Play Dough

This is my mom's play dough recipe.  I've never found another one that compares.  

Play Dough

2-1/2 cups flour

½ cup salt

1 Tbl. Alum (found with the spices)

3 Tbl. Oil

2 cups water

            Place in a heavy bottom pan and cook at medium or medium/high heat.  Stir until hard to stir.  Knead by hand.  You can add food coloring when you knead it. Store in an airtight container.

 I doubled it this time so it looks like a lot.  It is easier to stir when you don't double it.

Doll Swimsuit

My daughter has a doll that she loves.  Obsessed would be a better word.  She loves to buy her things or make her things.  Lately she has wanted to get her a swimsuit but they are ridiculously expensive for clothes.  So we researched and found the idea of making a swimsuit for a doll out of a sock.  At first we didn't believe it would work but we were amazed.

First you need a sock.  I used a knee length girls sock.  Fun patterns are a must.  I think you could use a smaller sock if you needed to.  We had a lot left over.

 Measure the sock against your doll.  You want the toe part on the crotch and then place your finger where the neck is.

I ended up just cutting opposite the heel.

Cut a small oval, really small.

 Then cut the straps.  I just guessed how long.  You can always cut them shorter.

 Cut down and when you near the neck opening curve out and down.

 Now cut the strap piece in half.

 Now you have a swimsuit!  Lay it out flat like so...

 And then cut small ovals for the legs.  Try to cut them so they are symmetrical.

 If you want a wrap cut off the top off the sock.  I would cut it higher up on the right side here.  My next two looked better than this.  Then cut another long piece of sock for the tie.  Stretch the tie piece and wind it a bit.

 Now to try it on the doll.  Tie the neck straps.  Cut them shorter if need be.

 You can also tuck in all the rough edges, but lets face it this is for little girls to take on and off so who really cares!

 Add the wrap and tie on the strip to the short side.  Cute!

 We made two more.

 You can see how even the small cut off the neck can affect the look.  Happy Crafting!

Valentine Mail Boxes

I decided to make my kids mail boxes to put their valentine goodies in from my husband and I.  I just thought it would be fun.  

 I just took some cardstock and decorated one sheet for each kid.

 Then I cut another piece in half and then lined it up with the top sheet and cut off a little on one end so it would match up.

 Then I taped the 8x10 sheet to the 1/2 piece.

 Then I traced this "box" on another sheet and cut out to pieces to form the end and the door.  Then I added a little flag.

Hopefully they like them!

Yarn Ballls

I've been asked by a number of people how to make a yarn ball.  I love them.  They are nice to have around when you are teaching or just have kids around.  They are soft and you can make them any size you want.

To make a yarn ball:1.  Cut out a doughnut in poster board.  It needs to be poster board and not some flimsy paper or it will fall apart or rip while making the ball.  The doughnut hole needs to be 1/3 or less of the radius of the circle.  I think these circles are 3 inches across and the whole is one inch across.

2.  Put two pieces of cut out poster board together and start wrapping your yarn around.  I usually make a bunch of different sized balls to make the wrapping easier.  Like these:

Wrap and keep wrapping.  When your ball runs out of yarn just start another overlapping the yarn threads. 

 4.  Soon you'll wrap so much you won't have a hole left.  Then you are done.

 5.  Clip the edges of the yarn.

6.  Tie a piece of yarn in between the poster boards.  Do a square knot.   I sometimes tie two just to be on the safe side!

7.  Tear the poster board pieces and take them out.  Then you have a ball.  Sometimes it will need a bit of a hair cut to make it perfectly round.
Have fun!