Rainy Day Fun
This year, it seems as if there has been more rain than ever. Some of you have seen a lot of snow and have been snowed in your homes with the kiddos. If you’ve been snowed in or just stuck inside on a rainy day, here are a couple of fun and edible ways to brighten up your day!
First, on our agenda is a recipe for Play Dough Cookies. I have tried this recipe, and had a ton of fun making them! A friend and I decided to make them during Christmas, although neither of us have children. My nephew thought the cookies “looked cool”, like a large lollipop. I’m sure that children of any age would enjoy this! They are fun, bright and very delicious! We found this recipe on The Secret is in the Sauce blog.
Play Dough Cookies
3/4 cup butter
3 ounces cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 and 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
assorted food coloring (gel or paste works best)
*We used gel food coloring, and it was an absolute success!*
1. In a bowl cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
2. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir until soft dough forms. Divide dough into Fourths. Tint each with a different food coloring.
Wrap in plastic and chill for two hours. (I stuck it in the freezer for 15 minutes because I hate to wait!)
3. Preheat oven to 350. Shape colors into 3/4 inch balls.
For each cookie place one pink, one orange, one green, and one blue ball together and roll to make one giant ball. Roll into a 12 inch long snake, and then starting at one end coil roll to make a cookie.Place cookies 2 to 3 inches apart on greased cookie sheet to allow for spreading.
4. Bake for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and store in an airtight container. Enjoy!
We found that by placing the rolled balls back in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes, they were easier to roll out into snakes for some adorable cookies! Here, they are – the finished product!
Next, we are going to make homemade Play-Doh! Since it is homemade, it is also edible. I know that, as a child, my brother and I often considered eating the store bought kind. So mothers, never fear! Your child is safe to eat your “Play Dough”.
Play Dough for Kids
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tbsp. oil
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
Food coloring/flavoring (optional)
Directions:
Mix all ingredients. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute or until mixture begins to get thick. Pour onto wax paper and knead. Put into a zipper bag to keep fresh and soft.
To color:
Put amount of dough you wish to color in a zipper bag. Drop food coloring into bag with dough and knead while in bag.
I hope you have a fantastic time making the “Play Dough” and Play Dough cookies! The cookies are absolutely delicious, and definitely picture worthy! I have had a great time making each of these recipes. It might be said that I, too am just a big kid.
So, if you ever find yourself (and your children) stuck inside on a cold, nasty day grab up these recipes and prepare to brighten your day!
Creating and Preserving Thanksgiving Memories
Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday. Families around the country gather to spend the day together, eat a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and yet each famiily has its own traditions and its own unique ways of interacting with one another.
If you are like me, you enjoy setting a pretty table, creating delectable foods to enjoy, and making the day a real treat for your loved ones.
Why not take the time to take good photos of the table, or the food, and of the family gathered together around the table, in the kitchen, or piled on the couch around the football game? Once the photos are developed you can have lots of fun and create a memory book or layout of your Thanksgiving Day.
1. Recipe Memories. Does your grandma always bring the stuffing? Or maybe Aunt Martha has a legendary Chess Pie. Maybe a new recipe you tried has now become a hands down favorite. Make a Thanksgiving Recipes Scrapbook. Take a picture of the dish. Ask your Grandma to handwrite her recipe for the stuffing on a pretty Autumn recipe card. You will forever cherish her handwriting and the recipe can be passed down from generation to generation! You can print free recipe cards from www.alenkasprintables.com.
2. The Thanksgiving Table. After you have set the table ever so carefully, added your final touches, snap a photo at a couple of different angles. You might even want to focus on certain details like place cards or your Thanksgiving salt and pepper shakers. When doing your layout, add a list of your menu, a sample place card, and any other special mementos.
3. My Favorite Things. Create a list of all your favorite things about Thanksgiving. My Favorite Pie, My Favorite Smell, My Favorite Sound, My Favorite Activity, etc. You might even ask your husband and children to add their own lists.
4. I am Thankful For… You can create a layout of different photos, i.e. photo of the family together, one of the table, one of the food, etc., and make a bullet style list of your blessings.
5. Scarp an Activity. Why no preserve the fun of the Thanksgiving football game, or maybe your family likes to play a particular game after the meal every year. Those are memories that will mean the most long after everyone has forgotten that the green bean casserole burned, or that the pumpkin pie was out of this world yummy.
6. Record the Past. Sometimes we don’t have photos of memorable family gatherings. But you don’t need a photo to create a great scrapbook page! Record a favorite story or stories of your Favorite Thanksgiving or Dad’s Thanksgiving Football Fumble. Whatever it is, you should record the memory for your children and future generations. People don’t tell stories the way they did years ago. Children learn a lot about where they come from when they hear stories of family members that perhaps are no longer around or won’t be when they are old enough to remember.
7. Mama, the Cook. Ask your husband to take candid photos of you whgile you prepare the Thanksgiving meal. Or sneak around the kitchen while your own mother/ family member cooks! Take lots of photos to ensure that you have plenty of usuable ones. Record the memories of your apron and about the bowl you always use to make cornbread stuffing and about where you got the recipes you use today. Photos of you covered in flour may not be your idea of a flattering shot, but just make sure that you dress neatly, do your hair and makeup and smile a lot! Your children will love photos of you in the kitchen the way they remember you.
8. The Day After. Why not scrapbook about the day after? Lots of families go on their mego shopping sprees each year on the day after Thanksgiving. Why not make it even more memorable by taking photos of the vent. You could even plan a party for the evening with Thanksgiving leftovers and some additional easy snack recipes.
9. Thanksgiving Titles and Quotes.
- Give Thanks
- Turkey Day
- Tom Turkey
- Pumpkin Pie and Me
- Count Your Blessings
- Thanksgiving Memories
- Thanksgiving and Football … Oh My!
- American Pie
- Gobble, Gobble
- Little Turkey’s
- My Favorite Thanksgiving
- From My Table
- Let’s Get Stuffed!
- Pass the Pie
- Thanksgiving Traditions
- Happy Harvest
10. Scrapbooking Freebies. You can visit the following sites for more ideas, printables, and freebies:
Fingerpaint Recipes
Jell-O Fingerpaint
Ingredients:
Flavored Jell-o or other brand of gelatin
Boiling Water
Instructions:
With an adult’s help, empty packet of gelatin into a small bowl. Add just enough water to make gelatin the consistency of fingerpaint. Tastes good too!
Kool-Aide Finger Paint
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 packs of unsweetened Kool-Aid
1/2 cup salt
3 cups boiling water
3 tablespoons oil
Instructions:
With and adult’s help, mix all ingredients together.
Sidewalk Paint
Ingredients:
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
6 – 8 drops food coloring (or to desired shade)
Instructions:
Mix ingredients together. Repeat to make different colors. Washes off easily.
Apron Memories
When EllyneAnne asked me to review her newest book, The Apron Book, I could hardly wait to receive it in the mail. My love affair with aprons, began about two years ago. Since then I have acquired a fair number of vintage aprons and have sewn up a few as well.The day I received the package from Andrews McMeel Publishing, I was even more delighted than I had expected! The book was adorably packaged and so sweet. The book itself includes:
- - An exploration of the history, evolution, and heyday of aprons, including 95 full color photos of vintage and new aprons
- - Adorable apron patters
- - Tips on collecting and preserving these textile artifacts
- - Recipes
- - Household tips or “apronisms”
- - Stories and images of apron livers past and present.
My favorite part of the book, though, is the patterns. There are all types and styles and so many creative ideas, you could stay sewing for weeks making new aprons! There is also a full size pattern in a pocket in the back of the book. The pattern is simple enough for a beginner, so you’ll have no excuse for not making one for yourself…. and someone you love, too!
The stories – Apron Memories – make me wonder what my own children will remember about me and my aprons…
Homemakers everywhere should purchase a copy of this beautiful book! You will most assuredly enjoy each and every page!
On November 22 of this year, we are going to be celebrating Tie One On Day. Created by EllyneAnne Geisel, author of Apron Memories and The Apron Book, to recognize and celebrate the humble apron and the spirit of women of earlier generations who have worn it. On the eve of Thanksgiving, EllyneAnne encourages us to wrap a loaf of bread in an apron and tuck a prayer or note of encouragement in the pocket before delivering the bread to someone in need of spiritual or physical sustenance.
Send your apron memories to A Virtuous Woman using the form below. The winner will receive a copy of the book, The Apron Book: Making, Wearing, and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort as well as a vintage apron. Deadline is on November 15. Winners will be announced on November 22.
The Apron Book:
Making, Wearing, and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort
Written by EllynAnne Geisel
Published by Andrews McMeel Publishing
