep these thoughts in the front of my mind. there are plenty of other lists out there but these are the things i did as a kidlet and are among my favorites:

1.use the top for a shadow box or diorama
2.sort, sort, sort into em
3.fill with potting soil and start some seedlings
4.fill with dirt, add some pill bugs and make a bug city
5.separate the cups, decorate, fill with beans, join 2 together and you have a shaker
6.store your collections in them
7.paint, cut apart, punch holes, add string and bird seed, hang
8.make your own mancala or owari game
9.separate the cups, paint and turn em into critters
10.cut em up, paint em and glue to make robots

for something pretty, turn em into twinkle light covers. for something useful, feed 'em to your worms and for something fun, check out my birdie potpourri post over at craftzine!

10 things to do with paper plates

1. paint on 'em!
2. cut out the center, punch holes in the edges and weave a dream catcher
3. paint, fold in half and make a bunting
4. cut them into cloud shapes and cover them with glue and cotton balls
5. fold in half, seal 'em partway, fill with beans, reseal, paint and shake 'em up!
6. cut out the center of 3 or more plates. glue em all together, paint and dry, then fling it around like a frisbee
7. collage em all up and turn into a hat
8. punch holes around the edges, attach string or yarn and other goodies and make a mobile.
9.. add a couple blobs of paint, drop a marble or two on top and move the plate around to paint with the marbles.
10. cut 'em in half, collage with a nose and mouth, add a craft stick handle and you have a funny mask.

last minute fireworks painting

Here's a fun and slightly messy fireworks painting project for your kidlets. This one is definitely for the outdoors. Beware of fits and giggles!

You will need:
*2 or more small bouncy balls.
*at least 1 pair of old tights or hose
*splat mat
*scissors
*white paper
*red and blue paint (or any other two colors you prefer)
*containers for the paint
*water to thin paint
*mess friendly clothes and work area

scrumdilly-do it!
Set up your work area by filling your containers with paint and water. I used a little too much water for mine so the colors are quite muted. Liquid watercolor or tempera is fine for this. You could even use food color and water if you wanted to.Have your kidlet cut the legs off the tights near the top where the legs meet.Pop a ball, I used large super balls, into each leg and shake it down to the toe. Add a knot just above the ball to ensure it stays in place.Toss your new paintbrushes into your pain mixture and let them soak up a bit of paint.When your tot is ready, pull out a "brush" and WHACK it onto the paper. It will make satisfying THWACK and splatter as it hits. Make sure your kidlet knows to only bounce their new brush onto the paper and NOT at their sibling or friend. Have your kidlet try different techniques. Try dropping the ball directly onto the paper or dragging it across for lines. Whatever you do, the more colors your tots use, the more fireworks-y their pictures will appear.Have fun and don't say I didn't warn ya!

independence day bunting

Here's an easy way to turn your spin art into a festive holiday bunting!

You will need:
*6 or more spin art circles
*ribbon, at least 2 yards
*scissors
*glue stick

scrumdilly-do it!

Gather your supplies in one place. Fold all of your spin art circles in half.Knot one end of your ribbon about eight inches from one end. This will help keep your first circle in place.Cover a small stretch of ribbon with your glue stick. slide your folded circle onto the ribbon so that the ribbon butts up against the crease.**Slather some more gluestick on one side of the inside of your. circle and fold back into place and smooth.Add your next circle in the same manner and so on. You can accordion fold your bunting as you go. I worked from the spool and cut eight inches or so out from the final circle knotting the ribbon directly next to the last one.Hang in festive place, sit down and enjoy some lemonade.**You can of course always hand the folded circles to your kidlets along with some tape and or a stapler and see what they come up with. kids are crafty like that. Happy Fourth!

salad spin art in action

spinning fireworks

Always entranced with the magic of spin art, it wasn't until I was a summer camp counselor that I got to actually make some. Back then we used an old record player and it was a blast! I do have a working record player but it's reserved for playing records so I kept the idea of spin art stuck in the back of my head keeping an eye out for a player or a salad spinner at the thrift. A few weeks ago I scored my very own salad spinner for $2 and now we're going to make some fireworks!

You will need:
*a working salad spinner
*white paper, paper plates or coffee filters
*liquid water color or watered down tempera or food color
*splat mat (this gets messy)
*pencil
*scissors

scrumdilly-do it:

Make sure your kidlet is in mess friendly clothing. The mess potential on this project is quite high. Most salad spinners have holes or slits along the bottom so it is imperative you acknowledge this and set up in an appropriate place. whatever you do, don't wear white!Take the basket inside your spinner out and trace the bottom/smallest circumference onto your paper. You can also use coffee filters or small paper plates, just find something that fits inside your spinner and you're good to go.Cut out the circle and get ready to spin! I cut out about ten circles. You want to have plenty handy as your kidlet may become entranced with the spinning part of the project.Pop your paper source into the basket and pop the basket back into the spinner.Add a couple of drops of paint (use your favorites, I used red, white & blue for the upcoming holiday), one color per spin, and put the lid back on and spin away. You can get into a nifty science discussion on velocity, speed, centrifugal force, etc. during this part. Spin too hard and too fast, the paper may flip and stick to one side. Spin too slow and your paint may just remain parked where you dropped it. As you are spinning, you can also add paint into the spout on top of the spinner. Depending on your method of application your paint may drip around the edges only or it may splatter to the center. More opportunities for science discussions, it's all good. Just remember if to add one color to start, If you spend too much time adding colors before you spin, the first drops will be absorbed and won't spin or arc out.
When yer done, remove the lid and then the paper and set aside to dry. You can turn these fireworks into all sorts of other project. Hang them from ribbon or string for some festive BBQ decor or fold them into fans to flap away the heat. most of all, have fun!

marshmallow puffs a la dilly-do!

When I was seventeen years old, my sister taught me how to make those famous marshmallow puffs that most Girl Scouts learn to make. Years later, I wanted to make them again and picked myself up the ingredients. Who knew my young memory was so faulty. I ended up getting the order of the dipping and rolling all mixed up and instead of marshmallow puffs, I ended up with something quite different and even tastier than the original. At least, I think so. So, grab your tots, wash everyone's hands and roll those sleeves up for some sticky-sweet, fun cooking that really, you should only have once in a lifetime because I am quite certain none of this is good for you and you just may push your kidlet into sugar addiction territory. I'm just saying.

What you need:
*large marshmallows, at least 10
*2 tablespoons melted butter
*3 tablespoons granulated sugar
*2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional)
*1 container of pre-cut biscuits
*sprinkles, jimmies, etc.
*muffin pan, greased

scrumdilly-do it!

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Wipe a small bit of butter onto a piece of wax paper and have your wee one grease up the muffin pan. My mom always had me use the wax paper wrapper from the butter itself to do this. Set up your ingredients in an easy to reach formation and sit your tots down. This could get messy.Hand your kidlet a biscuit round from the container. If you are using a super sort of biscuits with layers, you can pull apart one biscuit to make two. The biscuits I used contained 10 so I pulled apart two of them to round 'em out to 12 to fit my muffin pan. Once they have their round of dough in hand, have them squash it flat. Squashing sound effects are optional.Next up, flip that flattened round into the melted butter. I kept my butter on a semi-deep plate so that I could butter up each side of the biscuit without drenching it.Once the round is all gooey with butter, toss it into the sugar mixture and smoosh it into the muffin pan. Instead of sugar, you can also use any happy cake decorating bit of sweetness. I had some sprinkles on hand so once my cinnamon was used up, I tossed the remainder of rounds into the sprinkles.Grab a large marshmallow and center it on your smooshed dough pushing it down just a bit. Repeat until you pan is full. Add more sprinkles if you feel your pan is lacking and pop it into the preheated oven. Bake for 10 minutes and remove.
The marshmallows will have puffed up a bit along with the biscuits. Some may have even slid around and moved in with their neighbor. Use a wide spoon to guide the marshmallow back to it's own home and scoop the whole thing out onto a happy serving plate. You may want to keep them all to yourself once you try them but make sure your kidlet gets at least one on his or her very own plate. Allow to cool for about five minutes before diving in. And remember, I warned ya!

**these are best eaten fresh from the oven. if you find yourself with leftover, keep then in an airtight container and reheat in the microwave (on a plate) for smidge when yer ready, otherwise the marshmallow may pull out teeth!

more fun with cornstarch clay

If you are a regular reader, you will have maybe, just maybe hopped on over to Craftzine to see my recipe for cornstarch clay and maybe, just maybe, you have checked out my most recent for the do post on clay rubbings. Here's a nifty take on continuing the fun, you know, just in case those boredom blues are still going on.

You will need:
*batch of cornstarch clay or other clay suitable for baking
*fun objects from around the house (beware of possible choking hazards)
*watercolor, food color or other thinned paint
*scratch paper or soft white paper. printer paper is fine
*cookie cutters
*cookie sheet
*string, yarn, or other length of lacing

scrumdilly-do it:

This is what you do after you have already finished with the clay and crayon rubbings. Remove the objects from the clay.Mix up a batch of liquid watercolor or add some water to food color and have your wee one paint up their imprinted clay.Place a sheet of paper over the painted clay to lift a print. Wipe down with a damp sponge for another color combo, etc.Once your tot is finished with the painting and printing, pass out the cookie cutters and have him or her cut out some shapes. Preheat your oven to 250F. Use a straw or pipecleaner to make holes near the tops of each shape. Place on a cookie sheet and bake until hard (at least thirty minutes). The paint will have set and the holes will have shrunk up a little but they should still be large enough to string.Make pendants, keychains, bead chains, etc. Make small clay shapes and adhere to plain cuff-links or tie clip for Father's Day gifts. Most of all, have fun and be safe. Children under three should be supervised and only an adult should take care of the baking.