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Do you want to make a simple, homemade toy for your little ones? I made these homemade plaster puzzles with Plaster of Paris and recycled baby food containers. That’s it! Easy-Peasy!
How to Make the Plaster Puzzles:
Just mix up the plaster according to the box- I did it a little thicker than the directions said to make sure I got a good impression of our toys. I tried adding in a little food coloring to the plaster while it was wet, but it just didn’t seem to take the color very well. (You could spray paint them after, though!) Choose some small toys to use for your impression in the plaster and a container to put it in.
Pour the plaster into a small container, you could use anything, really. The baby food containers were perfect for our little counting animal toys. Then, while the plaster is wet, press the toy into the top carefully so it leaves a good impression in the plaster. You need to leave the toy in there for a little while until it sets up partially- not until it dries completely or it may be pretty stuck!
Let it dry completely- this takes several hours. Then let your kids play away with their plaster puzzles! They turned out great & were perfect for my toddler to do on his own!
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JDaniel4's Mom says
May 10, 2013 at 11:51 pmThis is such a great idea! I love how the imprints turned out. I am going to pin this post.
mrsd says
May 11, 2013 at 12:16 amWhat cleverness! I am pinning, too!
wildflowerramblings says
May 11, 2013 at 12:55 amWhat a great idea — My son would love this 🙂
Kayla Taylor says
May 11, 2013 at 1:55 amI LOVE this idea. You could do this with favorite toy! I will definitely be trying this. My little guy would love this being made from his favorite tractors.
http://www.sugarbeelearning.com
Caroline says
May 11, 2013 at 2:49 amThis is great idea! I love that it can incorporate favorite toys and objets, too!
Melanie at raiseaboy.com says
May 12, 2013 at 3:39 amSo cool. I bought plaster of paris to make hand prints and then read that it got hot so not to use it on skin. I haven’t known what to do with it but now I do! Thanks!
bgorden says
May 13, 2013 at 2:29 pmFYI – tried to tag you on Twitter and it said your account had been suspended. Thought you’d want to know.
Beth
Vanessa @ See Vanessa Craft says
May 14, 2013 at 2:25 pmWhat a great idea! I’d love for you to link this up to Tot School Tuesday: http://seevanessacraft.com/2013/05/tot-school-tuesday-healthy-fruit-popsicle-recipe-fine-motor-skills/
Carolyn says
May 15, 2013 at 5:13 pmI love this idea! I’ve pinned it!
Rachel Harwood says
May 16, 2013 at 12:18 amI love these! What a great idea! Thanks for sharing at For the Kids Friday. I am featuring you at this week’s party! Woohoo!!!
Jaime JJ says
May 16, 2013 at 10:20 amfeatured you this week on kids co-op:-) http://frogsandsnailsandpuppydogtails-jaime.blogspot.com/2013/05/10-activities-boys-will-love-featured.html
Dusty (To the Moon and Back) says
May 16, 2013 at 1:58 pmThis is really neat! My son would love this! Pinning! Thanks for linking up at Bee Crafty Kids!
Carrie says
May 17, 2013 at 6:29 pmWhat a great idea!! Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!
Jolanthe says
May 24, 2013 at 2:42 amLove these – you can use so any different toys {and theme ideas} for this!!
Niamh Bevan says
May 27, 2013 at 6:29 pmI have’nt seen anything from you before but I love the idea, unfortunately most of the children I work with are really into dinosaurs which would require a lot of the substance & when you’ve got a group of children that means an awful lot at a time.