KIDS CRAFT: CLUCKING CHICKEN

Looking for a quick and simple school holiday activity?

This plastic cup looks and sounds just like a chicken! It really does. In fact, the sound is more genuine than the looks if we're being honest...

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Take one disposable plastic or polystyrene cup and poke a small hole in the bottom.

2. Tie a large knot in a piece of nylon string and thread it through the hole, leaving the knot on the outside so that the string won't go through when it's tugged on.

3. Decorate your cup so that it somewhat resembles a chicken. Stick on some feathers and some paper cut as eyes & beak or just drawing on with textas will do the trick.

4. Cut a small rectangular piece of kitchen sponge.*

5. To make the chicken cluck: slightly dampen the sponge, fold the sponge over the string (at the top) and run the sponge down the string holding it firmly with quick, short tugs and it makes a loud clucking sound.**

N.B. - the string really needs to be polyester (the shiny stuff) or the noise won't be as effective.

What fun activities are you getting up to over the school holidays?

This craft could also work well at a farm party or next Easter!

Check out this plastic cup craft here - we'll be giving this a go!

For more kids craft ideas, check out the FGB Kids Craft page here.

* You may like to tie the sponge on to the bottom of the string so it doesn't get lost.

** If this does not make sense - please let me know & I'll try to explain it better!

EASY PEASY 'CONVERTIBLE' MUFFINS

This recipe was given to me about 7 years ago by a lovely girl called Adele. She and I attended a 'knitting group' together every Wednesday morning about 7 years ago when Goose was a baby. It was a small group of only around 6 of us who met each week to knit and chat in the back of the church around the corner from my house. It was a time in my life when I was struggling with my new role as a Mum and this group was just what I needed. Most of the ladies were older than my mother, but they were the most warm, open, caring, generous and supportive ladies that I have ever had the pleasure to know. The 'knitting ladies', as they were affectionately known, will always hold a very special place in my heart & memory.

This recipe is fantastic as you can change the flavour of the muffins depending on what you happen to have on hand... frozen berries, mashed banana, sultanas, chocolate chips, grated apple... the possibilities are absolutely endless!

ADELE'S 'CONVERTIBLE' MUFFINS

2 cups SR flour

3/4 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup yoghurt

1 egg

1 cup of fruit/choc bits or whatever you like!!*

1. Set oven to 200 degrees celcius and line a muffin tray with patty pans.**

2. Put all ingredients together in a large bowl.

3. Stir gently together with a wooden spoon. Just enough stirring so that the ingredients are mixed.

4. Spoon mixture into muffin tray with each patty pan being about 3/4 full.

5. Put in oven for approx. 15 mins or until golden brown.

* This is the interchangeable/convertible part. Be creative!

I used chocolate melts when I made the ones pictured.

** Muffin trays often vary in size, but when I made these, it actually made about 16 muffins, so you might need two trays.

for more quick & easy recipes from FGB, click here.

A NEW DISCOVERY

I made a fun discovery at our fruit shop this week when I came upon a yellow watermelon.

Have you tried them?

They taste the same as the pink ones with the same texture and cost the same also. Although the pink ones are slightly sweeter.

I had to get a little creative... I couldn't help myself... the possibilities are endless.

COLOURED PASTA MADE EASY

When Bear came home from kinder last week with a gorgeous pasta jewellery creation and some annoying bickering ensued (because Frog wanted one too!) we decided that we'd make some more at home.

This time I thought I'd attempt a different way to dye the pasta and it was soooooo easy and the colors were much more vibrant than my previous attempts. So easy in fact that this could be a more regular activity.

EASY PASTA DYING METHOD:

1. Place uncooked pasta into a snaplock bag.

2. Put a few squirts of hand sanitiser into the bag.

3. Put a few drops of food dye into the bag.

4. Zip up bag and shake until colouring has mixed. (only a few seconds)

5. Empty bag onto paper towel or newspaper and dry in the sun.

(or on heater or just on bench)

N.B. Must put sanitiser in first, before food dye, or the color does not distribute evenly.

For making jewellery you will obviously need pasta with holes. We have had lots of fun with different shaped pasta such as dinosaurs, teddy bears, alphabet and farm animals which can all found at the supermarket.

This method works even better when coloring rice as it drys within minutes. Lots of fun can be had with colored rice as you can see here.

For more children's craft activity ideas you might like to have a look at my Kids Craft Page.

FRIENDS WHO MAKE THINGS...

I must apologise for my lack of blogging recently. I have been spending my snippets of spare time preparing for a "Frog, Goose & Bear" stall at a fun little market!

A couple of times a year, some friends run a pop-up handmade market in their backyard (and in their house if rain) called the "Friends Who Make Things Market". Advertised by word of mouth, it always has a good turn out and a great atmosphere as most people that come along are friends, or friends of friends, of the stallholders. They had soup & bread and delicious muffins for a gold coin donation and an opshop type stall where goods were sold for whatever price you decided. All money from these, as well as the costs for having a stall, were donated to a charity for women in Afghanistan.

Just like last year Goose and I had a stall of our own. As you know, I don't normally sell my wares, but this is perfect as it is such a fun creative outlet for me without the year round pressure!

We sold basketfuls of lemons, mandarines and herbs from the garden and some of "Scratchy & Flappys" eggs, along with many of the items you will have already seen here on Frog, Goose & Bear already such as paper garlands (our best sellers!), crayon cookies, drawstring bags, rice bags, lavender sachets, wheat bags, bibs, playdough, soup-in-a-jar, fabric cards, fabric button hairties as well as my friend Jane's gorgeous postcards. I had lots of fun both preparing for the market and on the day and really want to thank Mr FGB for looking after the younger two over the weekend while Goose and I marketed! As well as my clever and generous sisters & Mum for your fabric, materials, support and graphic design skills.

Now, on a bit of a high after a succesful day at market, I am facing a day of washing, cooking and cleaning and everything else that I've let back up for a couple of weeks..... but I really don't mind at all!

A PRINCESS PARTY

Yesterday the girls and I headed off to a 'Princess Party' for a very special 5 year old friend. Extra Special as her Mum and I went to each others' 5th birthday parties too! They now live in the slums of Cambodia doing some amazing work over there within their community and we have really enjoyed having them back for a little while.

We took along some crown cookies, made with my all-time favourite shortbread recipe. After many years of being absolutely terrible at icing biscuits, I discovered that if you roll out some royal icing* and treat it just like a lump of playdough, you can use the same cookie cutter that was used to make the biscuit and make the icing in no time at all - plus it looks much better!** These were sprinkled with some edible glitter as well as some silver cachous.

I am really enjoying getting back into handmade presents at the moment, but what to give to a girl returning next week to her home in the slums of Pnom Penh? As her birthday theme suggests, she loves pink and glitter and princesses, so I found some glittery fabric to match and made a little drawstring bag with some matching fabric covered hairties***.

As mentioned before, I always like to find uses for party items after a party (got to justify the expense somehow!) so this was a perfect excuse to re-use the printables from Goose's "6th" Princess Party. You can find these printables here if you are interested. I printed some of the images onto sticker paper for her to make her own stickers and used some on the birthday card as well.

If you are after some birthday party inspiration, you may like to check out my DIY Party Ideas Page or to head over and see the new parties that have been added to FGB's DIY Party link up. Feel free to add your own parties to share with us all!

* purchased from the supermarket.

** Attach the icing to the biscuits by brushing on a mixture of icing sugar & water.

***These are sooo easy to make and sooo addictive. Very simple tutorial here.

EASY PEASY DINNER {or lunch} WINNER

PEA & TUNA TART

source Donna Hay Off the Shelf

1 sheet of Shortcrust pastry*

I cup frozen peas

1&1/2 cups cream

3 eggs

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped mint

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 x 185g can tuna

1.Preheat oven to 190 oC. Line a tart tin or quiche dish with pastry.

2. You can blind bake properly if you know how, or just stab some holes in the bottom with a fork & pop it in the oven for about 10 mins.

3. Put the cream and eggs in a bowl and whisk them together.

4. Add the parmesan, mint, mustard, tuna and peas and give them a quick stir.

5. Pour this mixture onto the pastry and pop it into the oven at 160 oC for half an hour or until set.

6. Cut into wedges and serve with green salad. Serves 6.

This is seriously delicious & the mint and mustard make it a little different to the norm.

I sometimes make this at the same time as an egg & bacon tart (larger version of these, but same recipe) to give a bit of variety.

For more easy recipes you might like to check out my 'Easy Peasy Dinner Winner' Page over here.

* Even more delicious if you make your own pastry, which takes a little longer... Recipe here, but I no longer do this since I broke my food processor on my last attempt!

OUTDOOR PLAY

Today I'm joining in with my friend Jane from Mama Pea Pod with her regular Outdoor Play linky. Jane lives in Hungary (how cool is that?!) and the weather is getting warmer there, while it is getting much cooler here. We have, however, had a little bit of sunshine over the last few days which has been glorious.

Frog & Bear got the paint brushes out again quite a bit this week for a spot of water painting in the back yard. Our paintbrushes live permanently on the window sill at our back door, along with some bubbles and some sidewalk chalk. I feel very grateful to have an enclosed backyard and when the kids are under my feet I just herd them outside - calms everyone down (especially me!)

Sometimes, you just can't tell when something is going to capture your child's attention. You can spend a long time setting up activities but they play with it for 2 minutes and they're on to something else. Yesterday we struck a winner when I suggested, in a flippant attempt to get the kids out of my hair, that they go & hide their toy cars in the garden in a twist on 'hide 'n' seek' and they played for what seemed like hours. You just can't predict these things.

Can you spot the cement mixer in the picture below?

Where have you been outdoors this week?

MEET 'EGG'BERT...

To make an 'Egg'bert of your own, simply keep your egg shell from the next time you have a boiled egg for brekky and...

1. Put a moist cotton wool ball inside the empty egg shell.

2. Sprinkle some alfalfa sprout seeds* onto the moist cotton wool ball.

3. Sit the egg in an egg cup on your windowsill or benchtop & wait**.

4. Remoisten each morning & afternoon by dripping some water on to the cotton wool ball(drain out any excess water).

5. Seeds should start to sprout within a day and by 3-5 days, you should have a full head of hair!

Thanks to 'Scratchy' & 'Flappy' eggs are popular in this house and we now have a whole family growing on the windowsill!

To grow your own alfalfa to eat and to make your own simple alfalfa sprouting kit using a jar, a rubber band & some tulle, please check out my tutorial here. Alfalfa seeds can be purchased from your local health food store.

A little late this week in joining in with Childhood 101. I've also discovered Imagination Tree too! If you are after kids craft ideas. Check them out!

Or for other Kids Craft Ideas that we've done here at FGB, you might like to check out the 'Kids Craft' Page here.

* Any other type of sprout seeds would work also and probably even grass seeds. Another cool grass head activity I'd like to try with the kids is here and how cool are these little bride & groom egg shell plants.

** My kids asked me every 10 minutes for the first hour if they could check it if had grown... this is the most difficult part of the activity!!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY...

More 'Wordless Wednesdays' here.