chalk bombs

I think I've pinned this idea at least three times over the past year or so.  M was super excited and loved this so much.  Our chalk paint wasn't super bright but I'll explain that...

The idea of a chalk bomb is a water balloon filled with chalk paint.  There are a number of ways to make (or buy) chalk paint.  We made our by crushing chalk and adding water.  In theory it would have worked great because it was super bright and thick.  The trouble came with getting it into the balloons.  We only had super small balloons so that didn't make it any easier.  I attempted an eye dropper and a spray bottle but neither were forceful enough to get the balloon to expand and allow more than a little bit in.  I ended up filling it as far as I could then adding water.  It definitely diluted the "paint" but it still worked.  We had about 12 yellow, blue, and red bombs -

M loved throwing them.  He typically squeezes water balloons until they pop all over him so he needed some direction to throw away from him and he did well.  

Our paint wasn't super bright and was actually brighter once the splatters dried up.  This was really fun though and we will definitely be trying it again with better balloons and/or a better filling method.

windsock

M and I have made a windsock before using construction paper.  This windsock was different because we used a can as the base.  It made it a lot sturdier and allowed for M to gob on the paint.  We needed a summer-y/4th of July decoration and this was perfect.  We used a baby formula can as the base, peeled off the label and painted it with red, white, and blue paint.

Once it was dry we used a star-shaped sponge to make white stars around the can.  My intention was to use party streamers as the tails but, of course, there were no blue or red streamers to be found at Target that day.  We improvised with tissue paper cut in strips.  The shades were a bit darker, which ended up matching our half-mixed paint on the can pretty well.  Finally, I punched a hole in the top of the can and used a pipe cleaner to make a hook to attach the string to.  Happy 4th!

rocket party

Back in February my mother asked M what kind of birthday cake he was going to have when he turned 3.  He told her a rocket cake and stuck to it for the next four months.  It was a surprise to me because I would have guessed my truck-loving boy would have wanted some kind of elaborate truck cake (think street sweeper).  Anyway, it was through that request that M had a rocket-themed 3rd birthday party.

My favorite part of the party was the rocket invitations, a modified idea from Martha Stewart's website.  I'd like to eventually post the PDF so others can use the template.

Most of my decorations came from Oriental Trading and we loved their inflatable planets (hung over the table).  My favorite place to shop, the Target dollar aisle, provided rocket-like bubble favors.