July 4th Granita!

We are all about festive desserts this summer! Head over to Honest to Nod to get all the deets on our July 4th granita recipe—it's plenty sweet without added sugar. Happy almost fourth!!

Artworks: DIY Mini Piñatas!

Yesterday, we crafted one of our most favorite summer bucket list items yet: mini piñatas. Mom loved them because they used up some of the party supplies taking over our house. We loved them because we got to eat gummy bunnies, which mom pretty much considers candy and dispenses sparingly. Win-win.

We basically followed One Charming Party's tutorial, subbing some of the party supplies we already had on hand. The first one took a bit of finagling, but once you get the hang of it, they come right together. They'd be so, so cute for a birthday party or in red, white + blue at a July 4th BBQ as a "firecracker" piñata. Happy Summer Bucket listing, everyone!

To make our mini piñatas, pull together :
- paper party cups (we used polka dot because that's what we had -- white or another solid colors would give you a more professional look, if you're going for that);
- fringed streamers (we had some pre-fringed leftover garland from another party, so we used that. if we were doing it from scratch, mom would likely cut the streamer in half lengthwise first. it's easier to layer shorter fringed pieces);
- cardstock, cut into 2" circles and hole-punched twice (see photos below);
- string or twine;
- glue;
- a hammer and small nail;
- 5" square or circle of tissue paper; and
- treats! 

1. Having a parent help you, make two small holes in the bottom of the cup with your hammer and nail. Loop a small strand of string through the two holes, tying the ends together inside the bottom of the cup. 

2. Fill cup with treats. Take a 2 foot-long piece of string and loop it through the 2" cardstock circle, and tie string flush against it. Place cardstock on top of your treats, with string ends tailing out the top. 

3. Make small hole in middle of 5" square/circle of tissue paper. Run the ends of cardstock-tied string through it and out the top of the cup. Place a small amount of glue around outside top of cup, fold tissue paper over the sides, gluing down as you go. Let dry for a few minutes.

4. Glue fringe on in layers, starting from the tissue paper covered end of the cup. The more you overlap the fringe, the more coverage you'll get. We could only be patient enough for 3-4 layers. What can we say? We wanted the gummies! 

5. When it's party time, tie piñatas up or have a friend hold one. Gently pull on bottom string and ENJOY!!!

{you can re-use the pinatas by adding more treats, replacing cardstock circle, and taping up the bottom tissue paper a bit}

Artworks: Rain Painting

It appears that we've somehow moved to Seattle without actually moving. It's like spring around here this year, just way more humid. So we've had lots of chances to come up with new ways to entertain ourselves in the rain, including to get out in it. Enter rain painting. Nothing too complicated, just a good way to get out and do some art in the rain. 

To start, we ground up some old tempera paint cakes -- we tried to roll them in a plastic baggie at first, but ended up placing them between two layers of wax paper and chopping them up with a cheese cutter (also therapeutic for moms who have been stuck inside with two kids during this "Summer of Rain"). If you have powdered tempera paint, that would work even better. Then we sprinkled the newly-powdered paints onto heavy watercolor paper and set them out in the rain. It was fun to experiment with placement and we grew more patient as we watched the rain work its magic. 

Turns out that the designs kind of look like fireworks, so it might be a good rainy July 4th project to do as well. We are taking a few days blog break to hang, but we'll be back next week to report on our bucket list progress. Happy 4th!