Homeschooling and Homesteading in the Present: Marshmallow Shooters and the Making Thereof :)

I was lying in bed...deeply submerged in the land of dreams. Guess what I was dreaming? I was dreaming about making the marshmallow shooters. Yes. I. Was. (Read here: http://homeschoolinghomesteadinginthepresent.blogspot.com/2011/10/trip-to-lowes-for-plumbing-suppliesaka.html for the parts purchase adventure at Lowes)
First of all, the shooter I was making in my dream was turning out all wrong. Instead of being a straight shooter with two elbows, it looked more like a rainbow....and I was stressing. And THEN, I dreamed that I had forgotten to buy marshmallows. Can you imagine? Marshmallow shooters with no mini marshmallows.
And then I woke up. And realized that I had forgotten to buy marshmallows. Seriously. Which was so cool. Not that I forgot the marshmallows, but that my dream was telling me I forgot the marshmallows. Kind of like having a little friend in my head. Other than the one I talk to sometimes. So, I clean house (I actually vacuum and mop when company's coming) and do my farm chores and do some "research" on facebook and I finally get around to going and picking up the marshmallows. At 1:00. Everyone was supposed to be at my house at 1:30. Why do I do that? Why do I always think that I have more time than I actually have? So, after a non-profitable trip to store number one, a call to a 4-H mom on her way to plead with her to try a different store, a pick up of someone who didn't know the way, and twenty minutes later, I'm back at home and the joint starts hopping. All the supplies are lying on the table outside and we proceed to open up the pvc pipe cutters. And no one knows how to make them work. I tried to squeeze the handles together thinking it would release some kind of spring and make them open. I tried connecting one little gear looking piece to something else between the handles. Guess what I finally resorted to doing?? I had to freakin Google "how to open pvc pipe cutters". And then I felt like a blonde...because the way to open pvc pipe cutters, IS.TO.PULL.THE.HANDLES.APART. It's inexcusable to make things that complicated. Sheesh.

Materials needed to create a marshmallow gun are as follows:
38 inches of half inch pvc pipe cut into:
- One 8-inch piece
- Six 5-inch pieces
Two half inch T-Joints
Two half inch Elbow Joints
Two half inch End Caps
AND a handy dandy pvc pipe cutter (that you open by pulling apart the handles)

Mark the pieces with a ruler and marker and then cut them out with the pipe cutter. Oh, and the pipe cutter does this cool little ratcheting thing...and slices through the pipe like hot butter. I got a little excited using it.

After you cut the pieces out, lay them out like so:

And then put all the pieces together, like so:

Very cool, no?
Don't use glue to make the pieces fit more tightly....IF you do this, the marshmallows that *may* get sticky and wet when you inhale instead of exhale, will get stuck in the pipe. Or when you put ten marshmallows in at one time JUST to see if you can do a gatling gun effect, and they get stuck....you'll have to take it apart. And clean it out. And put it back together. So, no glue.

measuring and cutting: