Play silks on a budget!

While at a playgroup this winter, my kids had a blast with a few playsilks.  They are a great toy for imaginative play.  I fell in love with them also, but they are not cheap.  I wasn't sure it was something I could ever justify spending $15 on for each one.  Well, my sweet friend Nicole (the playgroup host) shared her money saving silk secrets with me and you can find them on her blog too - My Rhythm and Rhyme in Motherhood.

Instead of using Kool-aid for dying ours, I used my abundance of food coloring for cake decorating.  

I found directions on this website. 

They turned out much more vibrant than I expected! I like them that way though. I did mess up on the pink one - first it came out HOTTTTT pink, so I did a quick dip in light purple (a trick for toning down pinks that I've learned from cake icing). However, I messed up and got straight coloring on the silk, so now it has a few dark spots. I may go back and dye it completely purple. I might not. I'm sure the ever observant Jackson will notice, but I doubt he'll care...he'll just point it out and then go on with his business.

We now have a set of playsilks...on a budget!  I really like the playsilks from Sarah's Silks, but for our current budget they are just too pricey.  Besides, these turned out pretty darn perfect!  And we now have six for the price of two! 

The hardest part is now we have to wait until Easter to give them to the kids!  I can't wait to play with them!