Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Pocketful of Spring

Did you know that you can make your own "lickum" stickers with household gelatin? It's true! Here's the recipe:
1 packet of knox gelatin (1/4 ounce)
1 TB cold water
3 TB boiling water
1/4 teasp corn syrup
flavoring extract
1. Combine the cold water and gelatin. Allow to soak until the gelatin is soft
2. Add boiling water and stir until completely dissolved
3. Stir in corn syrup and flavoring
4. Use a brush or sponge to cover the back of whatever you would like to turn into a sticker.
5. Allow to dry

I used cut-outs of flowers from a magazine. Once they were dry I put them into an envelope and mailed them to a friend who lives in the still-snowy North. Hopefully it will bring a little extra anticipation of Spring into her life!

Older children could do this craft, cutting out whatever pictures they liked. Also you could use fun flavorings like lemon or root beer extract. Once made, you could have them fill envelopes with the stickers and mail them to shut-ins. It could be fun, service-oriented craft!

8 comments:

Theo-Ann said...

I love this! I did this when I taught elementary school. I don't think I have the recipe anymore, so I'm glad I have it now.:) The kids made their own postage stamps this way. When we were learning how to write letters, we established our own mailing system in the class. After they addressed their envelopes, they licked one of their stamps and mailed it.:)

Anonymous said...

Your little one would be too young for this book but the book A Packet of Seeds would be a nice add along to this project. It has wholesome pioneer themes that remind us that friends and flowers go hand in hand.

I'm going to try this with my five year old daughter.

Heather said...

Your stickers look gorgeous! And what a great idea.

Unknown said...

This is a great idea! Thanks for sharing! Perfect for this months theme at daycare....comunity helpers, we'll use this idea to make stamps to mail our letters to each other!

MaryAnne said...

Cool! I never realized you could do this.

MaryAnne said...

Cool! I never realized you could do this.

Nina said...

Your little one would be too young for this book but the book A Packet of Seeds would be a nice add along to this project. It has wholesome pioneer themes that remind us that friends and flowers go hand in hand.

I'm going to try this with my five year old daughter.

Raewyn Hogarth said...

Just found your website and I am so inspired, do you think you need the corn syrup as we have huge problems with ants here?