Astronomy Fluxx

We are a board game and card game family. We play games together whenever we have the chance. Trevor loves games so much that he founded the Games Club at his middle school! If you go my gift guide tab and scroll down to Family Fun, you'll find several dozen of our family's very favorite games, including Fluxx. (Affiliate link here and throughout the post.) 

I first discovered Fluxx sometime around 1998. I love that it is easy to learn (yet ever-changing!) and accommodates any number of players. It's portable and inexpensive. It requires reading, but otherwise is fun for all ages. I introduced Trevor to Fluxx when he was around 5 and he loved it. Since then, he has collected many different versions of Fluxx, including Star Fluxx, Nature Fluxx, and the Fluxx board game. Recently, the folks at Looney Labs have been introducing educational versions of Fluxx. I jumped on the chance to review the latest, Astronomy Fluxx, which was provided to me by Looney Labs. 

Astronomy Fluxx basically plays like all the other versions of Fluxx. You collect Keepers...

.... and use Actions in order to achieve a Goal. If you have the correct Keepers to meet the Goal, you win!

However, the New Rules (and the Goals) change constantly... sometimes in your favor and sometimes not! It's a lot of fun.

Astronomy Fluxx has some neat features that distinguish it from other versions of Fluxx. The first thing I noticed was the gorgeous photography. The Keepers and Goals feature NASA's photographs of planets and the other astronomical objects. Many of the Goals list dates that mark major accomplishments in space exploration; the Quiz Me Action card asks players to name those dates. The Name a Constellation New Rule rewards players for mentioning a constellation that has not yet come up in the game. Simply by playing Astronomy Fluxx, kids (and adults!) will learn so much more about space.

My favorite card is the stunning Galaxy Keeper. In fact, it inspired me to create some artwork that is out of this world. (Ha ha!) I'll teach you how to make it tomorrow.

Sparkly Valentine Heart Note Holder

Marbled Model Magic hearts + clothespins + a jumbo craft stick + glittery paint = a sparkly Valentine note holder for February! Affiliate links below.

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Sparkly Valentine Heart Note Holder

Materials:

• 'Gigantic' craft stick
• clothespins
• Folk Art acrylic paint - Licorice 
• Extreme Glitter - Black
• centering ruler
• Model Magic hearts
• Supertite glue
• black cord

Steps: 

Paint the craft stick and the clothespins black. When they are dry, add a coat of Extreme Glitter for sparkle. When that is dry, use Supertite glue to attach one heart to each clothespin. 

Use the centering ruler to determine where to put your clothespins so they are evenly spaced. I used three because there are three of us in the family, but you can add more or fewer so that each family member has their own. 

Lift one clothespin at a time, add glue, and carefully replace it. Let the glue dry completely. 

Glue a length of cord to the back to act as a holder. The centering ruler is helpful for this, too. Honestly, I use my centering ruler all the time. It's so handy.

If hearts aren't your thing, you can easily switch them out for any other shapes. You can use different shapes, or different colors, for different people. There are so many possibilities.

50 State Album: Louisiana and Mississippi

Trevor's 50 State Album has two new pages from our December travels to Louisiana and Mississippi. 

  

We're now at 34/50 states visited. It's always exciting adding a page to Trevor's album. I love looking through it and reminiscing about our past travels. Seeing the blank pages makes me excited about future adventures!

Speaking of which, we'll be traveling to Montana this summer, but those are the only firm plans we have as of now. I'm hoping to add a least one more new state in 2020.

Bunny Love Wall Art

Although we only have the one rabbit, there's no question that I'm a Crazy Bunny Lady. (That's an affiliate link for a shirt I NEED. There are more links throughout this post. That means I get a commission if you make a purchase through a link, at no extra cost to you.) This was the first thing I made with the Model Magic shapes I cut with cookie cutters. You did know that you can paint Model Magic, right? 

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Bunny Love Wall Art

Materials:

• Model Magic shapes - I, heart, bunny
• Folk Art paint - Gray (or whatever color your bunny is)
• embroidery hoop
• fabric (I used denim from jeans with holes in the knees)
• scissors
• Supertite glue
• ribbon
• hay (two flavors from Trouble's "Hay Buffet")

Steps:

Paint the embroidery hoop, the letter I, and the bunny gray. When the paint is dry, put the fabric in the hoop. 

Trim away the excess fabric, then use the Supertite to glue the edges down against the hoop. 

Glue the Model Magic pieces to the front of the fabric. 

Gather a bundle of hay and tie it with ribbon. Glue it to the top of the embroidery hoop, then add a second piece of ribbon as a hanger. 

I really do love bunnies. So much personality in such a small package!

Model Magic + Cookie Cutters = So Many Possibilities

When I made my King Cake necklace, I had some extra white Model Magic left. While opened Model Magic will stay soft if carefully wrapped properly, I'm not a 'carefully wrapped properly' type of person. I'd much rather play with the extra clay to see what I can make now than risk coming back to it later and finding that it wasn't wrapped as well as I'd thought.

First, I made bunnies.

I got a new bunny cookie cutter for Christmas (affiliate link here and throughout the post) and this was the perfect chance to give it a test run. I rolled out the leftover Model Magic on a sheet of wax paper, then started cutting out rabbit after rabbit. 

When I had a fluffle of bunnies, I set them aside on a piece of wax paper to dry overnight. Then I made hearts. 

I combined bits of white and red Model Magic, kneading until they were marbled. Then I rolled out each piece and cut out hearts. Obviously, you could use any shape you want. I did a quick search and discovered that there so many adorable cookie cutters out there! Check out these dinosaurs! This woodland set is awesome. Look, California! And tools! Oooh, llamas and cacti! And fruit! I hear lemons are trending. 

(I can't stop looking at cookie cutters. Send help.)

ANYWAY, I mixed all the scraps together with the last bits of red and used them to make a rose. It's really easy. 

Start by rolling a bunch of little balls. Flatten them with your thumb. They don't need to be the same size; in fact, your rose is more realistic if they aren't. 

Take one petal and roll it to make the center of the rose. Then wrap another petal around the outside. Keep adding petals on opposite sides until the rose is the size you want. Rest the finished rose on loosely balled foil. This will allow it to keep its shape as it dries. If you just set it down on the table, it will slump. 

I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do with my rose, but I have plans for the bunnies and hearts. I'll show you those soon.