MADE: grocery bag dispenser, goo, and a craft

We've been MIA here for awhile.  Sorry.  No excuse other than I just get caught up in other things sometimes.

Husband commissioned me to make something that would solve the problem that WAS our pantry overflowing with plastic grocery bags, so I made this grocery bag dispenser from the tutorial on Make It-Love It.   I just used a single piece of fabric to save time (she sews a few different fabrics together, in stripes)

Extremely easy.  

I hung it on the pantry doorknob but it just seemed too low, so I hung it on the hinges.  It's cute enough to be showing and I'm just happy the kitchen is somewhat more organized.

You know me.  I don't like to make a trip to the store for anything if I don't have to, so I used lace for the ribbon, because I didn't have any ribbon.  Works just fine.

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I've been on a mission to do more fun things with and for my kids, so we made this goo (from Our Best Bites) that I had been promising G we'd make every day for at least a couple of weeks.  We finally did it yesterday.  I'm still working on the procrastination thing, but I think it's a worthy enough goal.

It entertained them for quite some time.  I put a big piece of freezer paper down on the kitchen floor for them to smash it down on.  They had a friend over when we made it, and they got tiny toys and cars out, to 'bury' in the goo.  They loved it.  (didn't get any good pics)  Here's a different recipe at Tot Treasures, if you don't want to buy Borax.

We put it in a ziploc baggie so they can play with it again and again.

And then there was this 'mess-free finger painting' idea, I saw on Mama Smiles.  They loved this too.  Put some tempera paint in a freezer ziploc baggie, tape to the counter with a piece of paper underneath, and let them go to town, without having to worry about the mess it'll make.  -I- loved this one too.  

We used primary colors, so we got to see how they mixed and made new colors.  We just left them taped to the counter, so they can come back and play any time they feel like it.  Then, when they get tired of these colors, we'll switch to something new.  Maybe next time we'll make tertiary colors with a primary and a secondary in each bag.