— by Tiffany Doerr Guerzon
jars you use, just be sure to measure the
amount of Epsom salts you use so that
you can add an equal amount of water.
Pour the measured Epsom salt into
the bottom of your jar. Next pour hot wa-
ter over the salts. Use the hottest water
you can get from your tap. Stir this mix-
ture for two minutes. You can add a drop
of liquid watercolors to the hot water to
tint the crystals before mixing the water
into the salts if you like.
7 Indoor Winter Crafts & Activities
I
f the weather is too fright-
ful to play outside, or if your
kids are longing for snow, try
one of these indoor winter activities.
Play with pretend snow, grow crystals,
jazz up plain old playdough, paint like
Jack Frost, or create three-dimensional,
painted snowpeople to liven up a dreary
winter afternoon.
Pretend Snow
Pour 1 cup baking soda into a large
bowl. Add shaving cream, a squirt at a
time, mixing after each addition with a
spoon. When the “snow” starts to form
a ball, continue mixing and kneading
the mixture with your hands. Once the
“snow” is the consistency you like, stop
adding shaving cream. If it gets too wet,
simply add more baking soda. This pre-
tend snow molds well and is lots of fun
for kids to dig into and create their own
snowballs, snow people, or mountains.
Refrigerate the snow before play for a
“cool” sensory experience
Jack Frost Paintings
Mix equal parts Epsom salt and
warm water. Give kids paint brushes
of various widths
and they can dip
the brushes into the
Epsom salt solution
and paint snowflakes
or other designs
onto
dark-colored
construction paper.
12 WNY Family February 2019
Dark blue and black-colored paper work
best. As the water evaporates from the
paper, beautiful crystals are left behind.
Coffee Filter
Snowflakes
Flatten a white
coffee filter into
a circle. Fold the
filter in half, then
into quarters, then
eighths. It should
look like a pie slice.
Cut shapes along the
edges of the wedge,
then
open
and
smooth out for the
perfect snowflake! The great thing about
this project is kids can cut the folded
coffee filter on any side and it will still
open into a single, beautiful snowflake.
Overnight crystals
Gather a few small, clear glass jars.
Clear glass candle votives, mason jars or
even wine glasses work well.
The recipe for these crystals is sim-
ple: equal parts Epsom salt and hot water.
For a quart-sized Mason jar,
use 1 cup salts to 1 cup water.
For a pint-sized Mason jar,
use ½ cup salts to ½ cup hot
water, and for a small votive
or wine glass, ¼ cup salts to
¼ cup hot water. You can ad-
just amounts according to the
It’s best to make a few batches, just
in case one doesn’t grow. Next, put your
jars in the freezer for 10 minutes. Re-
move the jars from the freezer and place
in the refrigerator, and allow to grow
overnight. In the morning, gently pour
off any excess liquid from the jars, and
enjoy your crystals!
Vanilla Scented
“Cookie” Playdough
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to
the ingredients of the Cooked
Playdough Recipe (see below)
and then cook, cool, and knead
as directed. Give kids this deli-
cious smelling dough along with
a rolling pin and cookie cutters
to create pretend cookies.
Scented Sparkle
Playdough
Add three drops lavender
or peppermint essential oil, plus a few
drops food coloring to the ingredients in
the Cooked Playdough Recipe (see be-
low), and then cook and cool as direct-
ed. Place the dough on a cutting board
or mat and sprinkle with glitter. Let the
kids knead in the glitter, then play! Ex-
periment with fine and chunky glitter in
a variety of colors.