Homemade - Edible Finger Paint

Perfect for Toddlers but Great for any age!

This Homemade Edible Paint can be used as finger paint or regular paint with a brush. It works great either way. It's also very good for toddlers since if they decide to taste the paint, it won't hurt them due to all the safe cooking ingredients. It's very simple to make and only takes about 10 minutes max! I made this for my daughters and they LOVED it. They had so much fun painting lots of pictures this afternoon before bed!!

Here are the directions, I took a few pictures also!!

1. Mix 2 Table-Spoons of Sugar and 1/3 Cup of Flour in a pot.

2. Add 2 Cups of water and Turn up the Heat.

3.Mix together until it starts to get thick.

4. Pour into Different Cups and Add colored drink mixes or Food Coloring until you get the shade you like.

*Mix Well!!*

*Let the paint cool off before you let your little ones stick their hands or brush in!!*

*I used Pre-Made Grape Kool-Aid Powder for the Purple, Tang for Yellow, Pink Lemonade Powder for Pink (my girls had me add some red food coloring later to make it hot pink), Food Coloring for the blue, and I Mixed Tang and Blue Food Coloring for the Green*

View and Purchase the list of supplies with the button below!
You can pick and choose the items you do and do not want to buy.

Here are a few pictures of my girls having fun with their paint!

Loran painting

Jade painting

Going after the paint at the same time :0)

Enjoying playing inside.... For once lol :0)

I hope you enjoyed the step-by-step directions and pictures on how to make Edible Paint for Kids of All Ages.

Interested in viewing more of the Crafts and DIY Projects on My Kind of Introduction? Visit the Crafts and DIY tap above, we have all kinds of cool activities and crafts to keep your kiddos busy for days!!

Written By:
Autumn B with Thru My Eyes Photography @ My Kind Of Introduction

The Perfect Travel Toy ~ A Road in a Pocket

It's pretty much a Carry-Along Toy Road in a Pocket!

This is a simple toy that can be taken along on to friends houses, trips, etc. It's also very easy to make, boys are more likely to love it but girls will like it also!!!

1. Cut out road patterns to use on the fabric. (I made the roads about 2 1/2 inches wide but you can go smaller or larger. It's the perfect size for 2 cars side by side.)

2. Cut off 1 leg of a pair of jeans. (I got 6 road peices out of one leg)

3. Lay out the patterns on the fabric, try and cut the pieces as close together as you can so you can get more out of the space.

4. Trace the patterns onto the fabric, I use a regular pencil but you can use a fabric pencil if you have one.

5. Lay out our pieces to see if you have a cool road (This step is not necessary, but you know you want to!) (I did this to see if I needed an extra road pieces)

6. Paint on the Lines down the middle of the roads (I used Yellow Acrylic Paint)

7. While the paint is drying, Cut a pocket out of the same jeans. (This is going to be for storing the road when it's not being played with, It's also what makes it so great for travel!)

8. If you like, You can paint the yellow lines on the pocket to match it to the roads.

9. After the paint dries, you can fold up the road pieces and fit them inside the pocket!

Just add a few cars then you and your kiddos are ready for a day with no boredom!The road pieces can be put in all different road formations! Your kids will have fun making different roads, you can also make buildings with left over jeans if you like (I didn't this time, but I may in the near future.)

I got this idea off of pinterest.com and had to make one for my friends little boy! I hope you enjoyed the walk through steps. Enjoy!!!!

Idea found on Pinterest
Post by Autumn with Thru My Eyes Creations and Thru My Eyes Photography

Mouthwatering Oreo Fluff Dip

Oreo Fluff Dip

Ingredients :

1 Small Box White Chocolate Instant Pudding Mix

2 Cups Milk

1 Small Tub Cool Whip

24 Oreos Crushed

2 Cups Mini Marshmallows.

Instructions:

In A Large Bowl Whisk Together The Pudding Mix And Milk For 2 Minutes.

Add Cool Whip, Oreos And Marshmallows,

Stir Well. Refrigerate Until Ready to serve

SAVE MONEY on Your Kid's Clothes! FREE SHIPPING CODE!

This is Wonderful!!! If you don't do Freebies... You should REALLY do this one!!!

You can get FREE clothes for your kids!!!!!

When you Sign up you get a $10 credit. Once you Sign Up, all you got to do is find some clothes that are under $10!

You can sign in Here!! 

Remember that these clothes are used but still in great shape! :0) 

Get FREE SHIPPING on your order!!
Use this Coupon Code --> SHIPFEB13

 thredUP also pays you to recycle the clothing your child has outgrown and helps you shop for great clothes for cheap!!

It turns into a consignment.
You send in your child's clothes,  
They post the clothes on their site, 
When someone buys your clothes,
Then thredUP pays you via PayPal,
You can buy more clothes, along with sending more clothes that your child has grown out of!

You can get a bag sent to you for FREE and then you fill it full of your kids clothes they have outgrown.

thredUP pays you thru PayPal for every item they are able to re-sell!!!

 ~*CLICK HERE!*~

Grow Beautiful Tulips Indoors!

I was surfing the web and found this cool little trick on growing Tulips inside! It's actually very easy! Maybe even easier than growing them outside in your garden!

Indoor Tulips . . . 
 

Step 1 - Fill a glass container about 1/3 of the way with glass marbles or decorative rocks. Clear glass will enable you to watch the roots develop . . .

 Step 2 - Set the tulip bulb on top of the marbles or stones; pointed end UP. Add a few more marbles or rocks so that the tulip bulb is surrounded but not covered (think support). . .

Step 3 - Pour fresh water into the container. The water shouldn't touch the bulb, but it should be very close, so that the roots will grow!

Enjoy your Tulips!!



Send Flowers for Easter

To send flowers to your loved ones, no matter where in the world they may be.....
Check out FlowerAdvisor to put a smile on that Special Someone's face!
Click HERE or the banner below!

My small Back-To-School Story

School started back last Thursday! I am happy to say that I am just about done with school shopping! We are only missing a couple things, which is an outfit or two. Compared to how bad I was ready last year.... We are doing great this time around. Even with another child starting school!

Here are the book bags that my daughters picked out:

My 5 yr old who is in Kindergarten picked the Princess one because it has Arial on it (she's a BIG mermaid fan!). My 6 yr old, my 1st grader, she picked out the Flowery Peace backpack, what caught her attention about that one was that it had a tiny notebook and eraser that matched the backpack, in the top zipper! She got excited LOL! It also came with a Lunch Box that attaches to the front of it. (Its buckled to the backpack in the photo)

DIY Bouncy Rock Balls

Make Your Own Bouncy Rock Balls

Photo Source - Having Fun at Home

To me, these balls look like the Bouncy Rock Balls you can buy for around $4 at stores but with a rainbow of colors instead of the gray color they normally come in and these are ALOT cheaper! Katey from Having Fun at Home posted this wonderful recipe on her blog on how to make your very own bouncy rock balls at home for very cheap!
I'm going to try this with my daughters very soon....... as soon as I get to the store to buy some Borax and school glue!!!

All you need is:

Borax (found in laundry section of the grocery store)

Elmer’s Glue (clear)

Food Coloring

Craft sticks

Directions:

• Pour 1 tablespoon of School glue into a small container and add 2 or 3 drops of food coloring and mix together.

• Add 1 teaspoon Borax and wait fifteen seconds.

• Mix with a craft stick or something similar, until it’s too thick to stir anymore. 

• Knead and roll the dough into a ball with your hands.  It'll be sticky at first, but will eventually turn rubbery and dry. 

Once this happens....... Bounce!

These balls won't be perfectly round but that's what makes it more fun! They look like colored rocks and bounce a bit crazy! 

It's best if you make sure that nothing breakable is close by and that your young child does NOT eat the balls.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

 

 CROCK POT APPLE BUTTER

 

Living in the south (North Carolina), you have to have alittle taste of the mountians! What better way to taste the Appalachians then to make some Yummy Apple Butter!?

 

Approximately 3 lb. apples
3 cups sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. cloves
Dash of salt
3/4 cup water or fresh apple cider

 

Fill Crock-pot 3/4 full with peeled, cored and sliced apples. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until evenly mixed. Cover and cook on low setting overnight or until the butter is of a thick, spreadable consistency.If apple butter has too much liquid, remove lid and cook on high until thickened. Stir often as butter thickens to prevent scorching.
Store in refrigerator for up to 6 weeks. Freeze for longer storage.
Variation: For a less sweet apple butter, substitute 1 cup honey for the sugar.
To can the apple butter, pack into hot jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Recipe found at Cooks.com

Make your own Pre-Sliced Apples that don't go Brown

No-more Brown Sliced Apples

Those packages of pre-sliced apples you can buy at stores are a great healthy snack for lunches and school snacks, but it can get pricy!

Make your own by slicing apples, soak in cold water for 3-5 minutes, then soak in a lemon-lime carbonated soda (such as 7-up or sprite) for 3-5 minutes. Divide into snack size portions and store in Ziploc bags in the fridge. The lemon-lime soda will keep the apples from browning and make them last longer

Orange Creamsicle Fudge

When I think of my childhood, I can't help but think about sitting around eating some Creamsicle's!  The yummy orange ice-cream with a white, not quite frozen, cream filling! It makes my mouth water just thinking about it :) How about a wonderful little recipe for Creamsicle Fudge! A new twist to the same yummy taste! 

(This would be good in Kids lunches or for Snack. You could even take a whole batch to your child's class and let all the kids enjoy!)

Orange Creamsicle Fudge

Ingredients:

• 6 -ounces (1.5 sticks) butter 
• 2- cups granulated sugar
• 3/4- cup heavy cream 
• 1- package (12 oz) white chocolate chips 
• 1- jar (7 oz) marshmallow cream (or fluff) 
• 1- tablespoon orange extract 
• orange (or a combination of red and yellow) food coloring 

Directions: 

• Prepare a 13x9 pan by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

• In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cream, and butter over medium heat.

• Continually stir the mixture until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.

• Brush down the sides with a wet pastry brush.

• Bring the mixture to a boil, and once it starts boiling, stir continuously for four minutes.

• After four minutes of boiling, remove the pan from the heat and immediately stir in the marshmallow cream and white chocolate chips.

• Stir until the white chocolate has melted and the fudge is completely smooth.

• Working quickly, pour about a third of the white fudge into a bowl and set aside.

• To the remaining fudge, add the orange extract and orange food coloring, stirring until it is a smooth, even color. It is important to perform these steps quickly, because the fudge will start to set if you take too long, and the end result will not be smooth

• Pour the orange fudge into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer.

• Drop the white fudge over the top by the spoonful, then drag a table knife or toothpick through the fudge to create orange-white swirls. You can spray your hands with nonstick cooking spray and gently press them into the top to smooth out the swirls, if desired.

• Allow the fudge to set at room temperature for 2 hours, or in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

• To cut, pull the fudge out of the pan using the foil as handles.

• Use a large sharp knife to cut the fudge into small 1-inch squares.

• You can store Orange Creamsicle Fudge in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week

• Bring it to room temperature to serve.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!

Back To School Supplies

On August 16, I will officially be a mother of nothing but school kids! My youngest daughter, Ciara, is starting Kindergarten this year. (I'm not too happy about that part of the situation) I am excited about having a few hours each day to myself..... kid-less!! (That don't happen too often..... babysitters are VERY rare!) My oldest daughter will be starting 1^st grade! My girls are 5 and 6, they have recently decided that they are “stylish girls”. Dangly earrings, dresses, sparkly clothes etc. Jade, my 5 yr old, told me today that she wanted girly pretty clothes for school. Loran, my 6 yr old, is all about skirts and dresses here lately.... mainly skirts. On top of clothes shopping, that I haven’t even started yet, there is the school supply shopping. I don't know if it's just me but it seems like every year the supply lists keep getting longer! I understand that the teachers have to pay for a lot of the classroom supplies and every little bit helps but why would each kindergarten kid need to bring 5 glue-sticks? That's 120 glue-sticks per classroom if there are at least 24 kids in the class! *That's ALOT of glue-sticks* Yesterday I was able to get almost everything on my daughters supply lists. Below is my girls' School Supply Lists:

Jade's Kindergarten Supply List

Purple shows what I bought

Black shows what I haven’t bought yet

1 Backpack (large enough for a paper folder) *Last yr I bought too small of a packpack... I did better this time :0)

1 Small Towel for Napping

Tennis Shoes for Play

Jacket for Cool Days

Baggie with a Full Change of Clothes (labeled with name)

1 Box of Crayons (16-24 count)

5 Small Glue Sticks

1 Pencil Box

1 Box of #2 Pencils

1 Plastic Folder with Prongs (any color)

1 Composition Book

Optional Items:

Additional glue sticks

Dry Erase Markers

Stickers

Teacher Box Toys

Watercolor Paints

Hand Sanitizer

Disinfectant Wipes (ex. Lysol wipes)

Loran's 1^st Grade Supply List

Pink Shows what I bought

Black show what I haven’t bought yet

1 Backpack

1 Extra Large Stick

1 pkg. Pencils

1 Large Eraser

1 Box of Crayons (16-24 count)

1 Spiral Notebook

2 Durable Plastic Folders with Brads & Pockets (blue and red)

1 Small Pencil Box

1 Small pair of Safety Scissors

Optional Items:

1 Box of Tissues

1 Bottle of Liquid Soap

1 Box of Gallon sized Ziploc Bags

1 Box of Quart sized Ziploc Bags

Yesterday we spent almost $50 on school supplies, 45.56 (minus some bath soap and 2 cups that were on sale)!! Which is a lot more than I thought we would spend. That didn't even include the back pack and shoes! I was planning on going to Office Max to get the supplies but we ended up going to K-Mart instead. Most of the supplies were on sale. I completely forgot about buying towel, so I guess we did pretty good since the towel was $11.69. Ciara picked out a really cute Hot-Pink polka dotted towel with a black trim. It's very adorable!! Jade is normally a purple girl but this towel is just to cute not to love! I was even able to buy 2 things for Jade's kindergarten Treasure Chest! I got a little paint by number set and some mini star sticky notes. Good thing this weekend was No-Tax Weekend!!

We're planning on buying the school clothes next week. I've been collecting pants for the girls from where my friend's daughter has grown out of most of her clothes! 90% of the clothes that I got from her were either never been wore of barley worn so Loran was able to get a few pairs of pants and a couple shirts without me even buying anything yet. But of course...... I have to buy skirts, leggings and stylish shirts. My girls also need some dress shoes and REAL earrings! Their ears get red and sore when they wear fake earrings so I have to buy them some silver ones to wear to school their holes don't grow up. It hasn't even been a year since they got them pierced so I can't leave them out for to long.

Looks like I still got a few long shopping days to go before I can relax at home and enjoy some kid-less hours!! The excitement is starting to bubble up in my tummy!! I sure hope my little Jade does good and don't get scared and shy on her 1^st day of school. I'm sure I'll cry a bit but maybe not too much! :)
(I only cried a tiny bit when Loran started school and I was able to wait until I made it to the car and I also hid it from my fiance..... I think I hid it anyway)

Buffalo Chicken Garbage Bread

Buffalo Chicken Garbage Bread. Ingredients 2 boneless chicken breasts 1 tsp. olive oil 1 pizza dough (use store bought and let it sit out for about 20 minutes) 8 oz. of shredded mozzarella cheese (I used part skim) 3 oz. of shredded cheddar cheese 1/2 cup of Franks Wing Sauce 1/3 cup of ranch or blue cheese

Pizza Balls

I ran across this awesome recipe a while back and had to share. I changed the words below a bit, I had lots of people wanting to know what to do with the sauce so I've now added that to the recipe. 

I'll add my own photo soon!!


ENJOY!!!

PIZZA BALLS!

3 cans of Buttermilk Biscuits
Pepperoni slices
Block of your chosen of Cheese
1 beaten egg
Parmesan
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder
1 jar pizza sauce


Cut up the block of cheese into squares.
Flatten biscuits out & stack pepperoni and cheese in the middle.
Gather the edges of the biscuit and secure on top.
Lay the rolls in a greased pan.
Brush with beaten egg.
Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese, Italian seasoning and/or garlic powder.
Bake at 425°F for about 20 minutes or until Golden Brown
Use the Pizza Sauce to dip your Pizza balls into!

EAT UP!!!!


Recipe found at The Gunny Sack

Rainbow Drink

This is a cute idea for kids who like alittle color in their life :0)

Make colored ice cubes (with kool aid or juice)

stack in tall glasses (about 2 or 3 of each color) and pour in Ginger Ale or Sprite