January is International Creativity Month. As many of you know, I like to send Bubby a little something each month in recognition of one of the off-the-wall celebrations designated for that month. You can read about some of the past goodies he's gotten from me here and here.

So for International Creativity Month, I'm going to give -- no, I'm going to BRING for Bubby when I go see him next week! -- CORNSTARCH!

Yay for cornstarch!

"That's pretty, ummm, creative, Lisa," you may say, adding, "and, uh, pretty stupid!"

No, no, no, dear reader. It will be fun! And it will be creative!

See, I don't often get to do crafty, messy fun things with my Bubby since he lives in the desert and I live in the mountains. But because I'll be babysitting him -- by myself -- for three whole days, it's the perfect opportunity to have some fun and make some messes while Mom and Dad are away.

Which is where the cornstarch comes in.

When Bubby's mom and her sisters were little girls, I was a stay-at-home mom and we did daily craft activities. One of our favorites when the girls were around Bubby's current age was fingerpainting -- with fingerpaints made out of cornstarch.

And it's high time Bubby gets a taste (literally?) of Grandma's homemade cornstarch fingerpaint.

So I'll arrive in the desert to take care of Bubby with my box of cornstarch in hand, ready for fingerpainting.

But the creative fun ala cornstarch won't stop there! With my box of cornstarch, we can also make cornstarch goop and we can make peanut butter play dough. Messy, creative fun where I don't have to worry that Bubby's going to stick his paint- or goo- or dough-covered hands in his mouth. I won't encourage eating the gooey goodness, but I won't freak out and fear for his life (or at least his digestive system) if he happens to swallow a bit of the fun.

So yes, for International Creativity Month, Bubby gets cornstarch. And here are the recipes I'll be using to turn said cornstarch into something memorable -- at least for me!

Cornstarch Fingerpaint

Ingredients:

3 cups water

1 cup cornstarch

food coloring

Directions: In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Dissolve cornstarch in a separate bowl with water. Remove boiling water from heat and add cornstarch mixture. Return to heat, stirring constantly. Boil until the mixture is clear and thick (about 1 minute). Remove from heat.

As the mixture cools, divide into separate bowls and add food coloring; thoroughly mix in coloring.

Peanut Butter Playdough

Ingredients:

Cornstarch

Peanut butter

Directions: Just add equal parts of cornstarch and peanut butter together; knead together til smooth.

Cornstarch Goop

Ingredients:

1 cup cornstarch

a small amount of water

Add water slowly to cornstarch until the goop drips from the spoon. The mixture will seem hard until you try to pick it up then it should slide between your fingers. If it is too liquidy, add a little more cornstarch. For color, add a few drops of food coloring.

Today's question from the Zobmondo "Would You Rather" board game:

Would you rather skydive without a lesson - OR - scuba dive without a lesson?

I'd rather skydive without a lesson. I've gone skydiving before (a tandem jump) and could at least guess at what I should do; if I guessed incorrectly, there's still a chance I may survive. But scuba diving? No way! I barely know how to swim and if you do the wrong thing under water, there's no way to take a deep breath and start all over again. It'd just be OVER. (Sheesh, just writing that kind of took my breath away!) Plus, there's scary underwater monster-like thingees that might just want to take a bite out of you.