Category Archives: Tutorials

Homemade Play-Dough

Posted on June 11, 2011 | 2 Comments

Every morning Maddox and I do something I like to call “Table Time!” When Lily goes down for her first nap, we head to our used-and-abused kitchen table and bust out ANYTHING fun (and usually educational, but don’t tell him that) that he and I can do together, just the two of us, with no distractions. There is finger painting, puzzle assembling, sticker sticking, glue slopping, letter finding, paper coloring… I could go on and on. But one of my favorite things we’ve done at Table Time is PLAY-DOUGH MAKING! That’s right. Super fast, super easy, super FUN… it’s Homemade Play-Dough! Here’s how ya do it…

Gather your ingredients.  If you’re working with a toddler or young kiddo, you might want to measure everything out before unleashing the beast.  That keeps things less hectic at my table, anyway.

You Need:
1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/8-1/4 C salt (I prefer less salt, you might prefer more)
1 Tbsp cream of tartar
1/2 C water
1 Tbsp oil
food coloring, if desired

Mix your dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Is it just me, or do you totally see a man with a mustache waving at you in the flour???

How bout now…

Ok enough of that.  Now pour in your water and oil and give it a good stir.  Get the lumps out.

This is a great thing for that young one to help with.  Maddox wanted to wash his hands.  Nope, sorry son!  You’re stayin’ messy till we’re all done!

Stir in your food coloring.  This was Maddox’s favorite part!

Now transfer that goop to a pot or saucepan on the stove and turn the heat to medium.  (There is not some freakish neon light over my stove – you’re just getting photos from two different batches, hence the new color.)

You gotta keep stirring… it only needs a little heat before it starts taking form.  If you walk away you will scorch your play-dough.  I speak from experience.

It’s almost ready!

Hey look Ma… it’s Play-Dough!


Put it on a plate and use your hands to mush it around and make sure it’s all smooth, then let it cool for a minute or two.  THEN… go PLAY!

Play-dough makes great boulders for trucks, if you didn’t know.

Maddox, will you PUH-LEEZE get out of Mama’s shot for one second???

No way Mom Mom… I’m havin’ too much fun with my new play-dough!

Store in an air-tight container or zip loc bag.  Doesn’t need to be refrigerated.  It’s good till it dries out, just like the store bought stuff!

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Homemade Lip Balm

Posted on May 25, 2011 | 2 Comments

I used to love a fresh lathering of Carmex on my lips. Then came that dirty rumor in high school that you could become addicted to Carmex. Who knows if it’s actually true, but I stopped. And never went back. I’ve tried all sorts of chap stick, lip gloss, butter and balm. Nothing could ever measure up. And in the dry state of Colorado, my lips were taking a serious beating every time the seasons changed. But now… this. Homemade Lip Balm. I’ll tell ya, I haven’t been this excited about a “beauty” product since that Carmex in high school. Smooth, yummy, and it keeps the cracking, bleeding, peeling mess off my face. Woo!

I got the recipe here, from Design Sponge. I think next time I will use a little less beeswax and a little more coconut oil, but that’s for another try on another day. Overall, this recipe turned out some pretty darn good lip balm! Go on and give it a try!

You Need:
4 Tbsp Natural Beeswax, grated (I picked this up at Whole Foods. You can probably get it at your local health food store or natural grocer.)
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
5-10 drops essential oil of choice
1/2 tsp honey, or glycerin-based food-grade flavor extracts (almond, orange, lemon, etc.)


I made three flavors. Cinnamon Agave, Lavender Vanilla and Peppermint Tea Tree Oil. Each one has an essential oil and a flavor extract. I just used the best combinations of what I already had in my cabinet.


As the recipe suggests, I tried grating all that beeswax and WOW was that going to take FOREVER!

I didn’t get very far before I decided I needed a better way to do this…

Enter butcher knife.


Once that beeswax is all chopped up throw it in the double broiler tub with the coconut oil and watch those babies get all melty and friendly. They love each other.

At this point I divided my mix between three bowls because I was making three flavors. As soon as it came out of the double broiler it started to solidify, so I had to work fast. If you want to make it all one flavor just leave it in the broiler to mix in the rest of the ingredients and you’ll probably have a much easier time than I did.
Either way, now’s the time to make it all yummy by stirring in the essential oil and flavoring. My kitchen smelled like an explosion of sweet peppermint!

Then pour or spoon it into your containers. I found these little plastic jars at Hobby Lobby in the painting section. Aren’t they cute??

It was a total mess at first, until I got out a baby spoon to work it in. That was much better!

All nice and neat, ready for packaging!

Leave ‘em plain or wrap ‘em or paint ‘em or whatever else you can think of! I made three for myself and three to send to my sister, who also LOVED them.

I just think these are the cutest little homemade wonders of wonderfulness!  Now go spread some love all over your lips!

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A Craft from PW – Faces of the Month

Posted on January 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

A friend of mine recently shared this craft idea and I immediately fell in love with it!  And I thought… what better way to share my love than to pass it along to you?  WOO!   The craft comes from a guest writer at one of my favorite blogs, The Pioneer Woman.  Here’s the “Faces of the Month” tutorial so you can go get down with your creative self!

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Little Bird Thank You

Posted on January 28, 2010 | Leave a comment

I love giving and receiving homemade cards, and card making is one of my favorite crafts. I don’t profess to be a super scrapbooker (which often seems to be coupled with card making), nor do I profess to be a brilliant card maker, but I really enjoy taking the time to do it, which usually leads to a good result. :-) I made a Thank You note today for a friend who came to Maddox’s First Birthday party and I’ve posted a little tutorial below in case anyone out there wants a new idea for a homemade card. It’s simple and sweet!

Materials:

-Envelope you plan to mail/give the card in (any size is fine)

-Piece of scrap fabric at least as big as your envelope

-Piece of cardstock at least as big as your envelope (any color you can write on)

-Embroidery thread in a corresponding (or clashing, it’s your card) color

-Markers or a pen to write your note with

First choose and iron your fabric. I chose this vintage style floral print, which I happen to think is completely gorgeous.

Next trace the outline of the envelope onto the cardstock. You’ll draw the outline of your card inside the envelope outline to be sure your card will fit well into its envelope.

Now draw the outline of your card. I wanted to draw a bird, but this card can be made in any shape that can be drawn inside the envelope. I googled “bird silhouette” to find a guideline for the shape of my bird. You can also use a stencil.

Draw the outline of your card, cut it out, then trace it onto the fabric with the wrong sides together (back of the fabric meets the back of the cardstock).

Put the cardstock and the fabric together with just a couple drops of glue in between to hold the two pieces in place while you sew them together. Then use the embroidery thread to sew loops all the way around the edges by pushing the needle through both pieces from top to bottom, bringing it around the edge back to the top, and repeating.

Then just write your message on the cardstock and voila! A cute, simple, homemade card to proudly share with a friend!

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