Friday, July 8, 2016

Strawberry Slushie



We love, love, love strawberries at our house.  With it being summer, strawberries are at their best right now and so I'm taking full advantage of enjoying this delicious fruit.

A few weeks ago we went strawberry picking with the family.  It was a fun experience and we got to enjoy the freshest of the fresh strawberries.  You can learn more about some of the other yummy ways we enjoyed our favorite berry in our Strawberry Fun post.

I have made smoothies many times before but wanted more of a slushy, icy cold drink.  So here it is.....simple but really refreshingly delicious, especially on these 90+ degree days we've been having!

What you'll need:
1 cup of strawberries (I like to add a bit more than a cup)
1/4-1/2 cup of water
1 cup of ice
Honey - to act as a sweetener (optional)

Blend all of these ingredients together until you get the consistency you like.  You might have to do this a few times before getting that perfect consistency but through trial and error you'll quickly figure it out.

If strawberries aren't your favorite fruit then try watermelon, raspberries or lemon!  And if you want to make it a tad more fun for the kids add in a packet of kool-aid!!

Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Recycled Crafts


If you're like me you keep containers, toilet paper rolls, boxes, etc for crafts to do with the kids.  Here are a few recycled materials that we crafted with.

Turtle Craft:
We used a plastic container for the turtle's shell.  You could also cut off the bottom part of a soda bottle and use that too!


Fireworks Painting:
Their are so many ways to craft with toilet paper rolls.  When I saw this post from Happiness is Homemade I knew we could use a bunch of our toilet paper rolls in one pop.  I found the post right in time to do  for the 4th of July.  I also realized that painting with the rolls not only turn out looking like fireworks but like flowers, too!  Just add a stem and maybe a center and voila...a flower!

  
pressing lighter with the toilet paper roll gives more of the 'fireworks' look.....

Patriotic Cup:
This is another craft that was perfect for 4th of July but you could also turn this cup into a snowman or maybe paint it orange and turn it into a pumpkin, depending on what the season is.


Paper Plate Frog:
Another favorite of ours is using paper plates to get creative with.  After reading some National Geographic kids books on animals we tried making this paper plate frog.


Shoe Boxes:
Saving the best for last.  We LOVE making diorama's.  Their is no limit to what you can create when it comes to shoebox diorama's.  Check out our winter diorama post and our post on diorama fun for more fun ideas.



And finally, here are a few other ways we've used recycled materials to craft with:





Think before you throw on how you can recycle/re-purpose those recycled materials!