Our Memories of Yesterday were Once Moments of Today

Make a memory today with a person you know and love. We all know, too well, how quickly the summer days come to end. Since we’re still pretty early in the summer I thought it would be great to share a few ideas of something fun to do with a child. It’s not the destination of our vacations or how much money we spend that makes someone feel special…it’s the gift of our love and time spent together that says, “I love you”.

Kool-Aid Play Dough
The children will love the smell of this play dough!
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups boiling water
2 packages unsweetened Kool-Aid
Mix dry ingredients. Add oil and water. Wearing gloves, knead for 10 minutes. Store in zip lock bag in refrigerator.

Notes:
Your hands may smell of the Kool-Aid flavor even with gloves.
Kool-Aid is a powdered drink mix sold in North America. Parents just add sugar and water to make the drink. The powder has both flavoring and color which makes it great for this craft.



Kids Craft Recipes for Paper Mache
Paper Mache Paste:
1 part water
1 part flour

To make a Piñata:
Blow up a large balloon and tie it closed. Tie up the balloon somewhere from a height so it’s hanging down for you to work with. Cut old newspapers into strips and make the above paper Mache paste mixture. Soak strips in mixture and apply them to the balloon like a plaster cast. Let one layer dry, then add another and let dry again. Repeat twice more. When the piñata is dry, burst the balloon, make an opening at the bottom and pour in small candies or trinkets or toys. Cover the bottom hole with duct tape and paint the piñata brightly. Insert a hook in the top and hang the piñata up. Give kids strong sticks to break it.

Variations: Can cover just half of the balloon and make a basket. Can make it into an animal or your child’s could design his own head by adding a face and yarn “hair”. Just use your imagination.



Bank
"Just make draw/color your own picture of anything you like. Make sure it is on thick paper so that you can't see through it. You can use any kind of empty, clean container that has a lid. Just make sure that your paper is the right size to go around the container. Then using Mod Podge or any type of Decoupage glue, cover the back of your picture with the glue and wrap it around your container.

When that's dry (about 2 hours), coat the entire outside with another layer of the glue. Let this dry overnight. Then, have your Mommy or Daddy cut a slit in the lid and put the lid on. You now have your own personalized bank!

Footprints in Time
As your children grow, you may often wish you could “hang onto them” just the way they are at that moment. Your child’s feet grow quickly from the feet you hold in your hands and count “piggies” to feet that need mud and grass stains scrubbed off of them. They’re feet you tie shoes on and teach to pedal a bike. All too soon they’re feet wearing high heels or kicking footballs. No matter what stage mark it with this great idea if you’re going to the beach.

Pack a plastic bag full of plaster of Paris in your suitcase. At the beach, mix the plaster and required amount of water (fresh water – salt water will not set). Have each child make a clear, deep footprint in damp sand. Pour the print full of plaster. Let the plaster stand until it is semi-soft. Then insert a bent hair pin into the plaster for a hanger. When the plaster cast is cool and hard dig away the sand and remove the “footprint”. On the back of each footprint, write the person’s name, age, and the place where the footprint was made. Keep a collection of these on a special wall or in a child’s room.



I hope some of these ideas inspire you to make today a special one! Get out your candles or your good china. You know, the stuff reserved for someone special. Tell your family someone very important to you is coming to dinner. Then when they ask “who” you can tell them it’s THEM. They are the special people. Every one of us can make today special for someone. Just use a little creativity and a lot of love!


This summer fun article was written by Karen of Love You Cherishables.
You may check out here shop here at wsoapp at:
Love You Cherishables

And the Winner Is......

Our winner of the picnic basket contest is Patrick of Cre8tors Touch!
Patrick wins the $50 cash prize plus one free month in his shop!
A big thank you to our judge, Julie Bailey! We know it was a hard choice with all the amazing WSOAPP'ers baskets!

Pack a Perfect Romantic Picnic Basket

Ahhhh Summertime! Warm weather and longer days, watching lightening bugs blinking their Morse code as the sound of children's laughter playing hide and seek filter the air, gardening, swimming, fishing, vacations, 4th of July and fireworks, and all the wonderful outdoor activities of this glorious time of year! All that activity can work up a powerful appetite! So let's head off to a secluded spot, even if it's in your own back yard and have a picnic! No ants allowed!

Some of our WSOAPP artisans have accepted the challenge to create the Perfect Romantic Picnic Basket. Below are pictures of their offerings, along with a title, theme, a little write up or poem about their gathering. An independent set of judges will pick a winner sometime after July 10! (more pictures will be added in the next couple days) So kick yer shoes off and let's have a picnic!


CONTESTANT #1
“Romantic Primitive Western Style Picnic for Two”

In Tucson, AZ, there is only one way to do a picnic; by the pool and of course Western style! Hosting this little get together is my baby Annie Oakley! She has put together this little picnic including all the fixin’s; his and her mugs, Sarsaparilla, rustic baked biscuits, beef jerky, and Grandma’s raspberry jelly. Two red bandanna's serve as napkins and a rustic metal plate is perfect to share! All this is presented on my handmade pieced table cloth.





CONTESTANT #2
"Life is a bowl of Cherries"

A Romantic picnic for 2 with fresh cut flowers from the garden, and feeding Sweet Rainier cherries to your sweetie that takes the absolute best care of me and our fur babys...What more could a gal ask for...a day at home with her sweetheart, a sunny day, just relaxing the day away on a nice Sunny summer day....Ain't Life Grand!!! :)






CONTESTANT #3
"Romantic Escape"
A romantic picnic in a secluded garden,
Holding hands and sipping champagne,
Sharing delights of taste and sight,
Whispering secrets and stealing a kiss,
Dreaming of travel and a romantic escape.







CONTESTANT #4

A Romantic Back Yard Retreat with your favorite Jane Austen Novel

You don't have to travel miles and miles to that perfect getaway spot, you can pack your basket and head right out into your back yard or on the front porch! Toss in all of your favorite things that make you smile, your favorite Jane Austen or a novel by the Bronte Sisters, your favorite chocolates, a bottle of vintage wine, a great magazine that you have put off reading forever, and then head out to set up a comfortable spot where it is just you and the song birds in your garden. There is nothing like reading Pride and prejudice in your garden. Don't prefer solitude? Pack enough for your loved one to sit out there too!





































CONTESTANT #5

When I think of a romantic summer picnic, I think of Tom Sawyer and Becky Thacher and their picnic down by the cave and the mouth of the river. Tom "Tiger Cat" Sawyer and Becky "Calico Cat" Thacher have packed a romantic picnic basket full of goodies and headed on down to the river, cause they know that nothing says picnic, like an afternoon dangling your toes in the cool water at a rivers edge and dropping a line off your cane poll to see if you can catch your lunch, and we all know how much cats love fresh fish! Tom is catching the fish and throwing them in his minnow bucket, Becky has packed a basket full with grapes and other fruits, along with a bottle of "Cat Nip" wine. Of course she also remembered a thermos full of hot tea for Tom, cause it is his favorite drink. No picnic with cats would be complete with out their cookies and cream. These are a couple of my Full size folk art dolls, all sculpted from stone clay and hand painted. Note the little bird on the handle of the basket, and I even found a dragon fly for the handle of the minnow bucket.






CONTESTANT 6

A PERFECTLY PINK PICNIC BASKET

Sugar cookies thick with frosting, shortbread cookies made from rich butter, mini cheesecakes topped with cherries, Russian teacakes rolled many times in powdered sugar, strawberries dipped in chocolate, and grapes dripping in sugar. These would be my snacks packed into my "Perfectly Pink Picnic Basket". A beautiful sunny afternoon, quilt spread on the ground, and my sweet husband to share the afternoon with (shortbread and Cheesecakes for him). Ahhhhhhhh......it sounds wonderful.

Crafting with Herbs: Lavendar

Lavender
I love growing lavender! The smell is heavenly, the bees love it and it looks wonderful in crafts, added with a doll or critter, in potpourri and sachets or in crocks. The possibilities are endless! And lavender dries so well and retains its fragrance and color for quite some time.
I clip lavender stems early in the morning just as the buds are opening. Gather a few stems together, tie with string and hang in a brown paper bag with holes punched in it for air circulation. Just as long as the location is dry and fairly dark, but I find when placed in the bag, any loose buds that fall off are easily gathered to use in potpourri and sachets.
Lavender is a tough plant and is extremely drought resistant, once established. When first starting lavender plants, don't be afraid to give them a handful of compost in the planting hole and keep them regularly watered during their first growing season.
They will tolerate many growing conditions, but thrive in warm, well-drained soil and full sun. Like many plants grown for their essential oils, a lean soil will encourage a higher concentration of oils. An alkaline and especially chalky soil will enhance lavenders fragrance.
Although lavender plants get pruned regularly simply by harvesting the flowers, to keep them well shaped and to encourage new growth, a bit of spring pruning is in order. The taller varieties can be cut back by approximately one-third their height. Lower growing varieties can either be pruned back by a couple of inches or cut down to new growth.
Lavender will spread out a bit over time, but it’s not an invasive plant and more than welcome in my gardens for its beautiful purple flowers, aroma and crafting needs!

Crafting with Herbs was written by Debbie of Barefoot Primitives. Debbie is a master gardener and uses many of the things that she grows in her wonderful garden in her primitive creations. You may check out here shop here at wsoapp at: