Monday 25 November 2013

Mad Scientist Party Suite - and dry-ice icecream recipes!

I recently held a party for my 12 year old son - it took a couple of months for me to get organised, what with working and bushfires, and all I can say is "thank goodness for MDS!!"
I started out with a theme of sorts in mind, using the "Howlstooth and Scaringbone" DSP, as his favourite colour has always been orange.  The party was to be a "Mad Scientist" party, and it went from "Mum, no one will come!" to a hefty 24 kids.  Gulp.  Just as well I'm now a highschoool science teacher!  In the end it turned out to be quite a bit of fun, for me and them.  We did nine different activities in 3 jam-packed hours, and judging by the smiles on their faces and parental comments in the days afterwards, it was a big success! 

I printed invitations three to an A4 page on glossy photo paper, using one of my favourite pics of Einstein.


I made personalised white cotton aprons, with name labels printed onto T-shirt transfer.  I used a selection of labels and embellishments from the MDS program, and arranged them on an orange chevron background on A4 paper, to maximise the number I could print on each sheet of transfer.  I made one template in MDS, and added names in Word so I could save successive versions (and reuse the original!).  I also used more printouts of these tags for their goodie bags.

For the activities, I printed out instructions using a similar template, as the kids were going to be doing some of the activities themselves.  The icecream turned out to be spectacular, using just reasonably readily available dry ice.  The "recipe" was as follows - 600ml thickened cream, 500g carton custard, 1/4 cup milk, squirt of vanilla paste and 3 tablespoons icing mixture.  Blend in a stand mixer, and add flavourings of choice.  In a blender, crush about a cup worth of dry ice pellets into powder, and tip slowly into the stand mixer while it is running.  Keep running until the fog is mostly gone, scraping down at least once, the bottom of the bowl will be the coldest part.  Add more crushed dry ice if the consistency isn't firm enough, otherwise scoop into cones or store in a plastic tub and put in the freezer until you want it.   On party day I made a batch of vanilla and a batch of cookies and cream using crushed Oreos.  The next day I made subsequent batches using the left over dry ice with a tin of mango halves and a small tin of passionfruit pulp (seriously yum!), 2 tablespoons nutella spread and half a cup of choc chips (also yum), plain vanilla using vanilla bean paste and crushed oreos. The surprise was the fact that tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide trapped in the icecream give it a slightly fizzy taste.

Another activity the kids did was making sherbet, and I had prepared all the ingredients in labelled tubs. The funniest part was watching the faces of a couple of brave souls who dared to taste the tartaric and citric acid crystals, even after being told they would be sour.  The very best learning by doing!  It would also have highlighted the interesting chemical reaction between the sour and the sweet, and the bubbles from the acid and carbonate reaction.  Not to mention the importance of following instructions ;-p

And finally, there were the thankyou cards, that I printed four to an A4 page.  This one was a super quick production using a designer template from the Lemonade Stand MDS suite, and I switched out the pre-designed DSPs for the Howlstooth and Scaringbone patterns,  I changed the sentiment, and voila!



Sunday 24 November 2013

Available for purchase - MDS Christmas Class - Learn and Create at the same time!




 The three cards shown here are all made with Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio Software, and were designed by me to include a range of different techniques, exploring the functionality of the program.  The cards use only the stamp sets and contents of the standard installation of the MDS software.  The class includes full written instructions to create each of these cards step by step, along with instructions for printing them to create an A4 page of each containing 4 card fronts.

You'll learn to use the program as you create, and will soon be zooming off to customise and modify, making new projects of your own.
The cost of the tutorial is just $15, and you'll be sent a file with the instructions after your payment has been received.    If you don't already own the software, are located within Australia and purchase it via my online store at this link HERE , I will post you a package of cardstock and envelopes to complete two of each card (six cards in total), with instructions for embellishing the cards for a handmade touch.

Payment can be made via Paypal with the address michelle.dyson@bigpond.com
Any questions?  Just email me at the same address!