We make (and get) ourselves into a lot of messes here at Pop Goes the Page, and today we are honoring all those…uh…valuable learning experiences by counting down Pop’s Top 10 fails, misfires, and whoopsies!
#1 GINORMOUS FORTUNE COOKIE
Our first fail comes from the kitchen of Katie, where a fortune cookie recipe test took a turn for the huge. Mis-measuring the batter resulted in a giant mega cookie that appears to be smirking at all the other cookies.
#2 UNFOCUSED LAPIN
ALWAYS test your light source. Not all beams are created equal! As we quickly discovered when our oatmeal container projector resulted in an unfocused, blobby bunny.
#3 PANTS BEWARE
Learned this one the hard way – and so did our carpets and clothing. Erasable chalkboard ink enthusiastically liberates itself from deflated balloons. And it makes a mess. A permanent MESS. Oooooo such a mess.
#4 DASHING DOGS
It took SIX tries to get Katie’s pup Finley to simply walk down the hallway with a mailbox strapped to his back. And the one time it worked? Watch the video closely, because a piece of mailbox literally breaks off in transit and drops to the floor! Argh!
#5 WATER WORKS
Our program at a local community pool was going swimmingly, until the entire waterway leaked like mad and beached all the boats. Yes, in hindsight we should have reinforced the seams of the tin foil with packing tape…but ah well!
#6 TODDLER TORNADO
What started as a lovely bucolic picnic scene quickly devolved into chaos at a baby and toddler program. The hardest hit was a lovely contact paper river. We foolishly thought the adhesive would anchor it a little. But no. It lasted about 5 minutes before being twisted and crunched into a slouching shadow of its former self.
#7 THE FAMOUS FUDGE INCIDENT
Yes. That is fudge in a CUP. One of Pop’s most classic fails, Katie learned how woefully temperamental fudge making can be. However! It should be noted that she made a triumphant comeback a few years later, with the assistance of Toni & Slade Morrison’s Peeny Butter Fudge recipe!
#8 CAUGHT PINK-HANDED
Otherwise know as the day I turned my bathtub and hand pink. It was supposed to be a simple project, but the art materials juuuuuust weren’t cooperating. But in my defense, who knew cellophane could be so vengeful?
#9 WHEN CANDY GOES BAD
Another classic from the kitchen of Katie. Long story short, the Harry Potter acid drops recipe went horribly wrong and turned black. The second batch welded your teeth shut. I insisted on trying both batches, and, well, a picture speaks a thousand words.
#10 NOT TO BURST YOUR BALLOON…
While doing research for a Willy Wonka escape room, I attempted to turn myself into a giant blueberry by shimmying into a 6ft latex balloon that would snap around my neck. The process also required the use of a leaf blower. How could this scenario possibly go wrong???
Design you own tree house complete with tire swing, water bucket, and stunning views of the verdant foliage. Best of all, it can be crafted with just about anything!
It begins as a simple brown briefcase, but unfolds into a magnetized dino dig! No briefcase? No worries! This Katie-designed masterpiece can be replicated with any box top or cardboard surface.
Now cut the dino bones from the template. Section the magnetic strip into pieces, then stick them onto the backs of the various bones. The bones will now connect to the dino template (and you can see we added a tissue paper border for extra fun)!
Scatter the bones through a room and have your little paleontologists discover, dig, and collect them up using the paper tools from 
We had the good fortune of scoring some flat cardboard boxes with flaps through 
We added a string strap to turn in into a portable briefcase, complete with a wood bead and rubber band closure and 
And I can’t resist adding this photo of Katie snagging the above photo whilst being carefully supervised by the dino bag’s owner. So sweet!