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  1. Mix 4 teaspoons of water with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. 2. Stir until smooth. 3. Heat and stir over a hotplate for several minutes. 4. Dip a toothpick into the mixture and write a message on a piece of paper. 5. Let the paper dry. 6. Dip a sponge into a solution of 1 teaspoon of iodine and 10 teaspoons of water. 7. Carefully wipe the paper with the sponge. The message should turn purple.
Secrets are a big part of growing up. Learning how to keep confidences is a great accomplishment! Being a girl, you have probably kept (and told) many secrets… When the Plums were girls, we had lots of sisters….and lots of sisters usually means lots of fun secrets! Sometimes, though, the secrets between sisters must be kept sacred! (That is, if you ever want to hear another one!) Receiving a secret is like receiving a present, and trust between the teller and the keeper is very important! Long before we had telephones and email, people found it difficult to send letters without others discovering their private thoughts and important messages. They would often "seal" or stamp a letter with wax, so they could tell if it had been tampered with. In times of war, and through history, families and friends who were in danger communicated with each other using codes and even invisible ink. Their trusted messengers sometimes saved many lives with their skill in delivering these messages. You may not save lives, but you might make up your own mystery story! | |||||||||||
Do
you ever dream of being a spy? Remember Harriett the spy? What fun SHE had… clandestine
messages and secret notes are so cool! When you have a secret, it's fun to find
a new way to deliver it to your friends! Try saving little bottles or boxes to
hide your messages in… or leave a note under a special stone near your favorite
place. Of course, your friend will need the "secret formula" to read your note
if you use our recipe below. If you have a special secret to tell, or to keep,
try our homemade recipe for invisible ink! Check back often for more secret keeping
tips! 
