Boris the Spider! {Crafty Review}

Ok, so his name really isn't Boris. He's officially called "Kooky Spooky Spider", but with two kids who really love The Who and both of them knowing all of the words to "Boris The Spider" (check below for a YouTube video with lyrics - it's a great little song for kids, especially this time of year - sorry Jorje!), well... he has a new name at our house!

 Now, we didn't come up with this idea ourselves. Boris was one of the crafts that came to us from Freckles Crafts. If you aren't familiar with Freckles Crafts, read my blog post about this great company HERE. I absolutely love having Rebecca's craft kits sitting on my craft shelf. On those days when Little Guy is begging, "I want do project, Mamma! Maybe gluing or paintin' project?" and I just do NOT feel like doing it, I can grab one of the lovely bags with the Freckles Froggy on it and I know that all I have to do is sip my coffee and maybe help him out with squeezing the glue once in a while. You see, EVERYTHING you need to create each craft is included. You will not need glue, paint brushes, pipe cleaners - absolutely nothing is needed except what is in that little bag (including step-by-step instructions.)

Everything we need to make Boris!

Instructions that even Hubby could follow!

Our first job was to paint Boris' body with the little tub of black paint and the paint brush we were given. I was NOT allowed to help! Little guy had a wonderful time making sure he got paint into all of the little dips in the Styrofoam body. He kept saying, "Poke, poke, poke!" each time he dabbed the brush onto the foam.

 Now, the hardest part of any project that must be done in steps is waiting for paint or glue to dry in between. It took me a few times of listening to Little Guy whine and have fits before I had my "brilliant" idea. Why not use our hair dryer, the one no one uses for anything else, on the cool setting? Because it doesn't heat up, I can even let him use it himself (as long as I'm withing reach.) He LOVES being able to use a machine that 1) plugs into the wall, 2) makes a really loud noise, and 3) you can see/feel working. Plus, it keeps him occupied and still working on his project while he waits for the paint to dry.

See the look on his face? This is very serious work to him and I treat it as such!

Once Boris' body is dry, the rest of our project goes quickly:

Add eyes and nose, using the included glue dots...

... check to make sure his face is on straight...

... add some legs (eight to be exact!)...

... attach a string, and hang him up!

We had a wonderful time! The entire project took about 30 minutes, including drying time and pretending the googly eyes were our own eyes (you can't skip THAT step!) Little Guy only need help twice - once time for pushing the pipe cleaner legs into the foam body, and once for tying the hanging string. He's so proud of himself for being able to do every step of this project with very little help. Every morning, as he's eating his oatmeal, he says, "Goof morning, Boris!" and he tells him 'good night' before we turn out the lights at night.


We just received another package with three more crafts a couple of days ago. The hardest part about these is choosing which to do first!

Marty the Monster, Felted Owl, and Halloween Charm Necklace

The prices are just amazing! Crafts range from $1.50 to $6.75 for most. There are a few that cost more, but that is because the crafts contain more expensive components. What do I really, really want? Freckles Crafts has this very cool Craft Kit Tote for $30. It's a reusable tote (think: Hot Wheels' new home!) filled with five crafts - you can choose between girls' and boys' and all included crafts are listed. You can even include a personal gift message. I am thinking of something along the lines of, "To Alicia, because you're such an incredible blogger and crafty mommy!" (Do you think my husband reads my blog? Nah, me neither. Oh, well...)

In addition to the Freckles Crafts store, you can connect on Facebook, Twitter, and Freckles Crafts the Blog.

I received no compensation for this post. Last spring, I won a giveaway - the prize was a year's worth of crafts from Freckles Crafts. We've received NINE wonderful crafts (one for each month) and I am thankful for every one of them. I want to share this amazing store with my readers because I thank that anyone with children would benefit from having even a couple of the craft packages from Freckles Crafts laying around the house for those days when you just can't think of WHAT to do with your kid.

Bubbles!

Yes, it's that time of year again... Bubble Time! The weather is warmer, there's a nice breeze, and the kids are looking for something fun to do. So, you have two choices: buy lots of bubble or make your own solution. Below, you will find some of my favorite bubble "recipes." While they aren't completely "green", I just can't see a childhood without bubbles, so this is one of those things I just feel guilty about later. If you know of a good, environmentally-friendly recipe, please share it - I'll write a post on it and link it back to you. I'd love to know that the beautifully-colored floaty orbs I'm sending off into the world won't do any harm!

The basic formula is the same for all bubbles: dish soap and water. The addition of glycerin will make the bubbles last a little longer in-flight. You can buy glycerin in almost any health-food store and many of the pharmacy sections of the larger chain stores carry it. My 8 oz. bottle of vegetable glycerin cost me $2.99 at our local health food store.

Also, a note about dish soap and water. Using any old dish soap will not result in the best bubbles. Yes, you can use the cheap stuff or the eco-friendly stuff, but the bubbles are NOT going to be all that great and may frustrate some kids. Original, blue Dawn or original Joy (I think it sells as "lemon") are the best soaps to use. And, if you really want to be precise, distilled water works best for the longest-lasting bubbles. The type of water you use, though, is not nearly as important as the soap.

So, I'm not going to include instructions for these recipes unless there is something out of the ordinary that you're going to have to do. It's simple enough: pour it all into a bowl or something, stir. Don't stir too fast or you'll end up with your bubbles 'pre-made' and, if you're a bubble-blowing professional, you know how those things can ruin the perfect giant bubble!

Recipe #1 - Long-Lasting Bubbles
1oz. dish soap
1oz. glycerin
1 c. water

Recipe #2 - Sugar Bubbles
4 c. very hot water
10 Tbsp. sugar
3/4 c. dish soap
Mix sugar and water. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Add dish soap. Do not use these if you have bees or wasps in your yard!





Recipe #3 - Colored Bubbles (a bit expensive, but might be worth it one time!)
1 c. liquid Tempra paint
1/3 c. dish soap
1 Tbsp. liquid starch (in laundry section of the store)
If you make these bubbles, take some paper outside. Have one person blow the bubbles and another person (or people) try to "catch" the bubbles on their paper. Please keep in mind that these are not going to be incredibly brightly-colored bubbles. Think about the thickness of the wall of a bubble and you can see why. Tempra paint will stain, so make sure to wear old clothes!



Recipe #4 - Super Bubbles
1/2 c. dish soap
1 c. glycerin (yeah, it's a LOT)
1/4 c. white corn syrup (Karo syrup)








Don't have any bubble wands? No worries, I've got you covered (and you'll be the COOLEST mom or dad - Ever!)

 Impromptu Bubble Wands
Plastic 6-pack holders
Bent metal coat hangers
Slotted spoons
Canning rings
Fly swatter (clean it first - Eww!)
Your own hands!

And one last idea that my kids LOVE:

You'll need:

Plastic water bottle

Rubber band

Old pair of Nylons

Scissors

Cut the bottom off of the water bottle. Pull the nylon over the cut end so it is flat across the bottom. Secure it with the rubber band. Cut off excess nylon material if it is hanging. Dip the nylon into bubble solution and blow into the top of the water bottle. You'll be making what my kids refer to as "bubble snakes"! Try experimenting with different types of cloth. The mesh from an onion bag, for instance. As long as it is woven loose enough to hold the bubble solution and to let air pass through, it should work. We've used old T-shirts, washcloths (they hold a LOT of solution so you don't have to keep refilling, and an old football jersey (made from netting.) BTW - this idea was born from one of those "I'm bored" days. I don't know how it popped into my head, but it did and we've used it many times since!

*** Bubbles are a great educational tool. While I'm an unschooling type of mom, I would jump at the opportunity to teach my kids about geometry, surface tension, etc. if they asked about it during a bubble-blowing session. If you want to use this activity to teach, here's a great site: http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/bubbles/bubbles.html

Have any great bubble recipes?

How about bubble games?

Please share!!!

"...Because I Was BORED."

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About a year ago, I bought my oldest son a new pair of winter boots. They were expensive but, since he walks nearly a mile each way between school and home, I figured he needed the good ones. A week after I got these boots, he came home from school and I noticed that the water-proof rubber in the toes of the boots had disappeared, leaving only cloth. I asked my son what had happened, anger boiling up inside me at the company for making crappy boots and charging me an arm and a leg for them. My dear, sweet boy looked up at me with his big hazel eyes and said, "I peeled it off in Algebra class today." Yeah, my next question was inevitable: "WHY?!" With the same adorable face, he tells me, "Because I was bored." And that was just the tip of the iceberg. "Because I was bored" was only just beginning. It's in full swing now.

New "Teen Attitude" face. (Isn't it cute?!)

"Why did I just see you throw your empty yogurt container on the ground, a mere 10 feet away from the trash can?"
"Because I was bored."

"Why did you, a 13 year-old, take a toddler's Matchbox car away from him and cause this tantrum of epic proportions when there are 100 more of the damned cars laying right there?!" (Yelling at the top of my lungs over a 2 year old's scrams and howls.)
"Because I was bored."

"I saw you walking home from school today. You were walking down the middle of the street. It's a busy street! Why didn't you use the sidewalk?"
"Because I was..."

Well, you get the idea. This is the new answer to everything. I don't remember using a phrase like that to get to my parents' last nerve. I remember "Talk to the hand, " and "Whatever..." (I think that one's still around, though fading fast.) I was so glad that I didn't have a teenager around back then! Now that I think about it, though, I'm wondering if I wouldn't rather hear one of those.

I've been trying to get that phrase out of my son's vocabulary, at least while he's around me, to no avail. Every time I hear "because I was bored," I find something new and non-boring for him to do. Things like cleaning every scrap of trash from our yard and the park, too. And playing with his little brother for two hours while I clean the kitchen and make dinner. After the walking in the street incident, either I or my husband walked him to and from school for two weeks. We made sure to wear the most embarrassing outfits, too! And finally, he wore those boots until he grew out of them. The kid is STILL telling me he did it because he was bored!

This kid doesn't get a chance to be bored around me anymore. I've found chores for him to do when he's acting bored (you know, the huge sigh and staring at the wall when you walk past their room?) He's slowly finding things to do - he'd rather read than shovel snow! But he's still coming back at me with that answer whenever he gets caught doing something that he knows he's not allowed or supposed to be doing. Is this a new thing in our community, or are other parents experiencing this, too? If you are going through it, what are you doing about it?