Homemade Playdough

It is definitely summertime and that means trying to find fun things for the kids to do.  It has been so hot here lately that indoor activities are a must.  I found a recipe for HOMEMADE PLAYDOUGH at Skip to My Lou and thought it would be such a fun indoor activity to try.  I also love that the ingredients are things that most people already have in their pantry! 

Ingredients needed:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons cream of tarter
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1/4 cup salt
• food coloring

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients (except food coloring) in a medium-sized saucepan.
2. Stir over medium heat until smooth.
3. Stir continuously until the dough balls (about 1-2 minutes).  Remove from heat.
4. When dough is cool enough to handle, knead until smooth.
5. Form into a ball.
6. Divide into as many colors as you'd like to make.  A single batch makes a good amount for four colors.
7. Add food coloring to the divided dough.  Gel food coloring works quite well.  I have not tried liquid food coloring.
8. Knead the food coloring into the dough. To protect your counter top, knead over wax paper.  To protect your hands, wear plastic or rubber gloves, if you have them (you could also put the dough and food coloring inside a ziplock bag and have the kids squish it around inside).
9. When the dough is a consistent color, ball and set aside.
10. Repeat with the rest of your colors.
11. Put the dough in separate containers.  Toddler-sized snack containers are a good size, and I have also wrapped the colors individually in wax paper and stored in zip-lock baggies.
12. Store in an airtight container until ready to use. 

Lemon Ice

How good does this look on a HOT summer day like today?? 

You should definitely try out this Lemon Ice recipe from THE IDEA ROOM.

3 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 cup lemon juice (we used 3/4 cup lemon juice)
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest

1. Mix water and sugar in a 2-qt saucepan; bring to boil over high heat. Boil uncovered, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice and lemon zest.

2. Pour into a 13 x 9-in. baking pan. Freeze 1 hour; stir. Cover; freeze 2 hours or overnight until firm.

Picture List Mini I Spy Bags

We have had a lot of people ask for this and we are so happy to finally make it available to our customers.

PICTURE LIST MINI I SPY BAGS 

These Mini I Spy Bags still have the fabric printed list sewn on the back of the bag to prevent losing the list, but now you have an additional detachable picture/word list as well.  The detachable list has pictures of each item hidden in the bag on one side as well as an additional word list on the other side.  The extra picture/word list helps those that are not able to read yet to locate the items in the bag as well as allowing parents to detach the list and call out the names of the items in the bag for the child to find while in the car.  We are really excited for this fun new additional feature and hope you all like it too.  We will be adding more patterns to our shop throughout the week that have the detachable list.  Be sure to check them out!