Ever heard about cake pops?? Supposedly, the idea has been circulating out and about the Internet for the past year.  I just learned about them. (My kids tell me all the time that I am S-L-O-W . . .)  These are pictures that Bakerella has taken of her divine creations.  Aren’t these pops just the cat’s meow?

Bakerella has got to be one of the most creative cake pop creators in the universe.  She has also made the cutest ever reindeer pops,  wedding cake pops, rabbit pops, spring chick pops, turkey pops, and voting pops. Why just this very day in honor of Sesame Street’s 40th anniversary, she has shared her Elmo (and friends) cake pops.  Boy howdy!  If you made these for a grandchild’s birthday celebration, you’d be his most-est favorite grandma ever.  I think I’m going to have to retire right now to spend all of my time (trying) to make these fun cake pops — and then eating them.  (I’m sure grandpa would help me out — especially the eating part.)

(We pause here for a commercial break:  You’ve got to check out those little gobbling turkey pops.  Fun, fun fun!!  They would be a hoot to make around Thanksgiving time with your grandchildren.  But, they call for the brown version of candy corn.  Last year when I was looking for some around Thanksgiving, I had a hard time finding any.  So, you might want to start checking out your local stores now so that you will have it on hand for when you need it.  We return you now to our regular scheduled program.)

I’m giving our daughter-in-law a baby shower this Saturday and I’m going to attempt the smiley face cake pops.  They seem to be fairly simple.  Something that I could manage.  Wish me luck . . .

Making cake pops would be a delightful activity to do with grandchildren.  Wouldn’t it be fun for you and your grandchildren to come up with your own designs that you could make together?  Kitchen krafts.  What a yummy idea.  Even if they didn’t turn out as elegant as Bakerella’s, I’m sure they would still be edible.

Maybe it’s a good thing that the New Year is just around the corner so that I can set a goal of losing all of the weight that I have gained just LOOKING at these cake pops . . .

Robert Sabuda is a children’s book illustrator.  And creator of pop-up books.  His website offers simple pop-ups you can make. This would be an easy, great, and inexpensive activity to do with your grandchildren.

He has several Halloween pop-ups: a witch, bat, and this endearing Frankenstein.  He also has pop-up directions for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valetine’s Day.

Folding the pop-up turkey would keep grandchildren busy while grandma is wrestling the turkey in the kitchen.  Older grandchildren can supervise younger grandchildren in the making of these pop-ups if the turkey in the kitchen starts winning the battle against grandma . . .).

I know that Easter is over and that all of your Easter decorations are tucked safely away in storage waiting for next year.  (Mine aren’t!)  But I just came across the idea of dying Easter eggs using silk fabric — silk ties to be specific.  They are absolutely beautiful!!!  (The eggs — not the ties!)

Here is a link to the Crafting Green World that shows her dyed eggs (the picture posted here).

Here is a link to see the video on Martha Stewart’s show that demonstrates how to make them.

I absolutely love this idea!  Absolutely!  I want to make some right now — even if Easter is over.  (I can’t wait ’till next year . . .)  However, when next Easter rolls around, I will make a link to these sites again.  I promise.  (That way, you don’t have to worry about remebering this post.)

I recently received a request for ideas of little gifts that grandmas can take when they visit their grandchildren. The message didn’t mention what age the grandchildren were or if they were boys or girls. So, I’m going to give suggestions of things that you can take for young grandchildren and older ones and ideas of things for boys and for girls.

Before I give my ideas, I thought that I would mention that when my mother-in-law visited, she always brought a stick of sugar free gum for the kids. Just one stick. She lived fairly close and we would see her several times a month. If you are in this situation (and also have many grandchildren), giving a little gift can get expensive. I think that’s why my mother-in-law gave just one stick of gum. It was inexpensive plus really easy to take along when she came over. And the grandchildren loved it. (It was also something she could easily put in a letter as she wrote to her grandchildren who lived far away.)

Ideas for little granddaughters:
• Barrettes
• Little anklet socks (that you’ve added lace, ribbons, bows, or buttons to)
• Coloring books, crayons and markers
• Books (and maybe a simple bag for your granddaughter to put her books in)
• Holiday knick knacks from the dollar store
• Stickers
• A pencil with a fun design on it or a pen with colored ink (like orange or green or gold or silver) and colored paper to write on

Ideas for little grandsons:
• Matchbox cars
• Bubbles
• Something from the Oriental Trading company — a sticky hand, glow in the dark bouncing balls, gliders, camouflaged dog tags, or glow in the dark slime (some of these things could be found at a dollar store, too)

Some of these things from the Oriental Trading Company come in a bag of a dozen (or more). This could be far more than you need for your grandchildren. So, maybe you could share with some of your friends who are also grandmothers. You can each get two or three different bags of things and then split them up among yourselves and viola! You have a variety of things to give your grandsons without having lots of leftovers.

Another idea is to take some craft items of things that you could make together. Not only are you giving a gift, you’ll be giving a gift of yourself, your time, and your attention as you make the craft together.

I’ve always liked Sculpy Clay. It fosters creativity and is lots of fun to use. You might want to poke around the site for fun ideas.

One idea I saw a while ago (and can’t find it now . . . rats!) was a set of utensils with red and white Sculpy clay wrapped around the handles to make them look like a candy cane. A personalized set of utensils for your grandchild. Fun!

Ideas on the Sculpy site that would be of interest to boys:
• A monitor lizard (which could also be made into a book bag buddy or zipper pull or magnet)
• Skinny the Skunk bookmark buddy
• Easter/spring ideas such as Easter Egg erasers, bunny pencil holder)

Sculpy Clay projects for older girls:
• Coneflower pens
• Picture frames
• House number plaque
• Candle ring
• I love you photo holder

Another idea for older grandchildren is to take a recipe on a fancy recipe card in addition to a recipe file box. This can be the beginning of a collection of family recipes. Or, you could print a couple of recipes on fun paper, put the paper in a plastic sheet protector, and then in a binder. Each time you visit you could take a new sheet of recipes for the binder. You could also take the ingredients to make the recipe and have some fun in the kitchen with your grandchild.

I stumbled upon a craft site that has lots of ideas of craft projects. Here are a few of the ideas:

Craft Bits
• Wish bracelet out of hemp and seed beads
• Butterfly bead bookmark
• Peppermint candy spoons
• Paper envelopes
• Soap and candle making projects
• Bead and ribbon bookmarks

If you have ideas of other small gifts you can take your grandchildren, please post a comment and share your ideas.

Have fun,
Digi-Gram