Starry Nightlight

On Monday I posted a picture of our Starry nightlight. I based its idea off of the nightlight made by This blogger. However, I wanted mine to be shatter proof so that Panda could play with it.

So I used a plastic peanut butter jar. I cleaned it out and painted the inside with a mixture of black, purple, and black glitter paint.

I punched holes into the jar to make constellations and then painted white lines on the outside of the jar to map the constellations out. The lid I covered in glitter and glue. Once the lid was dry I covered the glitter with Triple Thick Diamond glaze. It coats the glitter like a resin so when you touch it it's smooth (ish) and the glitter does not flake off.

For the light, I used high temp hot glue to glue a touch LED light into the lid. I glued a circle of felt on the other side of the lid so it would not scratch tables and other surfaces. 

 You can't see it in the photos, but the purple paint helped to make more of a night sky color than just plain black and the glitter actually glistens and shines. It's really quite beautiful. 

 

How has it held up?  Wonderfully! Panda has played with his nightlight every day/night. He's even thrown it a few times and it still looks like new.

Thank you for reading. What inspired activities are happening around your home? Have a blessed weekend and

Shine on!

DIY Light Box

Light and color are great educational tools. I've been wanting to set up a light box for Panda, so I made one. This light box is made with items I had on hand around the house. We will be using it a lot in the next few weeks, so please check back later with more ideas on how to use a light box.

I want a larger box one day, but for now this will do. This box is slightly larger than a shoe box.

I cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom and lined the sides with tinfoil (shiny side in) to help reflect light.

The box is filled with "Christmas" lights I've been storing since our wedding. They have not been just sitting all these years. They have seen a lot of use at several weddings and parties since we've been married. Bear got a laugh this morning when he saw that they would be used for yet another project. They were wrapped in tulle so I just left it on to help diffuse the light., but it's not necessary.

I covered the lights with more tinfoil to help block light on the sides. Then I put the lid on and flipped the box over. I didn't need to cut a notch because the lid was loose, but a tighter lid might need a notch or hole cut into it so as not to cut the cord. 

Here it is!

Then I made 6 rainbow colored jars of water with food coloring, and set them out as an invitation to play for Panda.. Now I'm just waiting for him to wake up and then the fun will begin : )

Thanks for visiting and Shine on!

UPDATE:

Well, He LOVED it! He woke up, saw the glowing light and made a Beeline to the light box. He loved the colored glowing water sloshing around and the tiny bubbles. Panda played for a good 20 minutes putting the jars on the light box and taking them back off again. And for an almost 20 month old tot, that's not bad! : )

Nature Sprite Doll

This is a fun little craft I made up this morning. I love matryoshka (Russian nesting dolls), daruma (Japanese egg shaped dolls), and kokeshi (Japanese hot spring souvenir dolls). This craft combines the styles of them all.

I had a few small wooden robin's eggs running around my craft drawer. It made a nice base.

First sand the top down a little to make it more like a daruma doll. Then (optionally) use a dremel tool to carve a tiny bit of definition for the face.

Finally add paint. I used a blade of grass for a paint brush and made the face to look a bit like a matryoshka. Blades of grass are a bit unwieldy, but fun for painting.  I was not patient though and put a second coat of gloss on before the first one was completely dry. It gives it a bit of a trendy crackled look. Unfortunately I don't care for that look. Oh well. Other than that I'm pleased with how it turned out. Next year she will go into a fairy garden.... Or maybe I'll put a loop in the top to make her into a charm... She looks like a nature spirit peeking out of the grass to me. What do you think? This would be such a fun necklace to make for a little girl. 

Thanks for visiting. Shine on!

Springform Pan Alternative for No Bake Cakes

A while ago I found Emily von Euw and her amazing vegan blog This Rawsome Vegan Life. She has amazing vegan recipes. My favorite of her dessert recipes is her Carrot Cake (the recipe is also in her book shown above). She uses a springform pan to make her cakes. I don't have one. I almost got one, but decided "Hey, I can make one of these". This only works for non bake items, but it's simple and works rather well. 

I started with a butter tub.

Next I cut the bottom off of the tub, 

slit the side and then covered it with tape,

cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the lid,

and but the lid back on the tub.

Then I filled the springform tub with cake mix.

When it was ready I took the lid off the bottom....

Peeled off the tape,

and took the tub off from around the cake.

Easy Peasy!

Time to frost and decorate.

Mmmmm. 

Enjoy!

DIY Cheese!

This post is a bit wordy, but please bare with me. Lately I have had several people ask about how I make cheese. Making your own soft Ricotta type cheese is so very simple.  My son has severe "dairy" issues and so we have turned to goats milk as an alternative. You can use these same steps with cows milk. Here is how I make cheese....

-You will need a quart of milk. Steer clear of low fat and skim, you want the fat in the milk to make cheese.
 -3 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. You can use bottled lemon juice, but I find the freshly squeezed lemon juice yields bigger curds, and that is what we are shooting for.
-A wooden spoon
-A candy thermometer, or pictured is our alternative. We use a meat thermometer that is slid through a slotted spaghetti spoon to make a longer handle so we don't burn our fingers.
-Several layers of Cheese cloth or... We use a 32"x32" piece of bed sheet. The cheese cloth you by at stores these days is sub-par and you will loose a lot of your curds even if you layer it. You can also buy fancy cheese making cloths, but this was much easier for us, not to mention inexpensive.
-A tall pot or bowl
-And a medium sized pot

In a medium sized pan bring one quart of milk to 180° 

Using a wooden spoon, stir often so the milk does not scorch. 

While the milk is heating wet your cloth down and place it over a bowl. The wetness will help hold the cloth in place and will also make it easier to scrape all of your cheese out afterwards. 

When the milk reaches 180° remove it from the heat and immediately pour in 3 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.

The cheese will curd up within 20 to 30 seconds. 

Now to seperate the curds from the whey.

Slowly spoon all the liquid on top of the cloth. Resist the urge to pour the curds. Pouring will cause you to loose curds.

The curds are pictured in the spoon above. That is going to become your cheese.

This is what the whey looks like. It is a yellowish, mostly clear, liquid. Don't throw it out. It's full or proteins and is great for soups and smoothies. You can even freeze it until you are ready to use it.

When all the liquid has been transferred onto the cloth tie the cloth over your wooden spoon handle and hang the cloth above the pot to drip for 1 hour.

After an hour open your cloth up and enjoy yummy soft cheese. It is very soft at this stage and while some people will tell you not to do this, you can squeeze out some extra whey so it is not so moist. It will firm up slightly in the refrigerator. If you want, this is also a good time to fold in any herbs, seasonings, and even honey. Mmmm

.

One quart of goats milk makes roughly one tennis ball size of of cheese (sorry, I've never thought to weigh it, but will update the next time I make cheese). It will keep nicely refrigerated for about a week (it might last longer than that, but we usually eat it all before then). 

One of our favorite meals to use this cheese in is gluten free pizza with fresh basil and tomatoes (I keep forgetting to get Kalamata) olives. Panda loves this meal.

And there you have it. That is how my family makes cheese.

Be well, and Shine on!

Paper Egg Craft

We made a last minute craft and I got to thinking about all you bloggers with many age groups at home. While simple, this might be a good time occupier for a whole family to get in on. Panda loves to rip paper, so all week I have had him ripping paper. Sometimes I sit with him to help rip the paper into smaller pieces. 

Then today with the help of some older children (and someone still young at heart.. grin), we glued them to paper eggs. I may break out the glitter, but aren't they lovely? Panda helped glue the one that is completely covered. He thought it was the best game ever. I plan to hide them all over the house in unexpected places for fun. Start an assembly line, get everyone involved, decorate, keep occupied, and have fun!

Easy Knit Fingerless Gloves

 These fingerless gloves are a gift for a friend of mine. I used a fairly bulky yarn for this project, but any yarn will do. This is a great gift and an easy way to use up snippets of yarn. 

1. Knit a rectangle (using garter stitch) that is long enough to span from your wrist to just above where your fingers start and wide enough to fold over your hand with a tiny amount of stretch. Leave the long tails of your yarn attached  to use for sewing. This rectangle is 4.5 inches inches long and  9 inches wide.

2. Next, lay your hand down on the rectangle and mark where your thumb will be using pins. I made orange marks because the pins did not show up in the photo. 

 3. Sew the tails of your yarn down the length of the folded glove leaving the opening for your thumb. Weave any extra length of the yarn tails back through the piece to make it seamless. 

 4. Add embellishments. You can use just about anything or leave it plain. I thought about using yo-yo's but decided on some vintage buttons. I plan to make myself a pair later this fall out of a mossy green and brown yarn. I will embellish it with walnut shell buttons. If you make a pair I would love to see them. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

 Have fun!

Mother's Day Craft

 Hello, this is a simple craft you can do to make beautiful cards. You will need paper, a rainbow ink pad (any color works, but rainbow gives a little extra special touch) and the feet of a very sleepy baby (you could also use a stamp or the side of your hand).

 Press the foot of the very sleepy baby into the stamp pad...

 and onto a piece of folded paper.

 Use a crayon to add details, make sure to wash baby's feet off before the ink dries... And there you have it! A beautiful card just in time for Mother's Day.

Happy Mother's Day from my family to yours. Make it a beautiful day and Have fun!