Kitchen Science Lab for Kids: Family Friendly Science Experiments with household materials | Book Review

Kitchen Science Lab for Kids: 52 Family Friendly Experiments from Around the House (Hands-On Family)  by Liz Lee Heinecke  is a wonderful resource for any parent who is looking for a way to introduce science and crafting to their children.  The 52 projects in the book are broken down into Sections.  The projects in each section are between 3 to 6.

Here is a list of the sections:

Unit 1-Carbonated Chemical Reactions

Unit 2 Crystal Creations

Unit 3 Physics in Motion

Unit 4 Life Science

Unit 5 Astonishing Liquids

Unit 6 Polymers, Colloids & Misbehaving Materials

Unit 7 Acids & Basis

Unit 8 Marvelous Microbiology

Unit 9 Shocking Science

Unit 10 Bodacious Botany

Unit 11 Sunny Science

Unit 12 Rocket Science

The projects are so much fun.   For example, in the section called “Acids and Bases” which has a fun project called “Acid Oceanification Experiment” that teaches the children how to visualize acidification by carbon dioxide.  It is an easy to follow experiment that teaches simple science in a fun participatory manner. 

Additionally, Each Section is color-coded and that informs the reader about Protocols, the Science behind the experiment, as well as step-by-step instructions on how to do the experiment.  I was also grateful that the author included Safety tips with each experiment.  As a parent who homeschools, I think this book is a great way for kids to enjoy science through some fun and easy experiments that will show them that Science is fun.

Sara Lee Pound Cake Dessert Mini Star Cake Tutorial and Review by Maria Del Pinto

Sara Lee Pound Cake is a very versatile base for many fun dessert and holiday treat ideas.  I was recently sent a free sample of Sara Lee Pound to test by the folks at BzzAgent.  I had not tasted one since I was a teenager, so I was willing to give it a try and make something with it.  My kids love the concept of cake pops but they are often too sweet or too small to really satisfy.  So I came up with this fun and easy mini star cake.




Supplies Needed:

• Sara Lee Pound Cake
• Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Spread
• Candy Sprinkles
• and a
• Star Shaped Cookie Cutter
• Butter Knife

After you have let the pound cake sit in the refrigerator for a day (you don't want to use it frozen nor let it come to room temperature), carefully slice it into three layers.  Then separate the three layers. Using the cookies cutter, cut out the star shapes.  Save the left over cake to make cake balls (there are a lot of easy recipes on the Internet for that).  Place back into freezer for 10 minutes, this will keep the Sara Lee Pound cake pieces from getting too crumbly when applying the spread.

Then take a butter knife and carefully spread the Reese Chocolate spread onto the cut outs.  Then re-stack the pieces to form a three layer treat. To finish the mini star cakes, just some candy sprinkles to the mix and you are done.

I decided to pair the pound cake with a chocolate spread, because I wanted to use the new "Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Spread" which I knew would taste great with the "Sara Lee Pound Cake".

The Sara Lee pound cake is such a versatile product.  I love that I can keep it in the freezer or refrigerator for last minute desert inspirations.  The cake is nice and dense and has a great flavor.  It also takes flavor very well.  For Christmas we used it to make some fun cake pops and added some of the Starbucks Caramel Syrup which was allowed to soak into the pound cake over night.  The next day we added a few more ingredients and had the tastiest cake ball treats to serve our guests.

Thank you for BzzAgent and Sara Lee for providing me with samples and coupons of the Sara Lee Pound Cake.  They were shared and enjoyed.   #GotItFree 

If you would like to test and review products, then you should contact BzzAgent for more information.  They are great to work with and their website is super easy to use.

Fabric Printing at Home: Quick & Easy Fabric Design Using Fresh Produce and Found Objects by Julie Booth | Book Review

Fabric Printing at Home: Quick and Easy Fabric Design Using Fresh Produce and Found Objects - Includes Print Blocks, Textures, Stencils, Resists, and More is a great resource for fabric printing, fabric painting and fabric stamping ideas.

I attended a clothing swap where they had a bunch of different art stations that members could use to upcycle their new finds.  Seeing the amazing things that members made really changed the way I look at clothing and fabric. 

It inspired me to go on the hunt to find a fun way to upcycle some of my favorite pieces.  This book shows different methods to fabric stamp and fabric paint. 

Here is a partial look into the table of contents for Fabric Printing At Home:

·      Introduction: Kitchen Potential

·      Chapter 1: Getting Started

a.   Setting up a workspace

b.   Assemble your basic tool kit

c.   Paint techniques

·      Chapter 2: Kitchen Textures and Found Object Printing.

a.   Three printing techniques

b.   Create a collage design with layered textures

c.   Found objects and kitchen tools

d.   Small scale Items: Nine-Patch

·      Chapter 3: Beyond the Potato Print: Using Vegetables and Fruit to Create Fabric Designs

a.   Creating Background Textures and Vegetables

b.   Making Marbled Fabric with Cabbage Prints

c.   Carving Print Blocks from Vegetables

d.   Slicing and Dicing: Printing with Vegetable shapes

e.   Lovely leaves

f.    Brayer Rubbings

·      Chapter 4: Wrap It Up! Wraps and Foil

a.   Freezer Paper Fun: Masks and Stencils

b.   Playing with Plastic Wrap

c.   The Wonders of Wax Paper

d.   Folk Art Foil: Embossed Designs in Aluminum Foil

·      Chapter 5: Recycled and Repurposed

a.   Cardboard: The Thick and Thin of It

b.   Junk Mail Jackpot

c.   On a Roll: Fabric Designs from Cardboard Tubes

d.   Making Your Mark: Designing Print Blocks from Recycled Foam

e.   Artful Aluminum: Create decorative shapes from recycled cans and pans

f.    Printing with Recycled Materials

·      Chapter 6: Irresistible: Fabric Resists using kitchen ingredients.

a.   Resist Recipes

b.   Resist Application Techniques

c.   Painting a Resist-Covered Fabric

d.   Setting Paint on Resist-Covered Fabric

e.   Removing Resists

·      Chapter 7: Contributing Artists

·      Resources

·      Acknowledgments

·      About the Author

·      Index

In addition to all the unique objects this book suggests printing fabric with it also explains about repeats and patterns with those prints. This really exponentially increases the types of designs you can make.   I found that fabric painting is an entertaining and inexpensive way to upcycle and/or accent some of the things I own.  Fabric printing at Home is just the book to help me with my new endeavors. I am looking at everything in my house, including the food, in a new way!

If you want to check out some free projects from Fabric Printing at Home, just go the Craftside Blog to view them.  

The Complete Photo Guide to Knitting, 2nd Edition By Margaret Hubert | Book Review

The Complete Photo Guide to Knitting, 2nd Edition: *All You Need to Know to Knit *The Essential Reference for Novice and Expert Knitters *Packed with ... and Photos for 200 Stitch Patterns is truly the ultimate reference book for knitters.  The book has so many knitting patterns and techniques for the reader to enjoy, I have uploaded a video to give the viewer a similar experience to that of being in the book store and flipping through the book.

Before I learned to knit, I started out to be a yarn and fiber collector.  Eventually I realized I really needed to make something with those materials so I learned to knit and crochet. Margaret's new book The Complete Photo Guide to Knitting 2nd Edition is the soup to nuts book I keep handy when I want to try out a new yarn and a new stitch or technique. It is my go to resource for new stitches, seeming, all the different increases and decreases and my favorite - color work!  It is a wonderful stitch and technique reference book.  Below is a look at the table of contents for this book.

If you are new to knitting you will learn all you need to know in this comprehensive resource and if you have been knitting a while there will undoubtedly be a few new stitches and tips that you will add to your skill set.

The photos in this book are bright and clear and the directions are easy to understand.

http://amzn.to/1D3E8WO

Here is a link to a “Double Cable Knit Pattern” from the New Book:

http://www.craftside.net/2014/10/double-cable-knit-pattern-from-new-book.html