Teen Cafe - Stuff for Your Space

The theme for this month's Teen Cafe was "Stuff for Your Space". We have a mix of kids coming regularly - public school students and home schooled, middle school, high school, and graduates (they are just so darn entertaining, I keep them around.) I tried to have a variety of projects to fit - things for your car, your locker, your room, whatever. It's also getting to be that time of the year when you need a gift for the old people who raised you, and some of these would also fit that bill.

I spread the materials out around the outside walls, with some basic directions. We had:

 

Air Fresheners

 

Good for cars, closets, lockers, drawers. Backpacks, maybe, if you are prone to leaving banana peels inside, or if you just want a whiff of sugar cookies whenever you pull out a textbook.

 

Just cut a piece of cardboard to the desired shape (cookie cutters available for tracing), Cover with material or felt, punch a hole to hang, and add a FEW drops of your choice of essential oil. I bought the oils with my own money, so I could take the leftovers home! Supplies that would be used for several projects, like the material, were grouped on our little stage.

 

Earring Holders

 

Cut a piece of batting to the same size as the board, cover with material, and stretch some rbbons across at varying intervals. Hang french hooks from the ribbons, poke stud earrings through.

 

Does anyone else have a million of these boards sitting around? They are shelf dividers for some of our picture book shelves, and we have more than we could ever possibly use. They have been moving from storage space to storage space, taking up room, for at least ten years. I think it's safe to get rid of a few.

 

Picture Frames, Door Hangers, Switch Plates, and Mirrors

 

My instructions simply said, "I'll bet you can figure it out."

 

This works:

 

 

And this:

 

 

I don't know why they keep turning sideways. I give up.

 

I'd show you another picture, but I think someone who reads the blog isn't supposed to see it:)

 

The cardboard box contains small mirrors of varying shapes, covered in dirt and cobwebs, that the custodian found in a back room. I have no idea where they came from, but they were by far the most popular craft item of the evening:

 

 

 

 

 

Bulletin Boards

 

I love that I can trust my teens with glue guns, knives, etc.

 

I had cardboard ready for French bulletin boards (cover with material, criss-cross with ribbons),

 

Love these colors together! Very pretty!

 

 but then I totally scored when the guys putting in our drop ceiling tossed some ceiling tile scraps. Those make PERFECT bulletin boards, just the right weight and thickness, and you can cover them with material:

 

 

or just go around the edges with duct tape:

 

Easiest craft ever! And we got to use the fun duct tape!

Collages

 

More of the shelf dividers, covered with magazine pictures, Ellison cut-outs, or letters. We had Mod Podge to seal it, or you can cover with contac paper and use as a (low-temp) hot plate.
 



 

Everyone chose their projects and supplies, and took them to their usual tables, so they could work alongside friends. Snacks, of course, were essential! Since I know I was pretty much sugared out from Halloween, I concentrated on fruit, cheese, and crunchy/salty.

 

Trust me, there were more than 4 cheeseballs available at some point.

 

Of course, my always-creative teens tend to find other uses for craft items, such the stick-on jewels:

Lovely. And this one is a fellow firefighter. Nothing goes with bunker gear like pearls.

and the silver duct tape:

 

AND he can deflect bullets!

Ah, teenagers. Always good for...er...something, I'm sure.



Leftover Candy Recipes

Less than 24 hours after Halloween, I was looking at the mound of candy the kids had collected, wondering what I was going to do with it all. Eat it, yes, of course - some of it. Probably much of it. But, even with parent pilfering, our one-piece-after-a-meal rule means some of it could well be sitting in that jar come next Halloween. Don't forget, we have Christmas and Easter coming up, both of which will add to the stash!

 

I started looking online for recipes that used leftover candy. A quick search came up with plenty of ideas. All were highly unrealistic, for one very obvious reason: All involved leftover chocolate.

 

Who has leftover chocolate??? Come on, people, I'm talking about the jawbreakers, the hard candies, the taffies and chews that didn't stay soft. What are we meant to do with those???

 

If you have a cotton candy maker (which we do), you can use the hard candies in those. Another option is

 

Candied Apple Butter

 

Yes, apple butter - see, it's nutritious! Kinda. I especially like using the cinnamon candies for this, but basically anything that has a Jolly-Rancher-like consistency will work. To make:

 

1. Either core and slice enough apples to fill a crock pot, or juice said apples and put the pulp in said crock pot.

2. Add as many candies as you like. As I said, I like doing this with the cinnamon hard candies, but I'll bet green apple would be good, too. Hmm...

3. Do NOT add any other sugar. Did you not read my earlier post about making apple butter? Go back, I'll wait...

4. Okay, from here you just follow the directions in that post, depending on what equipment you have. Did you notice the juicer mention is new? I tried it after writing the original post, and it made the easy apple butter even easier. In fact, you may even have to ADD liquid before you start cooking - water will do (just a half cup or so), or you can use a juice that matches or complements your candy flavor.

 

Can up the finished product, and you have a yummy Christmas gift!

***
 

Another way to thin out the sugar rush is to make a

 

Party Mix

Toss those smaller candies in with some peanuts, pretzels, raisins, different types of cereal, etc. Keep a baggie on your desk or take it hiking.

***

I tend to shy away from the stickier candies, having lost a filling or two in my time. They tend to drift to the bottom of the candy jar anyway, meaning they are rock hard by the time yo uget to them. Soft or hard, though, they make great additions to your favorite recipe for

Fudge

either dark:

This looks more appetizing in real life, I promise.

or light:

Again, better irl. Really.

 

The above had a fruity mix of candies - how many can you identify?

 

 

***

 

More hard candies? If you aren't adding them to apple butter, toss one in your tea, or make these Stained Glass Cookies from RealSimple.com. I haven't had a chance to try them yet, but they may be making an appearance in our Christmas baskets!

 

Before trying any of these recipes, though, you might check to see if anyone in your area is collecting them for military care packages or Operation Shoebox. In our neck of the woods, you can take hard candy to First National Bank for Operation Soldier Smiles. Bonus: you can still make the fudge or cookies without the candy in it, and eat that yourself - it's a win-win!

 

What about you? What are you going to be doing with your leftover candy?

 

What are Fourth Graders Thankful For?

 

Puppies and pizza and chocolate and iPods...

 

...and facial features.

 

 

Makes sense - who wants to look like Voldemort?!

Movie Night: Shanghai Knights

It has been ages since we had a family movie night, so when Daddy called me at work and told me I needed to pick up Chinese on the way home, I was all for it. M. had picked out Shanghai Knights, and not only are Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson hilarious together, you get to see Jackie Chan shirtless. (He was 49 when he filmed that, and still totally hot! I just started my 40's, and I would need some serious chiropractic intervention if I tried a single one of his moves.)

 

Since this was last-minute, I cheated and picked up frozen Chinese food on the way home. Nobody seemed to mind.

 

 

Lots of cheesy grins:

 

Such an immaculate little girl, too.

 

I also bought fortune cookies - which, I know, aren't really Chinese, but then Shanghai Knights is more about fun than cultural or historical accuracy.

 

 

L.'s fortune:

 

Yeah, whatever.

 Mine:

 

I hate fortunes that are just platitudes. But, true!

Daddy's fortune:



Something you need to tell me, dear?

 S.'s:

 

That's what we're afraid of!

 M.'s:

Daddy immediately broke forth with jokes about dim bulbs.

 And, C.'s:

 

See, Lisi family, I told you you need to move back!

The movie was fun, the outtakes even better, and then the traditional dancing like idiots to the closing credits. The younger three dance with me, anyway: M. generally backs out of the room in horror, glad that none of her friends are around to see it.

 

So, Daddy taped it. And posted it to Facebook. Always glad to help!

 



After-Halloween Reviews

In case you didn't get enough scare on Halloween (or courtesy of Sandy), we have a few titles for you to check out while you still have electricity:

With a few books I have read lately, I have been hopeful that there would be a sequel. Sometimes, however, it is just nice to have a complete story from beginning to end. I'm beginning to feel like publishers just won't print anything of the sort, as evidenced by these first two. I enjoyed both quite thoroughly, until I came to the last chapter or two, and it became clear things were not going to be wrapped up any time soon. Having said that, I do wholeheartedly recommend all three of these:



978-006-210-2904
review copy from publisher

Sixteen-year-old Noa has been a victim of the system ever since her parents died. Now living off the grid and trusting no one, she uses her computer-hacking skills to stay safely anonymous and alone. But when she wakes up on a table in an empty warehouse with an IV in her arm and no memory of how she got there, Noa starts to wish she had someone on her side.

Enter Peter Gregory. A rich kid and the leader of a hacker alliance, Peter needs people with Noa's talents on his team. Especially after a shady corporation called AMRF threatens his life in no uncertain terms.

But what Noa and Peter don't realize is that Noa holds the key to a terrible secret, and there are those who'd stop at nothing to silence her for good.

Not knowing what is going on with your own body/life, discovering the everyone-is-out-to-get you feeling isn't paranoia after all: definitely scary. Good, solid writing, fast-moving plot, enough predictability to make you feel smart, enough surprises to keep you riveted, and the tech-speak was just enough to make everything plausible to my non-techie brain. A good one to hand to teens who want something that isn't fantasy or future, or to adults who don't yet realize YA fiction is so much better than the pulp that is published for them.



978-159-990-7253
borrowed from library

I was so looking forward to this one, and was very happy with the way it met my expectations. In Abby's world, those with magical abilities are the normal ones, and those without - 'Ords' - are shunned. The youngest of a family that includes some pretty gifted members, the discovery that she is an 'ord' is shattering. Unlike many ords, whose families dispose of them as quickly as possible, Abby's parents and siblings are fiercely protective and supportive of her. This does not change the way the rest of society sees her, however, or the fact that she needs to learn how to cope in a world where everything is stacked against her. Scary? You betcha.

The basic premise, and many comments throughout, reminded me of the way people with mental and physical disabilities are treated throughout the world. Rubino-Bradway does an excellent job, however, of expressing the unfairness and hurt without losing the book's comfortable, middle-grade appeal. Any images of Nazi social policies came into my mind strictly from other parts of that same organism! Abby is both charming and real, as are the other characters - human and other. I would have liked to see this wrap up at the end, yes, but I am also looking forward to getting to know everyone - even the 'bad guys' - better.



978-076-138-6339
review copy from publisher

Are zombies big in your house? Because, they are HUGE in mine. When S. turned 2, she told our physician that her favorite food was brains. We own several zombie survival guides, and didn't bat an eye when L. started gbawing on people the second he got teeth. M. has a bumper sticker that says, "The hardest part about the zombie apocalypse will be pretending I'm not excited." As you can see, we are a little confused as to which side we are on.

I am constantly referring people to Scott Westerfeld's Peeps, which intersperses its vampires-could-be-real storyline with examples from nature. You can imagine my excitement, then, when this gem came in the mail!

Each chapter of this - yes, nonfiction - book starts with a zombie trait: "Stares vacantly ahead. Moves slowly and mechanically. Behaves oddly." It then proceeds to outline how a particular fungus or parasite can create this trait in its host.

Warning: THIS BOOK IS REALLY GROSS. It's not sensationalized, it's good, straightforward science: but, boy, is it straightforward! Two pages into Chapter One, I was done eating for the day. A few more pages, and I was looking for the hand sanitizer, and I hate that stuff! I could barely bring myself to touch the pages of the book as I read. Why didn't I stop reading, you ask? Hello!!! Zombies! Real ones! Utterly fascinating, just...really, really gross!

I'll leave you with that. Be happy I didn't leave you with an image of a zombified carpenter ant with a spore stalk slowly growing out of its head.

Oops.





Halloween Party Food

Did I mention we like Halloween? Thursday night at the library wasn't enough, we decided to have another party for kids and grown-ups at our house Saturday. I counted about 40 people, probably more than our house can really hold, but the teens tended to stay outside where there was fire and pointy sticks. Adults aren't always as ambivalent about having their pictures taken randomly as kids are, so I mostly took pictures of the food and kids - but, there were some pretty good costumes!

 

This is just a smattering of the goodies, because once people really started coming in, I didn't have time for pictures. As you can see, this is mostly simple food, just given gross names - posting in the hopes that it will help others with some last-minute ideas!

 

peanut butter fudge - which didn't set at first, so I had to add more chips, but I only had chocolate left, so they aren't skin-colored any more.

Dried cranberries and candy corn

Rice Crispie treats made with a whole-grain puffed rice and a couple dollops of a chocolate hazelnut spread, with orange and black sprinkles mixed in. Not as overly-sweet as the traditional treats.

Not edible, but everyone has SO enjoyed having him stare at them all week, I just had to include him.

BBQ Pork

Hot dogs cut in fourths long-ways, cooked in a watered-down ketchup.

I see they are selling these as 'kits' now...or, you can spend a lot less, and just cut your regular croissants into strips! I was too lazy to make eyes, but you can do that with a food marker.

Moldy Grubs - mac 'n cheese with green food coloring. These were in muffin papers for individual servings. L. was actually sharing with his girlfriend A - must be love!

In the yellow bowl, "Bugs in the Corn" - homemade caramel corn, which I may or may not have had for breakfast this morning.

Buckeyes with white chocolate instead of milk, and M&M eyeballs.

Nutter Butters in white chocolate - S. helped Grandma make these!
 

In the pumpkin (Jack's Guts) - browned sausage, onion, peppers, apples, cranberries, rice, garlic, and whatever else was in the refrigerator. This is a great way to use up leftovers! Just scoop out seeds, dump the filling in, and bake it all day at 200 degrees or so. Scoop out pumpkin flesh as you serve.

And a huge THANK-YOU to all the people who brought salads, I was pretty sugared out at this point! L. liked the fruit salad especially - kept shoveling it in as fast as he could, stopping occasionally to laugh like a maniac.

 

I don't think they had any salad. There was a continuous battle traveling room to room and all over the lawn. I'm waiting to hear how many were unconscious before they got home:)

So, what is your go-to for Halloween treats?