Handprint chickens

I love crafting, though as anyone who has had the pleasure of teaching me art (the only subject I was told by the teacher not to do at GCSE, though whether because I lacked the skill or she just didn't want me in her classroom for two years who knows) will tell you, I am better at the concept than the execution. Nevertheless what I lack in talent I make up for in enthusiasm. Hence having to share these handprint chicks. They are my daughter's hands, not mine, and come courtesy of her nursery rather than our efforts at home, though I fully intend to add them to my repertoire as number #102 of things to do with handprints when you are bored.

Incidentally, I blogged some time ago about making rainbow rice. It took ages, stank of vinegar, costs loads of money to buy the rice and the food colouring, went everywhere and I threw it out after a couple of months (though we did have some fun with it the few times we played with it). A friend of mine had a baby shortly after I had number two. We're spending a lot of time together. "I never understood," she said, "why you didn't just buy a big pack of cheap tricolour pasta and play with that instead."

She's a bloody genius. I will do that next.

Rainbow rice

I made rainbow rice. What's not to like about running your hands through coloured rice and pouring it from container to container again and again and again. My 18 month old loves it, even though it smells a bit of vinegar. And I feel rather smug about making something she loves playing with - like a proper parent - even if the cost of the rice and the food colouring and the container means it is one of her more expensive toys. Oh, and it goes everywhere. But that's what hoovers are for right?

To make it you get rice and liquid food colouring and shake it together in a sealed bag or box with a splosh of white vinegar to set the colour. Some websites say you can just let it dry but it still stank of vinegar so I baked it in the oven for about half an hour and that muted the smell. It took ages - I did this four times for four colours. Still, it looks pretty.

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