Play Dough Recipe & Memorial Day

It sure has been a long time. What can I say, but we've been really busy. we've been in the house for a year and are still painting. Yup, our big plans for Memorial Day: Painting the living room, dining room and second floor hallway. I'm looking forward to the finish product. Benjamin Moore Philadelphia Cream from wood ceiling to floor. Hope it turns out! My next project will be to dye the slipcover on the couch as a temporary fix until I can make a new slipcover.

Bean is about to graduate from preschool. We've had all the transition meetings with her teachers and she's pretty dang excited - although I'm sure going to miss those wonderful teachers she's been with the past two years. I have great confidence in the Kindergarten teacher and really like her, but no one can hold a candle to Miss Eileen, Miss Kristine and Miss Erin - who have brought our Bean so far.
OK - now for something fun. I made play dough and loaded it up with glitter. Bright green and sparkly. And Minty - I added extract. Yay, sensory integration!
I have a love-hate relationship with play dough. My kids
love it. I mean, they really love it. When they play with it, I get an hour or so to make dinner, fold laundry, or clean the kitchen. Why I hate it: my kids refuse to clean it up. Gotta take the good with the bad, right?

With that said, we go through a lot in our house; it is incredibly easy to make and inexpensive, especially considering the yield.

The Recipe

4 c. flour

4 c. water
1 c. salt
2 Tbsp + 2 tea cream of tartar
4 Tbsp vegetable oil
Food coloring (I used a whole dropper bottle – use what you
want for the color you want!)
2 Tbsp peppermint extract (other extracts and essential oils
work well, too! Play around with amounts to get the smell you want)
1 tube craft glitter

Put the first 5 ingredients into a pan and mix well with a whisk until smooth.

 Add food coloring as necessary to reach desired hue. With large batches like this it can take a lot for a deeper or more vibrant color.

Add essential oils, spices or extracts to attain desired scent. Mix well.

Put pot over medium heat and stir with a sturdy spoon. You don’t want to use a whisk for this.

The play dough will start clumping and get very stiff. Keep going, and going, and going until the concoction is no longer sticky or viscous.

Turn out hot play dough onto a counter and knead. IT WILL BE HOT! Please use your judgment and don’t burn yourself.

When smooth, form into a ball and knead in the glitter in 2-3 portions.

When cool, store in air tight container or bag. Our play dough usually lasts about 2 months. If it starts looking dry, spray a little water in the bag, let it sit, then knead.

Ta-Da!

Been Awhile

We're settled - once again. We've finally moved out of corporate limbo and into a little house on a hill. Boxes are all unpacked and everything is put away. I"ve finally had a chance to get my sewing machine and knitting needles out without feeling guilty...  Now that the Bean is out of summer school, I hope to build some "craft" time every day.

After a visit from my good friend Sarah, I've got the creative bug again. The day she left, I made a patchwork pillow for Bean's reading tent. Using three different fabrics the Bean picked out, I cut a series of 3" wide strips and further cut them into a wide variety of lengths. I then pieced them together into 5 long patchwork strips which I sewed together to make "fabric." I finally stitched up three sides, stuck in a pillow form and viola! Happy Bean!

 After the pillow, I started work on a dress for the Bean using fabrics she picked out -( I've also learned that it is a big mistake to take the Bean fabric shopping, I spend way too much!)  I used a pre-gathered fabric and cut it to size, added straps and a skirt (we just love owls in this house!).... hemmed the bottom and insta dress! I think it took me a whole hour.

The other little project I just completed were two sets of 8 coasters - one set for us and one for my Mom... again a super easy project that took a short period of time. I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of the finished products. Hopefully, the kids will let me continue on this productive streak. Fingers crossed!

Moving, Purging and Adventures Ahead

The Bean's dress(es) are currently on hold - yet one more project on the back burner - but this time it is not by choice. Papa Bear and I just returned from house hunting in the Bay Area of San Francisco! It was my first time apart from the kids, which in and of its self is a *huge* milestone. It was also my first time exploring the Bay Area as an adult. What a cool place! But my gosh, it is going to be a HUGE change for us all.

The short of the situation is this: I have less than a month before the movers come, the house isn't even on the market yet, and we haven't yet finished the remodeling projects we initiated 3+ years ago. Needless to say, the stress level is high here. I'm in the process of sorting through my teaching materials (which were never unpacked from our move east 5 years ago), purging *everything* and trying to prioritize what is going with us to our corporate housing (for 2 months), what will arrive in our temporary rental and what can wait until we buy a house (once our current home sells). To top it all off, our normal life is supposed to continue as normal = the Bean is getting tubes in her ears on Tuesday and our IEP meeting is conveniently scheduled for the second (of three) days the movers are here.

I'm trying my best not to think about the good friends that we're leaving behind, or my flowers, the Bean's innumerable plans she started this winter as seeds or our breathtaking property and all of its resident bears, fox, coyote, eagles and myriad of songbirds. Not to mention the heart break of finishing up my dream playroom/office, pantry/laundry room and fireplace the week before we leave.

Instead, I'm attempting to focus on all that the bay area has to offer our young family. Attempting.