01 January 2009

Let there be light.

If you have a 5 gallon bucket and an empty 1 quart plastic milk jug, you can make a crystal lantern.

What you'll Need

1. 5 gallon bucket
2. 1 quart plastic milk carton with the top cut off
3. Rocks or a big rock, whatever fits and weighs a lot.
4. Duct Tape
5. Tea candle

Directions

1. Fill the 5 gallon bucket 3/4 of the way with water
2. Put some rocks in the quart jug, and put it in the bucket. Put enough rocks to sink it down with out letting the water spill into it.
3. Put duct tape from inside edge of the jug to the outside edge of the bucket.

Do this on 4 sides (like an open cross). This will hold the jug in place, so it won't move around.

You don't need to hold down the jug down with tape if you have enough weight inside.

4. Freeze. If you don't live in a freezing climate, then this isn't the project for you. Don't waste your freezer space for this. Use that space to take advantage of sales, or co-operative food-buying ventures.

5. Once it's all frozen, you might need hot water to loosen the ice from the containers. That's fine. It will help to glaze the ice to be more glass-like.

If you have enough buckets, jugs, and candles, you can make several of these. The light is beautiful even in the daytime if it's dark and cloudy.

This makes a great post-holiday project for kids suffering from mid-winter blues.

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08 February 2008

A Recipe for Finger Paint

Ingredients

3 Cups cold water
1 Cup cornstarch
food colouring
1 TBS glycerin (optional...will make paint shinier)

Directions

1. Dissolve cornstarch in some of the cold water.
2. Bring remainder of water to a boil in a saucepan.
3. Add dissolved cornstarch to boiling water, a little at a time, stirring constantly.
4. Continue over medium heat till thickened. (just a minute or so)
Remove from heat, divide into separate containers for different colors.


This is great winter fun for those days too cold to venture outdoors. Butcher paper, paperbags, or any other scratch paper is a great surface to play with.

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