Tissue Paper Flower Cut Out Cards (Made with Cookie Cutters!)

Posted in activities for kids by Rosemary Lynn

This was a neat craft I enjoyed doing with my girls, and the Tissue Paper Cut Out Cards make great presents.

You can give the cards for Mother’s Day, birthday, Thank You cards, or even Thinking Of You cards.

They’re versatile that way, and you can let your kids get hands-on with the crafting.

I cut the tissue paper strips ahead of time by rolling up some colorful sheets of tissue paper into a tube-like shape and snipping off inch-wide pieces with sharp scissors.

I did do the cutting myself for these flower shapes because I wanted them to have the detailed shapes cut out of the middle of the paper, which is a little hard for small fingers to do. But they had plenty of fun with the glue and tissue paper.

I used cookie cutters from a couple of different sets, kind of like this Spring Set and this Nesting Set. We went with flowers because we made this during the springtime, but you could use any shape you like.

Fold a piece of construction or craft paper in half to make your card.

Trace the shape inside the cookie cutter, just like you would use a stencil, onto the front of the card.

Then poke your scissor in the middle of the shape and cut it out of the front of the card. Or your could open the card and place it flat on some cardboard and use an X-Acto knife to carve out the shape, or let an older kid or teen do it.

Take a white sheet of paper and cut it to fit just inside the cards.

Let your kids slather the white paper with glue or glue sticks, and then lay out the tissue paper pieces in stripes that go across and touch each other or slightly overlap.

Once the sheet of white paper covered in tissue paper strips is mostly dry, slather the inside of the card where the cut out shapes are.

Lay the white paper carefully against the glue with the tissue paper facing the cut out shapes.

Then your colorful tissue paper will show through like this:

Isn’t that darling?

The recipients were quite charmed, and the girls enjoyed making them.

You could make these cards for other holidays, too.

You could do Christmas shapes and use red and white tissue in a green card, for example. Or orange and purple tissue paper in a black card cut with Halloween shapes.

Follow me on Pinterest for more great crafting and activity ideas!

Have fun!

9Apr2016

Letter H: Free Alphabet Worksheets for Kids

Posted in activities for kids, alphabet activities, free worksheets & printables by Rosemary Lynn

If you’re new here, please read the Introduction to the Alphabet Activities first!

Here are all of the printable PDFs for the Letter H. They are free for home and classroom use, but please don’t sell or reproduce them.

H is for Handprint Hedgehog

H is for Hearts

H is for Hippo

H is for Honeybees Harvesting Honey

H is for Horse

H is for Hyena

And don’t forget to check out all of our Letter H Alphabet Activities!

Follow me on Facebook and Pinterest to see my latest posts.

Have fun!

29Mar2016

Construction Paper Mummies Halloween Craft

Posted in activities for kids, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

Another project we had some fun with around Halloween was making some Construction Paper Mummies.

These were great for letting the girls get creative with patterns.

While they were in school I cut out some basic body shapes out of black paper and some strips of white paper that were only about as wide as the body.

You could also let your kids do this part, if you prefer.

Then I just handed over some glue and some googly eyes and let them go to town.

We did it on an opened Whole Foods bag, to keep the extra glue off the floor. And they used their scissors to trim down some of the white strips too.

My girls also decided they’d like to color the mummies, so we pulled out some colored pencils.

Ignore the golf ball, tho. I don’t know how that ended up there. :)

Happy Crafting!

4Jan2016

Usborne Puzzle Pad Books

Posted in books & book reviews, usborne by Rosemary Lynn

puzzle pad books

These Puzzle Pad Books from Usborne have tear-off pages that are full of paper games and puzzles to keep kids entertained.

They’re really great for car rides or restaurants or when you want to keep your kids entertained without electronics.

My video review shows one that’s made for two people (“players”) and another that is made for just one person.

Plus, there’s a pocket-sized one, too, which is smaller in size and with less pages, to make it even easier to carry around. Like in their backpacks.

Check out my video to see inside the books and get a glimpse at the puzzles and games:

Here are the direct links to the books I mentioned in the video:

Pencil & Paper Games

Busy Puzzle Pad

Pocket Puzzle Books

And, of course, there are tons of other interactive and educational puzzle books at my site BOOKS WITH ROSIE.

If you need any suggestions, feel free to contact me on Facebook! :)

Roaming Rosie Signature

11Oct2015

Bloody Worms in Jack O’ Lantern Peppers

Posted in food & flavor & recipes, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

Last year I made Spicy Spaghetti Worms in Jack O’ Lantern Pepper Pumpkins.

And since Halloween is right around the corner, I made them again.

My girls really love these things. Granted, they didn’t actually eat the peppers – and I knew they wouldn’t. The good thing about this, is you can still rinse the spaghetti sauce off the pepper when dinner is over and reuse the beloved “pumpkins” in an omelet or fajita at a later meal.

But there’s something special about being served a bowl of bloody (tomato sauce) worms (fettuccine) in a jack o’ lantern (carved pepper).

The peppers themselves were just carved with a small paring knife in much the same design I would do on a pumpkin. And for the meal, you can totally just throw some bottled spaghetti sauce over some noodles (I used fettuccine because they’re thicker), or you could try out my spicy version by printing this free PDF:

Spicy Spaghetti Worms in Pepper Jack O’ Lanterns

As a side note, I also threw in some chunks of pepperoni into this batch, which is totally optional (but delicious).

Happy Halloween!

10Oct2015

The Curious Case of the Pumpkin Pizzas and the Disappearing Ghosts

Posted in food & flavor & recipes, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

Pumpkin Shaped Pizzas with Ghost Cheese for Halloween

If you search the web for Halloween-themed dinner ideas, there are plenty of ideas for ghost pizzas. Things like cutting cheese into the shape of ghosts and placing it on red sauce of the pizza to make the ghosts pop.

Well, I wanted to do something a little different.

And, boy, did I.

My intention had been to create cute little pumpkin-shaped and pumpkin-colored pizzas that would have little cheese-ghosts kind of floating over them.

I would make the pumpkin shapes with cookie cutters, like I made my Autumn Leaf or my Dinosaur Pizzas, and I would then “color” my pumpkins appropriately with shredded cheddar. Orange shredded cheddar. Sharp, in fact.

Pumpkin Shaped Pizzas with Ghost Cheese for Halloween 2

It seemed like a wonderful idea when I came up with it. It still seemed like a wonderful idea when I was chasing my flour-covered children around the kitchen. But once the pizzas were comfortably in the oven… well, I realized I’d made an error in judgement.

The white mozzarella cheese ghosts melted right into the orange cheddar pumpkins and, thus, my cute little ghosts disappeared from sight.

The up side? They still tasted awesome.

And I was even afforded the additional benefit of incorporating a science lesson into dinner.

And since I’m a literature major and not a scientist, it went something like this: “The ghosts disappeared! Like magic!”

Pumpkin Shaped Pizzas with Ghost Cheese for Halloween 3

Either way, pizza is always a blast to make and a wonderful, wonderful thing to eat. And would have made a wonderful experiment, too, if I’d made some pizzas without the Cheddar and only the ghosts. Oh well. Next time.

Just remember, when things don’t go the way you planned, always use that opportunity to present it as a learning experience. Or, you know, pour yourself a big glass of wine and eat your way through it. Because pizza makes everything better.

For the step-by-step photos and directions on how I make my homemade pizzas, see my post about How to Make Easy Pizza Dough {And Proof Yeast}, and to print the free PDF of the recipe, click here:

Easy Pizza Dough

Happy Eating!

Roaming Rosie Signature

8Oct2015

Oreo Ghosts

Posted in food & flavor & recipes, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

These are a super cute way to add a little Halloween fun to snack time!

Since a bag of Oreos is a dangerous thing, I don’t like to keep them in the house too often… but I’ll buy the small packs now and then for fun stuff like this.

To make the ghosts, first you need to open the cookies while trying to keep all of the icing on one side. Then use a small paring knife to carve off a bit to give a swirl movement to the sides of the ghost, and then make circle shapes for eyes and a mouth. Scrape up and off the extra pieces. And, you know, “discard” them… somehow… ;)

Then serve up the ghosts to your excited Little Ones!

Happy Halloween!

3May2015

Letter G: Free Alphabet Worksheets for Kids

Posted in activities for kids, alphabet activities, free worksheets & printables by Rosemary Lynn

If you’re new to our Alphabet Activities, please read the Introduction to the Alphabet Activities first!

Here are all of the printable PDFs for the Letter G. They are free for home and classroom use, but please don’t sell or reproduce them. Click on each link to download or print the worksheet.

G is for Giraffes Gazing at Gardenias

G is for Gorilla

G is for Grasshopper and Guitar

G is for Green Glitter

G is for Green Grapes

G is for Green Grass

And don’t forget to check out all of our Letter G Alphabet Activities!

Follow me on Facebook and Pinterest to see my latest posts!!

Have fun!

31Mar2015

Elsa’s FROZEN Cracked Ice Easter Eggs

Posted in activities for kids, food & flavor & recipes, holidays by Rosemary Lynn

We had actually purchased a regular FROZEN Easter egg dye kit from the supermarket, and we did use it.

We used the egg wraps and cardboard Olaf egg stands and Elsa and Anna stickers….

But we made our own version of FROZEN Easter eggs, too.

We’ve made these cracked eggs before, and called them dinosaur eggs, but this year we called them Elsa’s Cracked Ice Easter Eggs.

Because we can never have too much Disney in our lives. :)

The process is surprisingly easy:

1. Make hard-boiled eggs. Cool completely.

2. Crack egg shell all around by gently rolling the egg on the counter with just enough pressure to cause cracking without causing the shell to detach or the egg inside to break or split. (Admittedly, the eggs my 3yo did definitely split through – but don’t worry, they’re still totally edible.)

3. Put the eggs with their cracked shells into a plastic baggie. Generously add food coloring in your color choice (blue is best for “ice”) until the shell is covered in the food coloring.

4. Allow to sit for a few minutes.

5. Dump the colored eggs, along with their still-attached shells, into a mesh colander and rinse with cool water in the sink until the excess food coloring is washed off and the water runs clear.

6. Splash the eggs in the colander with a little white vinegar (optional) to help the color set.

7. Gently peel the eggs.

You’re done! Except that I usually rinse them again, just to make sure I’ve actually removed all of the little shell pieces.

Store them in the refrigerator and eat them within 4 or 5 days for the best freshness.

Peeling off the shell and revealing the cracked pattern underneath is really fun for kids.

My 3yo didn’t want to touch the eggs, but watched with great interest as her 5yo sister and I peeled them.

Even the inside of the removed shell looks amazing!

And they taste just like regular hard boiled eggs. The food coloring doesn’t change the taste or anything. I’ve eaten them just like that, with a little salt, for breakfast, and also made them into deviled eggs.

Have fun!

And check out some of my other Easter crafts and recipes:

23Mar2015

Top 50+ Non-Candy Easter Basket Gift Ideas

Posted in holidays by Rosemary Lynn

Top 50+ Non-Candy Easter Basket Gift Ideas from RoamingRosie.com

I was about to say that I’ve got everything listed here from toddler to teen… but that’s too narrow a description. Really, if you’re looking for Easter basket gifts for anyone – whether they’re a newborn or about to leave for college – you’ll find something here.

You might even find something for yourself. :)

But what you WON’T find here is this: candy. Chocolate. Marshmallows. Sugar.

My kids will each get a chocolate Easter bunny, sure. (They’re even in the pic above.) And probably a few jelly beans, too. But they last thing they need is a gigantic basket filled to the brim with sweets and sugar.

I also, however, don’t want to fill it with a bunch of junky toys that will break and get thrown out soon afterwards.

So I’ve compiled a list of gift ideas that all fit in an Easter basket, that aren’t made of sugar, and that are quality gifts your kids will enjoy.

If you’ve got any ideas to add to the list, please tell us in the comment section!

Happy Browsing!

Here are my Top 50+ Non-Candy Easter Basket Gift Ideas

1. If you read my blog regularly, you can probably guess what #1 will be: BOOKS. I give books for every holiday, and I certainly give Easter-themed books at Easter, BUT there are a ton of other ways you can incorporate books into gift giving. Some of my favorite interactive books to stick in an Easter basket include:

Sticker Books
Doodling Books
Wipe-Clean Books
Activity Cards
“That’s Not My…” Touchy-Feely Baby Books
There’s a Mouse About the House
Muddle and Match Imagine and Adventure
Kid Kits

2. DVD of their latest favorite movie or television show. My girls are getting some 2-for-1 movies (2 in one case).
3. That Video Game they’ve been asking for
4. A CD or an iTunes Gift Card
5. Gift Card to their favorite clothing store
6. Gift Card to the local movie theatre
7. Disney Phone Case
8. Monogrammed iPad Case
9. Pocket Journal
10. Personalized Night Light
11. Personalized Flash Drive
12. Wooden Craft Set. Like the kind you get at Michaels or the Dollar Tree that comes with paint and markers (and is pictured above).
13. Foam Craft Set. Like #12, you can find these things at craft stores with all the pieces to make your finished product included in the set.
14. Sun Catchers and Sun Catcher Paint
15. Colored Pencils
16. Markers
17. Crayons
18. Gel Pens
19. Scarves
20. Socks. My favorites are the colorful character ones that you find in the Target bargain section.
21. Sunglasses
22. Jewelry (necklaces, earrings, bracelets, etc.)
23. Press on Nails
24. Make Up. Blush, eye shadow… seriously, there are soooo many sparkly and fancy (yet affordable) make up sets out there.
25. Lip Gloss. (My 3yo looooooves lip gloss!)
26. Nail Polish
27. Small LEGO sets. Also LEGO Minifigures.
28. Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars. We have a whole drawer dedicated to cars at my house. Receiving new ones as presents never gets old.
29. Erasers. These things are even great for hiding in Easter eggs. And they come in sooooo many designs – both girl and boy specific and gender neutral. I get most of mine from the Dollar Tree.
30. Puzzles. For smaller versions of puzzles, the dollar store has some really nice options. Like the two in the photo.
31. Glow Sticks / Glow Bracelets / Glow Necklaces
32. Bubbles
33. Bookmarks
34. Stickers
35. Schleich Figurines. From dinosaurs to fairies and from jungle animals to giant castles, these things are not only versatile, they’re classic.
36. Punch Balloons. You know – those balloons on a string that you bounce all around. Keeps kids busy forever.
37. Sidewalk Chalk. Egg-shaped Sidewalk Chalk is more widely available around this time of year, too.
38. Travel Games
39. Pool Toys
40. Backyard Safari Adventure Sets. Or just a net or a bug house. I only let my kids keep their bugs or worms in their habitats for a couple of hours – max – but what they really love anyway is the hunt. And the longer they spend chasing no-see-ums around the backyard with a butterfly net – the better they’ll sleep that night.
41. Instruments. Kind of like these B. Jungle Animal Instruments Set. I’ve also seen some of those pieces for sale individually at Target.
42. P’Kolino Mess Eaters Artist Journal. My girls just received this as a birthday present and we LOVE it. Great for my little artists – and great for car rides, too. Available in Pink and Green and Blue.
43. Budding Baker? Get them some cool Cookie Cutters.
44. Budding Eater? Get them a cool Utensil Set.
45. A Kid’s Water Bottle or Personalized Sports Bottle for Teens and Tweens
46. One of those character party cups found in the party section. Like the Frozen ones pictured here.
47. Stuffed Animals. Could be a bunny or a chick, but don’t forget about other favorites, like that 20” Elsa doll that’s become my daughter’s new favorite or that Minecraft Plush Enderman your kid spotted at Walmart the last time you were there.
48. Card Games. Like Uno, Phase 10, Spot It and even regular playing cards. Did you know they made Princess Bride Playing Cards??? Because I just may have to make an Easter basket for myself to sneak some of these in there…
49. Flip Flops. Especially ones with cool designs or gemstones.
50. Gardening tools, gloves, and packets of seeds.
51. A flower pot that comes with its own seeds, like these Grass Heads my kids really like.
52. Rosary Beads. If your kids don’t already have their own beads, now is a good time to gift them some.