Lil Blue Boo & Dharma Trading Co. design challenge.

I'm sure many of you fellow crafters out there follow Lil Blue Boo--I sure do.  And I was very excited when Ashley announced her Dharma Trading design challenge.  Of course she gave us tons of time to try to put something together, so did I use that time wisely?  Of course not.  Go ahead and review the "if you wait until the last minute it only takes a minute post".  But in my defense, it's been hard to get anything done these days as the three munchkins have been out of school/preschool for over a week (but I'm not going to talk about the snow any more.  I just Can't). 

Nevertheless, because I already had the hoodie pattern (and had an idea for a fun applique), I thought I'd make something today.  Yes, today...the last day of the challenge.  So during Will's nap, and after bedtime, I whipped up a little 6m-12m hoodie.  I LOVE this pattern!  It is so great to work with.  And--obviously--it takes no time at all.

I was able to take one of Charlie's old tees...

and one of my ill-fitting plain white tees, embellished with freezer stenciled stars (to make a lining for the hood, which is something I added in)...

and a baby's 'to do' patch I printed onto cotton, then appliqued on...

to create this fun hoodie.

I really wish I had better pictures.  You can hardly see the red top-stitching or star lining in the hood, but trust me it's all there and I think it's darling.  If I had planned ahead, I could have found a suitable model as no one here can squeeze into this size.  But I wanted to do the 6m-12m sizing this go because of the applique.  In case you cannot read it, here's the image I made up in my photo editing software then printed onto cotton (a thrifted blue sheet). 

(ETA:  Here is a pdf you can download if you'd like to applique your own baby to-do list.  If you're more comfortable working in word, try right clicking the above image, save it to your computer, open a word document, and click 'insert picture'--you should be able to resize the image by dragging a corner of the image.  Let me know if you need help.)

I plan to give this hoodie to a friend who just had her second baby.  I'll tuck in a laundry marker so she can just jot down the date of some milestones as the hoodie gets worn by her newest munchkin...it makes me smile.  Plus, I really could have used something like this for babies no. 2 and 3--poor things, I was very bad in recording important dates by then.  And I have a thing for lists so it's right up my alley.

There will be lots more hoodies in this house for sure--ones that fit my kidlets.  I cannot endorse this pattern enough.  Again, I just adore it.

ETA:  p.s. check out this post if you're looking for more pictures and/or info on how I liked the pattern.

if you're looking for more pictures and/or info on how I liked the pattern.

Valentine's Day 2010.

Happy Valentine's Day!  We happily jumped on the blogland bandwagon for our Valentine's Day card design this year.  Once I saw the idea on 24-7-365, I knew we'd have to try it.  To put our spin on it, I used photo editing software to antique the picture, then traced the images using the same software--so I could "erase" the real background of the photo--allowing me to place the images in front of colorful backgrounds I designed.  I could not get a decent shot of Will to make the card work (he kept trying to grab the camera), so we'll save his for next year.  

I hope you have a great day wth your sweet ones.

Olympic fun.

I love the Olympics.  I usually favor the summer Olympics because I was a gymnast.  I was not a very good gymnast, mind you, but my parents did spend buckets of money on my lessons and also cheerfully zigzagged across Texas to watch me fall off the balance beam and forget to point my toes.  But since I've watched my children dabble in winter sports this year--in our very own front yard and not necessarily by choice--I am especially excited for the winter games to begin.  Seeing snow and ice put to good use will be a welcome sight.

I am also seriously crushing on the Vancouver mascots.  So, so cute.

Be sure to check out the super cool Olympic Mascot website.  It's filled with activities for kids--I suspect we'll be all over it this weekend.  And if you are inclined to make some decorated mascot sugar cookies, you must check out Sweetopia's incredible versions.  I think I'm going to have to up my sugar cookie game and try these, though I'm sure mine won't look nearly as great.

Image from Sweetopia

To be honest, our Olympic kick started with the cookies.  I saw Sweetopia's post first, then went to the mascot website, then got all excited about the games.  Backwards for most, yes, but quite normal here.  Cookies lead us to all sorts of places.  Happy Friday!

 

Fabric flower embellishment tutorial.

One of my favorite presents to give to little girls--whether they're celebrating a birthday or their new big sister status--are fun hair clippies.  I use bits of felt, ribbon, buttons or brads to make up a flower of sorts.  Sometimes I use my embroidery machine to monogram a bloom.  I then affix the embellishment to a ribbon covered alligator clip.  Easy peasy...

 

I also like to use little cards filled with them as gift toppers.  Once I clipped a good dozen or so around the ribbon I used to decorate a diaper cake for a neighborhood baby shower.  And my dear friends are kind enough to let me foist these confections upon their daughters--it satisfies my need to create something frilly.

So imagine how my ears perked up when my best friend from high school, Kristin, informed me that her sweet daughter could no longer wear the clippies I've made her (cllippies aren't working with her current hairstyle)--ack!  But evidently she sometimes wears headbands.  That's all I needed to hear...

Here's how I did it.

Cut a piece of scrap fabric.  Mine was about 1 1/2 inches wide x 14 inches long and I chose to pink one edge.

Next, ruffle your strip by sewing a straight line near the non-pinked edge.  Set your stitch length to the longest setting and make sure to leave a long tail at the start and end of your stitching.  Also, do not backstitch as you'll need to gently pull one thread to gather the fabric, thus creating the ruffle.  Go slowly as you don't want to break the thread. 

ETA:  You're supposed to do two rows in case the thread breaks but I don't bother with these scraps (again, because I'm a lazy bones--see below).  Also, I received a couple of emails asking why I don't use my machine to ruffle (to do that, you set your stitch length to the longest setting and your tension to the highest setting).  I answered that I usually do that if I'm sewing big pieces (and always if I'm working with knit fabric).  But I'm always interrupted while crafting and have found I also always forget to set my tension back--so I just don't bother with these quickie projects.  But you guys should go for it if it helps you ruffle! 

Make another coordinating scrappy strip--on this one, instead of pinking, I pulled a few threads out to gently fray the edge.  Note**next time I do this, I won't be such a lazy bones and not switch out my mismatched bobbin thread.  I found out later it's a bother to hide.

 

Stack the strips with right sides facing down--they'll be curly and unwieldy which is why I don't have a shot of it, sorry--and wind them around a finger.  Slide it off and adjust the bloom to your liking.

Take a threaded needle and secure your bloom by sewing this way and that, hiding your stitches amongst the ruffles.  I wanted another pop of color so I glued a fun blue brad to the center, but I don't think it's vital.

I then added some scrappy green leaves with pinked edges.  I slightly pinched the leaves on the end I was attaching to the flower, to make them stand up a bit, and securely hand stitched them to the back.

 

I hand stitched the entire embellishment onto a handmade headband (the headband is just a strip of white t-shirt jersey folded in half, sewn along the long edge, flipped right-side out, and sewn end to end to make a loop).  I tested for fit on the closest kid-sized head.  I won't name names because that was part of the deal.  That, and a slice of freshly baked cranberry-white-chocolate blondie.

I think it could also make a pretty broach.  And even though I've never been too much of a broach-wearing sort of person, I do think it would look pretty on a couple spring-weight jackets I recently bought.  So I think more are in my future.  And can you tell by the colors who's thinking spring?

 

ETA:  I'm linking up to DIY day at A Soft Place to Land.

More snow. More soup.

Ten more inches of snow.  Plus winds of 35-50 mph.  Seriously?  Seriously.  The snow is touching the bottom of our mailbox.  So what's a girl to do when she can't control a thing going on outdoors?  Make more soup of course.  Soup makes everything better.

I found a recipe for "make a mama happy chicken noodle soup" on Domestic Reflections and thought it sounded perfect.  It was indeed--though I do mention a tweak or two below. 

Chicken Noodle Soup

• 16 c. chicken broth (4 cartons)
• 1 3 1/2 lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2-3 carrots, peeled, thinly sliced (I chopped up a bag of baby carrots)
• 2-3 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (I agree that this is critical--in fact, I added lots more than 1 T, probably closer to the juice of the entire lemon)
• 12 oz. dried wide egg noodles (I used the recommended pappardelle from Trader Joe's
• 1/2 c. finely chopped fresh parsley (I only added this to the adult servings as the boys didn't want "salad" floating in their soup)

Directions

• Combine broth and chicken in a large heavy pot.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover partially and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 20 mins. **I cooked the chicken closer to 40 minutes**.
• Transfer chicken to a large bowl and after chicken has cooled slightly, pull off and discard the skin and bones and shred the meat.
• Return broth to a simmer.  Add carrots and celery.  Simmer until vegetables soften, about 8 mins.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onions and sauté until beginning to wilt, about 5 mins.  Add onions to broth and vegetables. 
• Stir in lemon juice. 
• Add noodles and chicken and simmer until noodles are done (about 5 mins). 
• Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

I should also note that this recipe makes a ton--we delivered a small pot of it to neighbors and still had plenty for two rounds of soup ourselves.  Good thing, too.  We needed it.

Digging out and black bean soup.

It finally stopped snowing in the late afternoon yesterday and Charlie spent hours trying to dig us out.  But until a plow comes through our neighborhood, I don't think we'll get beyond our driveway.  I'm having flashbacks to 1996 when my roommates and I were snowed in for days.  Of course, back then it was a welcome diversion from law school classes.  

The boys weren't sure what to make of all the snow--they were a bit lost because they couldn't just run and play.  But they did enjoy scaling the snowy mountains created by displaced snow as Charlie shoveled and shoveled.   

As for me, I stayed mostly inside and could not resist making a big pot of a favorite cold weather comfort--black bean soup.  I still had a meaty ham bone in the freezer from our Christmas dinner so it was a perfect choice.  Here's my recipe that I turn to when I forget to soak the beans overnight.    

Black Bean Soup

     adapted greatly from versions I found on SimplyRecipes and AllRecipes

Ingredients

• 1 lb black beans, picked through and rinsed
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 6 cups water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 ham bone (or 1lb smoked ham hock or shank, in which case you won't need the additional meat below)
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 1 celery rib, finely diced
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 Tbl cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 4 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped ham or shredded cooked chicken
• 3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

Garnish

• sour cream
• shredded cheddar cheese
• hot sauce 

Directions

• Place beans, water, ham bone, broth, bay leaves, baking soda, and salt in a heavy, thick-bottomed pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer.  Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally (if you are not using a heavy-bottomed pot, you'll need to stir often).
• Remove bay leaves and ham bone from pot and cut ham meat away from the bone into small, bite-sized pieces and set aside.
• Remove about two cups of bean mixture and place in a blender.  Keep uncovered for a few minutes to allow mixture to sightly cool, then cover and puree beans until smooth, holding blender lid down.  Or (this is what I do) place the two cups of bean mixture into a bowl and puree until smooth using an immersion blender.  Place back into pot.
• Heat olive oil in a large pan on medium to medium high until the oil is hot but not smoking.  Add onions, celery, sweet potato, carrot, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and softened, about 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium, add the cumin, chili powder, garlic, and chopped tomato, cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Add onion mixture to the bean pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 30 additional minutes, adding in reserved meat from ham bone and chopped ham/shredded chicken (if using) for the last 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and add 3 Tbsp lime juice (optional but I love the addition of fresh lime juice) and salt to taste.
• Serve with garnishes. Makes 8 cups, serving approximately 6 (for our family of two adults and 3 children, it is enough for a hearty dinner plus lunch the next day).

Enjoy!

DIY gummy candy.

We are at 18 inches of snow and counting and the older boys are clamoring to get out there.  But it's snowing very hard right now and I'm trying to convince them to wait a bit.  They always forget how uncomfortable they become when the snow is actively falling on them, no matter how fun the play.  I figure I've got roughly one hour or so before they tie me up and do whatever they want.  Until then, I tried to get them into the kitchen for a bit to try out a project I've had my eye on--DIY gummy candy.

DIY Gummy Candy

idea and recipe from Not So Idle Hands

Ingredients

• 2 three oz. packages of flavored Jello
• 6 envelopes of unflavored gelatin, like Knox
• 2/3 cup of cold water + half of a 1/3 c. 
• glass measuring cup, preferably with a spout
• double-boiler or small pot with several inches of water
• some type of candy mold, *recommend smaller shapes if possible--we used medium sized heart molds and found it was almost too much gummy for little ones to handle.  (Because they have to bite it--can't just pop it entirely into their mouths.  This means, of course, that little hands will set them down or press them upon, say, their fuzzy pajamas.  And because the gummies are tacky, they pick up everything...and watching a toddler down a gummy that's magically grown fur is gross.)

Directions

• Measure the water into the glass measuring cup.  Slowly stir in the gelatin and Jello, adding a bit at  a time and stirring after each addition.  Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.  Place pot of water to boil, then reduce heat to simmer.
• After 10 minutes, the mixture should look thick.  Place the glass measuring cup into your pot of water and gently stir until mixture melts.  Be careful not to burn the mixture but allow it to fully melt (all of the granules should dissolve).  This took me five or so minutes.
• After mixture is fully liquified, pour into molds--be careful because glass measuring cup will be hot. 
• Place molds into the refridgerator or freezer for 5-10 minutes for the gummies to set up.
• Once set, the kidlets should be able to pull them right out of the molds--they're impressively resilient.

The boys loved them.  I do too because they are not overly sweet and are a great option for holiday themed goodies (mini green shamrock gummies!  mini Easter bunnies!)...must keep a lookout for teensy molds.  And I might make something custom for the boys' joint birthday party if they could ever settle on a theme.

 Enjoy!

Six more weeks of winter.

Both Max and Leo came home from school today to report that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow.  I cannot say I'm surprised.  Lately, winter is always in the forecast. 

Last weekend, the "one to two" inches turned out to be two to three times that.  The older boys did not mind; perfecting your snow-angel technique is some serious stuff.

Poor Will had to sit out this particular evolution as he was fighting a cold.  The next day, the weather warmed up considerably and the boys took out beach gear to build snow castles.  They then asked when it would be warm enough to actually go to the beach. 

I tried to do my part in coaxing Spring along with some wishful dressing (and you thought I was kidding about polka dots).

It obviously did not work.  More snow is in the forecast tonight and tomorrow.  And another storm is brewing for the weekend, potentially rivaling the blizzard we saw before Christmas.  I am trying to live in the moment here and appreciate this atypical number of snow days.  But it's hard.  And it's exhausting.  I am speaking of the on/off/hermetically sealing of wiggly children into Gortex merry-go-round.  It's also messy.  I think I'd be more okay with this if our home had a mud room.  And I don't mean mud tracked into rooms--that we have lots of.  Stay warm out there!

The carpenter within.

I have always wanted to build a piece of furniture.  Okay, maybe not always, but for a very long time.  Problem is, power tools scare me.  And probably for good reason, considering I've landed myself in the emergency room twice for self-inflicted injuries from plain jane household tools.  Once was the night before a friend's baby shower.  As I was attempting to level the cake, my serated knife slipped out of my hand...and I tried to catch it.  Fast forward 5 stitches, a tetanus shot, and four years later to a New Year's Eve when I snipped too far with my professional floral shears while hastily putting together a floral arrangement.  That one required 3 stitches.  My point is, I am not alone with sincere concern for my appendages when I start talking about learning how to use Charlie's power tools.

Now--important note--I am good to go with the nail gun and I'm the one who figures out all the angles for miter cuts when we install crown moulding.  Plus, since our last house was a major fixxer upper, I've logged many hours sanding, painting, and caulking.  So I really think I could build something, setting aside any potential long-term maiming issues.  Imagine my absolute glee, then, when I found this blog:  Knock-Off Wood. 

I started bookmarking projects right away, then realized I was bookmarking her entire blog.  I'm going to pick something small to start with and go for it:  the barnwood frame.  I have this project slated for next week's "free" time when all the kidlets are in school or preschool.  I am so excited and will keep you posted...Happy Friday!!

Random thought I want to write down to 'laugh about' someday: The elusive sippy cup.

Could someone please invent a tracking device for sippy cups?  Yes, I am speaking, and dreaming, of a sippy cup lo-jack.  Because every night after the boys are in bed, the search for Will's sippy cup begins.  Actually, let's call it what it is--the hunt for the cup because I swear it moves.  And there is a time limit of sorts, as it's filled with milk.  I am trying to get him to only drink in the kitchen, but that's not going exactly as planned.  I'm sure that's a shocker to anyone who has crossed paths with a toddler.

So, this invention...how awesome would that be?  I'd try to do it myself but I'm too busy wedging limbs into impossibly tight spaces and doing tummy crawls beneath furniture.