Chieu Anh Urban's Blog, page 6

A Wintry Valentine's Celebration

To kick off Valentine's week, we celebrated the holiday of love with sweet friends, sweet treats, and a sweet book and craft.



Penguin in Love by Salina Yoon is a charming story and one of our favorite books this season.  Penguin is loveable, and the girls enjoyedhaving him at our Valentine's celebration.  After a chatty lunch, we read the book and each made a Valentine's Penguin.



How adorable are these back-pack clips?  The kids did a great job!I love playing with Crayola Model Magic.It air dries nicely and is easy for the kids to work with.  

To make Penguin, you need:Black Model Magic for the body.Orange Model Magic for the scarf.White Model Magic for the belly and nose.Two black beads for the eyesYellow pipe cleaners for the feet.Back pack clips
After molding Penguin with model magic, fold a six inch pipe cleaner in half and string it through the ring of a back-pack clip, with the foldedpart centered in the ring.  Pierce both ends of the pipe cleaner through the top of Penguin's head and out the bottom.  There will be two ends sticking out.Bend each end in half to form the feet; this will secure Penguin to the clip.



 While our Penguins were left to dry, we celebrated with wintry treats.I'm still practicing my chocolate piping skills.  The girls were tickled with the Penguin and bill cozy cupcakes. You'll have to read the book to learn what a bill cozy is. :)



 The iceberg jigglers were a big hit.  Kids love these silly, jiggly treats.To make the blue icy water layer, combine two 6 oz boxes of blue jello withtwo and a half cups of boiling water.  Stir until dissolved and pour into a greased 9 x 13 dish.  I sprayed the dish with a light layer of PAM oil.Place the jello in the refrigerator until it sets, about 20 minutes.
To make the creamy snow layer, dissolve two envelopes of unflavored gelatin with a quarter cup of boiling water.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl, mixa can of condensed milk with a cup of boiling water.  Add the gelatin mixture into the creamy mixture, and stir in another half a cup of boiling water.  Pour the white jello mixture onto the set blue layer, and allow the jello to completely chill in the refrigerator before cutting.



These snow ball goodies are powdered donut holes.



The girls enjoyed drinking milk from the frosted icicle glasses.Okay, sugar sprinkles. :)



Author/Illustrator Salina Yoon offers these wonderful free Valentine's printables on Penguin's Face Book page.



I'm so happy the kids got a chance to get together this weekend.They had a lot of fun hanging out and celebrating Valentine's.



Before bedtime, I helped my daughter clip her new friendonto her back-pack.  She is all set for school.  Happy Valentine's week!
More parties: Despicable Me Party, Mermaid Surprise Party,  Book Launch Celebration
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Snowmen Smores

It's so cold outside, and I'm ready to start thinking about Valentine's crafts.Although, last week we had three snow days off from school, so in the spirit of winter, the snowmen will stick around a bit longer.

[image error]  When my kids come in from the cold, they crave hot chocolate and smores.These snowmen smores are really fun and simple to make. 
You need:Marshmallows for the headFruit roll-ups for the scarfWhite chocolate wafers for the melted snowAssorted candies and chocolate chips for the eyes and buttons.Hershey chocolate barsGraham crackers
Assembling the smores is easy.  Start with a graham cracker square and place some chocolate bars on top of it.  Melt the white chocolate and spoon some over the milk chocolate.Quickly attach the marshmallow on top of the white chocolate before it cools.  Dip the eyes, nose, and buttons in some melted white chocolate and decorate the snowmen.The melted chocolate will harden and keep the candies in place.Add the scarf to the base of the marshmallow and you have the cutest smores ever.  Enjoy!

Snowmen Winter Craft

Our first week in the new year and we are welcoming snow andwintery weather.  Here's a warm and fun snowmen building activity the girls and I enjoyed, and it does not require any glue.  We used Model Magic, which air dries the same day and the results are adorable!
You will need:White Crayola Model Magic to build the snowmenOrange Crayola Model Magic for the noseColor felt for the scarfPipe cleaners to make earmuffs (roll the ends to form the ear pieces)
Twigs for the armsBlack beans for the eyes and buttons
It's as easy as it looks. Have fun making snowmen!

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Happy Holidays with a Magic Greeting!

Season's greetings friends!  Do you make your own holiday card?Every year, I make a special card for the children's publishing editors.

It's great fun, but a lot of work hand crafting twenty cards.For now, I'm keeping this year's card under wrap, but here's my "magic" card from last year.


After creating my preschool shapes book, Away We Go!, I was inspired to design letters using shapes.


When you pull the insert, a special greeting appears.


Here it is!  Each image represents the letter.Try to guess what they are before reading the answers below.Warmest wishes for a wonderful holiday season!
W - WinterA - AngelR - ReindeerM - MouseE - ElfS - SnowmanT - TreeW - WreathI - IcicleS - StarH - HouseE - Egg NogS - Santa

Chocolate Pretzel Turkeys!

[image error] Gobble Gobble!

Every holiday, I try to make a fun food craft with the kids. What do you think of my silly chocolate pretzel turkey? This treat is easy to make and a nice mini-sized sweet and salty snack.



You'll need orange, yellow, and red Wilton's chocolate candy melts,mini pretzels, malted Whopper balls cut in half, and chocolate chips.Melt the colored chocolates and fill in the pretzel spaces. Use a halved Whopper for the body and a chocolate chip for the head.Place them on the melted chocolate, adding a drop to attach the head.With a toothpick, decorate the eyes, feet, and wattleusing the remaining melted chocolates.



Enjoy making the chocolate pretzel turkeys!Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your friends and family.

Happy Halloween!

Costumes are made and the desserts are done.All I have left to do is carve the jack-o-lantern and let the fun begin.Have a safe and wonderful Halloween!

Books and Smiles for Haiti #2

The books are coming in!  Thank you to our generous children's bookcommunity for sending the amazing books for Books and Smiles for Haiti.Please drop me an email if you would like to join us in sharing your wonderful stories with the children of Haiti.


Thank you author/illustrator Salina Yoon for sending thirty of your plushie, sparkly, novelty titles for the youngest readers.



Thank you author Danna Smith for the wonderful picture books.



Thank you author Uma Krishnaswami for your beautiful stories.



Thank you Ronnie Ann Herman of Herman Agency for this great collection of titles.



Thank you author Alison Formento for sending your fun counting books.



Thank you Nanci Moklak for the wonderful selection of books.
More books are on the way, and we are thankful for the generous donations.Join our Facebook group page to stay updated.
You may also like: Books and Smiles for Haiti!

Celebrating with Fire Trucks!

Finally, a boy themed party!  I really enjoyed making these cupcakes for my twin newphews' birthday; A nice change from the usual fairies,princesses and mermaid themes my girls prefer.


The fire trucks were piped using melted chocolate wafers.I suggest piping each color one at a time, since chocolate cools quickly.Pipe first with red, then brown, and finish with yellow.



Our parties are never complete without my daughter's usual book-card!



Can you tell this birthday boy enjoyed his fire truck?  Yum!
You may also like: Surprise Mermaid Party and Despicable Me "Just Because Party"
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A Round-Up of Fun Shapes Activities!

I love seeing creative, clever ways for kids to explore shapes.This Reading Mama has nicely tied-in fun learning with shape pictures and writing.




Swing by her amazing blog and check out the activities and details.



Over at Creative Connections for Kids, this wonderful blogger rounded-up a great collection of playful shape ideas.  I enjoyed discovering new ways to introduce shapes. 





Visit Creative Connections for Kids for the many play-and-learn shape ideas shared by creative bloggers.



How cute is this little fella?  I was tickled with the adorable pictures and sweet write-up by The Eyes of a Boy.  I'm so thankful for our wonderful children's community and their kind efforts to spread the love and enrich our youngest readers.
Many thanks to the lovely bloggers for checking out Away We Go! and sharing their wonderful creative ideas!

You may also like: Away We Go! Shapes and Transportation Activities
and Away We Go! Activities by Toddler Approved! [image error]

Liebster Award Nomination!

Thank you Maureen Roble with Eating Kids' Media for nominating my blog for the Liebster Award! The Liebster Award is for blogs with fewerthan 200 followers and could use more love from great readers like you!  Here are Maureen's questions and my answers:



No judging my 2 minute sketch. Ha ha...
1. If you could be an ice cream flavor, what would it be, and why?Chocolate chip mint, because I eat too much of it.
2. What is your favorite time of day to blog?Sweet night time when everyone is in bed and the house is quiet.
3. If you were not a writer (or other current occupation) what would you be and why?A toy designer!  I would LOVE to design games and toys.
4. Your go-to (place, blog, person, book) when you are dry on inspiration?Design images where I can find them - books, magazines, online...




5. What is your favorite book of all time?My little girl makes books with drawings of the two of us filled withmommy-daughter love, and they're the best books ever!
6. The best advice you've ever received?This is a HARD question and I have to think about it for monthsto come up with the best answer.
7. If you could have a super-power, what would it be and why?To keep my family safe; I am a worry-wort.  And a sharp memory would be cool too.
8. What is something you are optimistic about?The fall season! I want to bake lots of apple and pumpkin pies!
9.  I wish I could see....because...I wish I could see Rome again because I would love to go back and experience what I was too young to appreciate. 
10. What is your most indispensable possession and why?Pictures of my family.  I love looking at old photos and
being reminded of how fortunate and blessed I am.



Thanks Maureen!  And now I pass the award to these fine blogsand my questions for them.
Christine Marie AlemshahRomelle BroasNaomi MillinerWoven with Pixie DustPenguin and Pinecone
Ninja Woman
Dani Duck
From the Mixed-Up Files of Jennifer Bertman
If you choose to accept, let the fun begin! Nominate 5-10 bloggers and let them know of their award.Ask them 10 questions as well as answer the questions from the bloggerwho nominated you.  Link back to that blogger and spread the love.
Here are my 10 questions. Happy blogging my friends!1.  Summer or winter?2. Chocolate or vanilla?3. Who is your favorite children's book character?4. Who is your favorite cartoon character?5. What is your happy thought?6. Sweet or salty?7. What is your favorite hobby?8. What is your secret to happiness?9. If you can do something without consequences, what would that be?10. If you can have one wish to make today awesome,what would you wish for?

Be sure to go back and visit the other Liebster Award Nominees
and send them some love.  Happy fall season!