kid

Invite your kid to make her own flavored lip gloss from simple ingredients you have around the house. She'll have fun and give Estee Lauder a run for her money!

DO Need:

• Vaseline or Crisco: Either one works, but the Crisco version goes bad after three days or so, so go for the Vaseline if your kid wants her gloss to last.
• Unsweetened Kool-Aid or any flavored drink mix: Unless you want blue lips, steer clear of the grape-flavored stuff. Cherry-flavored Kool-Aid will give your kid a tasty red kisser. (Not that you want her kissing anyone for a loooong time to come!)
• Vanilla extract
• Cocoa powder: Pick up some whipped cream while you're at it and make hot chocolate while you work!
• A small mixing bowl
• A spoon: For mixing
• Measuring spoons
• Microwave
• Cake decorating glitter: To add a little sparkle.
• A container for the lip gloss: Find them at your local craft or beauty supply shop. You may want to pick up a dozen or so. Soda or water bottle caps can also make cool lip gloss containers if you don't plan on carrying them around with you.
• Paper or stickers: For a label. If her lip gloss is a hit at school, she'll need to brand it! (Hey, the girl who invented Hard Candy cosmetics became a millionaire in her early twenties.)
• Food coloring

DO It:

1. 1. Have your kid decide what flavor of lip gloss she wants to make before she starts mixing things together.
2. 2. To start, have your kid put some Vaseline (or Crisco) into a (microwavable) mixing bowl and microwave it for about two minutes—until it's a liquid. Try not to let it boil!
3. 3. If she's making chocolate gloss, have her add cocoa powder to the base and mix and stir it up to get rid of any lumps. She should add as little or as much powder as she wants, keeping in mind the more she adds, the darker the tint will be.
   
   
4. 4. Then have her return the mixture to the microwave for another 20 seconds and then stir again.
   
   
5. 5. If she wants to make vanilla flavored lip gloss, instead of heating the Vaseline in the mixing bowl, just have her add a tiny amount of vanilla extract to it (like 1/8 teaspoon for every 2 tablespoons of Vaseline).
6. 6. To make red cherry-flavored lip gloss, warm the Vaseline in the microwave for about 20 seconds, then stir in some cherry Kool-Aid.
7. 7. Your kid can now stir in food coloring to tint her lip gloss or add cake glitter to make it sparkle.
8. 8. Finally, get her to pour or scrape the mixture into the lip gloss containers and let it cool. (If you've been using the microwave, be careful, it'll be hot!)
   
   
9. 9. When she's finished making the lip gloss, have her make some labels for it. She can print or draw a label on paper and stick it on with a glue stick or print or draw one on a sticky blank address label. She can dress her gloss up with stickers, too!
10. 10. That's it! Have her pucker up and slap on some of her homemade lip gloss. She'll be licking her chops all day long.
    
    

DO Note:

• Homemade lip gloss makes a great gift for your kid's girlfriends.
• Do this DO at your kid's next birthday party. An activity and party favor all in one!