Grown In My Heart » Jen

Be Crafty…. and make a tadpole pond

jen — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:00:30 +0000

For under $10 you can buy a learning experience about nature and science and a little summer entertainment. All you need is a basin about 9 inches deep and 18 inches around, an aquatic plant, a rock and some of the cutest tadpoles you’ve ever seen (We have leopard and green frog tadpoles.). Early June is the best time to find tadpoles as they’ve just hatched and have not yet sprouted their appendages yet.

: A small basin will work find to keep 2 to 3 tadpoles

A few steps are important to keep the tadpoles thriving. They need de-chlorinated water, so it’s important to either use rainwater or let the water sit overnight (if you are using tap water) before adding it to the bowl.

Make sure you have a water plant in their with the roots exposed so the tadpoles can eat, have a place to hide and have shelter from the sun. Otherwise you’ll have to give them a small bit of fish flakes everyday until they are big enough to hop out and get food themselves.

: One little tadpole hanging out

Little froggies like to have places to perch, so put a rock in the basin with the top exposed so they can come out of the water once in a while.

Keep the water level constant by adding de-chlorinated water when it drops below 2/3 of the bowl.

Put it in an area where they will have plant cover to hide from predators.

: Enjoy a summer of growing

And enjoy watching them grow arms and legs and the kids delight as they run out very day to see what kind of magic is happening.

Jennifer D. Rizzo writes about other crafty things at her blog Sanctuary Art.

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Be Crafty…make a photo frame out of an old CD jewel case

jen — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:19:44 +0000

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Finding the perfect thing to put our favorite people’s pictures in doesn’t have to be expensive or hard to find. Sometimes materials we have on hand are just the right fit, such as using old CD jewel cases.

It’s as simple as photo copying a favorite picture, trimming to fit and sliding into the front flap. Using a hot glue gun, glue a ribbon to the inside of the back (The length will depend on how far down you would like it to hang.). Close the case and you are ready to go! You can add an extra touch of personalization like we did here by copying the photo onto regular white copy paper and coloring in some of the elements with colored pencils to make them pop.

You can even do this project with your kids and let them color “themselves” in. Another great, modern looking idea would be to do a grouping of nine or twelve different pictures, or blow up one big picture at a copy store and cut it into nine different pieces. You can also hot glue (Adults only please!) saw tooth hangers on the back to eliminate the ribbon all together for a cleaner look.

CD jewelcase photo frames are inexpensive and easy to do

You can read more about crafting, furniture make overs and other bits of creative living at Jen’s blog Sanctuary Art. Jen is an artist and also writes free-lance crafting items for the local paper and other on-line sites between nap times, Elmo and after bedtime.

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Be crafty and.. have fun with fabulous “firework” eggs this fourth of July.

jen — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:58:22 +0000

making firework eggs is easy!

By using the technique of tea dying eyes and updating it a little, you can have fun making firework eggs!

All you need is :

Hard boiled eggs

food dye red and blue

water

paper towels

and containers to dye in.

After hard boiling eggs, mix up a cup of each color in water. Make the color very dark. Crack the eggs so that they are cracked all of the way around. use enough force to split the inside membrane, but not enough to crush the egg.

Crack the egg all of the way around

Let the egg then sit in the food dye mixture for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how dark you would like it. Do not use vinegar to dye the eggs with, it will make the egg taste funny.

Watch the eggs to see how dark you would like them.

Place the eggs on a paper towel to dry, and pat them gently, remember, food dye stains!

Finally! Peel and enjoy your festive eggs! Refrigerate if not eaten right away.

Use these eggs to make:

a cool egg salad

Happy Fourth Deviled eggs

a fun breakfast snack

and use the extra food dye water to:

put in a vase and let flowers drink it up and change colors

(Carefully!) paint on white t-shirts

Jennifer Rizzo writes about other crafty things at her blog http://Sanctuary art. blogspot.com

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Protected: Mother’s Day Giveaway

Marcie — Sat, 02 May 2009 16:44:29 +0000

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Grown In My Heart » Jen

Be Crafty…. and make a tadpole pond

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Be Crafty…make a photo frame out of an old CD jewel case

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Be crafty and.. have fun with fabulous “firework” eggs this fourth of July.

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Protected: Mother’s Day Giveaway

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