Earth Day crafts

My mother always told me to take care of my stuff because when it is gone it is gone. The same thing goes with the Earth. We are slowly killing our planet that has given us life. Earth Day was created to bring awareness to the public. Education is our best way to promote the awareness. Kids need to be involved at a young age, so I have found some projects that I am looking forward in doing with Shanti. Addie has already tasted Nature and she likes it. By next year I will be able to do more projects with her. Right now all I can do is hand prints and foot prints. She may be walking but she has no coordination when it comes to drawing.

I have already posted origami flowers and here are some more crafts that we can do.

Coffee Ground Fossils

As Addie is only one, I am limited on the crafts I can do with her. This is something that both her and Shanti will enjoy.

 

What You Need
1 cup of used coffee grounds

1/2 cup of cold coffee
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of salt
Wax paper
Mixing bowl
Some small objects to make impressions in the dough
Empty can or a butter knife
Toothpicks, optional
String to hang your fossil, optional

How To Make It

Stir the together the coffee grounds, cold coffee, flour, and salt until well mixed.

Knead the dough together and then flatten it out onto the waxed paper.

Use the can to cut out circles of the dough or use the dull knife to cut slabs large enough to fit your "fossil" objects.

Press your objects firmly into the dough. When you take the object out, you have your "fossil". If you want to hang the fossil, poke holes into the edge to hold the string.

You will need to bake them to make the hard. If you let them air dry it will take 3-4 days to harden. Some people commented that they still needed to bake them, but on the other hand some said that they did not need to bake them.

This is also fun if you want to do an archeology trip in the back yard.

Egg Carton Caterpillars

Here is a project that we did with Shanti and Nae. We took egg carton and cut them up and added some beads for eyes. We used pip cleaners for the antennas. We had fun painting them and drawing symbols on them.

We added string to them so we can hang them in the trees. These were done last year and we might do them again.

Earth Day is about helping our planet by and in this craft we are recycling the egg cartons. Due to health issues some places will not let you bring you own containers and we eat a lot of eggs. So we do lots of crafts with egg cartons.

Terrarium

Last year we made a Fairy Terrarium. It was a nice project to so with Shanti. We taught her the difference between plants. My mother likes caucus so we put some desert plants in it. Shanti and mom decided that they wanted a Fairy theme so we got some cute ones. We added some colored glass in it to give it more color.

I hope you like this and it gives some ideas. One thing that you need to remember that you need the same kind of water plants. Not all plants need the same amount waters. As we did a Desert terrarium, we don't need to water it every other day. We just kind of mist over it a couple of times a week and it is taken care of. You may need to ask questions if you don't know your plants.

I hope you enjoy yours like we have enjoyed ours. It was not just a craft but it was a learning one. When we get things moved, we might have room for another one. I might have to do some research into tropical plants. Who knows want kind of stuff we can do, the possibilities are endless.

Outside fun

Spring and Summer time is here and the kids will be spending more time outside exploring the splendor world of Nature. There is so much to do and so much to explore. I remember a post from FB of a mother and child going outside and planting flowers and everyday they took a picture. When the flower started to sprout, it was an exciting time. They watched day by day as it grew and eventually bloomed. The made a cute little video of it and it was darling. This was several years ago and I'm unable to find it again.

Bugs will be coming out and kids will be curious. Go to the library and check out some books about bugs and flowers. Having scavengers hunts for Spring would be a nice touch. Take a walk and see how many flowers you can see. How many flowers can you count? How many people are cleaning their yard. Count how many Garden Gnomes your neighbors have. Did you see any painted rocks? Pinwheels are fun to watch as they go around in the wind. How many wind chimes did you hear? How many bugs did you see and how many could you name? Birds are returning, did you hear any? Make a list and check them off as you find them and enjoy the time.

Winter was long and now it is time for some Spring cleaning. The yard needs to be cleaned up so we can play. Kids don't like chores but if we are cleaning up for a Spring tea party picnic, then they might just enjoy cleaning up and getting the yard looking nice. Do you need new lawn furniture or do they just need some repair? Depending on the size of you yard depends on what kind of crafts and activities you can do. Addie just turned one, so I will need to go buy an outdoor picnic table as our glass patio table is to big for her. We have a small front yard so we will need to move things for each new activity. It will be work but it will be worth while. As you are cleaning you yard you can start planning if you want to start a flower garden. There are so many different options for you. You can do them in buckets or planters or even in the corner. Take time and talk it over and get everyones opinion. Planning for it is just the start of it.

As I said before, it is time for Spring cleaning. Soon yard sales will be popping up and you may want to decide if you want to do a yard sale. Then you need to decide what you are going to do with the money. Are you going to save it for a day at the Zoo or buy some outside toys? We have a neighbor who has an autistic child and she has been raising money to send him to a summer camp that will help him. Everyone has donated items for her to sell so she can raise money. Do you have a neighbor or friend that needs something? Maybe there is a family that does not have money to buy a bike for their kids. I remember as a child of a time that someone left a bike on the porch of my friend. She loved that bike and rode it everywhere. She was so happy to have some fun.

Doing something for others is a great way to show your kids compassion and respect. In todays world it seems that too many kids have no respect or compassion for others. You hear it on the news everyday, so take the time to teach your kids about charity and have them help someone out with their yard.  I live with my mother to help her out, but there are many elderly people that are too old to keep up with yard work and their kids don't have time to help out. This would be a great opportunity to teach you kids about helping others.

With the weather changing the kids will want to spend more time outside so we need to make sure everything is clean and in working condition. Becareful when opening outside umbrellas for the first time after a long Winters nap. Birds or bugs could have made there homes in it so, open slowly. Outside furniture needs to be checked for damages and they need to be cleaned off. Need to check the tires on the bikes and make sure to wipe them down if they were exposed to the wet weather. Don't forget to check the chains to make sure they don't need to be oiled. Do the same for all the outside toys before you let them play with them.  I use vinager and water in a spray bottle and spray them. Let them sit for a couple of hours and they are good to go. Many people forget that the playgroud swing set needs to be cleaned too. I know that I may be paranoid but just think about the birds. Get a bucket and put vinager and water in it and get a sponge and wipe it down. in the areas that you cant wipe, you spray. With all the birds and pollution that was brought down with the rain and snow, a good cleaning once and while is a good thing.

Hope this gives you some ideas to start out with. I have lots more suggestions for you but it is time for me to start my own Spring cleaning. Remember Mary Poppins and Snow White, work can be fun, put on some music and whistle while you work. So lets get cleaning so we can enjoy our good weather to come.

Spring Flowers with Origami

Someone gave this to me last year. They are directions to do flowers with origami. It is nice to do with the kids. As I am allergic to flowers, I like the idea of  paper flowers. I would take time to experiment on scratch paper before you use your colored paper or tissue paper. During your test runs, take time to figure out what side of paper the kids will color. On some of them you have to color both sides.

The one thing about these flowers are they are just not for Spring. You can use these for Mother's Day and all other Spring Holidays like Ostara, Beltane and Midsummer. I hope you have fun with them.

This is labeled Lantern but it looks like a flower bud. It confused me too.
 

Spring time has come

Spring has finally come and I am ready for its beauty to bloom. Addie is has tasted nature and she likes it and she is ready for more. All Winter long she has longed for our daily rides outside. She misses me coming home and bundling her up and taking her outside. Aubrie, being a new mother, was a little concern keeping her outside too long in the cold Winter months. So her time outside for the Winter was very limited. At the beginning of the month we celebrated her fist birthday and she is walking now. It will be only a matter of time for us to spend endless time basking in the beauty of Spring. I hope I will be able to share some of these scenes with Addie soon.

 

Ostara

 Winter is finally coming to an end and Spring is creeping around the corner. I just got done with Mardi Gras and packing everything away. St Patrick's Day is celebrated for just a day in our house but Osatra we like to celebrate and decorate a little longer.

Several years ago my nephew, Kody, gave me a purple tree for Yule. Purple is my favorite color and I wanted a Holiday Tree. It was a great gift and I use it all year round. The tree is 3 or 4 feet tall and it sets on a pedestal nest to my Altar.  So like I said it is time to take down the Mardi Gras beads and decorations so I can put on the Ostara and Spring decorations.  So lets get crafty. Over the years I have collected a large collection of crafts and pictures. Many of the were given to me and one time at a yard sale, I bought a bunch of cd's full of holiday fun. Most of it I do not know where it came from but I do want to share and give some ideas for everyone to enjoy.

 Here are our family Ostara and Easter from last year.
 

 
Addie was born on March 8th and she slept though Ostara and Easter. Aubrie said that Addie can spend the Pagan Holidays. She will be very spoiled for being able to celebrate both holidays. Right now Addie is in a throwing stage so I will not be hiding real eggs for her. I am planning to get her snacks and put them in plastic eggs.  They come in different sizes so I could small toys or some more hair clips. Addie has her Uncle Jeffie's hair, which looks like a mad scientist. hopefully she will get her mommy's hair.

As for the stringed eggs project, it was not as easy as it seems. I blew up the balloons and mixed school glue with water. I cut the yarn and dipped in the glue mix and wrapped it around the balloon. You need not use lots of sting or yarn to make the eggs sturdy. When you think you are done, you are wrong, you are only half way there. You keep adding and adding more. Now depending on your skill will determine if you can make a design or not. The one thing you need to know is that it is very, very, very messy. You are also going to need to figure out how to hang them as you decorate them as they are very messy. Make sure that you have lots of paper around you craft area. You will also need a area for them to dry. After they are dry you pop the balloon and remove it. The glue will also leave some pieces that you will need to break or cut off. In the end it was a good project but hopefully I won't need to do it again. You have to be careful when packing them that they don't get squished. They are stiff but they will still break easily.

 



If you decide to make the sting eggs, I hope you have fun. Enjoy and have a Blessed Ostara.

Coriander Bats