Category Archives: DIY

Magic Rainbow Rocks – The Coolest Project Ever

Posted on by March 12, 2018
9

These Magic Rainbow Rocks are easy to make, and each one has a big surprise inside! Perfect for St. Patrick's Day, or all year long!

I had another epic weekend in New Jersey.

My sister was throwing Parker a second birthday party, AND my Aunt came up from Orlando to go to the party and meet the baby, AND my other sister is due with her baby any day now. AND I got to see all the cousins, except for the not-yet-born one. While there, my mom talked about a friend who said his favorite season is “The start of every single one.” And I can really get down with that one. Even with winter hate, the start of winter is pretty tinsel and light-filled. Scarlet then said, “Remember when my favorite holiday was St. Patrick’s Day? I think now my favorite holiday is every next one coming.”

I can get down with that one too.

I’m enamored with St. Patrick’s Day with its rainbows and gold coins. Lucky Charms and corned beef hash. Above all, the love and the light and the HOPE of this time of year. Even with a winter storm warning tonight. Even with a case of the Mondays. When we’re at my parent’s farm, we do projects. I don’t yet have photos from the amazing project my kids did with my mom yesterday – while I showered and read and generally relaxed – but I do have photos of another favorite project. You can do this all year long, but I’m feeling festive today. Let’s turn milk green and make Magic Rainbow Rocks.

Magic Rainbow Rocks

Materials:

Baking soda
Water
Vinegar
Bowls
Plastic spoons
Food coloring
Plastic gold coins

Instructions:

1 – Gather several bowls. We used disposable bowls, but you can use non-disposable if you wish. Using a plastic spoon, put 5 spoonfuls of baking soda into each bowl, one for each color you would like to make.

2 – Using the same plastic spoon, add 4-5 spoonfuls of water into each bowl with the baking soda.

3 – Mix the baking soda and water mixture well. You do not want the baking soda mixture to be runny. It needs to be on the dry side, but still wet enough to mold into a shape.

4 – Add one drop of food coloring to each bowl to create different colors of baking soda mixture. Mix well to distribute the coloring evenly in the mixture.

5 – If any of the mixtures in the bowls are too wet, simply sprinkle in some additional baking soda a little at a time until it forms soft crumbles that can be molded into shape.

6 – Place a little of one color of baking soda mixture in your hand and form a small flat pancake. Top it with a plastic gold coin, and then use another bit of the same color of baking soda mixture to cover the coin up, and form the mixture in your hand into a ball that is surrounding the gold coin.

7 – Repeat step 6 until you have magic rainbow rocks in each color you wish to make.

8 – Place the rocks on a tin foil lined plate and place them into the freezer for at least 1 hour, and up to overnight.

9 – When you are ready to use them, remove the magic rainbow rocks from the freezer, and let little ones drop them into a bowl filled with vinegar. They will get to see a magical reaction, and then a gold coin surprise will appear!

These Magic Rainbow Rocks are easy to make, and each one has a big surprise inside! Perfect for St. Patrick's Day, or all year long!

These Magic Rainbow Rocks are easy to make, and each one has a big surprise inside! Perfect for St. Patrick's Day, or all year long!

Would you make these Magic Rainbow Rocks?

Rainbow Wand Craft

Posted on by February 28, 2018
7

This rainbow wand craft is delightful! It's perfect for St. Patrick's Day, PRIDE, birthday parties, party favors, and just plain whimsical play right at home. See how easy it is to make!

Happy March!

When I was a kid in New Jersey, I swear March really did come in like a lion and out like a lamb, like “they” said it would. I don’t really know when that changed, or IF it changed at all. Maybe it’s all just perspective. I can remember that first warm enough day for short sleeves, though, when the college girls would be sunbathing outside in tank tops. Heck, I STILL do that, but with sunscreen, and often during a weirdly warm day in January or February. Sometimes in New England we have to turn the heat on in MAY. I have high hopes every year that March will take away all or some of the painful stings of winter.

And if not? We always have rainbow wand crafts. Aren’t they delightful?

Most people know I’m quite delighted by rainbows. I think they’re pretty much everything to me – in terms of mood, photography, sprinkles, and especially in the sky. As a kid, I’d be the first to notice rainbows each time. Now I’m happy that Des does – we get them pretty often around here, and even sometimes during weird balmy March weather. We don’t know if our March will hold blizzards (possible) or rainbows (possible) but when in doubt, make rainbow crafts. ‘Cause they rock.

Rainbow Wand

Materials:

Craft paint
Paintbrush
Thick white card stock or cardboard
Glue
Glitter in rainbow colors
12 inch wooden dowels
Ribbons in rainbow colors
White paper
Pencil

Instructions:

1 – Begin by drawing a rainbow shape onto a piece of white paper. You can draw it to any size that you would like to form the base for your wand.

2 – Cut out the rainbow and trace it onto a piece of thick white cardstock or cardboard.

3 – Cut out the rainbow shapes from the white cardboard.

4 – Use a paintbrush to paint on a thin layer of glue to the very inside layer of the rainbow. This will be where you apply the first color of glitter in your rainbow.

5 – Sprinkle red glitter onto the thin glue semi-circle on your cardboard rainbow. Knock off the excess and set the rainbow aside to dry.

6 – In between coats of glitter, use craft paint to paint the wooden dowels in stripes of color. You can view the photos for reference on how to do this.

7 – Continue to add different layers of glitter to your cardboard rainbows, overlapping the glue onto each layer and creating a new thin layer of glue for the next color of glitter.

8 – Repeat this until you have covered the entire cardboard rainbow in glitter, allowing the glitter to dry in between layers.

9 – Once dry, glue a painted wooden dowel to the back of each glitter rainbow.

10 – Cut different lengths of rainbow colored ribbons.

11 – Use glue to attach different colored ribbons to the back of each glitter rainbow so that they hang down.

This rainbow wand craft is delightful! It's perfect for St. Patrick's Day, PRIDE, birthday parties, party favors, and just plain whimsical play right at home. See how easy it is to make!

What is March like in your part of the world?