Tag

snowman

It’s A Marshmallow World – Marshmallow crafting & cooking

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Let the Christmas crafting continue. Last week we made Christmas themed Rice Krispies treats. I needed marshmallows for making these. They were luckily on sale at the grocery store that day & I bought far more marshmallow than any household needs.

While making our treats, I noticed that Mai really enjoyed playing with them. We had enough of them, so let’s play.

Today, it was Mai & Mommy’s marshmallow crafting day. Lately, Mai has been doing a lot of painting. She asks me almost every day. Today would be no different. “Paint, mama! Paint! Paint!”. Painting it is! We could use the marshmallows to paint with, ala pointillism style. My thoughts were to cut out a Christmas tree & then use the marshmallows to dot on the ornaments with paint.

Here is what you will need..

Construction paper- green, yellow, white, red & brown

Marshmallows

Non Toxic Paint -I whipped up our usual batch of Cool Whip paints           http://thepinterestedparent.wordpress.com/2013/11/01/cool-whip-finger-painting-more-messy-play/

Glue Stick

Scissors

Directions:

Draw the outline of the Christmas tree.

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Cut out around the outline of the tree.

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Cut out a rectangle for the stump, an oval for tree skirt & a star for the top of the tree.

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Loosely tape tree to a scrap piece of paper temporarily & then show your child how to use the marshmallow to stamp on the paint.

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Let your toddler paint their masterpiece.

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Mommy wants to join in on the fun too.

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After finishing your tree, let it dry & glue to a fresh piece of construction paper, with the stump, tree skirt & star.

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Mai’s finished artwork.                                              Mommy’s too.

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I had as much fun with this as she did. This was a fun & easy project for any age.

The marshmallow fun didn’t stop there. We needed a sweet treat after all that painting.

Peanut Butter Melting Snowman Smores

Ingredients:

Marshmallows

Graham crackers

Peanut butter

Peanut butter cup minis

M&M minis

Writing icing

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Break graham crackers into double square squares. Spread a thin layer of peanut butter on to the cracker. Place one marshmallow on each square. Place in the oven. Bake until marshmallow is almost melted. Do not let burn. Remove from the oven & lightly flatten the marshmallow with a spatula. Let cool for about 2 minutes. Place a peanut butter cup on the still warm marshmallow, where you would like your hat to be. It will melt slightly. Put in the fridge for a few minutes to let the hat cool & set. Remove from the fridge & add two chocolate M&M mini for eyes. Use orange writing icing to make a carrot nose & use black or brown icing to dot on the mouth. Let cool & enjoy.

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These are delicious. The peanut butter offers a wonderful twist. I know someone that agrees.

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Up next: Meet Our Daughter, The Parrot.

Related Topics:

http://glitterbatterandothermatters.com/2013/12/10/smores-dip/

http://stamchocolate.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/bar-in-a-jar/

http://thecraftycultivator.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/gingerbread-marshmallows/

http://zouptonuts.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/baked-smores-not-just-for-the-campfire/

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Build A Felt Snowman

Buildafeltsnowman.jpgI’m a New Englander. Tonight, marks the first snowfall of the season for us. There is a love /hate relationship between snow with most New Englanders. Every year, I get excited when that first snowflake drops. It just does not feel like the holidays with out it. That first snowfall is so beautiful. It is perfect and untouched. It makes the ground & the trees glisten and it just invites you to come out & play in it. Then the problem is you do, then realize that it is also cold & wet and that you would rather be inside by the fireplace sipping your cocoa.

Last year was my daughter’s first winter. We couldn’t wait to take her outside & pull her around the yard in her sled, but once we got out there, I immediately began to worry about the cold. We pulled Mai around the yard a couple of times, took this happy family picture & then went back in the house where it was warm.

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 I said to myself, “Next year will be better.” ” She will be older. We can build a snowman.”

Well the year flew by & here we are already into another winter. As the snow is touching down on the ground, I am already daydreaming about taking our daughter out in the snow again.

I know myself though & the paranoid mommy in me will probably do the same again this year. It made me think, I wish I could bring some of the fun of the snow into the warmth of our home.

I have seen a number of felt projects in my travels though Pinterest & other bloggers. I have seen the felt Christmas trees, advent calendars & a clever felt gingerbread house. Why couldn’t I make a felt snowman?

Let me just warn you ahead of time. I am not a seamstress. Sometimes I see some of the other posts on here, of recipes, family anecdotes, photos & crafts and it makes me feel a little inadequate. I am not a chef, I am not a writer, a photographer or a very good sewer.

I am a mommy, with big ideas, a tight wallet & all the best intentions, so occasionally my projects come out less than perfect. This would be one of those times.

FELT SNOWMAN

White Felt – I used about 2 yards

Black & orange felt (or colors of your own choosing)

Needle & thread

Sewing machine (optional, you may sew by hand if you do not own one)

Glue gun

Fiber fill (I used 2 30 oz bags)

Cardboard

Bean bags (I filled Ziplocks with rice)

FELT SNOWMAN

Decide how big of a snowman that you want. Draw out your circle on the felt.

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Cut 2 of the same sized circles.

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Sew the two circles together by sewing around the edges. Do not sew all the way around. Leave a large opening unsewn.

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Stuff fiber fill in the open end.

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Here was mess up #1. I originally made the snowman just with the fiber fill stuffing thinking that this was going to be stable enough to stay upright. I was wrong. I reopened the bottom of the snowman & filled the bottom with homemade bean bags of Ziplock bags & rice.

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a piece of cardboard to fit the shape of the bottom of your snowman.

Cut a piece of cardboard to fit the shape of the bottom of your snowman.

Place inside the bottom of the snowman with the bean bags on top.

Place inside the bottom of the snowman with the bean bags on top.

Sew the bottom shut & then go and get a manicure because your nails look horrible.

Sew the bottom shut.

0172Repeat all steps except for filling with bean bags & cardboard to form a second ball.

Repeat all steps except for filling with beanbags & cardboard to form a second ball.

 0301Cut out circles using the black felt.

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Cut on thin white strips to glue into the black felt to make it look like a button.

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0271Cut out a carrot from the orange felt & make any other pieces that you would like for your snowman. Gather a hat & scarf.

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If you are actually a seamstress, I am sure that you could bring a more polished look to this idea. The snowman is lumpy & I made a lot of sewing mistakes but my little girl loved her snowman. She was placing the button & coal pieces all over the place & thought that the scarf was his dress. She hugged him & tried to feed him some of her milk. Sometimes, imperfection can be beautiful…

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                                                       Up next…Inside My Child’s Wild Imagination

Related topics:

http://perfectlyimperfectlovee.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/day-6-25-crafts-to-christmas/

http://kleckmusic.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/cotton-candycanes/

http://www.bloglovin.com/framehttp://handmadebysoo.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/traditional-christmas-tree-fairy-lights-hand-knitted/

?post=2021315991&group=0&frame_type=a&blog=10581179&link=aHR0cDovL3d3dy50aGlzb2xlbW9tLmNvbS8yMDEzLzEyL3RvaWxldC1wYXBlci1zbm93bWFuLmh0bWw&frame=1&click=0&user=0

http://alaskaknitnat.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/quick-craft-felt-christmas-tree/