The bright constellation

How to make it

1. Cut a shape from the cardboard, then cut a piece of decorative paper large enough to cover it. Glue the paper to the front of the board and fold back the excess. Brush on a thin layer of Mod Podge Sparkle and let it dry.

2. To add a strand of beads, use the thumbtack to poke a hole in the bottom of the brooch. Cut the wire to the desired length, plus 1/2 inch. Insert the wire through the hole so that 1/4 inch sticks out the front. Use the pliers to twist this piece around the longer length of wire and then press it against the back of the cardboard.

3. Thread on the beads, then twist the bottom of the wire into a knot to keep them in place. After adding the last strand of beads, glue another swatch of decorative paper to the back of the brooch to conceal the wire ends.

4. Glue on buttons or jewels, then glue on the pin back.

How to make it

1. 

   Preheat the oven to 350°. Unroll the crescent roll dough and separate into the pre-cutted 8 triangles. Place them over a sheet of parchment on an oven tray.

2. 

   Cut each triangle in 2 leaving you with 16 triangles total.

3. 

   Scoop a litle bit of Nutella into half of each triangle of dough, a thin layer will be more than enough!

4. 

   Then add some blueberries, 3 or 4 is good, don't put too many. Fold the triangles so they are all covered. Press on the sides with a fork triying to sear all sides. Some of them will have Nutella overflowing but this is ok.

5. 

   Add a thin layer of butter to the top of each turnover. Bake for 12 minutes. Meanwhile heat 2 tablespoons of Nutella in a double-broiler until soft. 

6. 

   Take the turnovers out of the oven. Decorate the turnovers with twirls of Nutella, just grab a spoon and softly pour over the tunovers making curves. Eat immediately! 

How to play

1. Have your group of kids sit in a circle and pass around a small handheld mirror. Each person takes a turn saying one nice thing about herself on the outside ("I have pretty freckles") and one nice thing about herself on the inside ("I am a good friend").

1. Submerge an ice cube in a glass of water for a second or two. Let it float to the top.

2. Place one end of a length of string on top of the ice cube and sprinkle a little salt over it. Count to 5.

3. Pick up the loose end of the string. The ice will lift right out of the glass!
   
   How it works: The salt is the secret ingredient. It lowers the freezing temperature of water, so it easily melts ice. That's why people in cold climates spread it on the road after a snowfall — and why the ocean rarely freezes. When you sprinkle the salt on the ice, some of the ice melts back into water, which is absorbed by the string. Seconds later, the water in the string refreezes (the ice underneath the string never touches the salt, so it doesn't melt). The result? The string is frozen to the cube, allowing you to pick it up.

1. To start, a player writes the numbers 1 through 9 on a sheet of paper and rolls the dice. He then crosses out one or more numbers that add up to the roll. For example, if he rolls an 8, he can cross out the 8, or the 6 and the 2, the 7 and the 1, or the 5 and the 3.

2. After the numbers 6 and up are crossed off, the player can choose to roll just one die. If the player manages to cross off all of the numbers, he's "shut the box." If he can't match a roll to the remaining numbers, his turn ends, and any uncrossed numbers are added to his score (the lower the score, the better!).

3. The next player then plays with a fresh set of numbers. Players alternate rounds until one player's score reaches 50. The other player is the winner.

1. 

   To play, divide guests into two groups, then have the groups take turns using their bodies (no hand signals or signs allowed) to spell out words for the opposing team to decipher. Start with simple, holiday-related words such as pie or thanks, then move on to longer words or phrases as the group's skills improve.

How to make it

1. 

   Start with a plain white nail. I usually use two coats of whatever white polish I am using in order to get full coverage.

2. 

   Use your light blue marker to draw the lines of the notebook paper.

3. 

   When you are drawing them, it's okay if they aren't perfect, and if they're a little thicker on one side than the other, because that's what real notebook paper looks like!

4. 

   They don't have to be totally perfect, either, because you're going to draw doodles on top of them.

5. 

   Now, take your pink marker and draw a vertical line down the side. 

6. 

   Your nail looks just like notebook paper! You can stop here and have an adorable back-to-school nail, but why not make it a little more awesome?

7. 

   Take a black permanent marker and draw any doodle you want!

   I drew hearts, moons, stars, smiley faces, trees, swirls– and anything else I could think of!

8. 

   When your doodle is finished, let it dry for a bit and finish with a fast drying top coat. Remember to let the marker dry so you don't smear your design!

    

How to make it

1. First, use this guide to measure and cut the card stock strips you'll need for each bird:
   
   Body: 5 (1-inch-wide) strips, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 inches long
   Head: 2 (1-inch-wide) strips, 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 inches long
   Tail: 5 (1 1/2-inch-wide) strips, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 inches long
   Beak: 1 (1- by 2-inch) strip
   Eyes: 1 (1- by 1 1/2-inch) strip

2. Roll the body strips into circles, overlap their ends about 1/4 inch, and secure with tacky glue.

3. Nest the circles and glue them together. Tip: Use a clothespin to hold the pieces until the glue dries. Do the same with the head strips, then glue the head to the body.

4. Trim the tail strips into long triangles, then curl them a bit before gluing them together. Glue the tail to the body.

5. 

   Fold the beak rectangle in half, then cut off the two folded corners at an angle, as shown. Fold in the tabs and glue them to the bird's head.