ice wreaths

It's a snow day! Thomas is napping, and Adam is reading with Phillip. On the weekend, P and I made these ice wreaths, using a bundt pan and a big bowl with a ramekin in the middle. I saw the idea over at The Artful Parent, and knew that when some cold weather approached, we would be making them. And we did!

A few tips: don't put much water in; we put too much and everything floated, leaving thick ice on the front. Boil your water first, and it (supposedly) the ice will be clear. (I read that tip after we made them.) Try to weigh down cranberries or other floaty things with heavier, other naturey things. We used a sliced, old orange and some cedar twigs from a branch I pruned, and laid them on top of the cranberries. The bundt pan worked waaaay better than the bowl and ramekin; there's actually no hole in the one we made with the bowl because it expanded as the water froze. I'm hoping that the birds will come and eat the orange and cranberries as the wreaths thaw.

Other things we've been making:
Phillip was perfectly happy with a newspaper and a pair of scissors for awhile this morning. Give it a try!

Lovely (and easy) olive oil lotion for winter skin. The original link to the recipe no longer exists, so I'm glad that I printed it! I'll share it very, very soon.

I bought some yarn to try knitting (again)! It's gorgeous, and I'm hoping to make a cowl. Pictures soon.

Happy snow day! I hope you're warm and cozy. What's your favourite snow day activity?