Tiny Oranges – Fresh, fun blog for OC moms

I take a Mommy & Me class with my youngest at our preschool and they have seriously the BEST play dough I have ever experienced!  The secret ingredient is peppermint extract that makes the play dough smell minty and lovely! It is such a hit with the moms and kids, that the teacher gave us her recipe along with a great holiday gift idea for little ones.

This was my first attempt at making my own play dough, and I have to say it was very easy and so fun!

Peppermint Play Dough Recipe: 

* 2 Cups White Flour

* Liquid Water Color or Food Coloring (as much as needed to get the color you want)

* 1/2 Cup Salt

* 3 Tablespoons Cream of Tartar (This was hard to find, I never saw it before. It was in the area with the salt and looks like baking powder.)

* 2 Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil

* 1 Tablespoon Peppermint Extract (Optional – but this is what makes it smell SO good!)

Ready, set, make!

1. Mix flour, salt and cream of tartar in a large bowl with a whisk.

2. Add 2 cups of water and your coloring of choice to get desired color.

3. Mix well with a wisk.

4. Add vegetable oil and peppermint extract.

5. Mix well with a wisk, then stir/smooth batter with a soft spoon or  spatula.

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There is something about fresh, brightly colored school supplies that makes me really happy. Is it just me??

Since I am sure many of you have back to school supply shopping on the brain, I wanted to share a post about RoseArt, a company that carries an extensive offering of stationery, pens, pencils, markers and crayons to ensure your family will be set when the first school bell rings!

I met the nice people of RoseArt at BlogHer earlier this month. I was so touched when, at the end of the Expo, they offered some leftover crayons for me to take back to donate to our local public school.  Our school was so appreciative and I love meeting companies with big hearts.

Earlier this summer RoseArt also sent me an activity craft set for review. It was a “Me & You Activity Time!” set that was available for a limited time at Target stores.  I don’t know if they are still in stores, but do keep your eye out for RoseArt craft and activity sets because my daughter loved it!

While browsing the site, I also came across these free coloring sheet downloads! I love free printables, click here to see them.

You can visit www.roseart.com to shop supplies and find a RoseArt retailer near you!

[Disclosure: I received a couple free samples of crayons and pencils from RoseArt at BlogHer and received the above mentioned activity set complimentary. This is not a compensated post and all my opinions are my honest ones!]

This find is too cute, I had to share. I have been a big fan of Frecklebox for years now and their darling personalized products and gifts.  Now they are offering free personalized coloring pages for kids that are just so cute! My daughter went crazy over them.

It’s so cute and easy, you just click on the one you want, then add in your child’s name, and click “preview” and then you can print it out yourself.

We are always looking for fun coloring projects and these have entertained my daughters for a long time! Oh, it is so fun to find cool free activities like this!

Also make sure to check out their cool products for back to school!  I personally love their lunchboxes and binders!

{Disclosure: Tiny Oranges is a Frecklebox Affiliate.}

Here’s a little party idea post for you mamas that love parties!  My husband’s birthday was a couple weeks ago and I threw a little birthday fiesta to celebrate! Since Mexican was our theme, I thought of those tissue paper flowers I have seen so many times in Mexico and thought they would make cute party decor. I started Googling how to make tissue paper flowers and found this site which even featured a how to video!

Making tissue paper flowers for party decorations is SO easy and SO cheap!

I absolutely loved how they turned out!

I thought they were so cute I even used them at my daughter’s birthday party as well.  See photo left!

For her party, I bought flower-themed paper products and the pots and flowers really brightened up the table.

Better yet, the cost worked out to be just a little over $1 each.  Can’t get cheaper than that!

Supplies!

- Your choice of colored tissue paper. I got this variety pack of 4 different bright colors from Party City so I could have a variety.

- Green pipe cleaners (bought mine at Michael’s)

- Terracotta pots in various sizes (if using as centerpieces – bought mine at Home Depot & Michael’s)

- Floral foam (to stick flowers in inside the pots)

- Floral Cloth Wire (I bought this and the foam at Michael’s – and found the wire would well to stick into the foam to keep the flowers in place.)

Instructions!

1. Cut tissue paper in half and stack approximately 6 sheets on top of each other.

2. Fold the tissue paper like an accordion.

3. Tie a pipe cleaner around the center.

4. Round the edges with scissors.

5. Fold up the sheets one at a time, making sure to do one side, then the other, so that the tissue “petals” open towards the same center.

6. If putting them in a pot, wrap a floral wire around the center and stick into the floral foam in the pot.

If you are a visual person like me, watch this how to video.  Makes it very easy!

You have to do some test ones to see how big you like them and how many colors you like.  I varied the colors and sizes.  I tied them around the base of lantern centerpieces with the pipe cleaner and then filled in with the terracotta pots.

These would be perfect decoration ideas for a Dora or Diego themed birthday party!  Or, even just to do bright colors at a party.  I think they would also be great to tie on top of birthday gifts!

Happy crafting!

I have been in TURBO nesting mode lately! This past weekend, my husband and I worked on the nursery most all day.  I feel so much better!

I posted a few weeks back about my little project to do my own nursery letters to spell her little name on the wall.  It was really pretty easy (with hubby’s help!) and less expensive than buying custom ones in the store.   Here is how we did it:

Supplies:

* 1/8 ” thick plywood cut into the size you want to display the letters (I did 10″ x 10″ squares)

* Wooden letters purchased at any kid’s store or website.  I bought KidKraft 8″ white letters for $4.95 at Bergstrom’s. 

* Enough fabric to cover the front of the wood square. I bought mine through Pixie Dust Decor. Enter coupon code PN20 for 20% off your entire order from now until 10/1!  Or, enter PDHOSTESS for 25% your entire order from now until 7/8!  

* Ribbon to hang squares. I got 10 yards of ribbon, and did the ribbon pretty long (2′ each side.)

* Staple gun or regular stapler

* Small wood screws & a drill bit (husband had to help me with this part!)

Steps:

1. Cut plywood into the size squares you would like to mount the letters on.

2. Cut fabric into pieces to cover the front side of the wood.

3. “Wrap” the fabric around the backside of the square, almost like wrapping a present. Staple fabric to wood with a staple gun or regular stapler. We got by with using a regular stapler, but a staple gun would likely work much better.
P.S. Those are hubby’s hairy arms, not mine!

4. Cut ribbon into the sizes you want to hang. Staple ribbon to the top of the square in the back and tie a pretty bow at the top so you can hang them.

5.  Attaching the letters to the front of the fabric square (this part written by my hubby who did them for me!)

A. Use small wood screws that are long enough to go through your wood squares and adequately screw into the wood letters.
B. Center the letter on the wood square. Lift the letter and mark 2 spots on the wood square where you would like the screw to hold the letter. It is best to screw the letter in 2 spots, preferable in opposite corners.
C. Make a small (1/8″) cut in the fabric where you made the 2 marks in step B. This prevents the fabric from gathering around the drill bit. Drill small holes through the wood square.
D. Turn the wood square over and screw in your wood screws. Do not screw in all the way, but allow the screw to protrude slightly through the fabric side of the square.
E. Again center the letter on the wood square. When it is in position push the letter down on the protruding screw tips.
F. While holding the letter on the wood square, flip the square so the letter is face down on a solid surface. Screw in the wood screws into the letter.
G. Make sure the letter is flush with the wood square and secure.
    

Step 7 – TA DA!  You are done!   I did mine in alternating fabric backgrounds.  It looks SO cute on the nursery wall!  I don’t want to post a picture just yet of the finished product in her room as I don’t want to reveal her name just yet!  Will do so after she arrives!   And no, it doesn’t start with “R!” Hee hee…  

Happy Crafting!