As ubiquitous as they may seem to some in their quaint, kitschy way, who  can’t resist  homemade cookies? And if you can make the planning and preparation that much easier, you’ve got the perfect gift. Here are some suggestions for those layered cookies in a jar you can pass out to all your friends, relatives and kid’s teachers. Put all ingredients in a Mason jar decorated with some nice fabric, ribbon and a tag with recipe and baking instructions.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix Read the rest of this entry »

This is a classic I remember from childhood. Some people call them fortune tellers.

Materials:

• Construction paper or copy paper
• Markers, crayons or gel pens
• Optional: Stickers or other decorations

Take a regular-sized piece of paper and place it vertically flat in front of you. Turn one corner down to line up with the opposite side of the paper. Tear or cut off the excess.  You  now have a perfect square. Fold one corner to the opposite corner to form a triangle. Fold again to form an even smaller triangle. Open up the paper. Take each corner and fold it into the center point so that when you are finished all four corners folded make another square. Flip entire piece over and repeat the previous procedure. You should see eight small triangles. Number each of these. Flip up the flaps and write romantic messages underneath. When you flip it over you will have four squares that act as “pockets” for your thumb and index fingers.  Number these too. Place your fingers inside and start playing. Have your child hold the Cootie Catcher and ask her Valentine to pick a number. She then opens and closes the Cootie Catcher that many times.  The Valentine child then picks an inside number and when you lift up that flap you will find your special Valentine message.

Materials:
Apple corer
Large Rome Beauty apples or small, round gourds
Candles
Waxed paper
Aluminum foil
Autumn leaves, pine cones, twigs

Using an apple corer, make a straight hole about halfway through the middle of the apple or gourd. Remove the core piece. The candle should fit snuggly inside. If it doesn’t, wrap the bottom of the candle with waxed paper. Repeat for as many apples and gourds as you would like. Place several candle holders on a plate or serving tray covered with aluminum foil. Decorate with leaves, pine cones etc.

The Fresh Air Fund is still in need of  host families for this summer. If you could help get the word out it would really help us place these wonderful children into a loving host family for up to two weeks of a fresh air experience they will never forget. If you would like to host a child in your home this summer that allows him or her to have an unforgettable experience you can sign up to host a child or donate to the Fresh Air Fund. To learn more about what you can do to help the Fresh Air Fund click here. Spread the word.

Years ago when my children were small, we used to make a lot of craft projects with pressed flowers. At first, we mostly created cards and bookmarks, but eventually we expanded to decorating glass  pickle and spaghetti sauce jars that we used for pencil holders and vases. Eventually this hobby morphed into a family business in which I decoupaged flowers onto olive oil bottles and wine glasses. Before I knew it, I had quite a “blossoming” enterprise.

Since I planned to sell my wares at farmer’s markets and trade shows I had to search for pop up trade show displays and pop up booths, which I knew would make setting up my travelling store so much easier. It took me a while to find just the right trade show pop up because there are a lot of pop up displays to choose from. I finally found one with a frame that opened up like an EZ UP canopy. It was a life saver. But more importantly, it made the whole experience of selling my glassware with my young children less stressful and infinitely more enjoyable.

Content by Donny Vinson

Though an almost unheard of cult favorite, ‘Cleopatra 2525′ is my favorite science fiction show. It’s really more of a camp show, however, and its tongue-in-cheek approach to entertainment is what makes it superior to many programs that take themselves all too seriously. Basically, it tells the tale of four futuristic female warriors who live in an underground city and fight increasingly bizarre villains in a nearly all-female world. Garbed entirely in ‘punk’ and ‘Emo’ style clothing, the characters take on a feminine yet very feminist demeanor. The show’s allusions to punk and ‘rocker girl’ culture don’t end with the storylines and styling, however, as the symphonic style that’s common to most science fiction theme music is replaced in ‘Cleopatra 2525′ by a throbbing alternative rock beat. Indeed, the few males the characters encounter in the show tend to be unemployed ‘skater’ types, which makes the viewer wonder if this is purely a fun show or one aimed at poking fun of current trends in post-industrial employment.

Since it was syndicated at its inception and isn’t carried in syndication by local broadcasters, I watch ‘Cleopatra 2525′, my favorite science fiction show, on Expert Satellite TV. I definitely feel that anyone who is interested in a unique and charming program should look into this option, as the show is not available on DVD.

I picked up this wonderfully entertaining and delightfully illustrated book at a Scholastic Book Fair a number of years ago and devoured it with my kids. The subtitle, “Green Thumb Magic for the Great Indoors,” says it all. It is chock full of fun gardening related craft projects and science experiments that easily answer the question, “How do things grow?” But that’s not all. There’s legend and lore about a magic turkey that planted the first corn and a mythical dragon that dropped the first peas on the ground. It is sure to inspire your child’s imagination and fascination with nature.

Instead of using the store bought variety of Easter Egg dyes, which are usually just food coloring mixed with vinegar, here are some suggestions for all natural ingredients that work just as well.

• Brown–outer layers of an onion, coffee or tea
• Green– spinach or dandelion leaves
• Orange– ground turmeric, celery seed and or orange peels
• Blue– crushed blueberries
• Red– crushed cranberries or raspberries
• Pink– chopped rhubarb or beet juice

Place eggs in sauce pan with enough water to cover them, add your “dye” and 1 to 2 tablespoons of vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Cook your eggs and color them at the same time. How efficient!

This past weekend, my girls and made our favorite spring time treat: “bird nests.” Over the years we’ve come up with different variations and since we couldn’t decide which one we liked best, we made all three.

Bird nest #1

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk chocolate chips, melted
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• Jelly beans

Melt chocolate chips in a saucepan over medium low heat. Stir in the coconut. Cover a cookie sheet with waxed or parchment paper. Drop by large clumps, a heaping tablespoon, onto the cookie sheet and shape into nests. While the mixture is still warm, use your thumb or the back of a spoon to poke a small impression. Then fill it with jelly bean “eggs.”

Birds nest #2

Same as above, but instead of using coconut, mix in 1 cup of chow mein noodles.

Birds nest #3

Ingredients:

• 20 marshmallows
• 2 T of butter
• 1 T light brown sugar
• 1/2  tsp. of ground cinnamon
• 3 cups toasted oat and nut cluster cereal
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• Jelly beans, Peanut M & M’s, (in pastel colors) or Whoppers Robin Eggs

Melt the marshmallows and butter in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Add brown sugar and cinnamon and mix well. Fold in cereal and coconut. Drop by clumps onto waxed paper lined cookie sheets. Fashion into the shape of nests and add the “egg” of your choice. Another variation of this recipe is to add equal parts cereal and chow mein noodles for more crunch.

One of the best ways to help wildlife flourish is to plant a special garden with nectar-rich flowers that will attract bees, butterflies and insects. If you don’t have a lot of room, a window garden or pot garden will do.

The following is a list of flower suggestions.

• Lace-cap hydrangea has lots of tiny flowers that attract bees and butterflies.
• Lavender  has a strong scent that butterflies love.
• Hawthorn is a shrub that attracts insects and birds.
• Pyracantha is another shrub with berries that birds like to eat.
• Fuchsia with its sweet nectar attracts hummingbirds.
• Buddleia often called the butterfly bush has scented flowers that attract both bees and butterflies.

For more suggestions ask the salespeople at your local gardening shop