Turkey Cookies

Found a Pinterest idea that was too cute to pass up. So Thanksgiving morning my daughter and niece assembled these little guys. 

 

Supplies: 

Double stuff Oreo cookies

Mini peanut butter cups

Candy corn

Chocolate frosting 

Candy eyes 

Slide five candy corn carefully into the top of the cookie. (This is why it's important to use double stuff. If you use regular Oreos the cookie will pop apart.)

Next place a little bit of frosting on the peanut butter cup and adhear it to the Oreo. 

Finally, snap the top off an candy corn to create the nose and use frosting to glue the eyes and beak on. 

We ended up skipping the second Oreo and just letting then lay down on the plate.

Happy Turkey Day!

Frozen Sticker Playset

My daughter can't wait to see Frozen…. That will come soon enough. In the mean time, we were out picking up a few last minute things for the holiday meal when she spotted some stickers. I normally don't buy random items she wants, but for only a $1 I thought, why not? It was worth seeing the joy on her face. 

Being the creative me, just sticking them on plain paper wasn't an option. Thank goodness for the internet and a printer!

I did a quick search for "Frozen" on google and found images of the the Arendelle Castle and Elsa's Ice Castle and saved them on the computer.

Then I opened up a Word document and a few quick crops and a flip and I'm read to print on some sturdy card stock.

Here is one of her completed scenes- 

New Reading App

I'm a big fan of the Endless Alphabet App. See the write up I did about it here.

Now they have a new app!!

Endless reader is just as cute and creative as their first app. A must have for young kids. It is fun and educational.

Great animations....

Teaches through fun interactive processes…..

This app has a starter set of words and the rest of the words are available through an in app purchase ($1.99). In my opinion it is with every penny!

Thankful For The Teacher

I wanted to give my daughter preschool teachers something little and cute for thanksgiving to show them how thankful we are for all that they do. 

Start with cellophane wrapping, individual cups of carmel dip, a large apple, ribbon, and some paper. 

Cut some of the clear wrap and place the carmel cup and the apple on top. 

Pull up the wrapping all nice and pretty and tie it with a decorative ribbon.

Ahead of time I cut some coordinating pieces of card stock and then traced the letters out lightly in pencil so that my daughter could write the message for her teacher.

Punch a hole in the "card"

Tie the card to the package. 

I for one think this is such a cute take on the 'apple for a teacher' idea!

Do you have any fun teacher gifts you have made?

Homemade Watercolor Paint

Homemade watercolor paints!

Finding this was amazing because my daughter LOVES to paint. I prefer watercolors because they clean up so much easier than other paints. 

So here is my adventure….

Mix 4 Tbsp Baking Soda and 2 Tbsp Vinegar in a bowl (this is a fun for the kiddos to see the reaction)

Add 1 tsp of corn syrup and 4 Tbsp of corn starch.

I found this sweet little 8 compartment container at Michaels for only $1.99.

Pour the mixture into each compartment. You can also use a mini muffin tin, little plastic containers, or anything else you thing will work.

Add a few drops of food coloring into each compartment to make the desired color. I would recommend NO MORE than 3 drops. 

(If you put too much in or you feel that the mixture is too 'liquidy" you will have to add more cornstarch to make up for the extra liquid. I learned the hard way.)

Use a tooth pick to mix the cornstarch mixture and food coloring together.

After lots of drips and mixing and a bit of a mess you end up with this. 

Now comes the hard part. You have to wait 48 hours……WAIT….. WAIT….. WAIT……

I am not patient and my daughter was dying to use the paints. At one point I was not sure it would work. But low and behold, IT WORKED!!!!!

Now you can make beautiful watercolor painting for only pennies!

30 minute meal

I just got home.

It's 5pm.

"What's for dinner?" The family says.....

Ahhhh. I didn't plan ahead. 

Quickly I raid the pantry, fridge, and freezer. 

Here is what I grab….

Frozen chicken breast, rice, and Birds Eye Recipe Ready Fajita Starter.

I can make this work. For fun I are the timer for 30 minutes and see if I can pull a Rachel Ray...

Step 1

Thaw chicken quickly in the microwave. 

(Yes, I know this is not the best way to do it. I always get a semi cooked end and a frozen center but let's be a real, I didn't plan ahead,  I have a hungry family waiting, and I'll do what ever I need to do.)

Step 2.  

Two cups water and one cup of rice set to simmer for 15 minutes.

Step 3. 

Pull the (semi) thawed chicken out and chop it up into cubes.

Step 4. 

Throw some olive oil in the pan and brown the chicken. 

At this point I threw in some salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, garlic… and maybe some other random stuff to make it taste good. I prefer the wing it, add it if it sounds good, and taste as you go method. 

Step 5.

Add the frozen pepper and onion mix.

Looking at the cost of green and red peppers lately I'd say for a $1.98 this is a great bargin and not to mention super convent to have on hand.

Stir and admire the pretty colors….

…. and think of all the veggies and great nutrients that your family will be eating. 

Step 6.

 Rice should be done buy now. Toss in with the chicken mixture and stir.

Step 7.

Top it off with some shredded cheese because we know that everything tastes better with cheese!

YUMMY. 

Take that Rachel Ray. I did it myself with 15 SECONDS to spare!!!!!

A nice low fat balanced meal with protein, starches, and veggies. Serve with a bowl of pear sauce. 

(for a refresher on how to make pear sauce click here.)

Do you have a 30 minute meal? 

I'd love to feature some guests with recipes and pictures. 

Let me know if you are interested. 

Great Website For Printable Crafts

I love to craft but sometimes I need a little help. This is one of my favorite places to go.

Today I'm a little under the weather so I printed out a My Little Pony painting activity for my daughter. 

I poured a little but of Crayola washable paint into some Dixie cups, (contains the mess much better than dipping straight into the container, not to mention prevents mixing colors in the jar).

I cut the eye and decals off so she didn't paint over those and then let her have at it.
Now I have a little girl who is happy as can be!

The hardest part is making her wait till the paint is dry to cut it out. 😄

learncreatelove.com has many crafts. Not only girly crafts, they have lot so of "boy" themed crafts, as well as a good number of educational crafts too. I highly encourage you to check it out!

Easy craft Inspiration

Somehow I ended up on a certain 'trading' magazines mailing list. I don't purchase things from them (because I don't need a dozen or more of each item) but I do love all the great ideas I get from browsing through it!

The latest magazine has provided a surplus of inspiration….

GINGERBREAD MAN:

Cut a gingerbread man shape out of brown construction paper.
Let your child use stickers or puff paint to add decorations
Use a marker to make the face.

MITTENS:

Cut mitten shapes out of random colors of construction paper.
Use buttons, stickers, ribbon, and scrap paper to decorate them. 

TREES, SNOWMAN, REINDEER:

Trees: cut tree shape out of green constsucion paper and let your child decorate them with paint or markers.

Snowman: lay 6 sticks side by side horizontally. Glue them together with a vertical stick across the middle. let your child paint the bottom half wihite and the top half black. Once dry you can glue on goggly eyes orange scrap paper for a nose and draw on a mouth.

Reindeer: cut a rounded triangle our of brown paper, trace and cut out your childs hands for the antlers. Add goggly eyes, use red sparkle glue or red sparkle paper to make a nose. Add more decorations if desired.

BENDY SNOWMAN:

Use a white paper plate for the body. Cut a smaller white circle for the head. Add a hat made from black construction paper. Cut a piece of white construction paper length wise into 2" strips. Take 4 of those pieces and fold them accordion style. Cut boots and mittens out of scrap paper. Glue onto bottom of arms and legs. Add a face with scrap paper pieces or draw on. 

CANDY CANE MICE, GINGERBREAD PEOPLE, SNOWMEN IN STOCKINGS:

Mice: cut an oval out of card stock. about 1/3 way down add 2 slits wide enough to feed a candy can through. Add eyes, nose and ears.
Gingerbread people: See top craft
Snowmen in Stockings: Cut a basic stocking shape out of construction paper, cut a white circle slightly bigger than the width of the top of the stocking. Glue it to the top of the stocking. Add arms with scraps of brown paper. Add facial features to the snowmen and use paint or stickers to decorate the stockings.

REINDEER IN A WREATH:

Cut a large circle out of green construction paper. Cut a rounded triangle about 2/3rds of that  size to create the head of the reindeer. Use remaining brown paper to cut 2 small oval ears and 2 small rounded triangles for the legs. Use black marker to draw on antlers and add the bottom of the hooves. Use red paper, sticker, glitter, or a large craft gem for a nose. Decorate wreath with red paper or paint to create berries if you wish.

I will be making several of these with my daughter soon and will be providing more detailed instructions and temples.


HAPPY HOLIDAY CRAFTING!