Day 7 - i.d.e.a. Museum

It's starting to get hot. That means we need more indoor activities. My oldest daughter hadn't been to the children's art museum, the i.d.e.a. Museum in Mesa, AZ and had been begging to go. We used my membership I bought with a groupon deal ( admission for up to 4 people) and Kid One's Pogo Pass (discount pass for multiple Phoenix attractions) for a free, fun outing. Read my review of the i.d.e.a. Museum here.

Why I Love Children's Museums

My kids love to craft, but I hate the wasted glue, tape, and paper and even more, the mess. That is why the I.d.e.a. is so great! The museum provides all the craft supplies and the glue and scraps don't get on my table. My kids can make all the junk they want and we can leave it on the table for other visitors to admire instead of bringing it home to clutter up the house.

Speaking of messes, I love that the employees are wandering around picking up stray trash and toys while I just get to play with the kids. I don't need to worry about the clutter around me when we are at a children's museum. I can enjoy my children without the stress of household responsibilities right in my face.

Another thing I love about children's museums is that everything is a novelty to my kids. We don't have a light bright wall at home so they think it's extra special and sit and and stick pegs in holes for half an hour. The toys are all new to them so it takes longer for them to get bored.

I like that there are areas specifically for babies. Kid Five gets attached my her brothers all day at home but in the baby zone, big brother's aren't even allowed. I know she is safe from bigger kids who do t know to watch out for little hands. I also know she has age appropriate toys that she can't hurt herself on.

Last but not least, I love that I can have fun too. I also like to create things out of old scraps of cardboard, but I don't have time at home. I enjoy putting on a puppet show with my son or doing puzzle on a giant touch screen while the kids play around me. I like interactive museums as much as my children.

What do you love about going to children's museums? 

Day 6 - Bleach Print Shirts

My kids have loved doing tie-dye the past few summers, but since one can only have so many tie-dyed shirts, I decided to try something new. I've had friends do these type of shirts in the past but I followed a basic guideline from here.

How-To Make Bleach Print Shirts

Supplies

• Colored t-shirts (ours are from Dollar Tree)
• Spray bottle
• Bleach
• Gloves (to protect hands from bleach)
• Cardboard boxes (cereal boxes work fine)
• Scissors
• Tape if you want

We thought about sponging the bleach solution on but decided against it (that's why we had sponges and a cake pan)

1. Cut shapes out of cardboard. We just used cracker boxes. Most of the shapes we did free-hand, but I did print a silhouette of a car that I traced. 
   
2. Mix a solution of half bleach, half water inside your spray bottle. A stronger solution might work well too but since I'm working with kids, I decided to go with a 50/50 mix. 
3. Put a sheet of cardboard inside your shirt. This protects the shirt from getting image bleached through to the other side.
4. Arrange shapes on your shirt. I just set the shapes onto my shirt, but for the kids we did tape them down so they wouldn't blow away.
   
5. Spray with bleach/water solution. From about 2 feet away, spray around all your images, but avoid soaking the shirt. If it's too wet the bleach will bleed under your stencil.
   
6. Allow image to develop. We removed the stencils and let the bleach sit until the surrounding area was a light as we wanted.
   
7. Rinse shirt. To stop the bleach from doing its job, give it a quick rinse with the hose.
   
8. Wash before wearing. You want to be sure you've removed all the bleach. 
   

Tips:

*Use simple, clearly defined shapes without too much detail

*Wear clothes you don't care about in case of bleach spills

*Make sure you give the bleach enough time to develop before rinsing

*Darker shirts work better (we really like the rust color the bleach produces on the black and navy blue shirts)

*Spray from above as opposed to from the side. This prevents the bleach from going under your stencils. 

*Don't over-saturate your shirt. It seemed to work best doing a light but completely covering spray from about a 2-feet above the shirt. (also, make sure your spray bottle lid is on tight so it doesn't spill on your shirt like it did for kid 4)

Have you done bleach print shirts? Share your images in the comments.

Preparing for Fun at Home

Don't you love those days when you just stay at home in your pajamas? It's one of the best things about summer! Some days it's great to lounge around and watch TV, but my kids tend to get grouchy after sitting in front of a screen for too long. When we are home I like to do some crafts or cooking. The only problem is, if you find a great recipe or fun art project and don't have all the supplies, you'll have to change out of those pajamas to run to the store. What a bummer! Read on to find out how to make sure your fun-at-home supplies are well stocked.

Sugar Cube Castles 2014

Crafting

• Load up on the essentials: construction paper, glue, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, googly eyes, etc. You'll love having these things handy for spontaneous craft time. If you remember to buy extra when back-to-school sales are on, you can get a pretty good price on most of these things. The dollar store carries lots of craft supplies, but most of the time, Walmart is cheaper.
• Make a list and buy specific items for projects from your Pinterest board. Some items are hard to find and you may even need to buy them online. Again, if you plan ahead, you can get better deals. I'm planning on doing bleach print shirts this year. Did you know Dollar Tree carries T-Shirts? You'll have to be on the lookout throughout the year if you want a specific size or color. 
• Buy clearance crafts. If you find a cool craft kit on sale, buy it to keep in your craft stash. There are usually holiday specific crafts on clearance after the holiday. Most of these can be easily tweaked to use year round. I bought a 90% off Halloween Tie-dye kit one year that had yellow, purple, & green dyes, along with Halloween stickers we didn't use. 

Cooking

• Load up on the essentials: all purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, chocolate chips. Also, keep your fridge stocked with butter and eggs. If you have these essentials, you can always make cookies or brownies without having to run to the store. 
• Make a list and buy specific items for recipes from your Pinterest board. You will love having some specialty items around for new recipes. I don't usually have marshmallows around during the school year, but they are in a few of my dessert recipes (and crafts!) so I keep them in stock for summer. Is there are great mint cookie recipe you've been wanting to try? Make sure you have mint extract in your pantry this summer.
• Buy non-food cooking essentials, too: Wooden skewers, toothpicks, cupcake liners, foil, plastic wrap, wax paper, food coloring, etc. These things also double up for crafts.