3 Homemade Playdough Recipes
Playdough is a favorite artistic medium of kids everywhere. Parents love it because it encourages creativity and provides a fun, quiet indoor activity. Playdough can be used over and over again if kept in its container, or kids can let their creations dry and keep them.
You can find playdough in almost any store that sells toys. But it’s also very cheap and easy to make. You probably have everything you need to make at least one type of playdough in your kitchen cupboard. Some recipes are even edible. Here are three fun and simple ways to make playdough.
1. Authentic Playdough
Ingredients
* 1 cup flour
* 1 cup water
* 1 tbsp. oil
* 1 tbsp. powdered alum
* ½ cup salt
* 2 tbsp. vanilla
* Food coloring
Instructions
1. Mix dry ingredients together thoroughly in saucepan.
2. Add oil and water.
3. Cook at medium heat, stirring constantly. It’s done when it has a consistency similar to that of mashed potatoes.
4. Remove the dough from heat and stir in vanilla and food coloring. Work the color in by kneading the dough.
5. When completely cooled, store in an airtight container. This dough will keep for at least two months.
This home-made playdough has a look and feel very similar to the store-bought kind. It is not intended to be eaten, but is not toxic to humans.
2. Peanut Butter Playdough
Ingredients
* 3 ½ cups creamy peanut butter
* 4 cups powdered sugar
* 4 cups powdered milk
* 3 ½ cups corn syrup
Instructions
1. Combine ingredients in a bowl. Mix thoroughly.
2. Place the dough onto wax paper and model with it. When the kids are through playing, they can eat it.
Tip: For more edible fun, use sprinkles and candies to decorate creations made with peanut butter playdough.
3. Kool Aid Playdough
Ingredients
* 3 cups flour
* ½ cup salt
* 2 packages of unsweetened Kool Aid
* 2 cups water
Instructions
1. Boil water.
2. While the water is heating, combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add boiling water and stir.
3. Knead the dough on a floured board. Add small amounts of flour until you reach the desired consistency.
4. When completely cool, store in a tightly covered container.
This playdough will last a few months if stored properly, and it has a wonderful scent.
Making playdough with the kids is a fun rainy day project. It’s a great way to get them involved in cooking, and the finished product can provide hours more of fun. And recipes such as the one for peanut butter playdough serve yet another purpose: they make a delicious snack! So when your child runs out of playdough, don’t run to the store. Just head to the kitchen!
How to Create Beautiful Leaf Prints
The great outdoors holds many treasures that we can use in crafting. Flowers, pine cones and rocks can be used as the basis for many crafts, and they also make lovely accents. Even simple leaves can add a nice touch to our projects.
Leaf prints can bring a hint of nature to the most sophisticated of crafts. Yet they’re so easy to do, even children can create them expertly. Here are two simple ways to capture the beautiful intricacies of leaves.
Leaf Rubbings
Supplies
* Paper
* Leaves
* Crayons
Instructions
1. Lay a pretty leaf flat on the table, with the veins facing upward.
2. Lay a piece of paper on top of the leaf, positioning it so that the leaf is where you want its impression to be.
3. Peel the wrapper off of a crayon in the desired color. Holding the paper down around the leaf, gently rub the side of the crayon over the paper on top of the leaf.
4. Reposition the leaf, or place another type of leaf under the paper and repeat with a different color. Continue to create a pattern, or just make rubbings at random to complete your work of art.
Painted Leaf Prints
Supplies
* Paper, poster board, card stock or fabric
* Leaves
* Paint (acrylic, tempera or fabric, depending on the material you’re working on)
* Paintbrush or sponge
* Newspaper
* Paper towels
Instructions
1. Lay the leaf on top of the newspaper, with the veins facing upward.
2. Use the paintbrush or sponge to thoroughly apply paint to the leaf. Alternatively, you could simply put some paint on the newspaper and dip the leaf into it.
3. Carefully lift the leaf off of the newspaper, and place it paint side down onto the material you want to make a print on.
4. Place a paper towel over the leaf and press down gently but firmly.
5. Remove the paper towel, and peel the leaf off of the material, taking care not to tear it.
6. Repeat to create prints of the same leaf in the same color. Let dry.
7. Use a new leaf for each different color, and let each new color dry before adding another one.
There are also other ways to create leaf prints. Pressing leaves onto ink pads and then onto paper is a simple way to make them. It’s also possible to make imprints of leaves on clay by gently pressing the leaf into it. These techniques present all sorts of crafting possibilities.
Leaf prints are simple enough for toddlers to create with little assistance. They make wonderful rainy day projects on their own, or they can be used to enhance all kinds of crafts. So if you’re looking for some inspiration from nature, look no further than that tree in your back yard.
Letting Go of a Relationship: How to End a Relationship, Move On, and Be Happy Again
One of the hardest things to do in life is to let go of a relationship. No matter what the cause of a breakup, learning to let go just often isn’t easy to do. It could be the one that got away, a first love, a spouse, a boyfriend or girlfriend, or unrequited love. Regardless of the situation, learning to let go of what’s over is often a very difficult thing to do and the hurt can often last for years if a person simply won’t break the hold.
Recovering from the horrible pain and hurt of a broken relationship is no easy task. When love is found, one naturally wants to believe it will last forever. And it’s great when it does. But when it doesn’t, the hurt and pain can be devastating. But even more devastating can be the pain and suffering the person experiences from not letting go of what’s gone and moving on with living.
Read the article here
Building Your Self Esteem and Learning to Love Yourself
Low self esteem isn’t a rare thing among the human population. A surprisingly high number of people suffer from low self esteem. Often a person who has a low self esteem doesn’t love themselves, making the feelings even worse.
Low self esteem stems from a variety of issues. A person might have been ridiculed often as a child by their parents. Perhaps the person has felt that no one really understands them. Maybe the person was made fun of by other children over something like a speech problem. Whatever the cause, low self esteem can cause the person suffering from it to not only not love themselves but to feel like they aren’t good enough, that they don’t count, or that no one really loves them.
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How to Get Organized Guide: Home Organization Guide
Is your home a disorganized mess? Is it getting harder and harder to keep your home clean and organized? Are things piling up, so much so that you are overwhelmed at the idea of cleaning and straightening things? Are things getting messy again almost as fast as you get things picked up?
Face it… you need help! Sometimes all a person needs is help… help in getting motivated, help in knowing where to start, help in knowing how to get organized and stay organized, help in getting the rest of the family to pitch in and do their part.
Your help is here! Our home organization guide will show you how to get organized, declutter, clean up the mess, and how to stay organized.
If you are tired of your life being so hectic, so unorganized, and so messy, then you owe it to yourself to get the guide that will show you how to get your home and life back on track.
Get the details here
