Guest Blogging: Fun On A Dime

Today I'm blog swapping with Michelle from Fun On A Dime! She has a great blog with lots of fantastic ideas for inexpensive family fun! She was kind enough to share one of her fun projects on my blog today! Thanks, Michelle!

Hi my name is Michelle (aka the Fun On A Dime Lady) from Fun On A Dime. If you are looking for some inexpensive fun for the whole family, you should come over and check out the fun we are having. There are a lot of yummy recipes, crafts, games, and many more fun ideas to keep you and your entire family busy. Come join the fun!

Now onto the fun!

We made these while we were discussing hands and feet, but I think they would make a great present for any mom, dad, or grandparent or great as a keepsake! Super easy to make and the kids had fun decorating them after they dried.

What You Need:

• 2 c. flour


• 1/2 c. salt


• 3/4 c. warm water


• Large bowl


• Mixing spoon


• Baking Sheet


• Rolling pin or solid cup (I prefer the cup to the rolling pin)


• Food coloring (optional)

**makes enough for one foot and hand print together or two separate hand/footprints

Directions:
Step 1: Mix ingredients together in a bowl. If the dough is a little dry add water a little at a time. **optional** Mix in food coloring to color the dough.

Step 2: Make a ball of dough, then flatten it to about a one-inch thickness in the shape of a circle. I recommend sticking to the 1 inch thickness. I tried to do less than an inch thick and once the hand/foot prints were finished, it was very thin on the bottom.

Step 3: Place the dough on a baking sheet, if you have not already. Put the baking sheet on a hard surface like a tile floor or pavement. Press the hand and/or foot into the dough to make an imprint. I pressed on every toe and finger and made sure their palm/heel got a good push into the dough.

Step 4: If you want to add a name or a date, the easiest way is to use a toothpick and poke words/date in with many little dots. I tried a few different ways (knifes and dragging the toothpick) and it just kept tearing the dough. (see below picture)

Step 5: Bake at 325 degrees in the oven until hard or let it air dry a couple of days. Once baked, it comes off the pan easily. I recommend baking. I baked one of them right away and let the other two air dry. The one I left in the oven I finally took it out after 30 min and let air dry the rest of the way (it probably could have baked another 10-15 min). The other two started to color oddly and stick to the pan while air drying after a couple of days, so I threw them in the oven for 20 minutes to bake. They get brown underneath but not on top and they didn't stick to the pan once baked.

This is what it looked like after it was finished baking

Step 6: Paint and decorate as you like. I like to let them paint with cue tips, then I do not have to worry about them damaging the few brushes we have while they are painting on this hard surface.

Step 7: Get excited about what you were able to create! **Warning** Mold will break when tossed! After this picture was taken, my son was so excited that he tossed his mold onto the table without thinking about it and it cracked. = ( He now knows to be careful!

Enjoy!

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Frozen Fruit-sicles

A few months ago I bought a set of popsicle molds from the Target dollar spot thinking it would be a fun activity/treat for my little boy. Then of course I pretty much forgot about them, and never used them until I saw this challenge at Fun on a Dime.

So a couple of weeks ago we broke out the molds, our blender, and some fresh fruit and milk. I believe our concoction consisted of some milk, a banana and a half (you can see my little boy eating the other half, below!), a peach or two, and what little we managed to get out of a mango that we had a hard time cutting open. We are inexperienced in the mango department. Just look at the look on my husband's face... I'm pretty sure he was saying, "What am I supposed to do with this?"


We poured our smoothie mixture into the molds, and put them in the freezer to enjoy the next day.


We ran a little water on the outside of the molds to loosen the popsicles up enough to get them out, and enjoyed! I kind of like this next picture. Not so much the up-the-nose shot of me (I used to be notorious for that one), but the fact that my little boy seems to be lovingly looking at me and thinking, "My mom is so cool!".

I'll tell you what these popsicles are really useful for. The post-nap, pre-dinner snack. Works out great... He thinks he is getting a treat, while I know he's really having something healthy. And everyone's happy!

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Life vs. Blogging

Life always wins, when it comes to that one. That's my excuse for not blogging much. I had big plans of posting everyday and whatnot, but I just haven't felt like it.

I've been trying to adjust to living in a new place with a husband who is at school until after dinner time everyday and an almost-2 year old, who is totally acting his age. As I type this, I just realized that this is the first time in my my life I've lived somewhere without someone in my family or my husband's family living in the same city. No wonder it's an adjustment!

I've been getting things done slower than a snail's pace lately, at least that's what it feels like (every time I look at all the walls I haven't finished painting). I blame that one on at least partially on being pregnant... I've been so tired lately! Everyday by the time we put the little boy in bed (and often during his naptimes) I feel SO exhausted that all I can think about doing is lying down. And I thought the 2nd trimester is when you're supposed to have more energy! I'm afraid to think what I might feel like in the 3rd trimester.

Anyway, I did upload pictures from my camera today, so hopefully I'll be able to put together a few quick posts in the next little while!

And, because it's sort of lame to have a post without any pictures (and since I guess this is the first post on this blog where I mentioned my pregnancy--it's a boy, by the way!) I'll leave you with this lovely shot of me. This was last Sunday at 19 weeks, in my ugly master bathroom.

Have a good weekend!

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