Quick, Simple & Cheap Halloween Project for the Kiddos

This is in no way, a clever project...but if you want to keep your kids entertained for a few moments, this a life saver. All you need is a sheet of paper (preferably cardstock or construction paper), some tissue paper and a Sharpie. Take your paper and draw an outline of a pumpkin, bat, ghost, spider or whatever spooky Halloween image you can think of. You'll want to cover the majority of the page and remember, it's just the outline. No details needed! You could probably google the image and print it off if you have little faith in your artistic abilities. I drew a spider for my kids. 2 simple circles and then bent lines for legs. I apologize for no photos, but this is a simple concept so hopefully they're not needed.

Here's where the kids come in! Give them a sheet of the tissue paper in the appropriate color (ex. orange for pumpkin...duh) and have them rip it into tiny pieces about the size of a quarter or so. Then give them some glue and glue those suckers on! And by that I mean, fill in the outline by gluing the tissue paper down. Have the kids fill the picture in completely so that no spots are showing. And that's that!

And because this post is severely lacking in pictures...ChelseaAnn

Rainbow Cupcakes

A few months ago, while we were immersed in St.Patty's, I decided to do this cupcake that's been on my mind for awhile. It's nothing new...but it's a cupcake. I had no chance of resisting it's lure. I cannot honestly remember where I saw this idea for the first time, but if I could, I promise I would give credit where credit was due.

Anywho...onwards we go! Pretty much all you need is white cake batter...now here you can be an awesome over-achiever and make yours from scratch or you can be like me and say hello to good old Mrs. Crocker (or is it Ms. Crocker?? Hmm...we have a mystery, folks). After you get your cake batter whipped up, divide the batter evenly into six bowls. Add some food coloring in the colors of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue & purple) or whatever colors you fancy. You should get this:



Then fill your cupcake liners with a spoonful of each color, layering evenly. Just a fun tip, use plain white liners. When you finish the cupcake, the liners look awesome! I almost wanted to save them to use for another crafts...but luckily I stopped myself. I have limits...that I mostly adhere to.

Back to the project...So like I said, layer a spoonful of purple batter and coat the bottom evenly, then follow with blue, making sure not to disturb the layer below. Continue until you finish with the red layer. Or you can be different and put them in any order you please. Go ahead, be a rebel.

Once everything is layered-out, pop those suckers in the oven according to the mix's directions. Mine were in at 350 for about 30 mins...they needed a few more minutes than the recommended time. And when that dinger dings...you get these yummy concoctions:

So I left it up to the kid-lings to frost. I just used some Whipped vanilla frosting combined with a bit of Cool Whip for a lighter look and taste. In my mind I was picturing white, fluffy clouds. Of course the kiddos saw things differently, like they always do. Oh and I couldn't help but break out the sugar sprinkles...guilty. Now, if only I could've left it up to a maid to clean up the mess....oh, I guess that's me.
That darling ten-year-old pictured above is Emily...aka, Emily May-May, being very precise in her sprinkling. The kids loved them and I'm sure we'll get around to making them again this summer. I already have tons of variations running through my crazed mind.

ChelseaAnn

Bottle Cap Magnets

So I subscribe to Family Fun magazine and if you don't, make sure you check out their website every now and then. Although I'm not a parent myself, I am a nanny to three great kids. So I love Family Fun for giving me some great ideas when my own creative juices are running low. I was flipping through an older issue the other day and came across these:

Needless to say, I had to make my own. What can I say? The cartoon animals with their irresistable googly-eyes were calling my name! I really, REALLY wanted to make one with a cute litte panda. So I jumped in my car and rushed to the craft store. After searching endlessly (a whole fifteen minutes!) for a panda sticker or something else I could use...I eventually gave up. My itch to make these was just becoming so strong. So I grabbed a new bottle of Mod Podge and drove home. After reading these directions I came up with this:

Not too shabby, eh? No, really, I was completely rushed for time so I had to run through this one at lightning speed. When I actually make these with the kids this summer, I think I''ll put something under the paper or triple the thickness to make it rise a bit more. It just seemed a little too shrunken in for me. Once I got everything ready, it took me about five minutes to complete. A project my no-patience children will actually complete!All the stuff I used (minus the magnet and tape). I got these mini sequins from a skirt I bought a few weeks ago. I knew I could use them!

ChelseaAnn