Making Colorful Snowmen Inside the House

Building a snowman outside with the kids can be such a fun time, but it has it’s drawbacks, right? Like getting all the kids dressed for going out into the cold weather. Finding coats, snow pants, boots, mittens and hats and getting all the items on all the kids at the same time can be a challenge! And just as you are ready to head out the door, you’ll probably hear a bundled up kiddo say, “I have to go to the bathroom!” Or you will be outside for a total of 2 minutes before someone starts crying because snow got on them or they are too cold! Haha! Yep, been there, done that! 😉

So today, let’s build some snowman inside our nice, warm houses! 🙂 And why stick with just white snowmen? Nope, let’s add some color to our lives! We’re making colorful snowmen! All you need is a few colors of Play-Doh. You can, of course, make your own dough, but I dug out the leftover cans we have stashed away for the grandkids.

Pick a color for the snowman’s body and work the dough in your hands to soften it up. My first snowman is blue. Then make 3 balls for your snowman…1 small for the head, 1 medium for the middle and 1 larger for the bottom of the body.

Stack the balls on top of each other to build your snowman. If you have trouble getting the balls to sit one on top of the other, stick a toothpick in the center to hold them in place.

Make a little carrot for the snowman’s nose. It doesn’t need to be orange, but since we had some orange Play-Doh, I decided to stick with an orange nose.

Pick another color and make 2 teeny tiny balls for the snowman’s eyes.

Make a long skinny piece for a mouth.

I made a long flat piece of Play-Doh for a scarf. One handy way to roll the dough flat is to use the side of the can like you would use a rolling pin.

I wrapped the scarf around the snowman’s “neck”. He’s quite handsome, don’t you think? 😉

For my second snowman, I chose to use purple for his body.

I added an orange nose, green eyes and green buttons.

I gave this snowman a couple of arms.

Wow, I think that’s the first time I’ve made a blue and a purple snowman! They are kind of wild looking, aren’t they? 😉 That’s what makes them fun! You can feel free to make your snowman look any way you want! There’s no wrong color for a colorful snowman! 🙂

You can have fun making a snowman without needing your coat or mittens! Haha! Have fun!

Let’s Make Super Soft Cloud Dough

Sorry to be away for a few days. I was feeling under the weather and we also lost a close friend to leukemia. So not the best days recently, but today let’s do something fun and make some amazing cloud dough! This was my first time to make cloud dough and I will say that I like it better than regular homemade play dough. Cloud dough is so soft! Best part is, there is no cooking!! 🙂

And it is so super easy to make and you only need 2-3 ingredients. You’ll need some lotion and some cornstarch and if you want to add some color to it, you will also need food coloring.

Grab a bowl, a spatula, some measuring cups and some wax paper or parchment paper and let’s get started!

All the recipes that I looked at called for using twice the amount of cornstarch as you use for lotion. For example, 1/3 cup of lotion to 2/3 cup of cornstarch or 1/2 cup of lotion to 1 cup of cornstarch. Pour the lotion into the measuring cup (I used the 1/2 cup size) and then put it into your mixing bowl. Use your spatula to get all the lotion out of the cup and into the bowl.

Next add a few drops of food coloring, in the color of your choice. I went with blue.

Using your spatula, mix the 2 ingredients together.

Add the measured cornstarch to the bowl next and stir slowly so the cornstarch doesn’t “poof” all over everything. 😉

When your cloud dough is mostly mixed together, dump it out onto a piece of parchment paper or wax paper and knead it together.

If it seems a little too sticky, you can add a little more cornstarch. Keep kneading until it is smooth and soft.

That’s all there is too it! Now the fun really begins!

You can break it into smaller pieces and roll them into balls. (No, I don’t think you should throw these balls in the house!)

Pinch off a piece and roll it between your hands to make a long thin piece. One thing you can do with long skinny pieces is to make a smiley face.

Use an old rolling pin to roll your cloud dough flat and then use cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes.

I think you’ll be glad you tried this easy recipe for cloud dough! If you made enough dough, I bet your kids will let you play too! 😉

Store in an airtight container. Since this is my first time making cloud dough, I’m not sure how long it will keep. One person said, if it starts to feel dry, add a little more lotion and work it into the cloud dough and it will be good as new.

Hope you have a ton of fun! 🙂

Anti-Stress Lavender Play Dough

We hear a lot these days about stress and how much it negatively affects us. Even kids are dealing with stress. I came across a recipe I had stashed in a drawer for Anti-Stress Lavender putty. (Sorry but it doesn’t say who posted the recipe and I don’t remember where I got it.) Kids love play dough and the lavender essential oil used in this recipe is good to use for calming little people. (And big people!)

So here is my version that I made today. You’ll need 1/2 Cup of flour, 1/4 Cup salt, 4 1/2 teaspoons of cream of tartar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of oil (almond, canola or coconut), 1/4 Cup boiling water and lavender essential oil.

In a medium size bowl, put the flour…

Salt…

Cream of Tartar…

And oil, then start mixing.

Add in about 5 drops of the lavender essential oil, then mix a little more. If you want a stronger scent, add a few more drops.

Add the boiling water and stir. To finish mixing it all together, I dumped it out on the counter top on a piece of wax paper and kind of kneaded it.

You can add a little more water or flour as needed to get the consistency you want. I needed a little more water. You can also add in glitter but that was more mess than I wanted! LOL It makes a nice soft and easy to shape fragrant playdough.

It’s ready for little people hands and playing! 😉 The idea is that the lavender will help to give the kids a calm feeling while they play. The play dough can be stored in a ziploc bag and should keep for a few months. This is my first batch so I can’t really say how long it will last.

I hope you’ll give this idea a try and that you’ll have great results with it! Think relaxing thoughts as you breathe in the lavender! 🙂