Crafty Kid - Homemade Finger Paint

I loved arts and crafts as a child. And I always swore I'd be a mom who encouraged creativity in my children.

So this afternoon I rolled up my sleeves and made non-toxic homemade finger paints for my 5 1/2 month old son!

The recipe was really simple and I already had everything in my cupboard:

- 1 cup cold water
- 1.5 tablespoons white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup corn starch
- food dye

Add the sugar and the salt to the water in a pot, then the corn starch. Put it on the stove on low heat and stir until you achieve a paint like consistency. The recipe said it would take 10 minutes, but it took more like 25 for me and I had to add more water. In the end, I should have added even more water as it was still quite goopy, but of course the baby didn't notice :P




(obviously this is an outdoors craft for a small baby. At least in my house it is)





The finished product: My baby's first masterpiece



Sharing with ...
The DIY Project Parade

http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com/

Recent projects

We've been very busy lately! We repainted the kitchen, had lots of visitors staying with us, and the baby and I left for 5 days. Traveling was so much fun and we saw lots of family, which was so great. The baby also cut his first tooth! I suspected something was going to happen, but he was such a trooper still :)

I have lots of projects on the go. Right now my main focus is the home daycare I plan on opening in the near future. I'm not sure when exactly. I have to get the house together and also collect more toys. I'm having lots of fun planning so far, though. I plan on doing an inspiration post soon.

Here are some pictures of my recent aquisitions. I am in the middle of completing them and will post the 'afters' when all is said and done.

Baby food: Green beans

We're almost 2 weeks into solid foods with our baby. I have gone ahead and made my own babyfood. It is very simple. The other day I made green beans.

First step: I went to the farmer's market and bought some organic, pesticide and chemical free green beans.

I got home and washed them:



Then I cut off the stems:



And put the green beans in the steamer:



After they were very well done I put them in the blender:



Then made the sure the baby was napping (he's scared of the blender):



I added the right amount of water (leftover from the steaming) to get the consistency right. I pureed them, then poured them into icecube trays:



Froze them overnight:



Popped them out of the icecube tray and into a marked freezer bag:





And done!

So far my son has had avocado, sweet potato, peas, plums, and oatmeal cereal in that order. Next up will be the green beans!

Our (nearly) free swing

...Quickly while the baby is still napping...

Last month we hung a swing in a tree in our front yard. The swing itself was free. Last year my Step-MIL found it in a free pile in someone's driveway. She gave it to us, knowing I want to start an inhome day care(this was before we knew we were expecting!). It's been sitting in the garage ever since. Now that our son is big enough to sit in it, we hung it up!

First, I tried to clean the swing. But it was quite stained and even after some tough scrubbing, the stains persisted! Ah well. I know it is clean.


Then, we bought some hooks from the local hardware store. They were around $1 each.


My husband used the drill to drill holes into the tree branch:


While the baby watched on:


My husband got the hooks into the tree.


And tested it out to make sure it would hold.


I think it is a hit :)


And all for under $3!

He has been in it nearly every day since it was hung up. He loves it!

I'm joining Frugal Fridays.

Child's bench redo

It has been a busy busy busy past few days for us. To start, my parents were visiting us for four days. We love having them! We also had a garage sale on Saturday which was a great success!

I have lots of new projects on the go. I now officially have to stop myself from going bargain shopping! It's better to stay close to home for now, as it is just so hot out these days. Much too warm for the baby to be going from house to car to store to car to home again.

Some of our projects include: painting the kitchen, laying new floors in our bedroom, planning the design of our new bedroom, painting three dressers, painting the dining room, etc. Those are the big things, plus there are lots of little things in the works too!

So anyway, the other day a house down the street was piling things on the side of the road in a Free Pile. I stopped and chatted with the folks (their father had sadly passed away and they were preparing his home to be sold), and picked up a few great little things, including a child's bench.

I'm a bad blogger because I forgot to take a picture of the bench before I started painting it. But it was covered in an orangey coloured stain. Not really my style.

So here is a picture of the first coat of paint:



And after, set up in DS's room with some 123 baskets purchased from Ikea:



I love it, because it really adds something to his little room with white furniture :)

I am joining:

Southern Hospitality

Garage Salen

My special boy

My big little man is 4 months old today. He is such a special person in my life. I love this kid so much!



He is growing and learning so much. He is about 18 lbs now, wearing 6-9 month clothes for length. He is rolling nonstop and is pulling/pushing his way across the living room floor as I type this. His favourite hobby is to stand on our laps. He has lots of tooth buds popping through - we're just waiting for those dang teeth!

Life moves fast, but I am loving every minute of it.

Welcome me to the blogging world...

Ten things about me:

1. I am a wife, mother, daughter, friend.
2. My son will be four months old in three days.
3. Sleep is the ultimate goal in this house.
4. I enjoy creating things!
5. I LOVE a great deal!
6. I live for garage sales and second hand stores.
7. I aim to have a child friendly house.
8. I love to bake, but hate to clean.
9. I am a history buff; particularly family history.
10. I am quite indecisive.

My husband and I have been married for over a year. We have a beautiful infant son together. We own our little home, in our small town. We have been homeowners for nearly a year now, and are loving (almost) every minute of it!

So bear with me as I navigate through the blogging world.