Science Experiment: Borax Crystal Hearts

This is fun experiment with very cool results.  Our inspiration was from The Scientific Mom.  She created Borax Crystal Ornaments as part of her 12 Days of Science Series with her daughter.  Be sure to check out her blog here to find out about all the amazing excursions and experiments that she does with her daughter.  We decided to make borax crystal hearts for Valentine's day and a few snowflakes for Winter.  Keep reading to find out how we made these.

To make Borax Crystal Hearts You'll Need:

Pipe Cleaners

20 Mule Team Borax (found in the laundry section  of the grocery store) (5-6 Tablespoons or more)
***Borax is not-edible and should be handled with care when using with children)

Water (2 Cups or so)

Jar or Glass Container

Pencil or stick

The first step in making these is to shape a pipe cleaner into a the shape you desire.  Make sure to form a hanger or add one to the shape using the pipe cleaner. Then boil about 2 cups of water (depends on how big your glass container is), let cool a little and pour into your glass container. Then, take about 6 Tablespoons of Borax and stir into the water until dissolved.  Then hang your pipe cleaner shape from a pencil. Place the pencil on top of the glass container.  Make sure it is submerged.

You can add more Borax which will create more crystals.  Let this sit over night, and the next morning  you'll have beautiful crystal shapes. ***Keep the pipe cleaner submerged over night! It was fun to experiment and check them the next morning.  Here are some of our results:

Close-up Crystals

Red Metallic Heart

Silver Pipe Cleaner Snowflake

Swirls

We had a lot of fun experimenting with this idea. We tried adding food color, but the colorful pipe cleaners really brought out the color too.  Have fun with this experiment and let me know your results!

New Year's Welcome Banner

Are you excited for the New Year and what it will bring? I hope it brings great things to all of you! What better way to welcome 2014 with a New Year's painted banner! Such an easy project that could be scaled down or made larger for your situation.

All you need for this project:

A large or small paper/poster board

pencil

tempera paint

brushes or fingers!

glitter

any other material you choose

First begin by penciling in a "2014"or whatever year you are welcoming in.  An older child could do this themselves.  You can use poster board for a large sign or small paper.

Then begin painting.  We started with brushes but preferred using our fingers so it became a finger painting.  We added sparkly glitter into the wet paint instead of using glue later.  Lastly, we added black outlining, but you could leave it without that too.

Happy New Year!

Super Easy Rocky Road Fudge

Here is another amazingly easy fudge recipe I'm excited to share.  Every year I make this Rocky Road Fudge for friends and family and everyone absolutely loves it! When placed in a fancy treat bag or cute tin it makes it even more extra special.  Your friends and family will think you've spent hours in front of a hot stove when you've only spent under 5 minutes. Really? So give it a try. If you love this recipe, be sure to try our Super Easy Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge recipe here.

Here is the recipe:

Super Easy Rocky Road Fudge

Ingredients:

2 cups semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups miniature marshmallows

1 1/2 coarsely chopped walnuts

1.  Combine milk and chocolate chips in a large microwave bowl and stir.

2.  Cook for 1 minute in microwave.

3.  Add vanilla and cook for 3 minutes.

4.  Now add marshmallows and walnuts and stir.

5.  Press into a greased, foiled lined 13x9 inch baking pan.  Chill until ready.

6.  Cut into squares and serve.

7.  Enjoy!

Super Easy Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge

I've made this recipe for years and it is so ridiculously easy to make!  Total preparation and cooking time is probably under 5 minutes.  The long part is waiting for the fudge to harden in the refrigerator. So if you need a quick treat for gifts or a dessert this recipe will do the trick.  Everyone will think you took hours to make this... (everyone thinks I have every  time!)  

Here is the recipe:

Super Easy Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients:

1 oz. unsweetened Chocolate

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 cup peanut butter chips

1 cup peanuts

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine, chocolate, milk, and peanut butter chips in a microwave dish and stir

2. Cook 1 minute in the microwave or till smooth.

3. Stir in peanuts and vanilla.

4. Cook for 3 minutes in the microwave.

5.  Stir again until smooth and pour into a 8 x 8 pan and chill.

6.  Cut into squares.

7.  Put in fancy containers or bags to create a special gift of the sweet people in your life.

8.  Enjoy!

New Christmas Book: The Legend of Tommy The Tiny Christmas Tree

I'm excited to share with you a new book that I have been involved with that features one of my Christmas Art Activities at the end!!! The book that I am proud to present is a special Christmas story called: Tommy The Tiny Christmas Tree by Sidney Louis Fleishman and illustrated by Jeanne Carr.

It is about Tommy,  a little tree that stands alone wishing to become a Christmas Tree.  After many years, it seems hopeless, as though he will never get his wish.  Until one day, an unusual visitor comes to the forest. Will the visitor be able to grant Tommy's wish? A tale of wonder for children of all ages.

The story and illustrations in this book are delightful.   Here is just a sampling of some pages of the book:

If you are looking for a new Christmas book to add to your library,  The Legend of Tommy The Tiny Christmas Tree will definitely fill that space. This book would make a great gift for the children or teachers in your life. You can purchase the hard copy of this book here for $14.99.  You can also purchase the book in E-book form on Amazon.com  here for $3.49.  Hope you enjoy the book as much as my daughter and I have.

This book is a special book because it is produced by Lucky Missy Publishing,  a start up publishing company with the belief that Magic Happens when amazing talents emerge! The founder, Michelle Scotton believes that a team should be fully involved when creating a book.  Many times when a book is created many people are working on it, but not collaboratively. This book was created by a team who truly had synergy and excitement through and through.