Wordless Wednesday {Everyday Moments}
Happy Saturday Night

Fossil Day Fun!

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In honor of National Fossil Day (which was yesterday, October 12th), Earlybird and I made some homemade, backyard "fossils!" 

I found directions for making leaf fossils online here ... and since the day was nice (and this craft was a bit messy) I decided to set up our work area outside.

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We began by measuring and mixing the flour and salt ...

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Then we dug up the next ingredient ~ dirt!

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Earlybird (who is in dire need of a haircut!) added the dirt ...

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... and then the water.

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He mixed it all up ...

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... and then kneaded the "dough" on some wax paper.

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Once our "mud" was thoroughly mixed, we shaped it into egg-sized balls ...

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... and lined them up on the wax paper.

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(I won't tell you what we thought they looked like, but I bet you can guess!)

Next, we flattened our mud balls into 1/2-inch thick patties.

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Now, Crackerjack was going to participate in this project too, but he's currently fighting a wicked cold and felt too "yucky" to pitch in. He did join us for a short walk around the yard, looking for leaves and seeds, etc. to "fossilize," but then hurried back inside "to get warm."

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Here are our fossils in progress ...

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We carefully and firmly pressed the leaves, seeds and feathers into the mud. (Full disclosure ~ I did this part; EB was too impatient, lol!)

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We then carefully peeled the natural items away, leaving behind subtle imprints...

Fossils!

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We moved them to a cookie sheet and brought them inside to dry overnight. And in the morning they looked like this:

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Now, Fossil Day may have come and gone, but this is a great craft/science project to do with the kids at any time of year! 

In fact, I think fossilized autumn leaves would make lovely place markers and/or favors for Thanksgiving dinner! You could always make a plain, tinted dough (instead of one using dirt), using shades of green, gold, orange and brown. Poke a hole at the top while the dough is still soft and then thread a pretty ribbon through to serve as a loop. Just a thought!

Well, I hope you all had a nice day - it's very rainy and raw here, but the house feels quite cozy as I finish up this post. The lights are on, the boys are busy, the kitchen smells great and Bill just walked in the door. So that's my cue ~ I'm off till next time!

Have a great night, everyone ...

:)

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