Summer Crafts and Cooking - Week 1

Ingredients and Supplies
1 box of fondue chocolate
4 bananas
1 box of Smarties
strawberries
paper straws

When I was a kid, we spent summers at the cottage.  I went armed with more ideas, kits and supplies for summer projects than the local craft store had on the shelves.  My niece, Sophie, who spends her summers here at the lake as well, is the same. The only difference is the main component of anything she is interested in is primarily chocolate. She has been scouring Pinterest and Instagram for DIY projects for us to tackle throughout this summer. We've been selecting two at a time (can you guess which one she picked?) and this week's choices were chocolate covered bananas (hint: do NOT freeze these) and colorful glow jars.

Supplies
6 small canning jars
2 packages of glow sticks
glitter

They were both simple and fun to make!

Chocolate Covered Bananas - Melt the chocolate in the microwave following the instructions on the box. Insert the paper straw in the banana and swirl it around in the melted chocolate.  Decorate with candy or sprinkles. We set them on a plate and found placing them in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes cools them but doesn't make the bananas mushy - YUM! We finished off the chocolate on some fresh strawberries! Our second project (my choice because I thought if they worked out, they would make a cool summer table centerpiece) was these pretty little glow jars. Simply cut open the glow sticks (the package says they are non-toxic but we were careful not to spill them as they will stain your work surface) and pour the contents in the jar.  We used two in each jar for lots of color. There is a little glass tube inside the stick so be sure not to break it until you put the cap on the jar. Add glitter in the colors of your choice, cap the jar and give it a good shake.  Here is a little video so you can see what happens~ it's a hoot! I'm definitely going to make more for our next outdoor BBQ!

Have fun and I'll let you know about the next two creations!