Beauty and the Beast Paper Circuit

Our newest adventure has been paper circuits. For basic paper circuits, you only need some copper tape, led lights, and coin batteries. 

We started by folding a piece of cardstock. On the outside cover we traced a rose and colored it. We then decided where we wanted the light to be placed. 

On the inside cover, I folded one corner of the paper over to create a flap. Then I ran two pieces of copper tape down the piece of paper. One side of the tap was on the flap and the other was placed under the coin battery. 

The tape has to run down the page so one end of the light is on one side of the tape and the other end of the light is on the other piece of the tape. (The tape on the far left of my paper does not have to be there.) The right side of the paper is the led light pushed through. For more information about negative and positive ends in a simple circuit, see this pdf: http://cdn.makezine.com/uploads/2014/07/papercircuits.pdf

The flap must be flipped down so the tape hits the battery and closes the circuit. 

When the led light wires hit the tape and the circuit is closed, the light will shine. 

Carrot Cheesecake Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe has been circulating around Facebook and looked delicious, so I made it for my sister's birthday today. We will be making it again! (Here is the original recipe: http://www.shugarysweets.com/2016/03/carrot-cake-cheesecake-cake)

I didn't use the nuts that the original recipe calls for. 

Ingredients:

Cheesecake layer

2 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup sour cream

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Cake layer

2 cups sugar

1 cup canola oil

4 eggs

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups shredded carrots

Frosting

1 cup butter, softened

1 8oz cream cheese, softened

1 Tbsp vanilla

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

4 cups powdered sugar

Start by making the cheesecake layer. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Fill a large roasting pan with an inch of water. Place the roasting pan in the oven so the water preheats as well. 

Beat the 2 packages of cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar with your mixer. Add the 1/4 tsp salt and 2 eggs. Beat well. Add the 1/3 cup whipping cream and 1/4 cup sour cream and whip for a couple of minutes. 

Prepare a 9 inch springform pan by wrapping the bottom and sides with a double layer of tin foil. (It was very important to put two layers of tin foil on the bottom of the pan so the water doesn't leak into the cheesecake. Place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan. 

Put the cheesecake mixture in the pan. Place the pan in the middle of the water bath that is already heated in the oven. Bake the cheesecake for 45 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for another 30 minutes. Let it completely cool on the counter. When it is cool, take the outer edge of the pan off of the cheesecake and place the cheesecake in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. 

Meanwhile, make the cake. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. 

Beat the 2 cups sugar, 1 cup oil and 4 eggs in a mixing bowl. Add 2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp kosher salt, and 2 tsp cinnamon

Fold in 2 cups shredded carrots

Pour into the pans and bake for 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes and then remove the cake from the pan. 

Place the cheesecake layer between the carrot cakes. 

To make the frosting, whip the 1 package of cream cheese and 1 cup butter. Add 1 tbsp vanilla and 1/4 cup whipping cream. Add 4 cups of powdered sugar, beating well after each cup. 

Spread the frosting on the cake. 

Beauty and the Beast Stained Glass Project

One of the third grade teachers at our school showed me this stained glass project. We thought it looked really cool, so we gave it a try. 

We printed Beauty and the Beast coloring pages and taped it to the table. Then we taped a piece of Saran wrap over the picture. (Make sure you tape it tight to the table.) 

We used a black Sharpie to outline the picture. Then we colored in the rest of the picture. 

The third graders taped their saran wrap to a piece of tin foil. We just taped ours right to the window.