Ice cube tie-dye
It's cold.
If you're not reading this the week it's written, the windchill is -6 degrees Fahrenheit, and it's 2 p.m. You can imagine how cold it was last night, and how cold it's going to get tonight!
However, we like to embrace the seasons around here, so we thought it would be fun to include some chill in our craft today. We're painting with ice!
This is a super simple craft, and it's one that you won't have to worry about if kids take a lick.
You'll need:
An ice cube tray, or small cups
Food coloring
Popsicle sticks, skewers or some other stiff item
Paper
Fill your ice cube tray or small cups with water and add food coloring. I thought my ice cubes were pretty colorful, but they didn't turn out quite as colorful on paper as I would have liked, so I would err on the edge of too much food coloring. With kids helping, I'm sure that won't be hard to do.
opens IMAGE file I would recommend making your colors a little darker than mine.
Put popsicle sticks, skewers or whatever you want to use as a handle into each ice cube opening.
Freeze.
Either catch them before they are completely frozen or take them out of the freezer and let them sit for about 45 minutes so there is a little liquid to work with.
Holding onto the wooden handle you created, rub the ice around on your sheet of paper. If it dries, dip it back in its liquid to get it wet and start again.
Mix your colors. Create layers. It's basically tie-die for paper!
When you're done, there's hardly any clean-up. Wipe the area. Let the ice melt, and wash up your ice cube trays.
It's a simple, fun and pretty cheap craft that will help you appreciate the cold.
How lake ice melts
It seems pretty obvious how ice melts, right? It gets warm, so ice changes to its liquid form — water. However, the way that the lakes, including the Iowa Great Lakes, melt may be different than what you would think. Usually in March — the average date for ice out on East Lake Okoboji is Read More »
Read More
Eight snow facts you probably didn’t know
All snowflakes are unique, sort of. The short answer is, yes, because each ice crystal has a unique path to the ground. They will float through different clouds of different temperatures and different levels of moisture, which means the ice crystal will grow in a unique way. Temperature and humidity – moisture in the air Read More »
Read More
10 snow activities you haven’t done yet this winter
You’ve built snowmen. You’ve gone sledding. You’ve had snowball fights. Now, it’s still winter and you don’t know what else to do to have fun in the snow. So we have put together 10 activities that will make the everlasting snow a bit more fun! Maple taffy I love historical fiction, and I grew up Read More »
Read MoreTissue paper snow painting
When you live in northwest Iowa, you’re going to have snow during the winter. There might not be snow all the time; there might not be deep snow; but you’re going to have snow. This is a fun craft to do because it starts out using snow, but you don’t have to try to preserve Read More »
Read More
Easy snow dough recipe for hours of fun
I will admit that my craft ideas don’t always turn out the way that I plan them. This craft was supposed to be called “snow dough,” but because I bought unbleached flour instead of bleached flour, it looks more like sand. I thought I might just play it off and say, “In case you’re missing Read More »
Read More
Are snowflakes all unique?
We’re in the middle of a blizzard in northwest Iowa. Look outside, and the white stuff looks like a blanket, like it’s all just one mass. But it’s not. In each cubic foot — that’s a box that is 1 foot on each side — there could be as many as 1 billion snowflakes. Use Read More »
Read More
How to create snow masterpieces
It looks like snow is on its way this week, so we’re all going to be wondering how to have fun once we’ve done the obligational snow angels, sledding, snowball fights and tubing! One of our favorite ways to have fun in the snow is to let out some colorful creativity. As creative as you Read More »
Read More
A twist on the classic snowflake craft
Ugh. That’s what many of us think when we look outside at this time of year. It’s long enough into winter that we’re all tired of the cold, but not far enough into winter that we have hope of spring around the corner. This is the time of year we have to be intentional about Read More »
Read More
Make maple taffy with snow!
Sometimes we forget how much fun snow can be when we’re inundated with it during the wintertime. During this month’s Nature Tots program we wanted to remind people the joys of snow, and to conclude the event we even made some maple syrup snow taffy. It’s a pretty easy process to do even at home. Read More »
Read More