water bead fun and kid made bracelets

You have probably noticed on other blogs how water beads are taking over sensory tables. Well if you haven't tried them yet I'd recommend giving them a try. They are quite messy when they get squished into a million pieces but that's half the fun (beware also of washing them down the drain as they expand and will clog up your drains), but if you are careful they will be a lot of fun!

I went to Michael's looking for floral wire as I am making a vintage brooch bouquet for a friends wedding in April and noticed them in the floral isle. They come in tiny packs in various colours. I chose light blue and dark blue thinking they'd resemble water (but in the end they looked very similar).

We put them in a bowl, added some water and waited about 4 hour hours for them to hydrate. 

We added them to a sensory bin with some aquatic animals and the kids had a blast for days...leaving me time to work on packing, sorting and selling. 

These were a big hit...even daddy thought they'd be fun in the bathtub but since the manufacturer recommends they stay AWAY from drains we didn't give that a try. However a mini pool full in the summer might be fun!

Since we are packing lots we are ending up with lots of empty packaging tape rolls. I LOVE how Sierra found an empty roll and created this...

beautiful bracelet all on her own :)