Dirt and Worms Recipe with Leaf Cozy for Earth Day

Dirt and Worms Recipe with Leaf Cozy – an Earth Day Activity

This Dirt and Worms Recipe is a delicious way to celebrate a lot of special days. It is particularly scrumptious for Earth Day, but would be a fun snack for the first day of Spring or Fall, April Fool’s Day, or any rainy day when worms appear from the ground. It’s kid friendly to make and to eat!

Dirt and Worms Recipe

To further dress up the snack, we’ve crocheted a twig and leaf cozy. Change the colors to match the special holiday you’re celebrating. Use bright colors for Spring or Earth tones for Fall. Earth Day calls for the use of recycled yarn…in any color!

Let’s start with the snack. While it sets up we can crochet a leaf cozy.

Dirt and Worms Recipe

dirt and worms in mason jarOur versions of the Dirt and Worms Recipe is a chocolate lovers delight. We’re not diluting the pudding with whipped cream. We want a nice rich dark chocolate colored dirt. This is a quick and simple recipe for kids in the kitchen.

Supplies:

  • 1 – 5.9 oz Instant Pudding and Pie filling – Chocolate (Jello Brand pictured)
  • 3 cups cold milk
  • 1 package Oreo cookies (Double Stuffed pictured)
  • 1 package gummy worms (sour worms pictured)
  • 3 Mason Jars

Pudding and Oreo CrumblesDirections:

  1. Mix pudding according to box.
  2. Pour approximately 1 cup of pudding into each mason jar.
  3. Set aside (or refrigerate if needed) to setup – refrigerate if not using right away.
  4. Place 9 Oreo cookies (3 per serving) into resealable bag and crush with rolling pin or hammer.
  5. Just before serving pudding, sprinkle Oreo crumbs on top of pudding and top with gummy worms.

Earth Day Activity – Crochet Leaf Cozy

Leaf CozyThis leaf cozy is a cute Earth Day activity. Not only is the cozy fun to crochet, but the twig and crocheted leaves are a great reminder of how awesome our planet is. Using recycled yarn makes this an earth friendly activity. Using this cozy instead of disposable coffee cup sleeves is also earth friendly.

This is a great stash buster…which is very earth friendly. We’ve used Vanna’s Choice. There really are too many colors to choose from! We reigned ourselves in with only three cozies.

Skill Level: Easy +

Stitches Used: Chain, slip stitch, single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet

Techniques Used: Crochet in Rows, Crochet in the Round, Crochet in Back Loop, Crochet in Both Loops

Supplies:

  • Vanna’s Choice: RADIANT YELLOW, RASPBERRY, FERN, KELLY GREEN
  • (Autumn Cozy: Kelly Green, Brick, Chocolate)
  • (Fall Cozy: Eggplant, Terracotta, Fern, Radiant Lime)
  • Mason Jar
  • Twig (4” Length)

Leaf Cozy Instructions

Radiant Yellow

Hook: H

Ch 34, join with a sl st.

Rnd 1: Sc around. (34)

Rnd 2: Sc around. Join and change color to Fern with a sl st. (34)

Rnd 3: Sc around. Join and change color to Raspberry with a sl st into back loop of first st made in this Rnd. (34)

Rnd 4: Work in back loops only. Sc around. (34)

Rnd 5-8: Work in both loops. Sc around. (34)

Rnd 9: Work in both loops. Sc around. Join and change color to Fern with a sl st. (34)

Rnd 10: Sc around. Join and change color to Radiant Yellow with a sl st into back loop of first st made in this Rnd. (34)

Rnd11: Work in back loops only. Sc around. (34)

Rnd 12: Work in both loops. Sc around. (34)

Sl St. Finish off and weave in ends.

Insert twig under any st of Rnd 9.

leaf cup cozies

Leaf Instructions (make 2)

One Fern and One Kelly Green (or colors desired)

Hook: H

Ch 7

Rnd 1: 3dc in 3rd ch from hook (count first two as the first dc), 2 dc in next st, hdc, sc, sl st in last st, ch 3, sl st in third ch from hook. Continue working on the other side of the foundation ch. Sl st in the firs st, sc, hdc, 2 dc in next st, 4 dc in last st. Join with the first dc of this Rnd. (one leaf made)

Finish off leaving a long tail for attaching to cozy.

Attach to twig by tying a bow with the tails from the leaves.

More Cozies in Store

coffee cup cozy patterns ebookLove this leaf cozy? There are more seasonal, holiday and just for fun cozies in the store in our Crochet Cup Cozy eBook. We’ve created an entire collection with 28 designs one ebook.

Looking for the cup and mug version? They’re in the ebook.

Each design in the ebook has instructions to fit Mugs, Cups and Mason Jars. Every design has a delicious recipe or fun craft.

All 3 leaf cozies pictured at the beginning of this post are in this ebook! AND the ebook includes 4 new designs – Dracula, Vampire, Mummy and Blue Jeans.

Available in the StoreRead more about the set:

Blog: Coffee Cup Cozy Collection

Store: Coffee Cup Cozy Collection

Crochet Bunny and Easter Snacks for Kids

Crochet Bunny and Easter Snacks for Kids

A crochet bunny is the perfect accent for a mason jar full of Easter snacks for kids.

crochet bunny

It’s a strange phenomenon that the Easter bunny lays eggs. But who are we to question such a thing. We’re having fun with it and the kids will too. They’ll have a blast making and eating these chocolate snacks.

Let’s start with the Easter Snacks for kids because the chocolate will need time to cool and harden before it can be placed in the mason jar for storage (assuming you and the kids don’t eat them all first!).

Easter Snacks for Kids

If you’re looking for fun Easter snacks for kids…this is an easy and delicious one! It’s great for kids of any age.

easter snacks for kidsSo, we present to you…Easter eggs in a nest. It looks a bit like a bird’s nest. In fact, both birds and rabbits have their young in a nest. Rabbits build their nests in the dirt. The chocolate makes the eggs look like they are nestled in the dirt…so, we’re calling this snack an Easter Bunny Nest.

Ingredients & Supplies:

  • 1 bag rectangular pretzels (Snyder’s of Hanover Butter Snaps)
  • 1 bag Hershey’s Kisses
  • 1 bag M&M’s – Easter colors
  • 1 cookie sheet

kisses on pretzelsDirections:

  1. Preheat oven to 175°.
  2. Spread pretzels flat on cookie sheet (about 50 of them).
  3. Unwrap and place one kiss centered on each pretzel.
  4. Bake for 7 minutes to soften Kisses.
  5. Immediately press 1 to 3 M&M’s into each Kiss to form nests.
  6. Allow to cool and harden for a couple of hours.

Note: Young children will only be able to place 1 M&M in the nest. Older children can place 2 or more in each nest.

FYI: I Googled “Easter Snack” and found this snack on Jamy Fisher’s website. Thanks, Jamy for sharing!

Crochet Bunny for Easter

For Easter (and bunny lovers everywhere) we have a crochet bunny mason jar cover. This is adorable as a cup cozy, too. We’re showcasing it as a cute (and delicious) gift idea for the holidays. One that the kids can get involved with as well.

crochet bunny in four color combinations

This is a great stash buster. We’ve used Vanna’s Choice. The colors can be as soft and neutral as a real bunny or as bright and colorful as your heart desires.

Skill Level: Easy

Stitches Used: Chain, slip stitch, single crochet, double crochet

Techniques Used: Crochet in Rows & Rounds, Increase

Crochet Bunny Supplies:

  • Vanna’s Choice Yarn (Worsted Weight – 4)
    BEIGE, BLACK, PINK
    (Brown Bunny: Taupe Mist, Rose Mist, Radiant Lime, Black)
    (Purple Bunny: Purple, Dusty Rose, Raspberry)
    (Rainbow Bunny: Scarlet, Radiant Lime, Radiant Yellow, Radiant Orange, Colonial Blue, Aqua, Raspberry, Black)
  • Crochet Hook: H / 8 / 5.00mm
  • Yarn Needle for Sewing
  • 1 Mason Jar

Crochet Bunny Instructions

Beige

Ch 34, join with a sl st.

Rnd 1-9: Sc around. (34)

Join with a sl st. Cut yarn; weave in end.

EAR INSTRUCTIONS (make 2)

Beige

Ch 9

Rnd 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook. 6 sc. Work 3 sc in last st. Turn to other side of foundation ch. 6 sc, sc inc in last st. (18)

Rnd 2: *Sc inc, 8 sc* twice. (20)

Rnd 3: *2 sc inc, 8 sc* twice. (24)

Rnd 4: 2 sc inc, 3 sc, 2 sl st. Leave remaining sts unworked. (9)

Finish off leaving a long tail for sewing.

So, we present to you…Easter eggs in a nest. It looks a bit like a bird’s nest. In fact, both birds and rabbits have their young in a nest. Rabbits build their nests in the dirt. The chocolate makes the eggs look like they are nestled in the dirt…so, we’re calling this snack an Easter Bunny Nest.BOW INSTRUCTIONS

Pink

Ch 9

Rnd 1: Dc in 4th ch from hook. Sc, sl st, sc, dc, ch 2, sl st in last st. Turn to other side of foundation ch. Ch 2, dc, sc, sl st, sc, dc, ch 2, sl st into last st. (12)

Finish off leaving a long tail for sewing.

ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Embroider “V” shaped Nose across Rnd 4 with Pink.
  2. Embroider two Eyes across Rnds 6 & 7 with Black.
  3. Sew Ears 2 sts away from each eye on Rnd 9. Fold ear a bit at top if desired.
  4. Sew Bow to top of Ear as desired.

More Cozies in Store

coffee cup cozy patterns ebookLove this bunny cozy? There are more seasonal, holiday and just for fun cozies in the store in our Crochet Cup Cozy eBook. We’ve created an entire collection with 28 designs one ebook.

Looking for the cup and mug version? They’re in the ebook.

Each design in the ebook has instructions to fit Mugs, Cups and Mason Jars. Every design has a delicious recipe or fun craft.

All 3 bunnies pictured at the beginning of this post are in this ebook! AND the ebook includes 4 new designs – Dracula, Vampire, Mummy and Blue Jeans.

Available in the StoreRead more about the set:

Blog: Coffee Cup Cozy Collection

Store: Coffee Cup Cozy Collection

How to Make an Abacus with Yarn

How to Make an Abacus with Yarn – Great Craft for Kids

How to make an abacusAn abacus is a great way to make all kinds of calculations. Below we’ll show you how to make an abacus with yarn that’s perfect for kids of all ages. This arts and crafts project has two great math lessons – measurement and addition with an abacus. The colors on this abacus make it versatile. Teach numbers with two decimals such as currency or ignore the colors and teach whole numbers up to the 100,000’s.

We’ve also decorated ours and given it the title, “Count your Blessings.” This abacus can now be used to teach a character building lesson on the value of thankfulness. Psalm 103 would be a great Bible passage to illustrate thankfulness.

Psalm 103:2 says, “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”

How to Make an Abacus with Yarn – Features and Supplies List

Don’t let the simple style of this abacus fool you. This little abacus has a lot of great features:

  • The four strands of yarn keep the beads in place allowing students to hold up their abaci to show their answers to their teacher.
  • Teach numbers with two decimals or whole numbers to the 100,000’s.
  • Many different lessons can be taught with this one project.
  • Easy to make.
  • Materials are minimal and cheap.
  • It’s thin, small and light weight making it easy to carry and keep with one’s math book.
  • It’s fun to make and use.

We mentioned that the supplies are minimal and cheap. Check around your house for the following:

  • 30 Pony Beads (we used 20 blue and 10 red)
  • cardboard 7 1/4″ x 5 1/4″
  • yarn (4 pieces) 48″ length each
  • whole punch (1/8″)
  • box cutter/knife (use with caution! Supervise kids using these.)
  • pencil
  • standard ruler
  • scissors
  • yarn needle
  • Supplies to decorate (we used paper, glue and tape)

How to Make an Abacus with Yarn – Lesson One: Working with Inches

If your kids need practice using a standard ruler, this is a great project (or you can trace and use this Abacus template).

  1. Start with a piece of cardboard that’s 7 1/4″ x 5 1/4″. (Mine is 1/2″ taller but required a special hole punch. If you are using a standard single hole punch, then you’ll want to cut your abacus to 7 1/4″ x 5 1/4″).
  2. With the long side of the cardboard horizontal in front of you, draw a vertical line at 1″, 1 3/4″, 2 1/2″, 3 1/4″, 4″, 4 3/4″, 5 1/2″, 6 1/4″. See image below.
  3. With the short side of the cardboard horizontal in front of you, draw a vertical line at 1/2″, 1″, 3″, 3 1/4″, 4 1/4″, 4 3/4″, 5 1/4″. See image below.
  4. Punch holes on the lines that are 1/2″ from the ends where they intersect the lines drawn in step 2. There will be 6 on each side (12 total). See image below.
  5. Cut out 2 rectangles leaving a thin horizontal bar in the middle. See image below.
  6. Cut 4 strands of yarn to 48″ each.
  7. Thread two pieces of yarn on your needle.
  8. Start at the bottom left corner, insert yarn into first hole leaving a tail about 5″ long. Thread 5 beads onto yarn. Weave round thin middle bar then weave up and through the hole at the top. (At this point the five beads can move in either section). See image below.
  9. Insert yarn into next hole. Thread 5 beads onto yarn. Again, weave around middle bar and weave to and through the hole on the bottom.
  10. Repeat step 9 until all 6 sets of beads have been stranded. Remove needle.
  11. Thread remaining two pieces of yarn on your needle.
  12. Weave this strand in the opposite direction as the first strands of yarn. Wherever you weaved on top of the cardboard, now weave on the bottom. Make sure you thread 4 beads into the bottom section and a single bead into the top section of all 6 sections. *The weaving is what will lock the beads into each section. See image below.
  13. Knot the tails of yarn and trim.
cardboard cutout

Draw lines, punch holes and cut out rectangles.

Decorate cardboard if desired. We glued decorative paper on the front and back.

weaving beads

This is what your abacus will look like after following steps 8-10.

At this point, the beads can float between the top and bottom section. The next step will lock them in their appropriate sections.

fully woven

Beads become trapped when second strand is woven on the opposite side.

Decorate a bit more if desired. We added our title and some numbers to ours at this point. Now the abacus is ready to use!

How to Make an Abacus with Yarn – What Each Row Represents

Now that we’ve learned how to make an abacus, let’s take a look at what the different colors and columns of beads mean.

Side view of finished abacus

Side view of finished abacus

Using the Colors
If you attribute value to the colors, then the abacus has four whole numbers (the blue beads on the left) followed by two decimal places (the red on the right). From left to right you have: Thousands, Hundreds, Tens and Ones in blue. Then Tenths and Hundredths in red.

Ignoring the Colors
If you ignore the fact that the beads have color, then you have six columns of whole numbers. From right to left you have: Ones, Tens, Hundreds, Thousands, Ten Thousands, Hundred Thousands.

How to Make an Abacus with Yarn – How to Count and Add

We could write pages and pages of content on how to understand and add with an abacus. Instead, we recommend that you watch this great video tutorial.

Deborah’s (Yarnovator) 5th grade class thought these homemade abaci were amazing. Yes, the abacus is amazing. Yes, she’s a great teacher for giving them each their own abacus. Want to be your kids’ hero? Give it a try. Your kids are going to love them and they’ll think you’re amazing, too!

Starry Night Yarn Craft

Starry Night Yarn Craft for Kids

Starry Night in yarnMy sister and I are considering teaching a break-out session for a small group of kids and naturally we are discussing yarn crafts. Is there any other other type of craft? Not in our humble opinions.

There will be four one-hour sessions…which isn’t a lot of time. So we have decided that crochet is out. We are considering other crafts using yarn. The first and most interesting possibility we discussed was recreating Starry Night in yarn.

Read further for:

  • Step by Step photos of Deborah’s creation.
  • Links to the coloring page used as the base.
  • Link to the website that provided some inspiration.
  • Tips for creating your own Starry night.

Starry Night 1st peek

Starry Night sneak peek 2

Starry Night sneak peek 3

Starry Night sneak peek 4

Starry Night completed

Starry Night Yarn Craft for Kids – Coloring Page

The coloring page makes a great backdrop for creating your own Starry Night in yarn. We did a Google Search focused on images of Starry Night coloring pages. We used a page from SuperColoring.com. Feel free to browse the internet for one that inspires you.

Starry Night Yarn Craft for Kids – Our Inspiration

This project was inspired by a very talented gal by the name of Regina. You must check out the work she has done with kids. Unfortunately she doesn’t appear to be updating her site. But we can still be inspired by her previous work!

Starry Night Yarn Craft for Kids – Some Tips and Thoughts

I spoke with Deborah and asked her for her thoughts. Here are a few:

  • Spread glue in small portions of the coloring page so you can work in small portions a little at a time.
  • Bulky yarn makes it easier to cover more space more quickly.
  • Beware of using yarn that separates easily. It will stick to your fingers and be more frustrating to work with. Deborah used Lion Brand Homespun and found it was tricky to work with as she had more and more glue stuck to her fingers. The yarn separated too easily.
  • Have a wide range of colors available. Deborah wished she had more colors for her project.
  • This particular picture actually took quite a bit of time to complete. If time is an issue, you will probably want to choose a more simple coloring page.

So, after completing the prototype Deborah decided that this project won’t make it into the breakout session. I guess it’s back to the drawing board…so to speak.