preview of new play item!

Not the greatest picture but I will try to take more. I am working on the packaging of our snow fort/sand castle brick forms. Keep your eyes open!

Small Gingerbread Snowflake Decorating Kit

gingerbread snowflake decorating kit

Candy Cane Mini Play Dough Kit

Here's the newest addition to the mini play dough kits. This one is candy cane red and starlight white, both are scented with Peppermint extract and have glitter(the red has red foil glitter, the white has crystal glitter) They come in a cello treat bag with a Spangler candy cane.

Gingerbread Man Mini Play Dough Kit

Here are some photos. I have to re-shoot them when the sun returns but at least I was able to list them in my Christmas shop!

Camo Play Dough Collection Package Graphic

Here's the newest graphic for my play dough packaging.
I will post photos of the complete set when I have them (in the next day or so)

new photos of my ultimate space boy play dough collection

10 colors of homemade play dough, alien guts and 4 colors of space dust

Wow! What a couple of days for busy little elf!

So unexpected, the fine admins at etsy included a couple of my items in their related items section of two pretty big articles!

Check it out!!(scroll down to related items and look for busylittleelf)

http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/reviews/article/handmade-kids-an-insiders-review-of-cafemomcom/2277/

http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/spotlight/article/etsy-finds-dosidough/2320/

Big thanks to the powers that be, whomever that may be!

Finger Paints Recipe

If you store this airtight in the refrigerator it should last longer. Happy painting!


Homemade Finger Paint

1/2 cup flour
2 cups water
1 tablespoon glycerine
2 teaspoon lemon extract for preservative
small screw-top jars
Wilton food coloring paste

1. In a saucepan, mix flour with a 1/2 cup of water to form a paste.
2. Add the rest of the water and cook over low heat until thick and clear, stirring constantly.
3. Let cool. Add glycerine and lemon extract. If mixture is too thick and does not spread easily, add a little more water. Divide and pour into smal, screw-top jars (baby jars are great for this). Add food coloring to tint.
Store in airtight containers. Refrigerate for longer shelf life.

New Item Preview!! Homemade Finger Paints!!

Here's a photo of the finished finger paints. I still need to paint some lids and label them but I'm still testing the new formula to make sure they will last for a long time if kept sealed at room temperature!
Colors-top: (L to R) Galactic Blue, Black Hole, Comet Purple

bottom: (L to R) Mars Red, Golden Sun, Vulcan Green, Meteor Orange

new picture of finished watercolor paints!

New Items!!

Today I'm hoping to introduce a couple new products.

First on my list: Safe watercolors for kids. Made with pantry ingredients but they definitely won't want to eat them! They will come in a palette with a paintbrush.**Finished! (see picture> Paints are drying, will be packaged and listed over the weekend!)

Next: Silly putty. Although I haven't figured out the packaging.

Also: The bug observatories should be ready to post, I have to go through and figure out what is and isn't ready but I believe I finally have everything together. The scanner needs to be hooked up to my PC and if I can get that working, the graphics can be scanned.

Finally: I'm also trying out my new recipe for finger paints, I'll still have to see if they are stable enough to sell (you sure don't to buy want stinky finger paints!)

There are a couple other items, as I make them I'll take photos and edit this post with pics!

Also, I have a scheduled post with more pictures of the Holden Arboretum. It's scheduled for sometime between 12 and 1pm. Enjoy the photos!!

New Items!

I'm working on new play items for my shop. I may have finally worked out a recipe for finger paints that won't go bad too quickly and I'm hoping to offer watercolor paints for kids also. To keep the finger paints from spoiling I need to add something non-edible but I'm also testing an edible preservative. Still will be a lot safer for our kids than the mass produced varieties out there!
I'm also almost done with my bug kit. Having problems with the printing sequence on my publication so once that's hammered out I'll post it on etsy! Also, If I can persuade my husband to hook up the scanner to my computer I'll re-post this with the graphics!