Sidewalk Chalk Paint!

This SUPER fun project {Sidewalk Chalk Paint}was orginally posted over at Postively Splendid as part of Amy's Summer Survival Guide. I am reposting just in case you missed it, but please go over and check out all the other awesome summer ideas that have been {and will be} posted throughout the month of May!

We love regular chalk at our house. It's relatively cheap, not too messy, and it is the perfect outdoor activity! Basically the kids love chalk because it's fun and I love chalk because they are making a mess outside and not inside:) What I don't love about chalk are all the little broken pieces that pile up after a few weeks of use. I hate to throw them away, but they are just too small to use without scraping your fingers on the concrete!

Instead of throwing them out, we are going to turn those broken piece of chalk into paint! Start by sorting your chalk by color. This is a great teaching activity for any kiddo who is working on learning their colors.

Put each individual color into a zippered bag.

Seal up the bag and then break up the chalk using a small hammer. This should be done by an adult or a {very} well supervised child. Try and break the chalk into a fine powder to make you paint as smooth as possible.

One you have your powdered chalk, pour each color into small plastic cups.

Add a little water.

And stir around with a paint brush to dissolve the chalk powder. We used some inexpensive art brushes that are now our chalk paint brushes:) All of the chalk powder may not dissolve, but your paint should still work fine. Use a different brush for each color and then let the kiddos get busy making art on your sidewalk. The colors may be hard to see at first, but as soon as they start to dry the individual colors will show up well!

The best part about chalk paint is that if someones spills it, it isn't a big deal because all you need is a water hose to clean up the mess!

And that is how you turn broken chalk pieces into a ton of summer fun!

Wordless Wednesday: A Swinging Good Time

*Can you tell I was making them smile for the camera:)?*

Cookie Palm Trees

Summer is right around the corner and the cookies I am sharing with you today are perfect for all of those end of school/luau/beach/pool parties that everyone is sure to be having soon!

The beauty of these cookies is that you only need two ingredients. Pirouette cookies and green fruit slices...plus a few tooth picks to hold them together.

Using a very sharp knife, cut each fruit slice into three pieces as shown below.

Arrange three slices in a palm tree pattern making sure to overlap the top edge of each fruit slice. Push a toothpick into the fruit slices and be careful that you catch all three of the pieces with the toothpick.

Place the palm leaves {with toothpick attached} on top of the pirouette cookie and push the toothpick into the the fudgy inside of the cookie.

I added these Cookie Palm Trees to a Jello Island for Grant's Luau Party at school, but these Cookie Palm Trees would be really adorable on top of a cake or even cupcakes too!

I'm still trying to think of a way to display these without sticking them in another snack {because they are just that cute on their own}, so if anyone has suggestions I would love to hear them:)