I went shopping at Job Lot today-my favorite discount store. Most of the stuff is dirt cheap and I found this for only $2.00 so I picked up two of them. Since my Lyme disease has now entered the chronic phase, I've been looking for easy projects to do with the kids. Larry has been on vacation since Christmas so we've had lots of time to do the fun stuff. 
These were lots of fun for the kids. But now that I know how to make them I won't need to buy the kits anymore.
The kits came with 2 pie pans and packets of plastic seed beads and one pack of pony beads. 
The kids sprinkled the colors that they like in the bottom of the pan into whatever pattern they liked. Patrick did a blue starfish above.
Morgan did a stained glass look.
And the finished result are these beautiful bowls. Here's how we did it.
These were lots of fun for the kids. But now that I know how to make them I won't need to buy the kits anymore. The kits came with 2 pie pans and packets of plastic seed beads and one pack of pony beads. The kids sprinkled the colors that they like in the bottom of the pan into whatever pattern they liked. Patrick did a blue starfish above. Morgan did a stained glass look. And the finished result are these beautiful bowls. Here's how we did it. - Cover the bottom of an aluminum pie plate with the plastic bugle beads.
- Heat in 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.
- Cool for 15 minutes. Turn over a round ceramic bowl or metal mixing bowl that is loosely covered with foil.
- When cool, take the plastic flat discs and turn them onto the foil covered bowls. Foil can be shaped to give bowl some fluted edges if desired.
- Replace in 375 degree oven for 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes. Use for trinkets and such.
A few helpful hints...make sure you have enough beads to cover the entire bottom of the pie plate otherwise you will have some spaces in your bowl...which is still beautiful.
Morgan and her best friend from next door made Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Larry today. Right before this was taken there were four kids piled on this chair. That's Larry hiding behind the girls. 
Guess who's hand is in the Cookie Jar? Don't they look yummy? 
This past summer I grew bottle neck gourds. They take up a lot of space and do best on fencing. Each plant only grows about 2-3 gourds so patience is the key. This big fat one was so heavy that I have no idea how it even stayed on the vine. The gourds must be left on the vine until it is completely brown and dry. Most people just let them dry in their garden but I tried that last year and the mice and chipmunks ate them.
These gourds are drying in my laundry room. I had a gourd crop of about 15 gourds this year, some big and some small. There are many methods to drying gourds. One way is to poke holes in the bottom but I have found that the liquid that drains out makes a mess and stinks. And yes, that is mold growing on the gourds and it's harmless. The gourds take 5 or 6 months to dry so this isn't a project that can be hurried. The mold makes these beautiful intricate patterns on the gourds and sands off easily when the gourd is dry.
This is a gourd with beautiful mold patterning (kinda matches my countertop). I just started sanding it and sometimes even use a little shoe polish to enhance the coloring and patterning. When it's completely smooth and the dark black spots are gone, it will get polyurethaned and made into a Shakere'.Shakere's are those beautiful African beaded gourds used as musical instruments.
You can read about them here.
My hope is that they will look like this when done.Gorgeous.
I don't paint my shakere's and much prefer the natural look with wood beads. The site above paints the gourds and uses plastic beads. Some of the other gourds that are not as strong will be carved into bird houses and bowls.
I thought I would post this really cool picture of my chicken coop and barn lit up at night. There is a crescent moon out tonight, the sky is clear and beautiful.
The kit makes quite a few balls and comes with lots of packages for creating. The big ball takes 4 packets and the little ball takes only one.
Tae with the colors he chose for the big ball. 
Morgan showing the mold. 
The molds look like little grenades.
Morgan and Tae filling the mold with neon yellow.
Then the whole thing gets dunked in a cup of water for one minute. I'm not sure what this stuff is made out of but it looks like silica gel.
Oooohhh-aaaaahhhh. A freshly out of the mold ball. Reminds me of the Earth.
We made five balls today. The colors were so Neon that the light kept bouncing off them and I couldn't get a good picture.
And if you look at the far left ball...the one that looks like the Earth you will notice it's a little flat on the top. Well hey, the Earth was flat at one time wasn't it?
Oooohhh and here is my new toy that I got for Christmas from my incredible husband. It's for all of the scrapbooking I do and it's called the Cricut Cutter by Provo Craft. I have been wanting one for a while and since we don't go out much, I have to find things at home to keep me busy. Can I just say I love this machine. (Provo Craft people-please feel free to send me any of your cartridges for a test drive or any of your products for that matter. LOVE THEM!) This really has to be one of the easiest machines to use. The sensor in it can even tell where the last cut was so that you don't waste any paper when you do your next cut. Need to use up those scrap papers...no problem. Just type in the size of paper you have and Cricut automatically configures how the request will fit best on the paper. How cool is that. I'm going to be doing a scrapbooking class with our homeschool group mom's soon. The only drawback to the Cricut is that the cartridges for different fonts are very expensive so I'll be using this one included cartridge for a while. But my birthday is in August if anyone would like to contribute to my habit.
Here it is cutting the "I Love Cricut" letters.
This is Tae looking ever so thrilled to be in the pageant. I'm not really sure why Baby Jesus is wrapped in a pink blanket.
Morgan does not like dresses but knows that I get one holiday a year where she does not have a choice but to wear a dress. She wouldn't have chosen a dress to wear but at least put this on without complaint this year. Our friend Kate gave us this dress and it had a matching coat. Of course I had to run out to buy her new dress shoes. Geeez-I wish these kids feet would stop growing. Isn't she gorgeous in Red? 
And here's me with Morgan, Tae and Patrick. Morgan has a need lately to look goofy in pictures and Patrick refused to take off his coat. Tae was screaming "You're squishing my head".
And the three kids posing nicely because they have to and it's Christmas. The kids grandfather, who we call Poppy, came yesterday and is staying until Friday. He was so pleased to see the kids do the pageant but it was hard for him without Larry's mom. 
One of our Christmas traditions is always to read "The Night Before Christmas." Poppy is reading an article and Patrick is now 12 and bailed on the story. Sniff. But look how cute our dog Stewie is. Oh and hey, I guess I should have gotten Larry some new slippers for Christmas. Nice worn out soles and holes in the bottom. Don't you just love the honesty of pictures? Morgan and Larry had a nice debate over whether it was "Donner" or "Donder" in the story TNBC.
And for the past years, ever since Tae could speak (and that was the second he got off the plane from Korea) he has been asking for a Guitar. Well, he was beyond giddy this year when he opened it up. Just look at that face.
Strummin' along.
And of course here is Morgan playing her guitar. Notice the sparkle emanating from the guitar. We got her the one with the silver flame because after all....she is a rock star!