SILLY PUTTY

1 c. Elmer's glue
2 1/2 c. liquid starch
Food coloring

In a medium bowl, mix glue and one cup of the starch together. Add a few drops of food coloring, if you wish. Cover bowl, and let it stand overnight. The next day slowly stir in with a spoon 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the starch until a big blob forms. Pour off extra starch. Store in an air tight container.

(NOTE: It's hard to stop playing with this stuff.)

FINGER PAINT

Mix homemade paste (recipe listed in this book) with equal amount of liquid detergent. (Ivory dishwashing.) Add food coloring one drop at a time. Mix well. Enjoy.

HOMEMADE PASTE

1 c. flour
1/2 c. water

Combine above and mix until creamy. Store in air tight container. For more durable paste, add 1/2 cup flour to 1 cup boiling water. Stir over low heat until thick and shiny.

BUBBLE BATH

1/2 c. liquid hand soap
1 c. epsom salt
5 drops glycerin
Few drops of food coloring
Few drops of fragrance

Mix well, shake right before using. Pour into bathtub while water is running and enjoy.

CHOCOLATE FINGER PAINT

1 (4 oz.) pkg. instant chocolate
pudding & pie filling
2 c. cold milk

Put pudding mix and milk in a medium size bowl. Beat with electric mixer at low speed for two minutes. Let set until it thickens. Finger paint on white construction paper and let dry for several hours. Now it's ready to hang up.

GELATIN CRITTERS

2 env. unflavored gelatin
1 pkg. (4 - 1/2 c. servings) sugar
free strawberry-banana flavor
gelatin
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 c. boiling water

In a medium bowl, stir gelatins together with a fork. Stir cinnamon into boiling water until dissolved. Add water to gelatin and stir until dissolved. Pour into an 8" to 9" square pan. Chill about 2 hours, until firm. Using 2" to 3" animal cookie cutters (such as cat, owl, horse) cut out shapes. (These little critters do not melt at room temperature.)

Makes 8 servings. (You could also use any cut out shapes, according to the holiday at hand!)

ROSE WATER

1 qt. distilled water
1/2 pt. 70% proof alcohol (not Isopropyl)
2 c. rose petals, red or pink - old fashioned variety chemical free, freshly picked & clean
1 tbsp. orris root, powdered
10 drops rose oil
1 gallon clear jar

Place rose petals and 1 cup of distilled water in blender and blend until fine. Pour into one gallon jar and add remaining ingredients. Cover tightly and set in sun to steep for two weeks. Strain into clean large bowl or container. Pour into small glass containers or antique perfume bottles. Use to scent bath water or as an after bath splash.

STATIONARY OR CARDS

Plain paper
Sponge
Acrylic paint(s)
Marking pen

Take a piece of plain paper and fold in half. With the folded part at the top, it looks like a note card. Take the sponge and dip it into the acrylic paint which is in a saucer. Design on the front and also on the back of an envelope. Then take a very thin marking pen and write really fancy "Happy Birthday" or whatever the occasion is. Children love to make cards and it's also an easy way to have a card in a hurry!

CHRISTMAS SPONGE ART

White paper
Scissors
Dry sponge
Ballpoint pen
Water colors (red & green)

Draw a yuletide motif on white paper. Then, with your parents help, cut out and place on a dry sponge (one with tiny holes in the sponge are the best). Then trace the pattern with your ballpoint pen and cut out the shape (again, with your parents help). Then, dip in paint, squeeze excess paint out and blot onto either plain white or solid colored wrapping paper. You can stamp each sponge several times before re-dipping in the paint. This even dresses up plain newspaper wrapping! Great for any time of the year!

HOMEMADE MODELING CLAY

1 c. flour
1 c. salt
1 tbsp. powdered alum (opt.)
Water

Mix just enough water to make it smooth and workable. If clay gets dry, mix in a little more water. Store tightly covered.

A BIBLICAL RECIPE FOR EFFECTIVE CHILD TRAINING

1 gallon faith in God
7 cupfuls love for your child
1 cup patience
1 cup clarified instruction
1 cup consistent discipline (whipped lightly)
3 teaspoons of pure mercy
1 generous dash of humor
2 cupfuls praise
2 cupfuls liberty

Pour faith in God into any size family. Mix one teaspoon of clarified instruction and one teaspoon of consistent discipline. Add only a half cup of liberty initially. Stir well and chip lightly. Sprinkle in pure mercy and simmer over a steady flame of prayer. Proceed to fold in additional teaspoons of instruction and discipline, in equal amounts, adding liberty slowly. Stir well and whip as needed to smooth out any lumps of disobedience. Never overbeat! Sweeten to taste with humor and praise. Melt any specks of misunderstanding or sour attitude by turning up the level of prayer and adding extra instruction. Continue this process until all remaining ingredients have been added and all bitterness has been removed. When adding the last cup of liberty, be careful not to cause any sudden separation or foaming. If either of these occur, or if the moral character begins to lose its intended shape, skim off the excess liberty until the desired consistency results. Try adding this liberty again later when character is firmer. Keep warm over a steady flame of prayer. Serve with a tender heart and the sincere milk of God's Word. Never serve with a cold shoulder or a hot tongue.

SPRING POTPOURRI

4 oz. rosebuds
2 oz. lavender flowers
2 oz. deer's tongue herb
2 oz. peppermint
2 oz. calamus root
1 oz. black malva flower
1 oz. marigold flowers
1 oz. peony flowers
1 oz. bay leaves
20 drops orris root oil
10 drops blue lilac oil

Mix all dry ingredients, then add the essential oils, which have also been pre-mixed. Mix and store away from direct sunlight. Store in cool dry place. Use only glass, wooden or ceramic container and utensils. Add oils with an atomizer or spritzer or eye dropper. Age in airtight container for a few days to a few weeks - gently stirring once or twice a week.

KNITTER PICK

The knitter pick can be made by driving a fine brad into a handle that has been whittled round. File brad sharp, and bend slightly. A finer one can be made by driving a good-sized sewing needle into a stick, pulling it out, and forcing the eye into the hole. Heat point over flame, and when needle point is red hot, bend slightly.