Make Your Own Finger Paints

Chance and I had an afternoon with not much to do, so I decided to make him some finger paints. I looked up several recipes, but I decided on a cooked one since I figured that would have a smoother texture.  It ended up a little thicker than I had hoped, so next time I might add a little more water.

Chance had so much fun helping me make the paints and add the coloring, not to mention painting!

And even though the paint was a little thick, it made wonderful squishy goo to squeeze between his fingers!

I even had fun trying a little artwork.  :)

Fingerpaint

1/2 cup cornstarch

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups cold water

food coloring

In a suacepan, combine all ingredients except the food coloring.  Cook and stir over medium-low heat until paint thickens and becomes opaque.  This can take 10 to 15 minutes.  You don't want to turn the heat too high.  Remove from stove and cool.  When it's cool, divide if you wish to make different colors.  Add food coloring as desired.  I added about 5 drops per color.  Have fun!

Another thing about this paint is that it is very washable!  And every mother knows that's a very good thing! :)

Make Your Own Sports Drink

     Yesterday, my husband and son were out working on a pick-up truck in the heat of the day.  I kept bringing them water, but I thought they might need something more to help replace the salt and electrolytes they lost.  Since we don't keep drinks like Gatorade or Powerade around the house, I had to come up with something on my own! 

   I did have some Pop Ice freezer pops...

and some Emergen-C powdered drink mix. 

    So I filled a quart size jar about 3/4 full with water.  I put 4 orange flavored Ice Pops in the water and stirred to dissolve.  Then I added 1 packet of Emergen-C Raspberry.  I also added a few shakes of salt.   I stirred that all together and ended up having a great, cold sports drink for the guys!

  You can use any flavor of Ice Pop or Emergen-C you like...there are alot of great combinations out there!  You can also control the sugar content by using less or more of the freezer pops.  And it's great, because you get a good shot of vitamin C, plus other antioxidants, B vitamins for energy, and an electrolyte boost!  And it works out to be quite a bit cheaper than the bottled varieties you buy at the store.  Walgreens sometimes has the Emergen-C buy one get one free, so that makes for a great deal!  Enjoy!