Alligator Puppet

I got this craft idea from FamilyFun.com but it was originally a pencil holder. I made some changes to the craft to make it into a puppet. Here's how it's done:

Supplies:
-1 piece of green felt 5 in. x 12 in.
-1 piece of red felt 4 in. x 11 in.
-1 piece of white felt - enough for some teeth
-2 medium lime green pom poms
-2 small black pom poms
-2 medium googly eyes
-green rick rack
-Tacky glue or hot glue
-Scissors

Directions:

Take the green felt, fold it in half and cut on the fold. Then round one short side so you have a U shape for the mouth.

Take the red felt, fold it in half. Do NOT cut on the fold (this is what holds your gator together). Round the short edges so you have a smaller U shape on both sides when unfolded.

Put glue just around the curved edges and sides of the red felt and glue the green pieces to the top and bottom. If you put glue by the fold or all over inside you won’t get your hand in for the puppet!

Here's how your puppet should look right now:

Cut small triangles out of the white felt for the teeth. I cut 10, 5 for top and 5 for bottom. You can do as many as you’d like! Then glue them on the inside of the mouth so they stand up.

If you have time, let the teeth dry for a little bit. After that, glue one googly eye on the two green pom poms. Glue onto the head near the back. Glue the two black pom poms near the edge of the snout for the nostrils. Last, glue one longer and two shorter pieces of rick rack between the eyes and the nostrils.

You're done! I suggest letting it dry completely before using it as a puppet. Remember - it can always be made bigger or smaller for whatever size hand for which you are making it.


Enjoy!
 

The Electric Michelangelo

The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall

I first heard about this book when my aunt suggested I read it. She just ranted and raved about how good it was. Being as I love reading and I like tattoos/tattooing, I decided to purchase the book and give it a shot.

The story is about the life of a boy named Cyril Parks. He grows up in northern England and begins an apprenticeship with a local tattoo artist. As he grows up he takes his tattooing business to Coney Island. Sarah Hall writes a great story, very vivid with many details. The characters are very well developed and the settings described wonderfully. The one problem I had with this book though were many of the details - often there was so much description I found myself thinking, 'OK, what was going on here?' This was one of those books where I had to be concentrating fairly hard to be reading it. Also, I will admit I am kind of a slow reader, but because there are only 6 or so chapters in the book, it took me quite a while to read it. It just felt as though the chapters never ended. After finally getting into it - about halfway through, I didn't feel like it was somewhat of a burden to read it.
Overall I would give this book 3 out of 5. I can see how many people would really enjoy this story. I enjoyed it myself but would like something with a little bit more excitement. 

Tator Tot Hotdish

Growing up I had never really been a fan of my dad's tator tot hotdish, but since I have put my own spin on it, it is one of my favorite things to make for dinner. Here's how I do it.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 can of cheddar cheese soup
1 can of whole kernel corn, drained
3/4 bag of tator tots

First, brown the ground beef. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Then, drain the grease. Put the ground beef in a casserole. Mix in the cheddar cheese soup and drained corn. Spread evenly in casserole.

Cover with tator tots. They do not need to be thawed. If you like a lot of tator tots, you can stand them upright. :)

Bake in oven for 35 - 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove when the tator tots are golden brown. You should also be able to see and hear the soup bubbling around the edges.

Scoop onto your plate and enjoy!

Yummm!