Puffy Paint

This is the Puffy Paint invitation I set up for Caitlyn. If you don't know what Puffy Paint is, I first saw it here. It is a paint made with flour and other food ingredients. (I have a post with the recipe and instructions here.) And when you are done painting with it, you pop your painting into the microwave for about 30 seconds, or until dry. The paint stays fluffy! It's a really fun rainy day activity.

I set out some pieces of poster board (you can also use cardboard, but make sure you use something stiff. You'll need to carry it to the microwave before it is dry), some brushes, some foam stamps, and a few cotton balls.

Recipe: Puffy Paint

This is Puffy Paint. You paint with it, then nuke your painting in the microwave for about 30 seconds (or until dry), and it puffs up! Pretty cool!

I wrote a whole other post about the paintings my daughter did here. So this is just the recipe for you.

Here is what you will need:

1 Tablespoon of Self-rising Flour

 1 Tablespoon of salt

Food Coloring

Water

OR

1/2 cup of Flour + 2 Teaspoons of Baking Soda 

2 Teaspoons of salt

Food Coloring

Water

Bowls to separate each color in.

I didn't have self-rising flour, so I used the flour and baking soda combo. I have a feeling that the self-rising flour is a better option though. It may fluff up more, we will have to try it out next time!

Mix out the dry ingredients.

Then separate the mixture evenly into as many bowls as different colors you want to make.

Add a few drops of food coloring to each bowl.

Then slowly add a little water to each until they are a smooth paste.

 Glob it onto the poster board or cardboard for best results. The thicker the paint, the bigger the fluff! Just try to avoid HUGE globs, or it may not dry evenly.

Enjoy! 

St. Patrick's Day: Find the Gold!

To celebrate the upcoming St. Patty's Day I put together this sensory activity for Caitlyn. The goal was to find all of the "gold" under the rainbow! She got to keep whatever she found and put it in her piggy bank. It was quite fun for her. Even Izzy got to join in.

First I spread some coins out in the bottom of one of our sensory containers.

I used some Euro coins, because they looked more like gold to me, but you can use pennies or gold coin chocolates too!

Translucent Silly Putty: Play

Translucent Silly Putty!! I have been wanting to do this one for a while, but could not find the right glue! As I mentioned in the How To for this putty, I saw it first on Play at Home Mom. Since then I have seen variations here and there on the Internet, but I went ahead with the simple recipe they had. I think it turned out really great! ( I may just play with it more than my kids...)

And of course, it is translucent, so PERFECT for the light box!

Translucent Silly Putty: Recipe

Here is a recipe for some really fun clear silly putty! I saw this at Play at Home Mom a while back and have been wanting to try it ever since! I JUST found a store with clear glue and I am so excited we finally got to do this!

Here is what you need:

STA-FLO liquid starch

Clear school glue 

Mixing bowl

Food coloring (optional)