Craft Lab: Upgrade your Cup

Plain white ceramics get a boost of color from teens in the Craft Lab.

Featured Project:  Painting on mugs (and one bowl)
Supplies:
plain ceramic objects (I bought mine from the Dig-N-Save), clean and dry
rubbing alcohol & tissues or q-tips
Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Paint Pens
Sharpie permanent markers
Baking instruction sheets to send home

Pros & Cons of paints vs. markers:
--Pebeo paint pens come in less colors than Sharpies.
--You have to "pump" the paint pens to get the paint to flow into the tip of the pen and if you're coloring a large area, you may have to pump several times throughout your project to keep a constant color.
--Sharpies are a little less predictable in the oven and dishwasher.  If you love your Sharpie-decorated mug, you might want to hand-wash it only.
--Neither are considered "food-safe" so please only decorate portions of the dinnerware that will not come into contact with food or your mouth.

(see more photos of our projects after the jump)

NeedleReads: Ombre Dyeing

Dyeing fabric dark at the bottom and fading to lighter at the top is trickier than it looks.

Project:  Ombre Dyeing

Supplies:  
dye (we used Rit liquid dye, two bottles per dye bath)
hot water
large containers to hold the dye (we used a trashcan, a storage tub and a plastic Halloween cauldron)
fabric items to dye
hangers
clothespins
clothes line
sturdy rubber gloves
garbage bags (to carry wet items home in, individually wrapped)

WonderWorks: Pumps and Siphons

One more week working with tools that help us move water from one place to another.


Today's Topic:Pumps and Siphons
Supplies:
water
bowls
drinking straws (the kind that bend)
cups
clean and empty handsoap dispensers
toy pumps

Book:
   Fire truck / Oxlade, Chris
There might be better books out there about pumps and/or siphons, but this was the best I could find for today's class.  The kids LOVED reading about fire trucks and this one has quite a bit to say about the water pumps found on an engine.

Toddler Art Class: Paintsicles!

Melty, messy paint-on-a-stick, perfect for warm-weather days.

Art Project: Paint-sicles!
Supplies:
paint
ice cube trays
wooden sticks
heavy paper

Book:
   What can you do with a paleta? / Tafolla, Carmen