A Dabble in Kids Crafts

Yesterday I had a very fun and exciting night with my two favorite little girls. They are kids of some friends from church. The girls are two and a half and five. We don't have a lot of toys and fun things for kids at our house except for Kaiser, our dog, who seems to be a pretty big hit among the kids.

I only found out they'd be with me for the night just the day before and with the rest of my busy life I didn't really have time to plan any "activities." So this was definitely a thrown together craft with stuff that I just happened to have lying around. A few items from my pantry and we had homemade play dough.

I found this recipe from http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-playdough-recipes/ and it was a huge success!

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup salt
3 TBS oil
1 package of Koolaid
food coloring (optional - I added a few drops of red because the girls wanted pink or red Play dough. 

Mix in a pot on the stove over medium heat. After a few minutes it will heat to the consistency of Playdoh. Cool completely before you let little hands touch! (If you are reading this JoAnna, I did not find this out the hard way, Don't worry!)

Fabric Flower Headband Tutorial

I don't know if you guys have noticed a trend, but headbands are coming back. Not those big fat puffy headbands we wore in the 90's. Accessory stores are selling headbands right and left for at least $10. But I've made several headbands for a lot less. Here is one of them. I got the idea from http://madmim.com/fabric-flower-tutorial-6-the-burnt-edges-circle-flower/.

Here is what you need:
Some sort of silky fabric - I got mine from the costume section of the fabric store and it is 100% acetate
Hot glue gun and glue
stretchy headbands - I got 8 for a $1 at the Dollar Store
small piece of felt
small clear glass beads
candle or lighter for flame

Step 1:
Cut out several circles out of a Synthetic Silk fabric in various sizes.

I cut out five different sizes from round household objects. You can see what I used sitting behind the circles.

Step 2:
Hold the edge of the fabric to a flame to singe the edges.

Note: If the wick is not deep inside a glass jar you are less likely to burn your fingers.

Step 3:
After all circles have been singed around the edges, hot glue the circles together with the largest on the bottom.

Step 4:
Add a drop of Hot glue to the center of the flower and sprinkle with small glass beads. Let completely dry.

Step 5:
Cut out a piece of felt and hot glue headband in between flower and felt.

You are finished!