Duct tape stuff; sequel to other video! :D

Funny video...

Enjoy!

Crafts For School Age Children!

Ok, all the crafts I do are too simple for kids about 7-12 years old and I pretty much just do toddler or preschooler crafts. So finally I have crafts that I enjoy doing that are great for older kids. 

Bird feeders: I only made these as a toddler with my mom and my brother, but older kids can make them alone. They can be used for toddlers, too! :D
First, spread peanut butter all over the pinecone with a knife. For toddlers they can roll the pinecone around in a bowl of peanut butter, but they get very messy. (Well, kids love getting messy anyway, especially boys!) Sprinkle bird seed on the peanut butter and attach a string to it. Hang it from a tree branch and check for birds!

Food: This will teach kids the skill of cooking. You can pull up a cookie recipe, a bread recipe, a cupcake recipe, or even cake pops! Show the child what to do, and depending on the age, they could set the oven or pull out the finished product. Enjoy your baked treat! This isn't really a craft but you can wrap cookies in a box to teach the skill of wrapping paper, or just wrap it white and the kids can decorate it. This part comes in handy for toddlers who can use stickers and crayons, and it does incorporate the "crafting" into it.

Scenes: These are fun for playtime and and even more fun to make. This is what I do all winter every year and then we just throw them out after a while and make more! You can use anything that will go with it. We always enjoy making little "guys" out of toilet paper rolls, pipe cleaners, pompoms, anything. You can use a glue gun for this if you don't think your kid will get burned, it works best but sometimes you just need to use school glue. But this takes a long time to dry and breaks easily, use hot glue for best results. We usually take green construction paper and make little popsicle or pretzel stick houses. (Sometimes marshmallows!) Or you can glue paper on top of paper for rivers, flowers, etc. A good way to make scenes is so that the pieces move, so you don't just stare at it, you can actually play with it. Toddlers can play with the parts since they obviously can't use a glue gun and will make a huge mess. You can even put the parts in a little bag and take it for on the go fun!

Blog: Kids love to post stuff, so why not use your Google account to create a blog? You can upload videos and pictures for them, and you can show them how to publish things. (This is how I started Crafts n' Cats!) You can get a relative or friend to read the blog so your kid knows they're getting attention for all their hard work typing. 

Pets: Not a pet parent? Your kids can still learn animal care by making a pretend fish, pet rock, sewing or buying a stuffed animal, or even taking care of a live plant. We made pet rocks when we only had 2 cats for pets. We all loved buying our own plants from the garden section of hardware stores. And even today I still carry around stuffed animals, play with them, and brush them with a hairbrush, even though I have a house full of real pets. Pet rocks are great pets for younger children, or kids who just need responsibility and can't be trusted with a pet. First, find a rock. Paint it, put googly eyes on it, anything! Then find a small box and put a dish with something that won't rot like crackers or pretzels in it. You can also put a dish of drinking water in the box and make little toys for your rock. You can even give your rock a friend, or turn him into a fish and put him in a fishbowl of water. Fishbowls are not spacious or clean enough for real fish, but some pet stores still have them. They are great for fake fish, which you can make out of any waterproof material. Also, just having a small tank with one or two live fish is a good way for the kids to learn how to feed the fish and clean out the fish's tank. Plants, kids can water those every day, but getting ones like Venus Flytraps will allow the child to feed it bugs and water it, plus keep it at a good temperature. Enjoy your new pet!

Duct tape stuff: These are my favorite craft and are very easy. You just need to buy some patterned duct tape (craft stores or online), and watch this simple video for items you can quickly make and use. All instructions are in the video. Enjoy!

Welcome Inky to the family!

Yesterday I bought a cute little gerbil named Inky. She is all black with a patch of white on her chin and some white on her paws. Inky lives in the Super Pet Crittertrail Extreme Challenge Habitat, found at PetSmart or www.amazon.com as well as other supply. She enjoys running in her ball. Nutmeg's cage is right next to hers, so I'm sure they've seen each other, but I don't want to mix them because a gerbil is about 4 inches long, including their 2-inch tails. And Nutmeg is about 2 inches long. So I'm guessing Inky would hurt her. Inky isn't a rat (which I was going to get but my mom couldn't get over the fact it was a rat, she said I could get another dwarf hamster to put with Nutmeg, a regular hamster, or a gerbil), but she is still very social, unlike Nutmeg she lets me pick her up and pet her without fear. Inky is a great pet... now I have 11 pets! (2 rodents, 4 cats, 4 hermit crabs, 1 betta fish)

Bizu Beads Again!

Ok, its been a while since my last post on Bizus. And through all that time, as you can see, I have added quite a few to my collection. I now have 11 total Bizus. Go to www.amazon.com and type in "bizu beads". A million results come up. Amazon is a good place to get discounts on everything- including Bizu! You can get a 4 pack for about $5.99, a 2 pack for about $2.99, or a 1 pack for about $1.99. So if you have girls who enjoy jewelry Bizu is a great toy. With some help, (Hey Raelyn) 4 and up could make Bizu!

Bizu names from left to right: Jewels, Secret, Boombox, Skates, Polar, Tanya, Fluffy, Stripes, Shopper.
Left to right front row: Electra, Anna

Sorry I haven't been posting!

Ok........
I believe you all know I haven't been posting for a loooooooooong time. I am creating a new blog, will try to keep up with both. I am making a hermit crab blog, for land hermit crabs. If you didn't know, I've now adopted a betta fish named Smaug, a hamster named Nutmeg, another cat named Cookie, and 5 hermit crabs. Sadly, one hermit crab died. I can't believe I didn't post about these things! And Duncan is 2 now, Judah was born, I just got back from vacation and that's what reminded me of my blog and how long its been. Now it is July, and I haven't posted at all in 2013. I'm sure most of you heard about Judah   (aka JUJUTE (pronounced Joo-Joot), brothers call him that. LOL) Ok, let's cut to the chase. I need to continue or quit. I think I should continue (If I even remember to post!) blogging. My new blog is "The Crabby Corner: All About These Crazy Crustaceans" So check it out (even if you don't have crabs, yes I'll persuade you with a list of benefits) at www.addyscrabbycorner.blogspot.com! Now I'll list my crabs:

Pelly: Girl crab. The most active crab in my tank with a pretty white shell with brown stripes.

Sebastian:  Boy Crab. A long name for a small crab. Loves to climb and is the tiniest in my tank.

Finn: Boy Crab. Has a shell similar to Pelly's but is less active than her and loves to dig.

Holley: Girl crab. Biggest in the tank, she has a beautiful shell. Brown with bits of yellow and swirled patterns. Like Finn, she loves to dig!

Very Berry Smoothies!

These are very tasty and easy to make! Just make sure you have everything you need!




VERY BERRY SMOOTHIES

You will need: 1 banana, 1 cup strawberries, 1 cup blueberries, yogurt (berry flavor works best), 1 cup ice (add 1/2 cup ice if 1 cup is not enough), 1 pinch of sugar, blender.




1. Cut the banana and place it in the blender.

2. Dump the ice into the blender.

3. Put the yogurt in over the ice.

4. Put the berries inside and add the pinch of sugar.

5. Blend well until smooth. Makes up to 5-6 servings.



ENJOY YOUR SMOOTHIES! :D