who knew....

science is fun

this summer we have been doing a lot of different experiments

nothing too fancy or crazy, but just enough

to have a little fun

what boy or kid, for that matter, on this planet doesn't like a little explosive mess now and then?

Nathan LOVED these exploding bag bombs.

I swear we have been buying out the local store of vinegar and baking soda this summer  haha.

All you need for these bags is

a paper towel or toilet paper

 (we found that the toilet paper works faster, less absorbent I guess)

2 TBS baking soda

1 cup vinegar

zip lock baggie

warm water

food coloring

(optional...and a lot more fun)

place the baking soda on the toilet paper 

and roll it up to make a little packet

pour vinegar into the baggie and add just enough warm water to make the bag more than half full

add food coloring, if so desired.

next, head outside

(trust me, you don't want this mess in your house)

once you are outside, place the baking soda packet in the baggie

quickly - yeah, you better move fast - zip up the bag and place it on the ground

and

..................................

BAM

our's started exploding and overflowing before it even hit the ground.

Nate's favorite one was the red one - he said it looked like blood and guts hahah - boys!

how it works:

baking soda and vinegar mixed together starts a chemical reaction that makes carbon dioxide.  the gas bubbles up to the surface of the liquid and then fills the top of the bag.

the pressure from the gas builds up and when there is nowhere else for the gas to go, the bag bursts open and the gas escapes.

fun stuff!

curbside treasure

from this....

to this....

so, i was driving down the road one day when i saw this dresser sitting on the curb with a "free" sign on it.

i figured, with ten people, we could always use another dresser and well...free is free

provided it's not in too terrible of a shape.

we scooped it up and took it home.

i stripped it and sanded it

took all the old ugly hardware off of it

and then painted it black

i bought new hardware for the drawers and a knob for the cabinet.

however, i had a heck of a time finding hinges for the cabinet door.

they were a specific type and they only came in a few colors.

so i ended up buying some chrome spray paint and painted the old ones.

put it together and it came out rather nicely, i think

for a free curbside treasure.

i spent $22 for the hardware and $4 on the spray paint

total cost 26 bucks.

not too shabby, eh?

i think this old thing still has a long life ahead of it....i love how it turned out.

sunshiny rainbow mobile

i saw something similar to this on pinterest and thought it was cute,

so we made one too with our own spin on it.

all you need is a paper plate painted yellow and cut in half

clothes pins, painted yellow

google eyes

streamers (or crepe paper, whatever you call it)

a ribbon to hang it from

stapler

glue

first paint the paper plates and clothes pins yellow
cut the plate in half.

when the paint is dry glue the ribbon and the streamers to the inside of the plates.

we doubled up the streamers so they would look fuller.

we turned them over and made smiley faces with google eyes and a marker

staple the two plates together and then place the clothes pins around to make a sun

super cute and easy.

the perfect summer time craft.

just a wee bit time consuming since we had to wait for the paint to dry.

fizzy sidewalk chalk paint

we recently made some sidewalk chalk paint

and to make it more interesting

we made it fizzy too.

sidewalk chalk paint is super easy to make

and there are many ways to make it.

it's also super cheap and fun entertainment.

I like to take equal parts cornstarch and water and add food dye.

I make lots of different colors to make it more fun and interesting.

we use foam brushes too, but you can use any kind of brush or even your hands.

the fizzy part comes when spray it with vinegar.

the paint gets bubbly and fizzy and if you listen carefully, you can even hear it crackle.

some little one loved the spray bottle...

you can see the difference the spray makes if you look at the first (summer) pic,

which we did not spray....and this pic that was sprayed with the vinegar.

the lettering is more thicker here, than the other one.

fizzy or not....

sidewalk chalk paint will probably always be a favorite around here.

sew what? selfie....

The Fat Quarter Shop recently launched their first ever Fat Quarter Shop T-shirt - Sew What? and to spread the love, they are hosting a Sew What Selfie Contest on social media!

The contest begins today, July 8, 2014 and to enter, all you have to do is take an awesome selfie with your Sew What shirt, hashtag  #sewwhatselfie, and tag @fatquartershop on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and/or Google+. Wherever you post, that will count as one entry, and they will find your posts by the #sewwhatselfie hashtag! 

 

Two winners will be chosen every month from July through September and the winners will receive a $100 Fat Quarter Shop gift card - how awesome is that?!?

So here's a recap on what you have to do to enter!

1. Take a selfie with your shirt using your camera, phone, ipad, or whatever you would like to use
2. Post your picture on your social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and/or Google+
3. Use the tag #sewwhatselfie and tag @fatquartershop , so they can find your picture!

.....but first, let me take a selfie

What??? You don't have a Sew What T-shirt yet? 

Then order yours today! 

Rainbow Milk Experiment

Nathan...."woahhh, this is awesome!!

you will need:

shallow dish

milk

food color

dish soap

and a q tip

pour some milk into a shallow dish, add a few drops of food coloring to the sides of the dish

add a drop of dish soap in the middle and watch it swirl...you can also use a q tip dipped in dish soap to make things move around and swirl them more....Nathan loved it.

Nathan loved it so much that he did this over and over using different colors.

how is works....

according to Steve Spangler's website:

Milk is mostly water but it also contains vitamins, minerals, proteins, and tiny droplets of fat suspended in solution. Fats and proteins are sensitive to changes in the surrounding solution (the milk).

The secret of the bursting colors is the chemistry of that tiny drop of soap. Dish soap, because of its bipolar characteristics (nonpolar on one end and polar on the other), weakens the chemical bonds that hold the proteins and fats in solution. The soap's polar, or hydrophilic (water-loving), end dissolves in water, and its hydrophobic (water-fearing) end attaches to a fat globule in the milk. This is when the fun begins.
The molecules of fat bend, roll, twist, and contort in all directions as the soap molecules race around to join up with the fat molecules. During all of this fat molecule gymnastics, the food coloring molecules are bumped and shoved everywhere, providing an easy way to observe all the invisible activity. As the soap becomes evenly mixed with the milk, the action slows down and eventually stops.
Try adding another drop of soap to see if there's any more movement. If so, you discovered there are still more fat molecules that haven't found a partner at the big color dance. Add another drop of soap to start the process again.

Check out Steve's website for other cool science experiments for kids.

Liquid Rainbow

rainbow in a jar

we found this book at the library

how to make a liquid rainbow by lori shores

you will need the following items:

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup blue dish soap

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup rubbing alcohol

3 mugs

1 quart jar

spoon

red, blue, yellow and green food coloring.

Start by pouring a 1/2 cup corn syrup into a mug.  

stir in 1 drop of blue and 1 drop of red food coloring

pour the liquid into the glass jar

next slowly pour 1/2 cup of blue dish soap into the jar

mix 2 drops of green food coloring to 1/2 cup water

tilt the jar and slowly pour the green water inside.

next, slowly pour the 1/2 cup of olive oil into the jar

in another mug, stir 2 drops of red food coloring into a 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol

tilt the jar and slowly pour in the mixture

then, stand back and take a look

do you see the rainbow?

just a bit of a warning, you really do need to stand back or across the room.

if you look at the jar close up, you won't see it as clearly.

how it works...

liquids are made up of very small particles and how tightly they are packed together 

determines the density of the liquid.

for example, the dish soap floats on top of the corn syrup, because the soap is less dense.

you slowly poured the water in so that it wouldn't mix with the soap.

water is less dense than the soap, so it floated on top, etc.

pretty cool, huh?

we thought so too.

Club Mom

 It's that time of year where the boredom starts to kick in...

school's out

friends are on vacation

baseball season is over

etc....

If you are like me you are always looking for fun ways to entertain the kids...although back when I was a kid, we entertained ourselves ---- what the heck is wrong with kids today???

I remember when we got kicked out the door in the morning and didn't come back home until it was well after dark or we were hungry and thirsty...but most of the time we either packed a lunch of snacks and drinks or we ate at whatever neighborhood kid's house that had food.

We made up our own adventures of

riding our bikes,

splashing and wading through the creeks (or cricks?),

having lemonade (or koolaid) stands,

building forts out of old lumber and blankets,

rolling around in the grass and poison ivy,

playing ball with the neighborhood kids,

swinging on old rusty metal swingsets,

climbing on hay bales in a neighbor's barn,

drinking water out of and spraying each other with garden hoses

ahhh, the good old days.

at any rate, since today's kids aren't nearly as adventurous as their parents were...we continue to look for different and new ideas to entertain them, until they drive us crazy and we lock them outside ;) 

just kidding....

well, maybe

that's why I introduced my little kids to Club Mom.

We spend a few weeks here and there (usually not consistent, because we are always busy doing something) throughout the summer making crafts, doing projects, visiting new places, etc.

I call it Club Mom.

If you are looking for fun things to do, then be sure to check back often throughout the summer and see all the fun, cool things we have planned.

Last year's adventures can be found in a page tab on the sidebar.

Homemade Play Dough

we made some homemade play dough a few days ago.

the kids loved it.

it was pretty easy to make...

all you need is:

2 cups plain flour (all purpose)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup salt

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

Up to 1.5 cups boiling water (adding in increments until it feels just right)

food coloring

we doubled the recipe and made

blue

pink

purple

orange

yellow

green

• Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil in a large mixing bowl
• Stir continuously until it becomes a sticky, combined dough
• Allow it to cool down then take it out of the bowl and knead it vigorously for a couple of minutes until all of the stickiness has gone.
• add a few drops of food coloring while you are kneading the dough (yes, your hands will look like a rainbow for a few days - unless you wear some rubber gloves.
• If it is still a little sticky, just add a little more flour.
• store in an air tight container.