Fun & frugal things for your kids!

[MrsPinecone]

Orginally posted by QOTH:


Basic Salt Dough
...easy to toss together but doesnt have a very long shelf life..best if you are making something and going to let it dry and harden (Christmas ornaments...ect)

1 cup table salt
1 cup flour
1/2 cup water
food coloring if desired...and what kid doesn't want it funky colors?

mix food coloring into the water before adding it to the salt and flour...instead of kneading it in later...less mess.

For scented and colored dough use a package of unsweetened koolaid instead of the food cloring

Cooked Salt Dough
....this one lasts longer and is more like the name brand Playdoh

1 cup of flour
1 T. vegetable oil
1 cup water
2 t. cream of tartar
food coloring
saucepan
1. mix the food coloring into the water
2. heat all the ingredients over low heat until the mixture forms a ball
3. knead when cool

Puffy Paint/Glue

Mix equal parts of shaving cream with glue. You can add food coloring for color if you want. Use a craft stick to stir and to put on paper. The mixture will puff up when it dries.

Recipe for Silly Putty
In a zip loc bag, place 1 tablespoon Elmer's glue, 1 tablespoon water and 2 drops of food coloring Mix well. In a container mix 1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoon Borax. After the glue, water and food coloring have been mixed, add 1 tablespoon of the borax mixture. Close Ziploc and mix well. The result is a very, very close resemblance to the real silly putty.

Homemade Stickers
1 Tbs. Jell-O (Any Flavor) 2 Tbs. BOILING water Mix water and Jell-O until dissolved. Paint to back of pre-cut shapes of paper. When dry, children can lick and stick, and they taste good.

Homemade "Shaving Cream" Paint
Great for painting the shower walls!
Mix 3 teaspoons Shampoo with a small amount of water in a mixing bowl. Whip with an electric mixer until it becomes like shaving cream. Add food coloring if desired. We made beautiful blue and purple cream and the strawberry smell was much nicer then shaving cream! I use muffin tins to make a pallet for the budding bathtub artists

Sidewalk Paint
You'll need: 1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water 6-8 drops of food coloring
Mix the cornstarch and cold water together. Add food coloring and stir. Repeat to make different colors. NOTE: This paint can be easily washed off with water and is great for painting large areas temporarily!!! (Every year our town has a sidewalk drawing contest on the 4th of July...I got this recipie from one of the cities local artist)

Frugal tip for dried out markers!
Don't throw out those old, dried out markers. Let the children dip them in water and use them like watercolors. When the tip turns white---It's time to throw them away!

Floam
2-Tsp. Borax (available in laundry aisle at your grocery store)
½-Cup Water (Tap water is fine)
¼-Cup White Glue (available in Craft/Department/Discount Stores)
¼-Cup Water (Tap water is fine)
1-Zip Lock Bag (1 qt. Bag is best)
Food Coloring (Optional- but kids like colors)
Styrofoam Beads (about 2 - bathroom 3 oz. cups full for above)

MIXING DIRECTIONS -

1. Dissolve 2-Tsp. Borax Completely in ½-cup (4 oz.) water.

2. In a separate bowl mix ¼-cup (2 oz.) white glue and ¼-cup (2 oz.) water. Add food coloring of your choice to this solution.

3. Pour the glue solution into a zip lock bag. Then add 1-Tbs. of the Borax/water solution to the glue solution. At this point you will think that this stuff will never come out of this bag.

4. Add Styrofoam Beads to the mixture to make “Floam”.

5. Seal bag and knead by hand until thoroughly mixed. Let stand about 15 minutes, and then knead by hand again. Take out of bag when the gel (“Floam”) separates easily from the inside bag walls. It will have the consistency of dough.

When not in use store in sealed plastic bag to prevent evaporation.

[MrsPinecone]

Also, I have posted a list of Do It Yourself baby sewing projects in the Arts & Crafts forum for those who are so inclined.

[MaineSuse]

Believe it or not, this entertained my 13 year old for hours.

Try filling balloons with different objects to see how they act inside. Example: beans, feathers, ping-pong balls, other smaller inflated balloons, water, sand, etc. Try them with blowing the balloon up or leaving it air-less!

[esperanza]

How did I ever miss this sticky?

We like to make pinecone/peanut butter/birdseed bird feeders. They're quick to make but give a lot of entertainment watching the birds and squirrels visit them.

[mama22qts]

My mom is taking one of their small live Christmas trees out on the deck (it's already too dry for inside and looking somewhat shabby) and she's covering the pinecones with peanut butter/birdseed, and hanging them from the branches. They live in the middle of the woods so she ought to feed plenty of birds!

I have a bunch of pinecones that mom brought me. We don't have many trees here but we do get a few birds at the nearby homes. I thought I might do a couple of bird-feeders and hang them outside the window just to see if we get any takers. The kids would love it.

[QueenAngie]

Get a big washing machine or other large appliance cardboard box for free.

Adult to cut holes for little doors or windows.

Child to have markers, crayons, pillows or sheets to make a tent.
Make-believe play for hours.

[Xaiyla]

My grandmother and I used to do that! It was fun!

Originally Posted by mama22qts My mom is taking one of their small live Christmas trees out on the deck (it's already too dry for inside and looking somewhat shabby) and she's covering the pinecones with peanut butter/birdseed, and hanging them from the branches. They live in the middle of the woods so she ought to feed plenty of birds! I have a bunch of pinecones that mom brought me. We don't have many trees here but we do get a few birds at the nearby homes. I thought I might do a couple of bird-feeders and hang them outside the window just to see if we get any takers. The kids would love it.

We also used to grow gourds just to be able to make bird houses out of them!

[a12100]

Koolaid Play-Doh!

What You Need:

• 1 c flour, sifted
• 1/2 c salt
• 3 T cooking oil
• 1 pkg Koolaid (unsweet)
• 1 c boiling water

What to do:

1. Mix together flour, salt, oil, and Kool-aid.
2. Add the cup of boiling water. Mix well.
3. Knead the mixture until it forms a soft dough.
4. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Tips:

1. Any other unsweetened, powdered drink mix may be substituted.
2. Expect colored hands :-)
3. Non-toxic... could be eaten, but won't taste very good.

[Clover]

Cool, thanks for sharing.