Hot cocoa and Popsicles

JANUARY 21, 2011

Kind of a funny combination for a blog post, isn’t it? Not to worry, there’s a point.

Lately, we’ve been drinking a lot of hot chocolate with the very cold temperatures and snowy days. I am a big fan of homemade hot cocoa versus the store bought. Not only does it taste sooo much better, but I know exactly what is going into it. More and more these days I think that is really important.

The ingredients for this recipe are staple items you most likely have in your pantry. Any leftovers can be put in the fridge to pull out for another day and a quick reheat on the stove.

An added bonus is that your kids will think it is so cool that you made it, not just pulled it from a box on the shelf.

Hot Cocoa

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup hot water

1/8 tsp salt

4 cups milk (Dairy or non-dairy)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the cocoa, sugar, water, and salt in a saucepan. Over medium heat, stir constantly until the mixture boils. Cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Stir in the milk and heat, but do not boil. Remove from the heat and add vanilla; stir well. Serve immediately.

**As a side note I’ve used both vanilla soymilk as well as vanilla almond milk to make this and both are delicious!**

adapted from The Joy of Vegan Baking

So now you are probably wondering where the popsicles come into this. Not too long ago I was reading a magazine that was showing all the things you could make with chocolate, including popsicles. I followed the article to this elaborate recipe for several different versions of hot chocolate and popsicles. It totally dawned on me that I had my own, much simpler, leftover hot cocoa sitting in the fridge ready to be frozen. So that’s what I did. I poured it into our popsicle molds (great find at Sur la Table from the summer) and that was it.

My boys loved them. We will definitely be making these again.

Container Magnets

Give pretty spice or candy containers a new life in seconds by turning them into refrigerator magnets. Place a small, powerful magnet inside the back of an empty tin, which makes the tin itself magnetic. (Nonmetallic containers will work if you stick an adhesive magnet on the outside.)

MAP + CANVAS = LOVE

MAP + CANVAS = LOVE

On my last trip to Pottery Barn opps, I mean my local thrift store, I ran across this old globe. I loved the robin’s egg blue colors but the ugly plastic really threw me for a loop – oh wait! No it didn’t, I have SPRAY PAINT! So I quickly went home and applied my beautiful gold and brown spray paint to the plastic. Wonders never cease – it looked fabulous.
It reminded me that I had previously picked up an old MAP from the same thrift store and I began to wonder what I could do with my new found globe and matching map???? Tick tock, Tick tock, my creative juices were coming……..

(globe was $3.00)

Ah Ha! My son needed something on his wall in his room and since that is where I put the globe how about matching wall art!
I went to Michaels and picked up a bunch of canvases at 40% off. I spent 29.00 on all 12. (yes, I admit the super thrifty side of me wishes it wasn’t that much….it would have sounded so much better to say I got all 12 for 5 bucks, but I can’t win them all.) I traced around the canvas and cut out each rectangle. The overall size was 31”x 50”

(map was $2.00)

Next I spray painted the edges with a left over blue I had from this wine glass project. I am a sucker for anything AGED looking so I spray painted some brown to the edges too.



Once dry, I brushed on some glue and attached my cut out map pieces.

Once that dried (I turned them over to add some weight to the drying process) I wanted to age the edges just a little more so I took out my inking pad, or chalk pad, and “aged” the edges. If you were really brave you could lightly sprayed some gold or brown spray paint on the corners to age it. I also put a little brown glaze on the map itself to try to give it some more character. I can’t decide if it was worth that extra step or not?? Anyway, once dry I came back and put Mod Podge over the top, quite thick, and in criss cross strokes.
VOILA!!! Really, that wasn’t too hard. Now I have a BIG piece of wall art for under 35.00!



(I bought that nice latter stand in the corner for 10 bucks! It has a storage drawer on the bottom too.)

Stay creative with me folks – even if you didn’t find a map at a thrift store you could take this same technique and make large canvas art. I found this great tutorial on how to do that with printed scrapbook pages. Just apply (glue) your photo to the canvas and cover with the mod podge. It makes it look like a designer print on canvas. The possibilities are endless. How about cutting out a favorite fabric and applying that to the canvas?

Keep those Creative Juices Flowing!!! Till next time!

DIY: Make Your Own Rainbow Crayons

by Liz Stanley

Sep 8th, 2010

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Handmade rainbow crayons are a fun way to re-use all your broken crayon pieces at the bottom of the bin. It's a fun activity to do with your child and the result is so beautiful. These rainbow crayons take only a few minutes to make and are not only pretty to look, but the shape makes them perfect for little toddler hands learning to draw. Plus they stack nicely, which my two year old loved. Supplies: One clean tin can for each color layer you intend to make One empty pill bottles or film canisters for each crayon you intend to make (my local pharmacist gave me a few empty pill bottles for free) Broken crayons in various colors Start with one color at a time. Remove the paper wrappers and break into small pieces if needed. Place broken crayon pieces of similar color in a clean tin can. Place the tin in a small amount of boiling water and watch as it melts. Usually it takes only a minute or so. When it's completely melted, pour the colored wax equally into the canisters or bottles. The wax will harden very quickly, in just a couple minutes, but you can stick them in the freezer to speed up the process if you are working very fast. Start again with a different color layer: breaking pieces of crayon, melting them in a new clean tin, and pouring into the bottles on top of the previous color layer. Once the last layer has hardened, they are surprisingly easy to pop out of the bottles. I stuck a knife down into one side and it popped right now without damaging the wax shape at all. Aren't they just the prettiest thing to happen to your drawer of broken crayon pieces?

Read more: DIY: Make Your Own Rainbow Crayons | Momtastic http://www.momtastic.com/home-and-living/home/106744-diy-make-your-own-rainbow-crayons#ixzz1HPtZyPHk

by: My Sweet Prints

by: English Muffin

by: Penny People

Temple Preparation game

I got this idea here...

Temple preparation starts now! I scanned my images if you want to use them or you could use it as a template to make your own. The great thing is that you can always make different Temple Preparation Cards the older your kids get.

Building a Temple

I got this Idea here...

Cut out this image, fold the edges, and tape the sides to build your own temple. This is great for many lesson types. A lesson on how tithing helps to build temples (kids can use it as a tithing bank), on building a forever family (put hearts with ways we can be together forever inside), and many others.