Silent Sunday

No Chemicals Rainbow Rice Play

I've had a recipe for making coloured play rice pinned on my activities board on Pinterest (did you know I heart Pinterest?!) for quite a while but when I finally came round to using it I discovered that it used surgical spirit and I was not keen on using it for something I was giving to the children if it wasn't necessary. I was also wanting to make it as cheaply as possible.

So I hunted around a bit longer and found a recipe here which uses vinegar. I used clear vinegar but I am not sure it would make an different if you used malt vinegar. I used two 1kg bags of Tesco Value rice at 40p each. For 500g of rice I mixed about 2/3 tbsp vinegar with the food colouring (as much as you like depending on the colour you would like) and then poured it into the rice, in a plastic food bag. I tied a knot in the top and shook it around a bit until the rice was uniformly coloured. I poured it into trays and allowed it to dry, I left it overnight but I think it was dry within an hour.

I gave it to the girls to play with in small baking trays. I gave them toy cups and saucers, plastic cups, bowls and measuring or formula scoops. They had a whale of a time filling their pots and them emptying them again. You could play with cars in it or small model animals, whatever you like! This was another attention span winner, 45 minutes before Miss A, who usually has the shortest attention span, wanted to do something else.

I always clean the kitchen and dinning room floor on Friday lunchtime so Thursday afternoon was the perfect time for this activity although it wasn't really that messy. I swept up what they'd dropped and threw it away, since the floor, and the broom, weren't that clean. I still had a big Quality Street tin full of rice to keep for next time. I wish I had tried it sooner!

Masterpieces

This makes me very happy as it's something I've been meaning to get around to for ages. Big Girl brings home new artwork from school every day and I really like the idea of showcasing the girls' efforts and showing them we are proud of them.

I used some adhesive cable clips which we bought from Ebay to sort out the TV's cables and some white picture hanging thread from Robert Dyas. After knotting the cord I did melt the ends with a lighter to make them neater and secure them.

I went through the fonts on my computer and chose the one I liked best. In Paintshop Pro I flipped it to a mirror image and then split it in two so I could print it at my desired size, 50cm long. I used greaseproof paper to trace the print outs and then laid it on the wall and rubbed over the pencil lines with a pencil to transfer them onto the wall. I used a tester pot of normal wall paint to fill in the letters. I had little wooden pegs already, they're just right for hanging the masterpieces.

I still use a one in, one out system where Big Girl pick what she's going to replace with her latest efforts!

Memories Gro News

I haven't kept up with the blog of late because I have been very busy. Here's my latest Dolly, for a lovely lady who received a gift voucher. I enjoyed working with these really pretty garments and using the lovely bow from the babygro on the Dolly.

The customer emailed me when she received her Dolly through the post and said

"We love her! Thank you so much, you have made the perfect little memento for one of the most wonderful days of my life bringing home out little girl. She's actually wearing a dress made from the exact baby grow our little Sylvie wore on her trip home from hospital."

I've also launched two new gift vouchers just in time for Mother's Day.

I think it would be lovely to receive a Memories Gro voucher, especially for a new Mummy or Mummy-to-be. It's such an exciting time and a gift they can treasure forever is a perfect way to mark it! If you'd like to purchase one do email me at memoriesgro@maplecrescent.co.uk or purchase one in my Etsy Shop. 

Half Term Part II

Right then, over a week later, here are the tissue box monsters! Isabella and I really enjoyed putting them together and she was so proud of hers that she took it to Show & Tell when she went back to school! 

The other really successful activity we did during half term was to make and play with fake snow. I got the idea from my friend Karen, over at Let Kids Be Kids, it's made from cornflour mixed together with shaving foam. I just popped it in three baking tins and put some Happyland figures in for the girls to play with, next time I would probably use toys without holes in as they were difficult to clean.Otherwise it was fairly easy to clean up, it just wipes off surfaces, but I did need to get the hoover out for the floor! I also gave them a couple of little pots which they loved filling and then emptying, again and again. It was So simple! I will definitely be doing it again!