Salt dough Handprint ornaments

So I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day last week, I wanted to do something crafty for the Grandparents/Dada this year.  You all have probably seen them, but those salt dough Handprint ornaments that are in the shape of a heart seemed like a good idea.  Some things I learned while doing this craft with 2 little ones:

1) the recipe I will share that I found online was enough for 6 ornaments (they said 3 on the website, but I got 6)

2) Mix the dough....a lot!!  I ended up kneading it like I would bread dough by hand & knead it a lot!!

3) I baked mine at 170 for 1 hr. & then let them harden for like a week, just to be sure they were hard as I knew I'd be shipping them in the mail

4) I used  a straw to make a hole at the top to insert the ribbon, just like the recipe said, but you may need to enlarge it to get the ribbon through

5) Mine don't have perfect edges, but I kind of thought that added to the homemade look of them, so I didn't redo them

Here's the website I found this on & the recipe below:

4 C flour

1C salt

Food coloring

Mixing bowl--large

cookie sheet

Just a tad of water to moisten the dough

Cookie sheet

Small amount of oil to oil cookie sheet

Rolling pin or wooden dowel

Drinking straw to make the hole for the ribbon

Ribbon

Paint or glitter to decorate

Gradually blend the salt, flour, & small amount of water with the salt/flour mix until it resembles fresh pizza dough, you don't want too much water, but enough so you can roll out the dough & make handprints in it.  Knead this dough a lot, the more you knead it the smoother it will become.  If you're adding any food coloring put that in & knead it until the color is evenly distributed.  

I forgot to take any pics of the girls actually putting their hands in the dough, but here are the finished products minus the ribbon that I picked up later.  I did some white/red swirl, some pink, & some purple glitter.  I hope that the grandparents & dada will enjoy the little handprint heart shapes....I think they're pretty sweet!  Here's the poem I included with them to each set of grandparents & to dada :)

This isn't just any handprint

as you can plainly see

For it is a special heart handprint

Made by me

Along with this handprint

I send lots of hugs & kisses your way

And ask that God bless you on this 

Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day 2013

My almost 3 year old

This age with Jessie is just getting more fun by the day, yes, also more tiring, but the little conversations we now have are great.  I am so proud to announce that she is fully potty trained, no diapers anymore.  She can even go through naps (which are almost nonexistent) & 95% of the time overnight without having an accident.  She is living on fruit, chicken nuggets & grilled cheese sandwiches cut into different shapes these days---but hey, I figure in time she will enjoy a wider variety of things.  She loves, loves art...I can't tell you how much we spend on art supplies (dada knows all about that :).  She can even use a regular paint brush to paint anything she wants.  She is working on her skills with scissors.  We were going through a time with tantrums for a few weeks, but that seems to mostly have subsided, thankfully.  She has gotten much sweeter when it comes to her interaction with her sister.  She now "helps" me with her all day.  If Ella has a diaper, Jessie now wants to help change her....she can even put the velcro on without a problem, although, diapers rarely stay on Ella these days...that's a whole other blog post.  Some of her favorite shows are of course, Cinderella--the movie, Curious George--the show, Alice in Wonderland & Mary Poppins are new favorites.  As I said in my previous post, she's very blunt with the things she says.  Her hair is kind of a mess, it doesn't matter how hard I try, the texture is so fine, it never really does anything besides fly away :)  A favorite treat, for extra special behavior, is a milkshake, usually she wants strawberry.  Tooth brushing is getting easier, so thankful for that, it was a struggle for so long.  She now wants me to snuggle with her at night before bed after we read her books, she has on occasion fallen asleep snuggled against me & I have almost fallen asleep myself!  She knows her alphabet song & can reliably count to 10.  Working on actually counting objects & understanding less vs. more.  She really enjoys cooking with me.  When we bake cookies I always let her help me measure the ingredients & get everything out of the cupboard...she is very careful when she helps & it is a source of pride for her when she eats our baked goodies.  That's about all I can think of that I might want to remember.  She's a real joy these days & I am just trying to spend as much time as possible with her so that I enjoy each moment.  Thankful for all the happiness she brings to our home.  Enjoy a few snapshots of our big girl & have a great day!

21 months

Ella girl is 21 months old on the 16th, how can it be that my baby will be 2 so soon, I know I say that every month, but I'm telling you guys---where did the last year go??  One thing that Michael noticed when he got back is that her speech has become clearer in just a weeks time.  She will rarely, if ever, sit in her high chair (As I update this post, I moved the high chair to the attic a few days ago, she almost flipped it & I just couldn't take the risk) anymore, she insists on sitting in a big chair like her sister.  Mostly, I would describe her as a very pleasant/happy 21 month old, we have our nights where she's upset & doesn't sleep, but mostly a very good- natured little girl.  The only thing I can really figure out is that she's starting to teeth to get her 2 year molars & perhaps, that's why she is so upset some nights.  The allergy medication seems to keep her sneezing & eye rubbing mostly under control.  The lab results from her cat allergy test came back negative, so for now, Kitty Jenkins can stay with us...although, I just wish he would interact with the girls.  Ella continues to love her books at night before bed & loves to have you chase her.  She has really gotten very excited about our Friday mornings together...I think she really looks forward to the one on one time with me.  I can't say we ever do anything too exciting, but she does seem to beam with delight as I give her my full attention!  She's our girly girl & plays pretend in various tutus, dresses, & bows, etc.  Her favorite show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse & of course, Minnie mouse is her favorite character.  She & her sister both love Cinderella & Ella calls her "Rella" when she sees her picture on anything.  She also loves music & can sing just about any kids song, which is adorable.  She has some stranger fear, but is mostly a friendly little thing.  That's about all I can think of for now.  She continues to eat well & just about anything.  One of her new favorites is Greek yougart--kind of weird for a kid, but she loves it.  Anyway, here are a few snapshots of her in a new outfit from her Gaga (Michael's mom).  Enjoy & have a great day!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day from the Passineau girls.  Hope you all have a great day & are showered by your sweeties.  I'll let the cuteness speak for itself with these :)

This is a good one of Jessie in my opinion, can't believe I got an actual smile

This is the sister shot that I think you will all agree....is precious!!

Daddy had 3 girls to spoil this morning, here's a peak at the girls, their daddy, & their Valentine's jewelry ..they are so fortunate--they don't even know it :)