I made homemade paints for the kids and set out a big white sheet for them to paint on. The paints were quick drying, washable, and can be used as finger paints or with brushes.
Here's the recipe from Care2:
* 1 c. cornstarch
* 1/2 c. water
* 1/3 cup soap flakes melted with 1/2 cup boiling water
* juice dyes (see below)
* make your own soap flakes by grating a bar of homemade hand soap (available in your health food store) until you have 1/3 of a cup of soap flakes.
Combine the cornstarch, water, and melted soap in a bowl. Stir to blend. Let the mixture set until it has become thick. Divide into separate bowls and stir in juice dyes for color.
How to Make Juice Dyes
* One or more of the following: frozen berries, canned beets, or 1/2 cup plant material (blueberries, beets, walnut hulls, cranberries, tea).
* Water as needed.
* Use the juice straight from thawed berries, or juice drained from canned beets. Mix colors for hue variations. If using fresh berries, fruit, walnut hulls, or tea, combine the plant material with 1 cup of water in a pan and simmer over low heat for 1/2 hour or so, adding more water as it evaporates.
The cake was banana bread cake with cream cheese frosting. Wheat-free, soy-free, sugar free, and all organic (and we had a small vegan one using soy cream cheese).
Here's the recipe:
2 cups of maple syrup
1 cup olive oil
6 very ripe bananas
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cream (or any milk substitute like soy or alomnd milk with one teaspoon apple cider vinegar mixed in)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon all spice
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat to 350
Sift together flour, soda, salt and spices.
In a seperate bowl mix together the olive oil and maple syrup. Add bananas, milk and vanilla.
Add the wet to dry, mix until everything is wet. Pour into a greased cake pan and bake for an hour and 20 minutes.
The Frosting:
Take two tubs of organic creame cheese and whip together with 1/2 cup cream and a few table spoons of maple syrup.
(vegan version) Soy cream cheese and maple syrup whipped together (no soy milk!)
Big brother helped blow out the candles
The fam
The Birthday Boy!
