Clean Mud

warm water (warm enough to melt soap)
1 bar dove soap
1 roll white toilet paper




Have the children tear up the toilet paper into little bits (the smaller the better). Using a cheese grater, grate the bar of soap into a big bowl. Add the torn up toilet paper to the bowl. Add the warm water a little bit at a time while mixing the toilet paper and the soap together. You have added enough water when the mixture begins to feel like a thick cool whip. Do not make the mixture soupy. The more you play with it the fluffier it becomes. The kids have an absolute blast with it

Homemade Chia Pets

knee-high nylon stocking
2 Tbs. grass seed-empty yogurt container
1 cup potting soil
water
measuring cup
wiggly eyes
glue
pompon
yarn-acrylic paint or paint pens


1. Fill the toe of a knee-high nylon stocking with two tablespoons grass seed.
2. Pour in one cup potting soil. Gather the top of the stocking, and hold it with one hand. Press the outside of the stocking down, forcing the potting soil into a ball. Tie the stocking in a knot at the top of the ball. There will be a tail above the knot.
3. Turn the ball upside down, and place it tail first into a yogurt container filled with water. The tail will draw the water up into the soil and water the seed.
4. Glue wiggly eyes, a pompon nose and a yarn mouth onto the nylon-stocking ball. Paint a shirt and tie on the yogurt container with acrylic paint or marking pens.
5. Keep the yogurt container filled with water, and watch the grass grow. When the grass-head guy's hair grows too long, cut it with scissors. (

Homemade Kaleidoscopes

two potato-chip canisters and plastic caps
spray cleaning solution-paper towels
craft knife
butyrate plastic-matte board-masking tape
clear tape
dime
ruler
pencil
gift-wrapping paper,
Con-Tact® paper,
fabric, etc.
spray adhesive
craft glue
bubble wrap
corrugated cardboard
1. Remove the potato chips from their containers. You'll just need one canister for the kaleidoscope, but you'll need the plastic cap from the second can. Remove the bottom of the canister with a can opener. Leave the metal rim in place to help hold the cap on. Clean the inside of the canister with spray cleaner and paper towels to remove the grease.

2. Decorate the outside of the canister by covering it with gift-wrapping paper, Con-Tact paper or fabric. Use spray adhesive to hold the covering in place if necessary

3. Make the eyepiece by placing a dime in the center of one plastic end. Trace around it, and cut out the hole with a craft knife

4. Cut a circular piece of butyrate plastic to fit inside the plastic end. Tape it to the backside of the plastic end. Glue the plastic end in place on the bottom of the canister, using craft glue. The rim is a little smaller than the top of the can.

5. Apply spray adhesive to a 6" by 9" piece of white matte board. Glue a piece of butyrate plastic to the matte board. Cut the matte board into three 2" by 9" pieces.

6. Place the three strips side by side, lengthwise, plastic side down, approximately 1/16" apart. Place three pieces of masking tape across the back of all three pieces to hold them together.

7. Fold the two outer strips up toward the center, forming a three-dimensional triangle with the plastic on the inside. Tape the joint. This will form the mirror assembly to go inside the kaleidoscope.

8. Wrap the mirror assembly in bubble wrap, wind masking tape around the bubble wrap, and place the mirror assembly inside the canister.

9. Cut a circle of butyrate plastic the diameter of the canister, and place it on top of the mirror assembly.

10. Cut a narrow strip of corrugated cardboard the circumference of the inside of the canister and the width of the distance between the plastic circle on top of the mirror assembly and the top rim of the canister. Place it inside the canister on top of the plastic circle.

11. Place a few colored beads on the plastic circle.

12. Snap on the plastic end from a second canister of potato chips. (Source: HGTV.com)

Homemade Lava Lamp

1/2 cup of any clear cooking oil
Empty, rinsed out soda bottle with cap
Powered tempera paints
Funnel
Water
Glitter

Pour the cooking oil into the soda bottle. Add 1 teaspoon of the tempera paint. Add glitter, sparkles, confetti.. Add water using funnel or measuring cup with a spout until bottle is filled. Tightly put cap on. Now you have your own "lava lamp". Turn the bottle upside down and see how the colors move and change!

Play Dough

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt-1 package of unsweetened drink mix
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of hot water


Combine flour, salt, and Drink mix Add vegetable oil and hot water. Mix the ingredients with your hands. Add extra flour or water as needed until the mixture is the consistency of bread dough.

Bath Time Finger Paints

1/3 cup clear mild liquid dish detergent
1 Tbs. cornstarch-food coloring -ice cube tray

Mix all ingredients except food coloring in a small mixing bowl. Pour the mixture, in equal parts, into several sections of a plastic ice cube tray. Add one to two drops of food coloring to each section of the tray and mix with a small spoon.

Bath Colors

1 cup grated Ivory soap
1/4 Cup warm water 4-6 drops food coloring


Mix water, soap and food color together in medium bowl. Stir till the mixture begins to stiffen.
Remove mixture from the bowl and knead until it is the consistency of a very thick dough. Spoon crayon mix into plastic ice cube trays. Place crayons in the freezer for 10 minutes. . Pop crayons out and allow to dry overnight or until hard. Can be used as
a bath soap.

Homemade Flubber

3/4 cup of warm water
1 cup white school glue
food coloring
2 tsp Borax

Mix together 1/4 cup water, glue and a few drops of food coloring... In another bowl mix borax and the rest of the water... Pour borax mixture into glue mixture.. and you have instant fubber!!