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Crafting is the creative release we all need right now. Midwinter cabin fever is setting in, and while I don't know how the wine-mom delegation is handling things, canna-parents can usually be counted on to have a few cathartic, creative crafting projects on deck during this frigid, seasonal slump. These all-ages crafts are perfect for keeping the whole house—stoned parents included—safely entertained, at least for the next week or so.
Homemade Lava Lamp
What you'll need: Vegetable oil; water; 1 clear bottle; food coloring; Alka Seltzer tablets broken into small pieces.
Directions: Fill the bottle one-third of the way with water and a few drops of food coloring. Fill the rest of the way with vegetable oil. Drop the broken seltzer tablets inside and watch the lava lamp effect in action. Don't bother capping your DIY lamp—the pressure might make it pop off.
Pro tip: A pinch of glitter makes the lava action even more psychedelic.
What to smoke: Do Si Dos is a super-mellow indica hybrid perfect for euphoric lava gazing.
Living Room Campfire
What you'll need: Long sticks for "roasting" marshmallows; 4-7 pieces of brown construction paper, or empty rolls of hoarded toilet paper and/or paper towels; tape; a brown or black marker; red, yellow and orange tissue paper; white cotton batting.
Directions: Start this craft project with a neighborhood walk to collect a few sticks for "marshmallow roasting." Draw lines and knots on the construction paper and roll each sheet into a log. Tape the edges to keep paper in the log formation. Bunch up the tissue paper and assemble your flames and logs accordingly before loading your sticks with cotton-batting play marshmallows. Scary stories, burnt weenies and actual s'mores to be included at your discretion.
Pro tip: Pitch a tent in the living room to complete the fantasy.
What to smoke: Mt Hood Magic is peppy strain with a balance of bliss and relaxation.
Walking Rainbow
What you'll need: 6 clear plastic cups; 6 1-inch-wide strips of paper towels; primary food colors: red, yellow and blue.
Directions: Fill three of your plastic cups halfway with water. Add a few drops of red coloring to one cup, some yellow to the second cup and blue to the third. Arrange your cups in a circle alternating between colored-water filled cups and empty cups. The paper towel strips are meant to each have one end in a water glass and the other in an empty glass. As the towels absorb the water, the primary colors travel up the paper and into the empty cups to create the secondary colors purple, orange and green.
Pro tip: Make it a color theory lesson and a botany lesson by scoring a few white carnations, cutting the stems at a bias, and placing them in the colored water. The stems will drink up the water, which will slowly dye the flower petals.
What to smoke: Cherry Pie is a responsive hybrid that's calm, giggly and manageable any time of day.
Rock Candy Lollipops
What you'll need: 2-3 cups of sugar; 1 cup of water; wooden skewers; a jar or glass for each lollipop; 1 large saucepan; clothespins; food coloring; optional candy flavorings.
Directions: Combine equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Slowly add more sugar and stir until the water becomes cloudy and the sugar will no longer dissolve. The ratio of sugar to water should be roughly 3 to 1. When the sugar stops dissolving, you have created a saturated sugar solution. Add flavors and continue to heat until your solution comes to a simmer. Remove the sugar water from the heat and allow it to cool. Next, prepare your wooden-skewer lollipop sticks by cutting them to size, dipping them in water and rolling them in sugar. Set the sugar-coated sticks aside and allow them to dry completely. Once your sugar water is cool enough, pour it into a jar and add a few drops of food coloring. When the sticks are dry, carefully place them into the jar propped up with clothespins so they don't touch the sides or the floor of the jar. Over the next several days, chunky sugar crystals will form around the lollipop sticks, and before you know it, you'll all be sucking on the bounty of your labors.
What to smoke: Cereal Milk's super-pungent perfume precedes a mellow, uplifted high.
Pompom Drag Racing
What you'll need: Blue masking tape; straws; pompoms.
Directions: This silliness of this project transcends age—it would be as reasonable on a kid's bedroom floor as it would be at a frat party. Use the tape to form a track that zigs and zags around your floor. The competitors must then use their straws to blow their pompoms through the masking tape race track. Parents who need a hearty laugh should set this up for your overactive children and chuckle as they puff and crawl their way into exhaustion. Or join in and work on your own lung capacity. Whatever's clever.
What to smoke: Pink Runtz is a deeply intoxicating strain with a nice balance of joyfulness and relaxation.
