Kids Crafts: Outdoor Materials Collage

Children love to forage and collect "treasures." Send them outside with a basket, in search of all kinds of nature's trinkets:

pine cones
twigs
seed pods
leaves
stems
flowers
rocks
feathers
shells
moss

The list goes on...

Once the children have collected a pretty good haul of Mother Nature's gems, you can use them to make a nature collage:

The collage can be a free-flowing, abstract piece, or might make more realistic images, such as this old man, made with milkweed pods, twigs, and corn husks:

Make people using materials found outside.

Outdoor Materials Collage

1. Collect small items from outside, such as pine cones, small sticks, pebbles, or seed pods.

2. Use a sturdy material as your canvas, such as cardboard or tag board. It can be small, like a post card, or large, like a poster.

3. Older children may be able to use a hot glue gun (or an adult could do the gluing), otherwise, just use regular white school glue. Be sure that your outdoor pieces are not too heavy, otherwise they will fall off.

4. Very young children will likely glue the shapes on in a random, abstract fashion. Older children will be able to create people, animals, and scenes with their materials.

5. Allow the glue to thoroughly dry before displaying. They can be framed and hung as wall art or even used as greeting cards.


"Funny Man," by Palmer, Age 4.

"Boat of the Seas," by Lily, Age 4.

Soapmakers: Why You Shouldn't Use Vinegar if You Come into Contact with Lye

It was one of the first things I learned when I began making my own soap; I read it in books and on the internet: "Always keep a jug of vinegar on hand when you are working with lye. Vinegar neutralizes lye." Soapers, have you heard this? Do you practice the habit of keeping vinegar nearby when you make your soaps? So did I, until recently, when I read an interesting post on a soap forum, and then decided to research the claim myself.

Khachapuri: A Delicious Cheese and Egg Filled Bread

If you love the taste of freshly baked bread, cheese, and eggs, this recipe is for you! It is based on a dish called Khachapuri ( pronunciation here ), which comes from the beautiful country of Georgia, located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Asia. The name Khachapuri translates to "curd bread," owing to the heavenly combination of melted cheeses inside a soft, fluffy bread boat.

Summer Squash and Wild Rice Casserole

Squash season will soon be upon us. Yellow Crookneck Squash The time will come when I will make my daily trek out to the garden and be delighted to see that my first yellow crooknecks and zucchinis are ready for picking...and then there will be more the next day, and the next, and the next. It will eventually get to the point where I have grown weary of eating squash sauteed in butter, I've frozen enough of it to last me the winter, and even dehydrated thin slices of it into chips, and still, it continues to produce, and begs for me to pick it. Which is why I wanted to share this recipe--it was a winner (even my oldest son, who is not much into squash, said that it was good). Summer Squash and Wild Rice Casserole

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