Simple Nature Bracelet

Sometimes the simplest activities turn out to be the best. This was the case recently when I headed outside with my 3 year old, to make a nature bracelet. We used to do this in the preschool I worked at several years ago, and it's a suitable activity for even the youngest children.



I helped him wrap the tape around his wrist, sticky side out. Then we took a walk around our neighborhood and yard to find leaves and objects to decorate it with.



After only a few minutes of adding leaves to his bracelet, my son decided a belt would be even better! He thought this was the best idea ever, and I had so much fun watching him as he decided to roll around on the ground to see what would stick to him.





Grab some packaging or masking tape and head outside with your little ones while the colors are bright and leaves are in abundance!



A beautiful fall day, some fresh air and laughs with the ones I love, and appreciating how my little ones continue to teach me to appreciate the simple things in life. It doesn't get much better than this!

- Amanda, Just Hatched

Easy Toddler Sculptures

This simple sculpture collage will keep even the littlest hands busy, but would be fun for older kids too. A basic salt dough is a blank canvas for anything your little artist can imagine.

The clay is easy to mix up, and you have everything in your kitchen already:
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 3/4 cups warm water

Mix the flour, salt and water in a bowl. Knead for 5-10 minutes before modeling.
(Store extra in an airtight container.)

If using oven-safe items (aquarium rocks, pebbles, shells), your sculpture can be baked at 325 degrees for 1 hour. If using other items (drinking straws, feathers, leaves, Popsicle sticks, sticks or twigs), let the sculpture air dry for several days.

My son was barely 2 years old when we first tried this. We dug into our collection of rocks and shells to add to the sculpture, but the possibilities are endless.









You can add a hook to the finished product for hanging. For a shiny finish, you might brush the sculpture with an egg wash before baking.

At 2 years old, this craft was all about feeling and exploring. But I would imagine that an older child could create all kinds of things with this: a sculpture of your family, a dream house, a magical landscape...

Use found items in nature or recycle things from around the house. What about cookie cutters? Hand (or foot) print keepsakes... A free-form sculpture for dad for Father's Day... I'm sure your little ones can dream up something fantastic!

- Amanda of Just Hatched

Tutorial Thursday

How to make your own organic lotion at home - eco and money conscious! AND ALL NATURAL!

As a mom to a young toddler with eczema, I learned firsthand how making my own skin cream could be healing (I could customize the ingredients) and save me a bundle of money. Making one's own skin cream is a wonderful, easy thing to do for anyone - it's luxurious, and you can re-use (sterilize first) all the glass jars you may have, including jam jars.

You can experiment with different oils and even use cocoa butter or coconut oil - the recipe is not super exact, so you will either end up with a thicker or thinner cream depending on the combo of ingredients you use. The only challenging bit is at the end: once you add the water and the oil mixture together in a big bowl you need to stir constantly without a break for 15 or even 20 minutes until it thickens. I've learned from experience you can't shorten this process: if you do, your oil and water won't mix together properly and you'll get a really lumpy cream.

What you need to start:

EQUIPMENT - not much, just stuff in a regular kitchen
2 cooking pots that fit into each other (to make a bain marie), 2 big mixing bowls (again, that fit into each other so you can make a bain marie to cool the lotion down faster), a spatula, plenty of glass jars and lids

INGREDIENTS - mostly things you can find at a health food store
your favorite essential oils (organic is best as these can carry chemicals as they are so concentrated), note: benzoin essential oil is great as it acts as a natural sort of preservative, carrier oils (high grade, cold pressed, unrefined and even organic oils are best - olive oil, hemp seed, almond oil, grapeseed oil, macadmia nut oil and in small percentages, you can use rose hip oil, hazelnut oil, wheatgerm oil), emulsifiers to thicken your blend (I use beeswax), and a little time... maybe 30 minutes tops.

RECIPE - feel free to adapt this and see what works best for you

2 cups oils (of choice)
1/3 cup of melted beeswax - if you buy it in chunks lik me, just cut it up first
1/3 cup of cocoa butter or coconut oil
1 cup distilled, or filtered water
about 30 drops of essential oils of your choice (or less if you want just a whiff of scent)

Warm the oil, beeswax and cocoa butter/coconut oil in a double boiler until melted. In another pot heat the water until it's roughly as hot as the oil (neither should "boil"). Meanwhile put a big bowl into an even larger bowl filled with cold water. This will chill the bowl a bit and cut down on the amount of time you need to spend stirring in the next step. Now pour the oil/beeswax mixture into the big empty bowl and then pour the warm water very slowly into it, stirring constantly. Whip it constantly until it cools so that the water and oil don't separate. When it's cool and has become more opaque, stir in essential oils, and let it cool completely. Than spoon it into your clean, dry, sterile jars. I store mine in the fridge, just to help them stay fresh longer.

Big thanks to Jen for sharing this awesome tutorial for Natural Kids Team's Tutorial Thursday! You can go check out Jen's shop at http://www.SewnNatural.etsy.com