I come from a family of artists. When I was a little girl, I used to love looking at my aunt’s and uncle’s artwork. My aunt used to make beautiful landscapes and scenes using nothing but grains and I loved them. My daughter and I have dabbled a little with grain crafts. We made colored oat fall trees and textured shape mountains.
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oats
Colored Oats Fall Tree Craft
I love the fall. It is my favorite season & there are so many reasons why, but the biggest of them all is the changing leaves. One of the advantages of living in New England is being able to take in the breathtaking autumn views. It is no surprise then that my favorite of all of the fall crafts is autumn trees.
Bongo Drums Craft
There are days that I have a particular activity or craft in mind. I have all of our tools out and ready to go, when Mai changes the whole plan with her own ideas.
I have a set of wooden spoons that have seen better days. They were old & cracking and looking sad. My mother-in-law bought us a new set of bamboo spoons, so it was time to get rid of my old ones.
As I hate to throw out anything, I had a craft in mind for me & Mai. We were going to make spoon dolls. We had all the paint out and were about to start painting when Mai grabbed the spoons & a few containers and showed off her drumming skills.
“Drums are my favorite instrument mama? What is yours?”
“Mama’s favorite is a guitar.”
“I like drums, mama. This is my drum set.”
Far be it for me to try to argue with a toddler. I would hate to take her drum sticks away to make dolls out of them, so we will keep them as drum sticks & make her a set of drums instead.
What you will need:
Empty oat containers (any size)
Paint – Kid’s washable paints work fine or acrylics
Yarn
Construction paper or foam
Hot glue gun – ***Glue guns should be used by adults only***
Optional items – Gems, glitter, tissue paper, pom poms etc..
Directions:
Start with a clean & empty oat’s container. Peel off the label around the container.
Remove the lids & paint your containers in a color of your choosing. The drums had to be pink for our little princess. Mai was very thorough & wanted to make sure she painted the inside as well. I helped her smooth out the paint and fill in the bare spots. Let the paint dry.
Paint your spoons and let dry.
While your paint is drying, cut out some thin strips of construction paper or foam pieces.
With a glue gun, glue the yarn into a zig zag pattern up & down on each drum. (Glue gun should be used by an adult.)
Put the lids back on the containers. Wrap the pre-cut strips around the top & bottom of the drums. Use a hot glue gun to hold it in place. Use a few pieces to add to the top & bottom of your spoon handles as well.
We added a gem between the centers of our zig zags on each side. Use whatever craft materials you have available to decorate it in a design of your own choosing.
My little drummer rocked out both with her drum sticks and without. I think we have a future musician in our midst.
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Granola Balls
I have a sweet tooth problem. Like most women I know, I love chocolate. I would eat it all the time if I could, but alas, not only am I not supposed to eat a lot of sweets, it is not exactly kind on the waistline. One thing that helps me get my chocolate fix & feeds my sweet tooth is granola. I love making it. I make bars, squares or just straight up granola with chocolate in it of course. It is easy to make & my daughter loves helping me too.
But my favorite of all granola snacks that grace my lunch box are granola balls. There is just enough chocolate to keep me happy, but with no sugar added, I feel less guilty.
Ingredients:
3 cups of quick oats
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup chopped almonds
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup of honey
1/4 cup of peanut butter
2 eggs
2 tbsp safflower oil
1 tbsp vanilla
3/4 cup of dark chocolate
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix in honey, oil & vanilla, stirring well. With a fork cut in the peanut butter until mixed well. Add chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed throughout the mixture. Scoop a spoonful of mixture & roll with your hand into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place on a greased cookie sheet & bake for 15 minutes.
Maple Nut Granola Bars
I am going through a huge granola kick right now. I can not stop making it & eating it. I started making it as a healthy snack alternative & also for some added energy while I train for my 5K & now I am hooked. I just finished off my last batch & wanted to try something different. Tonight with the help of my trusty helper, we made a batch of Maple Nut Granola Bars.
Ingredients:
2 cups of quick oats
1/2 cup of Rice Krispies
1/4 cup of chopped pistachios
1/4 cup of chopped peanuts
1/3 cup of chopped almonds
1/3 cup of real maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp of vanilla
1/2 tsp of sea salt
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine oats, nuts, Krispies & salt. Mix in vanilla & honey. Stir until evenly coated. Add maple syrup and mix well. Scoop the mixture little by little into a 8X6 or 8X8 baking pan, packing it well with each spoonful added. Once all of the mixture is added, pack firmly one last time. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool before cutting into bars or squares.
http://farmtotableclass.org/2014/05/17/smoked-salmon-pasta-lemon-butter-asparagus-and-ninas-gluten-free-granola/
http://hannahsglutenfreeadventure.wordpress.com/2014/05/17/small-batch-pumpkin-spice-granola/
http://crumbsandnibbles.com/2014/05/17/granola-bars/