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| . | Welcome to the first issue of the StoryTots News! In This Issue: We're so excited to send the first issue of our StoryTots newsletter! Our goal is to offer great ideas for projects for you and your kiddos, birthday party ideas and the latest updates on new StoryTots.com stories and developments. In February we were proud to be a sponsor for the Cottonwood Preschool charity auction in Denver, CO. It was a great cause and a great opportunity for us to introduce ourselves to a new population of parents with young kids. If you or your school have ideas for how StoryTots can help your community, let us know! We love to hear your feedback! |
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This Month’s Project:
You'll need: BEFORE YOU BEING please read the toxicity note 1) Place a sheet of tin foil on the baking tray and preheat your oven or toaster oven, with baking tray inside, to 300 degrees F. Preheating the tray results in less warping. 2) Clean and dry your #6 plastic trays, any leftover food will discolor the plastic when baked. 3) Cut your trays into the desired shapes, try "crazy scissors" for interesting edges. Punch a hole if you want to hang the creation from a cord or wire. 4) Use permanent markers to draw, write and color. Try using a marker to color a stamp, then stamp onto the plastic (work fast!) 4) Carefully place your designs on the baking tray in the oven, close the door and watch the show! Shrinking happens very fast at 300 degrees, usually under 2 minutes. It will shrink and warp and get all crazy, but will usually flatten back out towards the end of the shrinking process. Sometimes larger items have a hard time flattening back out at 300 degrees. For larger items, try a lower temperature (200 degrees) for a slower shrink. 5) When they stop transforming (1-2 minutes), remove from the oven. Remove tin foil and items from the baking tray, they will cool very quickly. The final product: Your creations will be about 3-4 times smaller than they started out, several times thicker, and rigid. All of the designs and writing will have shrunk and look really crisp. The marker will scratch off over time, try a clear acrylic sealant to preserve the designs. DON'T use clear nail polish, I found that it makes the designs run and smear. You could also try painting on the "back" of the creation for a background color, or gluing a cool patterned paper on the back, then sealing. What the heck am I going to do with these things? Make charms for key chains, wine charms, custom gift tags, custom buttons, glue onto magnets for the refrigerator, glue onto barrettes, so many things! Toxicity note: Work in a well-ventilated area, as long as you don't burn the plastic, it won't release toxins into the air. Though leaching happens when plastics are heated, just to be safe, I discourage wearing your finished creations directly against skin or allowing children to put the items in their mouths. REMEMBER: Finished creations will be small, keep away from children under 3, please!
Birthday Ideas : Spring Party Ideas Summer's Coming! Beach Party Here are some fun ideas for creating a "beach" party at home when it's not quite beach weather yet! Dress the theme: Turn up the heat a few degrees and encourage party-goers to wear their summer duds, sunglasses, beach hats, even bathing suits.
Goodie Bucket: An inexpensive bucket and shovel set can make a great goody bag. Fill part way with goldfish crackers, then add a squirty bath toy or two, preferable fish-themed. You can also add Swedish fish candies, squirt guns, etc. depending on the age of the party-goers. Splish Splash Time: Fill a small kiddy pool with a few inches of water, fill with boats and rubber ducks and let the kids play! Watch carefully, never leave small children unattended around water, even a few inches. Starfish cookies/sandwiches: For a quick party snack, make a selection of peanut butter and jelly and/or cheese or cream cheese sandwiches, then cut out using a large star-shaped cookie cutter, or a starfish cookie cutter if you can find one. Squirt on eyes and a smile with ketchup or jelly. Wheat bread will look the most realistic, and be the healthiest! Or make and decorate starfish cookies to add to your goody bucket. Decorating the pre-baked sugar cookies could be a fun project for the kids! Coming soon to StoryTots.com! Also: We've received multiple requests for stories that feature two characters. Soon we will be revamping some of the stories to allow for an additional character: a twin or sibling, a cousin or a friend, to join in the fun! We love to hear your feedback! Thanks for reading!
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Remember those cool art toys from the 70's that you could color, put in the oven, then they'd wiggle and warp and shrink to a fraction of their size? Maybe I'm late to the game here, but I had never heard of homemade "Shrinky Dinks" until a few weeks ago. It is SO MUCH FUN! And it's a great way to recycle those #6 plastic trays that salad bar salads, some berries, and sushi come in!
permanent markers: Sharpies, etc 
Sandy shore cupcakes: Make or purchase cupcakes with white icing. Using a food processor grind up several graham crackers and blend in an equal amount of sugar. The combination of graham crackers and sugar looks just like sand! Dip the cupcakes in the sugar mixture to coat the frosting. Top with little chocolate shells or make your own using fondant or marzipan. Each can be colored with food coloring and molded to look like shells. Fondant (sugar paste) can be found in the cake decorating section, and marzipan (almond paste) usually comes in a tube. Or, cut starfish shapes out of flat gummy candy, we used Haribo peach gummy candy, and place in the "sand".