How to Tuesday - Pony Bead Sun Catchers

I've finally had enough and turned on the air conditioning. The melting Alaskan girl has overpowered the cheapo girl. Since the air was running anyway I decided a little oven action couldn't hurt. I had recently heard that you can make crafts by melting pony beads in the oven. Sounds fun right?

We took out our little cake pans and loaded up our beads. I put them in the oven on 400° and cooked them for about 25 minutes, checking periodically. After melting I've decided I like the results when you place the beads on their sides rather then hole facing up. They melt smoother.

Toddler child's turned out better than mine becuase of the way most of his beads were on their sides.

They made a cracking sound as they cooled and they popped right out. My pans live to see another day! The edges were a little sharp in places, so I had to file them down a bit in those spots to smooth them out. I used the drill to make holes and ran some fishing line through.

Cool huh?

Toddler child wouldn't let me have his to take hanging pictures and insisted on sleeping with it.

I could see doing certain colors for holidays or using smaller pans to make a mobile or chime. I bet you might even be able to free form them on a cookie sheet.

Keep a Toddler Busy - WIP Wednesday

I generally prefer to be ahead of trends rather than follow them, but there is a quilt pattern (The Beekeeper's Quilt) making the rounds on Ravelry. It's adorable and it's like the knitted counterpart to the pinwheel quilt my grandmother used to have. After much resistance I've finally started knitting these addictive little puffs. Once knitted and stuffed you sew them all together.

Aren't they cute and squishy looking?

I've got a pile of diapers that need finishing and 4 other knitting projects on the needles. It's always something in progress, but with toddlers underfoot it's not always easy to get time to work on things unless they're sleeping. So if I can't include them in a project it sometimes takes creative distractions.

Luckily toddlers are pretty happy with the simple things. A package of pipe cleaners and a couple colanders make for cheap entertainment.

It develops fine motor skills and makes a cool hat.

Plus, it's much quieter than the pan drum activity.

Blarney Stones

Blarney stone refers to a chunk of bluestone that's built into the battlements of Blarney Castle in Ireland. Folklore has it that if you kiss the blarney stone you will be blessed with the gift of gab; being able to speak eloquently. However, kissing the blarney takes a little flexibility and a lack of acrophobia (fear of heights). To celebrate St. Paddy's Day tomorrow, we made our own little blarney stones. The weather has been gorgeous, so we played outside on the patio.

1/2 cup used coffee grounds

1/2 cup salt

1/4 sand

1 cup flour

1/2 cup water

Combine the dry ingredients then slowly add water. You may not need all the water if your dough gets tacky quickly, if it feels too dry and a little more.

We turned it out on a floured surface to knead it and better incorporate the ingredients.

Divide your dough into how many pieces you want. 6 seemed like a nice even number, but we could have done more smaller ones. We hid some change inside them, but you could easily place little trinkets or toys, like bouncy balls. Eldest child thought it would be a good idea to leave some empty and make a game of it to see who would score the prizes. I think we'll end up with a blarney stone hunt.

Once our little stones were ready I put them on a parchment lined pan and we threw them in the oven on 170° for about 2 hours, flipping them over half way, and then we left them to air dry the rest of the way. They'll be like rocks once they've dried and we'll be able to whack them with a hammer tomorrow.

Happy St. Pat's! May the luck of the Irish be with you and yours!