borax snowflakes

I bought a big bag of borax off trade me for making TMNT ooze. I have googled things I can do with it and one of the ideas was this- it happened overnight, looks cute on our tree and was a big hit for our frozen fan!

I'm happy to share the borax with local friends- just ask and I'll leave some in our letterbox for you : )

You need:

Borax ( 1 tbsp)
2 cups hot water
A wide mouthed glass jar
blue food colouring
pipe cleaners ( we used blue)
cotton
a pencil

Method

Make a snowflake shape with cut up pipe cleaner and tie it together with the cotton.
Mix the borax and the hot water so that the borax is dissolved.  Add the blue food colouring.
Tie the snowflake to the pencil and hang it in the jar ( see picture)
Overnight the crystals will form.

Ninja turtle ooze

T has a Ninja turtle themed party next month. Today we made the ooze as favours for the kids from his class. Here's the recipe:

- PVA glue- either two small 4 oz bottles, or one large 7 oz

- 1 Teaspoon of Borax - found in the laundry section ( I got my bag off trade me)
- Green Food Coloring
- 1/2 Cup Warm Water
- Large Mixing Bowl and Spoon
- Air-tight Container
- Labels

1. Squeeze the glue bottles into the large mixing bowl.  

2. Fill the empty glue bottles with water, swish it around, and pour into the bowl with the glue.

3. Stir well and add food coloring to create desired color.  In our case, of course, that color is GREEN!

4. In a different container, spoon 1 tsp of borax into 1/2 cup warm water and stir.  There will be some borax in the bottom of the water, that’s ok!

Step 5: SLOWLY start to add the water to the glue mixture-make sure none of the borax granules get into the mixture. Add a little, mix with your hands, add a little, mix with your hands. You’ll be surprised how quickly it starts to form, so don’t add a lot of water all at once. Keep mixing with your hands until it isn’t sticky anymore. 

Christmas doll

I finished the gift doll last night by sewing her face and giving her a flower headband. I like how she turned out, I'm not great at stitching neatly so I'm pleased with my efforts.

I have seen the uber talented Dee from Tiny eyes  make these baby dolls, so thought I'd try and make one ( minus the hat as knitting is just waaay to hard for me).

So mummy doll has a baby and a sling to carry them in. I'm looking forward to seeing how she's received at Christmas.

halloween

We had some local friends over for halloween tonight. I kept it simple, byo meat and salads, goody bags and lollies for the kids and then trick or treating. I didn't want to spend $ on decorations so used the ones I got last year and decorated the table with some of the kid's toy animals.

I don't have a huge problem with halloween. We walk to houses that are ok with it ( who normally have something hanging on their letterbox) and exchange treats. I ensure the kids take 1 lolly and use their manners and brush their teeth before bed!

We see it as an opportunity to get people together and get creative with costumes and treats to give away. M and T have always loved dressing up. T's costume was a sheet with a wee hole cut for his face cut out and some black and white face paint. M's Elsa costume came off www.aliexpress for $11.

I let the kids draw with liquid chalk on the windows- I love T's bats. The lollipop ghosts we made we well received- lots of fun : ).

a doll

I've been making a doll for a friend's little girl at Christmas. I had the clothes made by this clever lady as I have no idea how to do that. I watched a YouTube clip on how to make dolls hair and I'm happy with how it came out.

I have to stitch on her her face next. I've chosen to embroider it on as if I make a mistake, I can un-pick it. I'd considered painting it on but I'm too scared! I'll post pictures when she's all done.

fairy business

I'm super excited about helping out with the fairy grotto at school fair this year and can't wait to help put it all together. An idea our 'creative director' came up with is to sell little painted stones ( with proceeds to the school). So I've been painting and glittering stones : ).

halloween 'ghosters'

Both kids like Halloween- not surprising as they've always enjoyed dressing up and eating lollies. We went trick or treating the year before last which they loved so we will go again this year. I don't like the trick aspect. We actually go 'treat for treating' as I make/ buy them things to give out.

This year we made ghosts again, a couple of years ago I used ribbon and white fabric. This year I used loom bands and tissues and M and T drew the faces.

Elsa shoes

Not very original I know- but M has decided that it would make her happy to dress up as Elsa this Halloween. I'm not sure what we're going to do yet, maybe a BBQ with friends, maybe trick or treating- but I guess it's important to have the right shoes he he.

To make Elsa shoes you will need:
A pair of slip on shoes ( that I got for $3)
Leftover bathroom paint ( a light blue)
Glitter paint (bought for $2.50)

Cuuuuutee!

Now I have to work on T's request for a 'Batman Box Troll' costume ; )

our kitchen floor

I don't have great love for our kitchen. It's old, the formica bench is warn and the cupboards and drawers don't shut properly. While I might reeeeeally dislike it, I also believe that we should appreciate what we have-and I saw in it an opportunity to be creative!

I'm hoping ( everything crossed) that we'll get a new kitchen and floor early next year so this is my chance to have a bit of fun. I chose 3 colours of Resene test pots I liked, a red a turquoise and a mint colour. I drew a rough plan ( that I ended up abandoning) and then painted each colour, one at a time. I didn't bother with masking tape etc- I didn't have enough patience or time for that!

There's a pattern and then there isn't- it was more about making sure colour got on the worst looking floor boards.

I like it , the husband tolerates it and the kids are its biggest fans : )

clay owls

M had her first ever sleepover at a friend's last night- she had a great time and was pretty exhausted by this afternoon- a perfect opportunity for all of us to have some quiet time ( and because I love it x).

I found the instructions for these here and bought air drying clay off trade me.

I love how each owl came out different. Some we'll paint and others we'll leave plain- most are planned as gifts.