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By Mom Unplugged, July 8, 2010 7:23 pm

On Fridays I am going to try something new. Since I am continuously trying to dance a fine line between blogging about being an “unplugged family” and actually unplugging myself, I thought it might be fun to try quickly posting a simple photo once a week of an unplugged moment.

Hopefully it might be a less time-consuming way to encourage others to unplug, even if just a little. For those who come here more for activity or craft ideas, they still might find something to produce that inspirational spark without a lot of words.

It’ll be kind of like a yard sale or a thrift store, you never know what you’ll find each Friday (but I’ll try to make it pretty) … and it will take me very little online time to post a tiny photographic slice of our unplugged time.

See you tomorrow for a Tiny Slice of Time!

PS. I could be brutally honest and balance this out each week with a photo of our NON-unplugged time, but that would mostly be photos of me on the computer in many varieties of clothing (shorts, jeans, dresses, pajamas…), so I’ll just leave all that to your imaginations!

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By Mom Unplugged, July 7, 2010 6:49 pm

We are having a busy summer of travel, playing outside with friends, refurbishing and cleaning my precious old doll house (that is finally out of my Dad’s New York attic and home with us in Arizona!), sprinklers, popsicles, etc. How about you?

I have been blogging even less than usual and have even thought about taking a little official summer break of my own, but I guess I’ll just keep up minimally, as best I can when activities allow. So, I am late again with this month’s Unplugged Project theme, but here it is:

Beach

This seems appropriate for those of us enjoying summer here in the northern hemisphere, as well as for residents of the southern hemisphere who might appreciate a little virtual escape from winter’s chill right about now (am I correct?).

You can blog (or leave a comment) about anything remotely related to the theme beach. Perhaps something as simple as a trip to the beach, or perhaps a project you made with sand (like the permanent sand castles we made long ago for the Unplugged Project theme hard, or sand pictures that we made for the theme sand, or your own inspiration), or something sun or water-related? Pretty much anything goes.

If you are unfamiliar with how the Monthly Unplugged Project works, then please read more here and consider joining in, even if only via a comment. Just unplug, have fun, and tell us what you did!

(You’ll have to plug back in again for that last bit, but you can be quick, right?)

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By Mom Unplugged, June 21, 2010 1:30 pm

We are very late for last month’s Unplugged Project theme of bread, but since it is my blog, I am just going to slip it in anyhow!

Inspired by my recent emotional reunion with my beloved childhood dollhouse after about 30 years, I thought the kids and I could make some miniature food out of a glue-bread mixture that is commonly used by miniature designers (and me, many years ago).

First take a slice of white bread and tear it up into smallish pieces. My 4 year-old was a great help with this step.

Pour some white glue on to your bread crumbs and mix it together with your hands (VERY MESSY PROCESS!). Don’t overdo the glue at first, you can always add more if you need to but it’ll probably end up being nearly as much glue as bread crumbs.

Squeeze it and knead it until you have a smooth ball of “dough.” You’ll know you have the right consistency when it is smooth, looses its stickiness, and feels like real bread dough.

Next, decide what you are going to make and whether you want to pre-color your dough. If so, you can divide it up and mix in some food coloring or paint to achieve the desired color. We mixed in paint. Here we are making green dough for lettuce:

Adding red paint to make cherries for a pie:

Mold your food. A bottle cap makes a nice little pie dish or plate. A toothpick is an excellent tool for both shaping and painting.

Leave it out to dry and harden, about 24 hours. Once hard, you can spray it with a clear acrylic to protect it and create a shiny finish.

Here is some of the food we made:

~Some of my favorites~

Spaghetti and meatballs (in a bottle cap):

Chocolate chip cookies:

Cake and bread:

Hot dogs (with ketchup and mustard):

Now the dollhouse residents won’t be hungry anymore!

PS. This month’s Unplugged Project theme is sleep. Why don’t you join us? Read more about how it works here.