By Wendy

Kids love being creative. Whether it’s with crayons, markers, or paint- they’re crazy about it! Especially if it also means they’re allowed to get a little dirty. That is why I love the idea of making your own finger paint. It lets your kids get their creative juices flowing with paint, with their hands being their paint brush. And it’s all non-toxic! So if they accidentally get some on their face or swallow some, you won’t have to worry too much. It’s super easy to make and your kids will have much fun playing with it, indoor or outdoors.

What you need:

½ cup cornstarch

3 tbsp sugar

½ tsp salt

2 cups cold water

Your choice of food coloring

What to do:

Put all your ingredients into a medium pan and cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes.

Stir mixture until you start seeing it thicken.

Remove from stovetop quickly and let mixture cool.

Split mixture into a 3-4 batches.

In each batch, put a few drops of your favorite food colorings until you get your desired color.

Put each batch into separate air tight containers with lids to make it easy to store.

This batch of homemade finger paint is good for about 3 days. So if you see your finger paint getting a bit too thick, just whip up a new batch and you’ll be on your way to more finger painting fun. Or if you think you don’t need as much, you can always adjust the ingredients and make a smaller batch.

Another great non-toxic toy you can make with your kids is homemade play dough. They’re easy to play with, can be molded into lots of different forms, and keep kids busy.

What are your favorite do it yourself make at home activities for the kids?

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.

By Wendy

It’s so difficult to keep your hair shiny and healthy. And with all the time you’ve probably been spending outside in the heat and sun this summer, you’re noticing your hair looking a little drab. Put some bounce back into your hair with this great do it yourself organic avocado hair mask. All the ingredients are easy to find in your supermarket, and you may already have some in your kitchen already. Best part, this all natural hair mask should only take about an hour to complete the whole process.

What you need:

1 ripe avocado

½ cup coconut milk

3 tsp olive oil

What to do:

Mash up your ripe avocado in a medium sized bowl

Add in coconut milk and olive oil with the avocado and stir in until well blended

Heat up the hair mask ingredients on the stove until warm

Apply the mask ingredients from roots to ends, massaging into your scalp

Leave in for 30 minutes

Rinse out, and wash hair as usual

So postpone that hair appointment at your salon and try this inexpensive homemade hair mask out. This organic hair mask will bring back some of that missing volume, shine, and health back into dull, limp hair, and give your hair smell delightful coconut smell.

If you’re ready to try some other do it yourself beauty fun at home, try these homemade face masks. These DIY face masks are quick to make and you can do this while you have your homemade hair mask on!

What other do it yourself hair masks have you tried and loved?

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.

By Wendy

Rain showers are great in the summertime. With the high temperatures these past few weeks, it’s very much a relief to see some rain in the forecast. But with the kids at home from summer vacation, what can you do to keep them busy? How about making your own play dough!

Play dough is one of those toys that have been around for decades. They’re easy to play with, can be molded into lots of different forms, and keep kids busy. There are a lot of different play dough’s on the market, most made out of flour, salt, boric acid, and mineral oil. But why not make your own in the kitchen and from ingredients you already have in your cupboard. Not only is it super easy to make with your kids, its non-toxic.

What you need:

1 cup flour

3/8 cup salt

1 tbsp cream of tartar

1 cup water

1 tbsp oil

1-2 tsp food coloring

What to do:

Mix together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and cream of tartar). Add all ingredients into a medium saucepan and cook under medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until a ball forms and most or all the moisture is gone. Turn out play dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it cool. Store in an air tight container.

What other diy projects do you like making with your kids?

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.

By Wendy

School is over and it’s time for some good old summer fun! You want to make sure the kids are not spending too much time in front of the tv and doing something that will keep them active and entertained. Here are 4 fun eco-friendly activities you can do outside with the kids’ right in your backyard.

Start a Garden- not only will you be teaching your kids how to grow their own food; you’ll also be able to teach them about where some of the food they eat every day really comes from. The easiest way to start is with an herb garden. It’s very easy to start your own herb garden. All you need is some dirt, seeds, water, and some sunlight.

Water Fights- water fights are such a great way for the kids to stay active and cool on those hot summer days. Squirt bottles are great to give the kids since you’ll most likely have some around the house so there’s no need to buy plastic water guns that usually only get used a few times a year or water balloons.

Create Your Own Sandbox- a cheap and easy way to bring the beach right to your backyard. You can create your own sandbox with just a few bags of sand, a big container to keep the sand contained in, and a few toys. The kids will love having a sandbox right in the backyard.

Make your Own Bird Feeder- help kids gain an appreciation for nature and the wildlife right in their backyard with this inexpensive and fun project for the kids to create this summer. You’ll be surprised that you can make one with items you already have around the house.

So whether you’re creating a garden with your children for the very first time or having an old fashioned water fight, there are definitely lots of eco-friendly ways to keep your kids active and entertained this summer.

What are some of your eco-friendly activities for the kids this summer?

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.

By Wendy

Summer is officially here. It’s time take the grill out of the garage and start the barbeque! Call the family, make the salad, and get the hotdogs and hamburgers ready. They’re the perfect condiment. So perfect that a group of engineers at MIT have also created a new liquid called LiquiGlide used to coat the inside of condiment bottles for an easier pour and not waste a single drop.

My favorite ketchup is Krazy Ketchup. It was created by moms who wanted to give their kids a great tasting ketchup. It’s also 100% Certified Organic and rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Potassium.

For you DIY moms, here’s an easy homemade ketchup recipe you can make at home:

What You Need:

1 (28-oz) can whole tomatoes in puree

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

What to Do:

Blend the can of whole tomatoes in a blender until smooth

Cook onions in oil in a 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring until softened, about 8 minutes

Add blended tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, vinegar, and salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until very thick, about 1 hour, stirring more frequently toward the end of cooking to prevent scorching

Puree ketchup in 2 batches in blender until it’s smooth. Chill covered, at least 2 hours to help flavors develop.

Cooks’ note: Ketchup can be chilled up to 3 weeks

But what else can you do with ketchup? Here are 5 things you can do with your new found ketchup besides putting it on your burger:

1. Shine Your Copper Pot and Pans- the acidity in ketchup helps to remove the tarnish build up, making your pieces shine like new. Apply a thin layer of ketchup on your copper pan for 20 minutes. Rinse and dry.
2. Keeping Your Silver Pieces Bright and Sparkly- ketchup can also remove the grime that builds up on silver jewelry and other pieces. Pour ketchup into a bowl and dip silver pieces right in for 20 minutes. You may want to scrub hard to reach places. Rinse and dry thoroughly.
3. Fixing of Chlorine Damaged Hair- it helps to remove the icky green that you sometimes get after being in swimming pools. Just apply ketchup all over your hair and let it marinate for about 20 minutes. Wash hair thoroughly and you should see results.
4. Making Fake Blood During Halloween- ketchup makes great imitation blood for those vampire and zombie Halloween costumes for the kids
5. Finger Painting for Toddlers- let kids use ketchup to paint their food to make it eating more fun and nutritious.

What other things do you use your ketchup for?

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.