Marbling

Marbling with paint

I just learned how to do this myself so I thought I would share.

you will need...

item your painting on

Paint I used 3 colors

scrap fabric

2 brushes

plastic wrap

first paint your surface the base color you want

 second dip your scrap fabric in the different colored paint and put strips across the surface

marble follows in one direction most of the time so they should go the same direcion for everything

third take a DRY brush (must be dry it doesn't work as well if it's wet) and blend everything together the more you blend the better it seems to get.

 see :)

I think i would like to see more white in this though... you can dip your scrap again or cheat like me and put paint directly on the canvas/ surface from the tube. blend.

if you want more texture you can use some plastic wrap place it on top then lift

blend a little more to make it look good. Place small lines of white through the picture and lightly blend in (sorry I missed a picture of putting the lines in so I used the blue one to show lol)

And ta-da

I figured there was no use wasting this so I made it into a picture for my Munchkins room.

I was going to do 3 pictures but nap time didn't go as planned lol

I even had to distract them till I got these two done...

 paint was everywhere and I don't know what else would have paint on it if I finished a 3rd one.

but

they had fun and were distracted and covered in paint which led to bath time and who can argue with that? :)

Rhubarb Apple Muffins

I love Rhubarb... at least with sugar lol when i was a kid i would pick it and dip it in sugar and devourer it. So I began playing around and trying to make my own recipe... a healthy one... well semi healthy I haven't replaced the sugar lol.

Rhubarb Apple Muffins.

3/4 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 1 tbl vinegar let sit for 5 min (will be clumpy don't worry))
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups finely chopped/diced Rhubarb (I liked a few larger chunks here and there)
1/2 cup chopped apple

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbl ground flax
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg (Optional)
1/4 tsp clove (Optional)

1/2 cup craisins (Optional)
1/2 cup raisins (Optional)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (hulled of course) (Optional)

Topping (goes on before baked to make a sugary/ flaky top Optional)

1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven 400 degrees.
Butter pans or place muffin liners in pans.
Mix apple sauce, oil, egg, vanilla, buttermilk, brown sugar, Rhubarb, chopped apple in a large bowl set aside.
Mix dry ingredients together (all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, flax, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove)
pour into wet ingredients mix well.
stir in raisins, craisins, sunflower seeds add any other additions you would like.
Spoon into muffin pan about 3/4 full. sprinkle tops with topping.
bake at 400 for 15-20min serve warm or cold - enjoy :)

Other Optional Ingredients
Nuts
chocolate chips
Dried fruits

I forgot the topping on these ones... I was distracted by having to take children off of the table for the umpteenth time then one falling, well he was pushed by a sibling but they wont admit it.

so yah no topping on these one but they were still great. 

PICKY KID APPROVED (well at least my picky kids who will eat little more than mac and cheese and hot dogs)

Water Beads

Water Beads 

Alright these ARE so cool.

I have seen these all over pinterest and I wanted to try them out with my minions. soooo...

   

I ordered some off of e-bay. I was amazed at how much water these tiny beads hold, they turn from the tiny seed like bead into the larger ones you see here.

I really had fun with these (well the kids did too) they feel cool, bounce and gave us  lots to do. Experimenting with them was fun too we dropped them in different coloured water to see if they 'disapeared' then would scoop them out and put them in other containers and dump them. they seemed to sparkle like little gems as the light hit them. We also thought it was cool how they just become spots of colour when in  clear water (it was so weird almost hypnotising as we stirred the water watching them spin).

I did find a couple flaws to playing with them

A: My 2yr old kept trying to eat them :(

B: yellow blended with the colour of the floor and became hard to find when they escaped.

C: I found i don't like chasing water beads ALL over the kitchen although the minions thought it was the funniest thing in the world.

D: if the beads got a nick in them they were done for  and would easily break.

Although the kids found they were even fun to play with when they broke. they would squish them between their fingers.

OVERALL they were fun and I will do this again... maybe at nap time so the older ones get to play with them longer and I don't have to keep as vigilant an eye on them.. or chase beads all around the floor lol.

Problem Solved

Alright my laptop has such a sensitive mouse pad it drives me crazy.

I will be typing and it will suddenly jump back anywhere on the page and totally ruin what I was typing. but no more!

I used a baby wipes top.

Okay it's a little red neck but it works.

I just won't close it all the way and remove the piece when I want to bring it places.