Helping Little Hands

Scrap Dilema

2012-02-10T05:50:00.000-08:00

I'm sure a lot of us have discovered that Pinterest is a wonderful and dangerous thing. For instance a few nights ago, I was tired (being almost 8 months pregnant will do that to you) and I decided to browse pinterest for some quilt ideas. Since discovering basting spray and how it takes my least favorite part of quilting and makes it manageable, I've fallen in love with quilting all over again. (You can see all the quilting goodness I've been pinning here.)

Anyway...I came across this quilt.

Connect the Dots Baby Boy Puzzle Quilt - Pattern available from eQuiltPatterns.com

I loved it...and then started thinking about how I would do it differently to make it look more like a real puzzle...and how I would avoid all of the piecing involved. Here's a sneak peak at my version...

And then I just had to try it...Here's a sneak peak at my version...

...and now I've got a baby quilt all finished and ready for our baby boy when he comes...now if we could only settle down and choose a name...

Anyway...I digress...

Any quilt or fabric project leaves you with a lot of scraps. I especially hate throwing out scraps of pretty quilt fabric. I read something a while ago that got me thinking though. (Sorry I can't remember the link.) Basically it suggested to have a project in mind for all those scraps. Then if you cut your scraps up as you generate them, it's more manageable than doing a scrap quilt all at once. So I'm thinking I want to have an ongoing scrap quilt project going. Something where I can sew the scraps from a given project into a set size square or rectangle or something. After all, the scraps from any given project, usually coordinate together to some degree and should make decent blocks, right? Then when I have enough blocks I can sew them into a cohesive quilt.

The problem is that I have to decide on a size for the blocks. The bigger the blocks, the bigger the scraps have to be and the smaller scraps get left out. On the other hand, the smaller the scraps are the more time it takes to sew them and instead of losing little bits of pretty fabric...I'm losing large chunks of my life.

And of course there is the difficulty that there are just so many great scrap quilts to choose from. Should I start a couple projects to use different kinds of scraps? Or just stick to one?

And instead of just making up my mind and getting to work on a couple of blocks to use up the scraps that are hanging around from my latest quilting binge...I decided to write a blog post about it.

Here are a few I'm thinking of...which one is your favorite?

Vintage Pillowcase Scrap Quilt from Really Quite Simple

Love the easy design. Even though the pieces are small, they'd be fast sew together in long rows.

Scrappy Stripes Quilt from A Little Bit of Me

I love the simplicity of this one...but of course your scraps have to be a bit long.

Scrap Buster Quilt Top from Red Pepper Quilts

I like that I could sew coordinating fabric strips into blocks that could be arranged later according to color. I like how the uniform white rectangles make a cohesive pattern through the whole quilt.

And a similar variation...

Mini Scrap Quilt image via Pinterest

I'm thinking one common factor here is that I need to get some white (or grey) fabric to break things up...which is also part of the reason I haven't started on the scrap quilt. Despite all the fabric in my stash, I don't think I have a good solid white quilt weight fabric.

How do you generally solve your scrap dilema? Do you throw them away or use them for something else?

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Space Party Snack Ideas

2012-02-09T05:01:00.000-08:00

I looked around for some easy ideas for snacks for Firecracker's Outer Space Party and here are a few of the things I came up with.

Now as a disclaimer...I had visions of having all the snacks and everything layed out nicely on plates with cute labels before the girls walked in the door from school...and great pictures of the spread to share with you. I was on track to have everything ready because most of it was done the night before...and then the doctor had to reschedule my routine prenatal appt for the morning before the party. That's a guaranteed 2 1/2 hours out of my day since it takes an hour each way including dropping the kids off with a sitter. Then the appt. itself ended up taking forever...so all day at home to get ready turned into less than an hour. But you know what...the girls had fun and loved the party, so whatever...that's just how life is some days.

Starry Cheese with Moon Crackers

These were really simple and the girls LOVED them and ate them as fast as I could get them put out on the table.

All you do is buy sliced cheese (or slice it yourself) and cut the stars out with a cookie cutter. Of course, I didn't want the scraps, so after the stars were gone, I brought out the scraps. The girls were even MORE impressed with the slices with star-shaped holes than they were with the stars themselves.

Constellations Cupcakes
These were really easy to put together, and an idea I came up with myself. Just swirl the background frosting and add the stars. For more information about how I made these and references for the constellations, you can see my post here.

Astronaut Juice
No awesome picture of these...but it was just Capri-suns, and we told the girls about how astronauts have to drink in space.

Meteors

These were inspired by some Rice Crispie treats Firecracker made the week before that she'd added a little blue food coloring too...they looked a little gross and rock-like which gave me the idea for these. I made these by making regular Rice Krispie treats and adding a little black food coloring to them. Then instead of pressing them into a pan and cutting them apart, I put globs into a greased muffin tin to cool. If I'd had more time, I probably would have smoothed them into balls a bit more, but I was going for fast...and the girls ate them fast...not a single one was left.

Star Cut-Out Cupcakes
I used the same frosting as the Constellation Cupcakes, but we actually didn't serve these at Firecracker's party. I made them to take to Firecracker's class at school. They're not quite as spacey as the constellation cupcakes, but they're easier to transport and less messy for kids to eat....perfect for taking to school.

You could make cupcakes like this for any theme you have a cookie cutter for. You can see my tutorial here for how to make them.

I'm sure there are a lot of other ideas out there...what would you serve at an Outer-Space Party?

For some additional easy ideas, you might want to check out this post by Katie at GoodLife Eats, Etc.

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Felt Shield and Sword - Version 2

2012-02-08T05:37:00.000-08:00

We're pretty inconsistent gift-givers around here. Last year we didn't send any gifts to the kids' birth families, so this year, I didn't want to drop the ball.

Little Brother got an awesome home-made super hero outfit from Charlie and Mimi (Little brother's little brother and little sister...each a little younger than Little Brother and Sweet Pea respectively), so I wanted to make them something fun. I couldn't think of anything...and then the night before I needed to mail everything we thought of these.

Here's a cute picture of Charlie with his sword and shield, borrowed from his mom's blog here.

I made some felt shields and swords for my kids about a year and a half ago, so I decided to whip some up for Charlie and Mimi. Okay...I guess this gift was really more for Charlie...but they've got to go in a set. You have to have someone to sword fight, right? And I figured Mimi wouldn't really notice if the gift was more for her brother.

I had Little Brother and Sweet Pea try them out.

Little Brother loved it and got right in it. Sweet Pea was mostly distressed that Little Brother was attacking her and I was taking pictures of it.

They did manage to slay a few dragons together...

And Little Brother rescued her from the dragon keeping her prisoner in the dungeon...And he came out victorious over the dragon in the end.

If you want more details about how to make these, you'll want to go see my original post here.

Neither my photography skills, nor my camera, were as good back then, so I've included a few additional pictures of some of the construction to help your understanding, though.

I sewed the hilt on each side before layering it. Then I sewed around the entire outside edge of the sword.

I zigzagged around the entire edge of the sword.

Sew the handles on extra well.

I just pinned the felt on and zigzagged around the edges.

I kinda made a boo-boo on the back of this one and had to piece it back together.

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Easy Constellation Cupcakes - Space Party Treats

2012-02-07T05:48:00.000-08:00

Last week, I shared the Star Cut-Out Cupcakes that I made for Firecracker's class for her birthday. Normally I would have made the same ones for her birthday party (She asked for a Space theme.)...but I thought of these Constellation cupcakes first and loved the idea. Firecracker had originally asked for a planets/solar system themed cake and the thought of trying to make all those colors of frosting and swirls made me feel tired. (I pinned quite a few different solar system cakes/cupcakes on my Cakes and Parties Pinterest Board if you're interested, though.) Then when I thought of these constellation cupcakes, they'd be a perfect (and easy!) fit for her party. (I'll be sharing the rest of the party snacks in a few days, so be sure to check back.)

When I thought of the Star Cut-Out Cupcakes later, I wanted to try both. (You know I have a hard time turning down an easy cupcake idea.)

Anyway, since I was able to use the same frosting for both sets of cupcakes, it really wasn't any harder to decorate these a little differently. In truth, these were actually faster per cupcake to frost...but there are several reasons why I think those Star Cut-Out Cupcakes are especially good for a group of school kids...you'll have to go to that post to see why.

Anyway...I didn't take process pictures of these because it was already sometime around 1 am...and I needed to get to bed. It's super simple though, so I'll talk you through it.

You start with making your frosting. For the night sky, I was originally going to use black. The chocolate frosting I made tasted delicious, but looked horrible after I tried coloring it black, so we used that for graham cracker's instead. I started over with regular butter cream frosting. I colored a bit of it yellow and the majority of it blue. To get this nice night sky color, I used approx. 2 parts Wilton Sky Blue and 1 part Wilton Purple to get this color.

I used a large-ish open star tip to pipe the blue frosting onto the cupcake. (I used a 1M Wilton tip, but the exact size really doesn't matter...and you could use a different size or shape tip just as easily.) You basically frost it as if you were making a "rose cupcake." You start in the middle and swirl around until the cupcake is full. (There's a video at this link for how to do that if you're not sure.)

Then I used some of these simplified constellations as a reference for putting the stars on with a small star tip.

The kids loved them and had fun figuring out which constellation they had.

If you've got a budding astronomer at your house, I'll be sharing more details from Firecracker's outer space party in the next week or two, so keep checking back. You can also see past outer-space themed posts here.

You can see some of the other fun and easy cupcakes we've made here.

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Pi in the Oven Pregnancy T-shirt - Freezer Paper Stencil Pattern Included

2012-02-06T05:11:00.000-08:00

This post goes out to my sister, Kendra. Not because she's pregnant or would wear either of these...but because she's been asking for pictures of my pregnant belly.

I made this back in October, but never got around to posting it. I'd picked up a few cheap maternity T-shirts at Goodwill and wanted to dress one up. I mostly just wanted a nerdy variation on the "Bun in the Oven" shirts that I've seen. I didn't realize at the time that my c-section would be schedule for Pi-Day itself. (For those of you who are not part of a family of math/science nerds...Pi Day is March 14th or 3-14...which is as close as a date can get to 3.14 which is the decimal approximation of the number pi.) I'm not-so-secretly hoping that this baby will make his debut at least a day or two before Pi-Day. If he is born on Pi-Day that will virtually guarantee no more Pi-Day celebrating at this house...because after all if you've got to choose between celebrating Pi-Day or your child's birthday, the birthday will win every time. I do need to make him his own little Pi-Day shirt to wear because whether it's his birthday or not, he should arrive in time to wear it.

Anyway, I've mainly been waiting to post the pattern until I got some good pictures of the shirt, which never happened, so you'll just have to settle for these. I just don't have one of those cute little pregnant bellies like some girls get.

I'm just thankful to be pregnant though, so I don't really care if I have a cute belly or not.

Sorry they're all headless shots...but it's really hard to get good pictures when you're taking them yourself in front of a mirror.

True story...the day I took these pictures, I wore the shirt all day, including to the grocery store. The checker looks at my shirt and asks, "Does that say 'Pi in the Oven'?" I told him it did, and he asked where I found a shirt like that. I told him I made it...that we're math nerds...and mentioned my husband is the science teacher. (It's a small town...this is one of four or five checkers who work at the store. We see him all the time, and he's a nice guy.) He said he thought he knew who my husband was and that he thought it was a neat shirt. Then a couple days ago my husband went to the store and had the same checker. The checker says to my husband..."Hey, was that your wife with the Pi-shirt?..." So I guess now I'm known as the Pi-shirt lady...nice.

If you're nerdy enough to want a shirt like this, but maybe not the notoriety of being the "Pi-shirt lady" in town, you could also just go with something a little more classy like one of these.

It's the Pi Necklace from Boutique Academia...and I love it. Of course the pendant is the best part, but I also love the adjustable cord it comes on because it makes it easier to match the neckline of whatever I'm wearing.

It's simple enough to go well with my nerdy Pi in the Oven T-shirt...and classy enough to go with something dressier.

If you're interested in making your own T-shirt, I just used freezer paper and paint. You can see my tutorial here if you're not familiar with it...it's really easy.

Click here for the Free Pi in the Oven Freezer Paper Stencil.

And with Pi-Day coming up in just over a month, if you're interested in other Pi-Day activities and Freezer-Paper T-shirt patterns, click here.

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Amazing Sale at Digi-Doodle Doo (75 cents and less)

2012-02-04T05:51:00.000-08:00

Just so you know right from the start...nothing shown in this post costs more than 75 cents...you know that's an awesome sale...but they're only good until February 14, 2012.

It's no secret that I love the designs from Twin Stitchers. I've used them in many of my faux embroidery projects.

What you may not know is that Coley of Twin Stitchers, also has an amazing Digital Design site called Digi-Doodle Doo with some amazing digital scrapbooking packs. And right now she's having an AMAZING sale where most things on her site are less than $1.

ALL elements, extras are on sale for only 25 cents!

ALL paper packs are on sale for only 25 cents!

And all digi-scrap kits are on sale for only 50 cents!

AND all MEGA bundles are on sale for only 75 cents!

If you're a digital scrapbooker, you've probably stopped reading and are already over browsing all the Digi-Doodle Doo Mega bundles.

"Lovey Dovey" digi scrap kit

(Comes with 207 elements, 64 digital papers, and an alpha.)

Click HERE to get yours for only 50 cents!

"Lovey Dovey" MEGA bundle

(Comes with 207 elements, 64 digital papers, 2 alphas, 4 cluster frames, 4 quick pages, and 6 word art pieces.)

Click HERE to get yours for only 75 cents!

If you're NOT a big digital scrapbooker--which I'm not--you'll still want to head over and check out Coley's designs because you can do pretty much everything with them that you can with her regular embroidery designs from Twin Stitchers...except they're so much easier to resize and customize.

The Lovey Dovey Word Art and/or Elements Pack would make some awesome faux embroidery...and seriously...they're ONLY 25 CENTS EACH.

"Lovey Dovey" word art and bonus alpha

(Comes with 6 word art pieces and a bonus alpha.)

Click HERE to get yours for only 25 cents!

"Lovey Dovey" elements pack

(Comes with 207 Valentines themed digital elements and an alpha.)

Click HERE to get yours for only 25 cents!

And even though it seems like the entire craft blogging world is flooded with red and pink Valentine's goodness, you might be ready to think ahead to the rest of the year and warmer weather, so here are a few of my other favorites that are also on sale.

Have a little princess at your house? This Princess Play Elements Pack is on sale for 25 cents.

Or maybe your princess is more like Fancy Nancy and love everything French...You might want to pick up this "All About Moi" kit for 50 cents.

My mom would love anything made with this Happy Camper kit, available for 50 cents.

And I love a lot of elements in this All American Summer Kit (available for 50 cents), but I think my favorite are those American heros (fireman, police man, and service man) tucked in there.

And I know we just had Christmas. There was SO much Christmas stuff all over the blogs that it might be a little hard to think about it right now...I always love anything Nativity Themed for Christmas, so I love this Adore Him! Bonus Bundle and you're not going to find a cheaper price than 50 cents on something like this.

And one last thing as long as we're on the subject of Christmas...I love these "Christmas Time!" Printable Tags and Labels...and they're only 25 cents.

Hurry over and check out all of Coley's amazing designs because these prices are only good until February 14, 2012.

My 2 Favorite Educational Websites for Kids

2012-02-03T09:49:00.000-08:00

Some of the greatest moments as a parent come when your child learns something new they're REALLY excited about. Over the last few days, Sweet Pea has learned to use a computer mouse.

This is HUGE for her because she LOVES doing the activities on the Starfall.com website...but she always had to talk her brother or sister into doing it with her to work the mouse...which also meant THEY usually got to choose exactly which activities to do.

Well she's gotten enough coordination to work the mouse, and did some Starfall last night ALL BY HERSELF! Can't you just see how happy she is about it?!?

Me: Do you like Starfall?
Sweet Pea: YES! I do it ALL BY MYSELF! No, grown-up help ME!

You can tell just by looking at her how proud of herself she is. Starfall was the first thing she wanted to do this morning too...

She went and got her favorite snowman book, so she could make the snowman in the "Build a Snowman" activity look the same. It didn't end up looking the same...but I thought it was cute she got the book for help.

If you haven't tried out Starfall, it's a big favorite around here. It's got some awesome activities for kids learning their alphabet and just learning to sound out words. There is also a good subscription site for kids who are doing more reading. (You can try a few of those activities free to see if you like them.) We paid for the subscription site last year and the kids loved that too. The subscription site is a little too easy for Firecracker now and the regular activities are just right for Little Brother and Sweet Pea, so we're just enjoying the free stuff for now. We'll probably pay for the subscription site again when Little Brother starts kindergarten. One of the things I also really LOVE about Starfall is that there are no ads or links to outside websites, so it's a really safe place to let you kids enjoy while you're doing dishes or something in the next room. I also love that there are no TV or licensed characters involved.

{Edited to add: Michelle from Fun on a Dime left a comment with a great suggestion for teaching toddlers to use computer mice. She puts a different sticker where their thumb and clicker (pointer) finger need to go to help them know which side of the mouse to push. I wish I'd thought of that months ago! You can read her post about it here along with pictures.}

Another favorite website I thought I'd share while I'm at it is this AWESOME MATH site. I'm not even sure what it's called...I guess OCSD Interactive? I'm guessing it's from a school district somewhere. I can't even remember how I found it. Again...I LOVE that there are no ads or links to outside websites. Again there are no TV or licensed characters involved.

The games don't have as many bells and whistles and cute pictures as some sites out there...but they're really well-designed. There are lots of different levels of games. This is more of a kindergarten and up site. Some advanced preschoolers may also do okay with it. Some are just right for kindergarteners while some are harder and they'll need to grow into them...which I love because it will serve Firecracker for a while. The games also address specific skills, so you can choose one that addresses exactly what your child needs.

As a former math teacher, I've been really impressed with the academic design of these games and the number sense they help kids develop. We try to have Firecracker to something a little "extra" besides her homework each day. (Because she really gets very little homework.) Sometimes it's reading a book, sometimes working out of a math workbook, and sometimes playing games on this website.

And just in case you're wondering...this is not any kind of sponsored post. No one asked met to push these sites...I'm just passing on some sites that we really love!

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Hawaiian Stripes Baby Quilt

2012-02-02T05:10:00.000-08:00

Last week I shared the baby gift that Firecracker made for her birth mom. Here was my contribution to the package...

...a smaller version of the Hawaiian Stripes quilt I made for Firecracker for Christmas. I had just enough strips leftover, so this quilt went REALLY fast since all the cutting was done.

I thought it would be fun for Firecracker's half-sister to have a matching quilt. The finished size is 45x60 inches, so it's more of a toddler sized quilt that the baby can grow into.

This quilt really deserved to be photographed on a warm beach somewhere with a palm tree or tropical flowers nearby...instead it had to be photographed on our cold porch...at least this was before the snow arrived...

If you're curious about details for how to put an easy quilt like this together, you can see the tutorial for Firecracker's larger quilt here.

You might also be interested in some of our favorite Hawaiian themed children's books here.

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Easy Star Cut-Out Cupcakes - A Tutorial

2012-02-01T05:38:00.000-08:00

I love finding ideas for super cute cupcakes...as long as they're easy. Because seriously, kid's love them if they're cute, but they'll be just as happy with a plain cupcake too.

I saw these really cute Valentine Cupcakes from Glorious Treats a couple weeks ago and loved the simplicity. As I was trying to decide what kind of cupcakes to bring for Firecracker's class on her birthday, I decided to try out some stars...since she'd asked for an outer-space party (that we had after school...more details from that one later.).

It turns out, I've decided these cupcakes are perfect for taking to a class party or church activity or whatever...

First off, since the frosting is mostly inside the cupcake, the kids don't get as much on their faces. Their teacher will thank you.
Secondly, since the frosting is mostly inside the cupcake, they're really easy to cover and transport (and keep in the fridge) if you're like me and don't have a fancy cupcake carrier.
Third...the kids hardly need more sugar and these keep the frosting to a minimum.
Last...the kids in Firecracker's class thought the cut-outs were really cool and had fun eating them.

I probably would have gone for making all chocolate cupcakes with the yellow stars...but there's a child allergic to chocolate in her class, so we made some vanilla cupcakes as well. (We have a soft spot for people with chocolate allergies since Grandpa has them too.) Since I'd made up some blue for the other cupcakes for Firecracker's birthday party, I used that to stand out against the vanilla better. With the blue and yellow these make me think of cub scouts too...and I'm sure any pack of cub scouts would LOVE some as much as Firecracker's class did.

You could make these for any theme that you can find a small cookie cutter for.

Here's what you do:
Start with a well-cooled cupcake. I used this tip from Six Sisters' Stuff to fill the cupcakes a little more full with batter and then cook them at 325 degrees instead of 350 to get a rounder cupcake. (Mine didn't get quite as round as theirs, but it still worked really well. It also worked better for the chocolate than for the vanilla...I have no idea why.)

Cut the top off with a serrated knife.

Press your cookie cutter through your cut off top.

Frost the cupcake. (I used Wilton lemon yellow to color the yellow. The blue is from two parts Wilton sky blue and one part Wilton purple.)

Put the top back on.

That's it.

For more quick and easy cupcake ideas, click here.

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You're Invited...Outer Space Party Invitations Tutorial

2012-01-31T07:04:00.000-08:00

I'll be sharing quite a few details from Firecracker's outer-space themed birthday party over the next few weeks. I decided not to do it all at once since it would be too much for one post...and I'm sure not every reader out there is into outerspace, so they'll be mixed in here and there with other posts. I thought the invitations would be a good place to start though.

I'm not much of a paper-crafter. I've never really gotten into scrapbooking or card making, and I don't have a fancy paper cutting machine. When Firecracker asked for an Outer Space party, I did some internet searching for some quick invitations. I found this one that I liked, but it required particular stamps that I didn't have, and we needed the invitations the next day. So here's my version...

Here's what I started with to make them:

2 pieces of 12x12 black cardstock
one piece of orange cardstock
rocket and earth clipart printed on white cardstock
invitation details printed on white cardstock
felt scraps
glow-in-the-dark paint (optional)

I had some black 12x12 cardstock and cut two of them into 6x6 squares giving me 8 pieces. Then I traced a small bowl on the corner of some orange cardstock to give me sun/planet shape and used the first one to trace and cut out matching ones for all the invites.

I found some rocket and planet earth clipart online, resized them in Word, and then printed those out on white cardstock and cut around them.

I wanted the rocket and earth to pop off the card a little, but I didn't have any of those pop-out-sticker-things, so I cut some felt into little pieces and hot-glued them between the invitation and the clipart.

Then I hot-glued the invitation details to the other side. The font I used with the stars is called Milky Way and can be downloaded from here.

Then as a final touch, I had some glow-in-the-dark paint handy, so I added some stars to the picture...you want to be sure to put it on thick to actually see it glow in the dark though.

I'll be sharing more details from Firecracker's Outer Space Party in the coming week or two, so be sure to check back if you have a budding space enthusiast at your house.

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Firecracker's Chocolate Cake-Pudding-Cream Cheese-Chocolate Chip-Coconut Trifle

2012-01-30T05:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is maybe a bit of a stretch to call this "Firecracker's" Recipe. It was certainly inspired by her though. We have a tradition in our house that Mom and Dad's birthday cakes are decorated by the kids. I figure why put all the work into making a "pretty" or "themed" cake for me or Hubby when we don't really care a whole lot about a cake one way or the other...and the kids LOVE getting to decorate it.

Firecracker has become a pretty good cook. She's mastered the cake-mix cake and has even moved on to making cookies from scratch...so for my birthday this year, we told her she was in charge of baking it. It took her a few extra days to get around to it, but she baked it yesterday afternoon with Daddy supervising while I took a nap. Then for some reason...who knows why kids come up with this...she decided to tear it up with a tooth pick, so by the time I saw the cake, it looked like this.

We could have made our typical 7-Minute Frosting and I'm sure it would have frosted just fine...7-Minute Frosting actually does a pretty good job of NOT stirring up crumbs...but the ripped up cake made me think of trifle...so we decided to make trifle.

I did some looking around on the internet and found a lot of delicious looking recipes...none of which did we have all the ingredients for. I figured it's probably pretty hard to mess up trifle since it's pretty much layering of several delicious things. I combined several ideas from different recipes, and we came up with our own version with the things we had in the cupboard and freezer.

So to all the thousands of trifle recipes on the internet, I'm adding:

Firecracker's Chocolate Cake-Pudding-Cream Cheese-Chocolate Chip-Coconut Trifle

which could also be called

Whatever-You-Find-in-the-Cupboard-and-Freezer-Trifle

Ingredients:
1-Prepared chocolate cake (We made ours from a cake mix.)
1-8 oz container Cool Whip, divided
1-3.9 oz package of Vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 cups milk
6 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. almond flavoring
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Toppings to Sprinkle (I used coconut and mini-chocolate chips...other options could include crumbled up vanilla wafers, oreos, or graham crackers.)

Directions:

You start by making the chocolate cake...or having your 7-year old make it. A lot of recipes I saw online used brownies instead of chocolate cake.

Vanilla pudding Layer: Mix your vanilla pudding with 1 1/2 cups of milk, and whip until smooth. (This was following the package directions, but using 1/2 cup less milk to make it thicker.) Stir in half the Cool Whip until smooth.

Cream Cheese-Chocolate Layer: Cream/whip 6 oz cream cheese, 1/4 cup of sugar, and 1/8 tsp almond flavoring. Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips in your microwave until barely melted. Add melted chocolate chips to cream cheese/sugar mixture and whip until thoroughly blended. Stir in the other half of the cool whip until smooth.

Layering:
1/4 of the chocolate cake
1/2 the vanilla pudding mixture
1/4 of the chocolate cake
1/2 the cream cheese/chocolate chip mixture
1/4 of the chocolate cake
1/2 the vanilla pudding mixture
1/4 of the chocolate cake
1/2 the cream cheese/chocolate chip mixture
Sprinkle the top with coconut and mini-chocolate chips.

Not the prettiest of trifles...but totally delicious. We still have half of it leftover in the fridge. If you read this soon enough, you're welcome to drop by and have some.

You could use pretty much any flavor pudding...or use white chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet mixed in with the cream cheese. Several recipes I looked through used sweetened condensed milk to mix in with the pudding.

And if you're interested in having your kids decorate a birthday cake, you can see my post here.

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Eiffel Tower Pendant from Lily and Oak	Girl with the Savior Print from Shirleen Bland's Art Studio	Binary Love Pendant from Boutique Academia

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Definitely Different Valentine's Gifts from Boutique Academia

2012-01-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

If you're a regular reader, you know we love math and science at our house. My degree is in chemistry and math and Hubby has a PhD in chemistry...so we're big nerds...and proud of it...

Which is why I love the jewelry and other products from Boutique Academia. Maile, the owner, is a friend I know personally from the time when Hubby was working on his PhD from UC Berkeley, and she has incredible taste.

So I wanted to show off some of the beautiful pieces she has in her shop in case you're looking for something a little different for Valentine's Day...or wondering where to send your significant other to find your gift. (And be sure to read all the way to the end for how to win a a $20 gift card to Boutique Academia.)

Here are a few of my favorites that would be great for Valentine's Day and then to keep wearing all year...

The Binary Love Necklace...with LOVE written in binary code.

The Anatomical Heart Necklace would be awesome as well.

Anyone familiar with the Infinity symbol will know why either of these Infinity Bracelets would make a perfect Valentine's gift.
Infinity Bracelet

Infinity Bracelet 2

Or even if you're not a huge science geek, you can still enjoy the beauty of these Glass Tile Rose Petal Cells Pendant. These flowers will never wilt or grow old.

Or maybe you're a night owl or astronomy fan and would want this Carpe Noctem Pendant (Sieze the Night)

If you're not the math or science type, but love Harry Potter as much as we do, you might like a Deathly Hallows Necklace (which is currently out of stock, so you can drop the hit for this one for your birthday, Mother's Day, or I-Can't-Believe-You-Forgot-Valentine's-Day).

And as you can probably guess...I tend toward showing off Boutique Academia's Pendants and Necklaces because I don't wear earrings.

But you'll want to be sure to browse Maile's selection of unique earrings as well.

Now if you'd like to win a $20 gift card to Boutique Academia, all you need to do is go to this Facebook post and leave a comment...that's all you have to do to enter. You can also get a second entry if you share the contest with your friends. And while you're there, be sure to "like" Boutique Academia on Facebook so you can be notified of new products and contests, as well as all the fun science and math links that Maile shares.

Nothing Like a Good Hawaiian Day...

2012-01-27T10:50:00.000-08:00

...when there's snow on the ground.

It does make for some funny pictures though.

If you're curious...her "dress" is actually an adult size wrap skirt from Goodwill, wrapped around her twice and tied at the shoulder.

Why is Hawaiian Day in January?!?!

I have no idea...but it occurred to me that maybe it's because then they don't have to worry about inappropriate clothing...because you'd be crazy not to put a shirt and pants (and snow boots!) on your kid underneath their Hawaiian clothes. (Okay, most of the kids probably did not wear snow boots since most of them don't walk to school.)

So after we took some fun pictures like this...

...We bundled Firecracker up like this...

And sent her off to school.

Then Sweet Pea wanted to dress up Hawaiian too, just like her big sister.

But she didn't want to take her pajamas off.

Then Little Brother wanted Hawaiian clothes...but his are packed away for the summer, so he has to settle for a backward Star Wars shirt...because why would he want the picture on the back of the shirt where he can't see it. Every time he wears this shirt...it has to be backward.

Happy Friday! Have a good weekend!

If you're having a Hawaiian day, you might be interested in checking out some of our favorite Hawaiian books.

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Sprouting Coconut Original Painting from nJoy Art	Handmade Buttons - Set of 20 Cool Colors - From The Red Kitchen	Tropical Fish Original Painting Set from nJoy Art

Favorite Valentine's Tutorials

2012-01-26T05:05:00.000-08:00

One of the nice things about having been blogging for a couple years is that now I can look back at the things we did a year or two ago. We've done some really fun projects that you might have missed if you're a new reader, so I thought I 'd highlight some great Valentine's Day projects and activities again. Some of these are traditional red and pink...but most are a little different from many that you'll see making the rounds...

My very favorite Valentine's Day projects are ones that work for Valentine's day...and then can keep being enjoyed the rest of the year too.

My kids still LOVE the Valentine shirts I made them last year. They wear them all the time.

For boys there's the Car Love Shirt...

And for girls...the I {Heart} Books Shirt...Check out the post for the free freezer paper stencil...and there is a short haired and longer haired version.

Some favorites from this year, include our little Valentine's Day Twig Tree...

These Melted Crayon Art LOVE tiles will be going in our playroom when Valentine's Day is over (and when they're finished building our house.)

Or you might want to make an I Love You to the Moon and Back Print for one of those hard-to-craft-for boys (or girls) you love.

I hadn't thought of these pajamas as being for Valentine's Day since I made them for my girls for Christmas...but they showed up on this Valentine's Round-Up on Babble...and they're right. These would be perfect for a Valentine's Day suprise.

If you're looking for something yummy and fun to serve up for dinner on Valentine's Day, you might try this Valentine's Pie...

...served up with cucumber salad and heart carrots.

And even though I really don't care to each those chalky conversation hearts...it's time to stock up because my kids asked to do these Conversation Heart Activities again when they saw the hearts in the store.

Or if you're looking for something for an adult in your life, you might want to whip up some of these Sewn Note Cards...

And finally...these are some fun cards I made for my Primary (children's class at church) class a couple years ago, personalized with each child's favorite color...

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Lovey Dovey Mega Bundle from Digi-doodle Doo	Red Rose on Damask Pendant from Lily and Oak	Anatomical Heart Pendant from Boutique Academia

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Solar System Quilt (Pattern Included)

2012-01-25T05:08:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time coming...but it's finally here...the details and templates for Little Brother's Solar System Quilt. (I've included a lot of pictures here at the beginning, but if you scroll down, all the nitty-gritty details are there about fabrics, the templates, and how to put it together.)

All three of my kids needed a nice quilt or bedspread to fit their current sized bed. They'd each outgrown their previous bed since getting a nice one. I knew if I didn't get them done before Christmas, it probably wouldn't happen for another year. Of course I could have gone and bought bedspreads...but the truth is that quilts are my absolutely favorite craft...and I don't make them all that often.

Little Brother used to LOVE cars, and he still likes them, but I wanted to branch out a little for his quilt. Recently he's been really interested in the sun and planets, so I thought a solar system quilt would be a fun challenge and a theme that could grow with him for a while. Besides my husband and I are complete math/science nerds (I taught math and chemistry before we had kids, and he's a high school science teacher), and we're doing our best to turn out kids into them as well...without them even realizing it.

Christmas morning after opening it...

Little Brother is super happy with his quilt and calls it his "Sun is a mass of quilt..." after this awesome song that he can sing pretty much by heart. (Like I said...we're turning them into nerds and they don't even know it.)

And as complicated as this quilt might look...it really went together really fast, since it's all applique except for the borders and sashing.

The hardest part of the whole thing was figuring out how to take a decent photograph of something that big...seriously...see what lengths my Hubby is willing to take to help me get some photographs. (It was a windy day so simply hanging it wasn't an option.)

Yep, Hubby is even more awesome than the quilt. ;)

Seriously, though, this is totally something do-able if you've got some basic sewing skills. I'm not going to give all the details about how to do applique here. I gave quite a few applique tips in this post about the Bird and Bunting Quilt I made for my youngest or you can see my satin stitch tutorial here.

I am going to give you the template and measurements to make a twin size quilt though. The finished size of this quilt is about 60 x 90 inches. That's a little on the small size for a twin quilt because this will be going on a loft bed once we move into our new house. If you want a quilt with more overhang, then you'll need to increase the size of the borders.

My husband and I wanted the quilt to be somewhat scientifically accurate while still being fun to look at...meaning we wanted the sizes of the planets to be relative...but to really make that accurate, you'd barely be able to see anything except the sun and maybe Jupiter. We also took some creative license with some of the colors to make it more fun to look at and to work with the fabric we had available.

I came up with the layout by gathering up a bunch of different sized bowls and laying them out until it looked right.

Fabric: For the top all fabrics were 100% cotton quilting fabrics. I pre-washed them and they DID shrink, so be sure not to skip the washing.

5 yards of your background fabric. (Enough for twice the length of your quilt between the yellow stripes and still leave some extra for shrinkage.) I used Robert Kaufman Stargazers in Midnight Blue from Joanns (make sure to get it on sale or use a coupon).
2 1/2 yards of of your sashing fabric (the yellow). You could get away with less if you want to do some piecing.
Scraps or fat quarters for the planets. The background/flame part of the sun took an entire fat quarter with barely any scraps. I tried to choose mostly abstract/random looking patterns and stay away from prints with things like floral designs. I usually buy fabric off the bolt rather than fat quarters because you get more fabric for your money...but in this case, I ended up mostly using fat quarters because the fabric colors/patterns of the fat quarters Jo-Anns had the day I went ended up being better for this. (I ended up not using all of these...and used some fabrics not shown that came from my stash.)

A 2-3 yards of Heat'n Bond Lite or similar product. (Sorry, I don't have an exact measurement for this one.)
For the back, I was super cheap and bought 4 yards of Broad cloth and had it go across the quilt with a strip of yellow in the middle to make up the difference.

Solar System Quilt Templates
Solar System Quilt Template - Earth
Solar System Quilt Template - Planet Sizes
Solar System Quilt Template - Saturn's Rings
Solar System Quilt Template - Sun Page 1
Solar System Quilt Template - Sun Page 2
Solar System Quilt Template - Moon Page 1
Solar System Quilt Template - Moon Page 2

Cutting your Fabric
The center blue panel used the entire width of the fabric (about 40 1/2 inches after it was shrunk some in the wash.) by 70 1/2 inches long.

I also cut two blue strips 8 1/2 inches wide and 70 1/2 inches long. As well as two blue strips 8 1/2 inches wide and the entire width of your fabric (for me that was 40 1/2 inches). (I actually cut these a little extra long just to give some wiggle room and then trimmed them.) You will also need four 8 1/2 inch squares.

I cut the yellow fabric into 2 1/2 inch strips. I didn't worry about trying to get the lengths exactly right. I just cut them a little extra long and then trimmed off the excess.

Putting your Quilt Together
For all seams I used 1/4 inch seam allowances and pressed the seams to one side.

I started by sewing the yellow strips onto the sides of the middle panel and trimmed their edges. Then I sewed the blue strips (8 1/2 inches by 70 1/2 inches) onto the sides.

Next I sewed yellow strips onto the top and bottom of the quilt and trimmed them.

Now you're going to make the pieced strips for the top and bottom. You'll sew an 8 1/2 inch blue square to a 8 1/2 inch by 2 1/2 inch yellow strip, then to an 8 1/2 inch by 40 1/2 inch blue strip, to another 8 1/2 inch by 2 1/2 inch yellow strip, and then to another 8 1/2 inch blue square. You'll do this twice...once for the top of the quilt and once for the bottom. Then sew these onto the quilt.

The Applique
I used Heat'n Bond Lite for my appliques. You'll need to trace the templates onto the papery side of your Heat'n Bond. You'll notice the template for the earth appears to be backward. This is because images traced on Heat'n Bond will appear in reverse. The earth is the only planet this will matter for, since all the others are just circles. For the earth, you will want to cut out the whole circle in blue and then the green land pieces will go over your blue circle.

When you're using the pieces for the moon, you'll need to cut out two full circles of white for the full moons, and two full circles of black for the new moons. For the waxing and waning moons, you'll need to cut out one black and one white version of each piece. Cut the white version out along the solid line and the black version out along the dashed line. Then when you put them together to make a moon, the white will overlap the black slightly. (And if you're looking to simplify the quilt...leaving the moons off entirely is always an option.) The moons are waxing at the top and waning at the bottom...and it doesn't matter if you turn the quilt around because they will still appear to be waxing at the top and waning at the bottom. (If you live in the southern hemisphere you'll want to orient them differently, though.)

You'll notice the white stitching goes over the black fabric...and I thought I did a decent job finding crater-like fabrics.

Once you have all your pieces traced onto the heat'n bond, cut them out, and iron them onto the BACK side of your planet fabrics. Then cut these out again. Peel the papery backing off.

To place the planets, I laid the quilt base out on my living room floor and moved the planets around until I was happy with their placement. I've always loved quilts that break beyond their borders a bit, so I had the planets extend over the yellow sashing. This also gives a little more room for the solar system to spread out. You could easily leave the phases of the moons off and have the solar system extend into the ends as well.

Once I was happy with their placement, I ironed them lightly, right there on my floor (make sure your carpet can tolerate it.) It was enough just to keep them in their places while I moved it to the ironing board to iron them on more thoroughly. Make sure to CHECK ALL THE EDGES to make sure they seal. It will make the sewing a lot easier.

Then I used a satin stitch with matching thread to sew around the edges of each planet and moon.

Here are some close-ups of the rest of the planets to give you a better look at the stitching and fabric choices...

The sun...

Mercury...

Venus

Earth...

Mars (known as the red planet...so you'll probably want to use something red)...

Jupiter...I was super happy to find this fabric...I think it looks like it's got the storm spot.

Saturn... and a close-up of it's ring(s).

Uranus...

Neptune (typically blue)...

And even though Pluto has become the outcast and is no longer classified as a planet, we included it on the very edge of the quilt. I think it's more of a "rock" color, but we made it purple since it's so far away and dark.

Quilting
I machine quilted this on my regular old sewing machine...you don't need a fancy machine for it. I did use most of the tips from this basting tutorial from Heidi at Honeybear Lane. Let me tell you...I AM IN LOVE with BASTING SPRAY. I can't imagine trying to machine quilt all the circles in this solar system quilt on my little machine without it. There wasn't a single pucker on any of them. After reading different reviews online, I ordered Sullivan's basting spray when it was on sale a Joanns. Since it's the only kind I've tried, I can't say it's the best...but I can say that it works and I love it.

I did all the quilting on the blue background fabric with navy blue machine quilting thread. I sewed around each planet and moon (not through the moons or the sashing though) and around the sides edges of the sashing. It's really hard to tell in most of the pictures, but I also quilted the orbit lines of each planet. (You can see them a little in some of the close-ups and in this picture of the back.) I was hoping the orbit lines would show up a little more, so I may go back and quilt those with white thread...or I may not.

I made my own binding using extra from the background fabric. Dana's tutorial on MADE for more details about how to do that. The only thing I did different is that I didn't cut mine on the bias. (That's okay if you're just binding straight edges, but if you're using it for curves you'll want to make true bias tape.)

And once the ideas started flowing for his quilt, I've started adding some other spacey details to Little Brother's room, and I'm sure I'll be adding a few more after we move into his "real" room.

(That fun felt board was a Christmas present from Grandma Kathy, and she got the idea from Pink and Green Mama here.)

But for now he is completely happy with his quilt and new pictures for his walls.

You can see see more details about how I put together the "I Love You to the Moon and Back" print here. The other spacey artwork in his room came from nJoy Art.

As soon as I saw this solar system print, I knew we needed it to go with the quilt, especially since it has a bit more whimsy. (This print is not currently offered in her shop, but Nicola of nJoy Art loves custom orders, so she could probably paint you another.)

If you have any questions about how I put the quilt together feel free to ask in a comment (PLEASE make sure I can email you back...it makes me sad when people ask a question and their email comes up as no-reply... You can also email me questions directly.)

I've also got some other fun outer-space themed posts coming up, so be sure to check back.

If you'd like to to see some other solar system quilt inspiration, check out my quilts board on Pinterest.

You can also see more of my quilting projects here.

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Personalized Rocket Plaque from nJoy Art

Faith in God Makes Me Stronger from Shirleen Bland's Art Studio

Flying Saucer Original Painting from nJoy Art

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Child Decorated Burp Cloths

2012-01-24T05:34:00.000-08:00

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that burp cloths are one of my favorite baby shower gifts. They're easy, inexpensive, and they're rarely a "duplicate" gift...at least not at the showers I go to.

So we came up with another variation...

Firecracker's birth mom is due with a baby girl next month, so I was trying to figure out something that Firecracker could make for her half-sister.

I sewed the burp cloths and then handed them over to Firecracker with a sharpie and let her do some decorating.

I think they turned out pretty cute, and Firecracker was happy to get to decorate them herself.

She drew Alanna (her birthmom) and her husband, herself, and the new baby.

And of course they got wrapped up with some brown paper and scrappy wrapping (see here for other scrappy wrapping ideas).

You can click here for more burp cloth gift ideas.

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I Love You to the Moon...and Back - Boys (or Anyone) Valentine Art

2012-01-23T06:37:00.000-08:00

This started out as a project I was going to do anyway, but then realized it could make a great Valentine's gift for those hard-to-craft for boys, husbands, or otherwise awesomely nerdy people you love.

Even more so if they happen to be familiar with Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney.

Little Brother remembered the book as soon as I told him what the frame said.

...and it's SO EASY to put together.

And now our Valentine's Mantel looks like this (since Firecracker is letting us use her's for a bit before hanging it in her room.)

(You can find the tutorial for the Melted Crayon LOVE tiles here and the Twig Valentine Tree here.)

Those who follow my Pinterest boards might have noticed I pin some weird things. Part of me wishes that there was a way to have some private boards, so I could pin things for upcoming projects that might not make sense to other people...besides a way to share lovely ideas, it's also how I save a link so I can make sure to reference it in a future post. For instance, a while ago, I pinned this necklace to my "For Boys" board because I thought it would make a great message for something to go in Little Brother's increasingly space themed room. (And half the stuff I pin to my "For Boys" board is really intended for my daughters...but that's my own fault for the way I categorize things.)

Anyway, since Firecracker asked for a space-themed birthday party, I figured it was a good time to try out some ideas. Then I realized this would make a perfect Valentine's gift for a space or science loving boy (or girl) in your life.

I had three prints made...one for Firecracker (since it was her birthday),

one for Little Brother (since he's getting the spacey room),

The other awesome spacey prints here came from nJoy Art.

...and one extra in case I messed up...and since I didn't mess up badly Hubby will get this for his office at school.

So there are three slightly different versions to inspire you.

Since I already had the frames on hand (either picked up at Goodwill a while ago for $2-3) or hand-me-downs from my mom, all I had to pay for were the prints and the silver paint pen. I could have printed them off at home, but I hated to think of all the black ink it would take, so I opted to take take them to Staples to have them printed.

Here's what you need to do to make your own:

Print of the moon
Frame with or without a mat
Silver Paint Pen

I did a Google Image search for large moon photos. The moon image I used came from this site. (You'll need to follow that link and then click on the picture where it says "My best moon photograph" for the large version.) I also found some neat images here and here that would be large enough to print. As far as I could tell it was okay to use images from these sites for personal use. I used Photoshop to crop the picture to an 8x10 size and took it to Staples. If you don't have Photoshop, don't worry...you can also crop images in Word or many other programs. I ended up having them print it on pearlized cardstock so that the white parts would be a little shiny...but it had to go through their color copier. They ended up costing $1.39 each + tax.

I really like the black frames. I'm not super happy with the frame that has the mat...I like having a mat, I just wish the frame and mat were more black/grey tones, but that was what I had in my garage and I figure I can re-frame it later.

Here's what I did:
You could totally do the writing free-hand...but I was afraid I would mess up. Instead, for the print with the writing on the print itself, I printed out the words on regular computer paper. (I used "Rage Italic" for the font.)

Then I laid the text over the print where I wanted it to go, and wrote over the computer paper with the ball point pen.

This left a slight impression on the print itself that I could trace over with the paint pen.

Then I just cut around the edge and framed it.

For the others, I thought I'd try putting the text on the frame itself, since they were black. Tracing the text with a ballpoint pen didn't leave an imprint, so instead I did some old school transferring. I remember using this for things back in elementary school. I scribbled with a pencil on the back of the paper...

...lined the text up on the frame where I wanted it, and traced over it with a pencil.

The scribbling on the back will then leave a faint pencil line on your frame.

Trace over it with your paint pen...and that's it.

For the last and final frame, I decided to wing it and just use my own handwriting. It turned out pretty even...if not as scripty looking.

I think my favorite is the one where I wrote on the frame with the script font. I also love how it looks with Little Brother's other spacey artwork in his room.

The solar system print just arrived a couple days ago from nJoy Art...

...along with the sweet surprise of the two extra smaller prints, so they all got framed and hung up at the same time.

These same pieces are no longer listed in her shop, but Nicola of nJoy Art still has this Flying Saucer Painting available as well as some friendly monster paintings, robot paintings, and transportation paintings. (And there are lots of girl and grown-up themed paintings as well.

If you REALLY want a solar system painting from nJoy Art though, she loves commissioned pieces, so she could probably paint you a new one.

Little Brother's room is really starting to look out of this world...if only he had an actual bed. (The story on that is that we were looking for the right bed...and then decided to have our new house designed so he'll have a loft bed built right into his closet, so now we're not buying a bed now and he'll have a totally awesome bed in a few months.)

But for now he is completely happy with his quilt and new pictures for his walls.

And in case you're wondering about that amazing felt board...it was a present from Grandma Kathy for Christmas, and she got the idea from Pink and Green Mama here.

And I promise the details and pattern about his solar system quilt ~~are coming soon...very soon.~~ are posted here.

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Rocket Ship Original Painting from nJoy Art

Faith in God Makes Me Stronger from Shirleen Bland's Art Studio

Carpe Noctem Necklace from Boutique Academia

Spectacular Scent Melts: Clearance @ Lily and Oak

2012-01-21T05:40:00.000-08:00

I just got into scent melts this year, through my friend Lisa. At first I wasn't so sure about them because I've never been a candle-person. Candles kind of freak me out because of the fire danger and having kids around. Scent melts are a great alternative, and I have loved having them in my home.

I've mentioned Lisa's scent melts before, and every scent I've tried has been delightful.

And if you're wishing for spring the way I am, some of her floral scents will help it feel more springy in your home...

...even if it's still cold, snowy, and overcast outside. I can't wait for the tulips to show up in my yard again. (I took this last April.)

If you're already a scent melt lover...or have been hoping to try some...this is a great time to stock up. My friend Lisa changed the name of her shop a while ago from Scrapbug Designs to Lily and Oak.

She's putting all of her "Old Label" scent melts on clearance for over 55% off her already great prices. For just $1.75 you can get a 6-melt clamshell of some of her best scents. These scents are not being discontinued...just the labels on them. This is a great opportunity to try out Lisa's products.

Or if you're looking for a particular scent, be sure to check out her entire selection of scent melts here.

Lisa also has some other fun products that she just put on clearance, so be sure to check out her whole clearance section, including the same style scent melter that you use. (Red is no longer in stock, but there are still lots of other great colors.)

Lisa also offers a lot of other great products. Her glass tile pendants are beautiful...and she even offers a custom glass tile pendant option. Last year, I had her make these pendants for my kids' birth moms as a Mother's Day gift.

And I love Lisa's new selection of metal tray pendants.

Each pendant is made to order, so you'll get exactly what you want.

Snow Day! - Snow Activities to do Indoors

2012-01-20T05:28:00.000-08:00

I know a lot of us are getting snow this week, so I thought I'd share some fun activities to keep your kiddos busy.

We've just had our first real snowfall of the year. Yesterday was a snow day and we just got the phone call that today is too! (A perk of having a husband for a teacher is getting a personal early morning phone call informing us of schedule changes.)

We spent most of the day yesterday getting caught up on some house work and just relaxing in general. I also got some "final" pictures of several new projects I'm excited to share with you over the next few weeks.

Firecracker went and played outside for a little while, but was driven in by the cold fairly quickly. Little Brother and Sweet Pea never did make it outside into the snow...but there will be plenty left for today.

Last year I shared how to make Best Ever Snowflakes using coffee filters. I've still got some coffee filters left over from last year, so I think we'll be making more of these today.

A few days ago (when I thought we might not be getting snow this year...HA!) we tried an idea from Christianne at Little Page Turners to use marshmallows to have fun with "snow." You've really got to check out her post to see the igloo her daughter made...and Christianne has a lot of other fun winter activities and books that are work check ing out.

I knew my kids would have fun, but was impressed with just how into it they got.

Firecracker made the most detailed figures...

...a snowman...

...and this snow dog friend.

And then a snow rainbow to finish it off.

Little Brother got super involved into making his snowflakes...

And I was especially surprised at how well Sweet Pea did all on her own. She lined them up and then came up with the idea that it was the path to Firecracker's school all on her own.

Of course building with them was not the only thing we did...

Of course, whether or not you have snow outside, you can also pretend play with snow inside...and it's a lot warmer. This is Little Brother and his birth mom building a snowmen inside during her visit a little over a year ago.

And it doesn't have to be snow-themed to make a good snowy day activity. Head over to my Children's book page for links to tons of different activities to do with kids.

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Scent Melts from Lily and Oak	Girl with the Savior Print from Shirleen Bland's Art Studio	Set of 4 Printable Flashcards (PDF) - Alpha, #'s, Shapes, and Colors - From The Red Kitchen

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Peas in a Pod Pendant Tutorial

2012-01-19T05:25:00.000-08:00

Just in case you missed it, I thought I'd repost my tutorial for this Peas in a Pod Pendant that appeared on Keeping It Simple last week. These are quick, easy, and inexpensive to make.

Peas in a Pod Pendant...

My oldest two kids (ages 6 and 4) are adopted in open adoptions, so I'm always on the lookout for simple, but meaningful gifts for their birth parents. My daughter's birth mom was married this year and is pregnant with a little girl, so I made her a "Three Peas in a Pod" necklace, which can symbolize herself, my daughter, and her new baby or can symbolize herself, her husband, and new baby.

I made a "Two Peas in a Pod" necklace for my son's birth mom to symbolize the two of them.

A "Four Peas in a Pod" somehow showed up in my own stocking to symbolize my three kids and our baby on the way.

And I made several other necklaces as well...once you've made one, it's super easy to make more. You can make them with any number of beads, but the ones I made with two or three turned out the best. (My first one also didn't turn out nearly as well as the others...so if one doesn't turn out as well as you were hoping...you've really got to try a second.

I saw some Peas in a Pod necklaces floating around Pinterest and went looking for some tutorials. My favorites were this Sweet Pea Pendant from Positively Splendid and this Pea Pod Charm from Heidi's Hubbub. You can also find a lot of different Peas in a Pod necklaces on Etsy for inspiration and other ideas.

Here's what you'll need:

Some craft wire...I used 24 gauge, but any gauge close to that will work.
Some beads...I chose green. They came with about 20+ beads on a string for about 3 dollars. I've seen these made with white or lots of other colors too.
Wire cutters, or old scissors to cut the wire with
Needle nose pliers can be helpful, but are not necessary.
A chain for the necklace, if you don't already have one. I bought mine for $2 each at the craft store.

Here's what you do...
I used the directions from Amy at Positively Splendid for the first half, and then changed the second half a bit, so you might want to refer to her tutorial too, if something doesn't make sense here.

You'll want to start with a LOT of wire...24-36 inches. If you find that's too long for you to be able to work with, though, you can work with shorter segments and just twist the ends into the back and start a new wire.

Start by making a loop with your wire, that's just a little bigger than what you need to go around your beads. Wrap the wire around several times.

Twist your short tail back down around the stem and loop.

With the long wire you have left, fashion a small look that can be used to hang your pendant from your necklace. Twist the wire around the stem a couple more times.

Now we're going to weave the wire in and out through our big loop to make the back of our pod.

Keep weaving the wire, until you've loosely filled in your large loop.

Next, I wrapped the wire around the end, to make a small loop for threading wire through, in the next phase.

Now we're going to string our beads on.

Wrap the wire around your stem a couple times.

Now we're going to make several larger loops by running wire through the small loop at the bottom and twisting it back up around the stem.

You'll want to make 3-5 of these larger loops which will be the basis of the sides of our pea pod.

Wrap the wire around the top stem a couple times. Now we're going to start wrapping those larger loops to bundle them all together with little loops.

Continue wrapping with the little loops until you've gotten all the way around your pea pod.

Pull your wire through the back.

Trim and work the wire back through the pod.

Pull tight and cut the wire close to the pod and make sure the end, isn't sticking out where it could catch on clothing or scratch the wearer.

String it on a necklace, and you're done!

And if you're looking for a cute way to give one of these as a gift, you can see my tutorial here for using the same beads and wire to make bows or ties around your gift.

And if you're looking for a sweet little nursery painting to go along with a Pea in a Pod Necklace, nJoyArt offers a boy Sweet Pea ...

And a girl Sweet Pea...

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The Many Faces of Firecracker

2012-01-18T05:50:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you try to take a picture of one little hair clippy?

This...

I've mentioned many times that our older two kids are adopted. It's easy for us to know where some of their looks came from...

For instance, Firecracker's smile here looks just like her birth mom's.

The shape of her face and near-sighted vision came from her birthfather.

Some traits we know she got from all of us...like her brains. ;)

Behavior is a little harder to determine though...We never know which of their traits are inherited from their birth families and which are learned from us. In the end, it really doesn't matter, and it's likely a combination of the amazing genes they got and the awesome parenting they're getting.

But Firecracker's birth mom was famous for wacky photos...especially while she was in college, her Facebook albums were full of funny faces with her roommates...

...so...Alanna,I'm blaming this on you. ;)

(The tutorial for the melted crayon LOVE tiles in the background can be found here.)

All these pictures to try to get a peak at one of the hair clippies Alanna sent Firecracker for Christmas. I'll have to get more details from her on how she made them because they're really cute and maybe even more importantly, stay in her hair REALLY well.

Thanks, Alanna!

We LOVE YOU!

And as wonderful as those hair clippies are...we THANK YOU even more for bringing this beautiful, wacky, and amazing girl to our family! We just finished (last night, as I'm writing this) having her girly outerspace-solar system-stars themed birthday party. It's been a crazy day...but the girls had a lot of fun...and I'm tired...so I'll leave the mess for tomorrow and there will be plenty of pictures to follow later (like I'll probably be cleaning it up as you're reading this post.)

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Love Rules Original Painting from nJoyArt	Girl with the Savior Print from Shirleen Bland's Art Studio	Binary Love Pendant from Boutique Academia

Volcanos, High Tides, & Coconut Trees: Favorite Books about Hawaii

2012-01-17T05:44:00.000-08:00

It was just a little over a year ago that Firecracker and I went to Hawaii to attend her birth mom's wedding. Firecracker's birth family has quite a few connections to Hawaii, it was a fun trip to take. I also just recently finished Firecracker's Hawaiian Stripes Quilt, made from fabric she chose while we were there.

So I thought I'd share some of our favorite Hawaiian themed books.

Grandma Calls Me Beautiful by Barbara M. Joosse is a favorite. Actually just about every book by Barbara M. Joosse is a favorite with us. We were first introduced to one of her books by Firecracker's birth mom. It uses imagery from Hawaiian culture for a Grandmother to tell her granddaughter how much she loves her and how beautiful she is.

High Tide in Hawaii by Mary Pope Osbourne is part of the Magic Tree House series. While this particular book is quite similar to the others, Firecracker was especially drawn to this one because it's set in ancient Hawaii. Overall, I've been impressed by the Magic Tree House Series. They're great first chapter books for early readers. Firecracker can read one in an hour or so if she's focused, and she learns little facts along the way as she reads the books.

And I don't know if Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault is really set in Hawaii or not...but the letters are going up the coconut tree. This has been a favorite of all our kids, and the rhythm makes it a fun book for me to read aloud to our kids.

And finally...I think this one is my favorite of all...Dear Katie, The Volcano Is a Girl by Jean Craighead George . It intermingles the telling the Hawaiian legends along with the scientific explanation of how the Hawaiian Islands were formed, and has beautiful illustrations. Of course the main character's name was appealing to Firecracker too. I made sure to bring it with us on our trip. We only visited Oahu while we were there, so we weren't able to go to any erupting volcanoes, but we did get to see some volcanic rock up close...

...and have a relaxing little picnic inside the Diamondhead Crater

...and read Dear Katie, The Volcano Is a Girl while sitting in a tree inside a volcano's crater.

And in case you're not able to find this book at your library...here's a pretty good read-aloud video of it.

Do you have some favorite Hawaiian themed books?

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Sprouting Coconut Original Painting from nJoy Art	Handmade Buttons - Set of 20 Cool Colors - From The Red Kitchen	Tropical Fish Original Painting Set from nJoy Art

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EASY Hawaiian Stripes Quilt - How To...

2012-01-16T05:07:00.000-08:00

All three kids needed a quilt or bedspread to fit their bed this year because they'd each moved up a size since their last one. Thankfully, Little Brother's and Firecracker's should last for a long time, since they're now in a twin size bed. I knew if I didn't get the quilts made for Christmas, it would be a long time before I got them done, since we'll be moving into our new house and having a new baby...all in a couple months.

A year ago, Firecracker and I went to Hawaii for her birth mom's wedding. While we were there we went to the big swap meet (seriously the place to go for cheap souvenirs when you're in Hawaii). Knowing then that Firecracker needed a nice bed spread, I let her choose some fabric. Firecracker's birth family has a lot of ties to Hawaii, and I thought it would be a fun way to remember the trip, rather than some cheap tourist trinkets (although we brought home a few of those too.) Then the fabric sat under my bed for pretty much a whole year.

I knew I needed to choose a simple pattern if I was going to be able to get three quilts done. Plus the big floral prints are so big and bright that I thought it would look too busy if I tried to do a pattern with more detailed piecing. I searched Pinterest for some easy quilt ideas and pinned them to my quilt board.

I had the yellow and brown solids in my stash, but there wasn't a lot left. They weren't quite long enough, so those strips are pieced together a little and I kept them thin, so they'd go farther. I think they help break up some of the flowers. And the quilt is still big and bright and busy...which is just how Firecracker is.

This quilt is approximately 60 inches by 90 inches. That's a little on the small side for a twin quilt, but Firecracker sleeps in a loft bed, so a lot of overhang on the sides would get in the way of the bars. This is just big enough to tuck in at the ends and around the sides of the mattress.

So here's what you'll need...

Decide how wide you want your quilt. Since mine was 60 inches wide, I started with two yards of each fabric, because it will shrink a little when you pre-wash it. You can get away with buying less fabric, but then you'll need to do some piecing to get long enough strips. (I had a lot less of the yellow and brown, so I had to piece those together.) 2 yards of 3 different fabrics gave me enough for the 90 inch long quilt, plus some strips left over for another project.

Then I cut out strips the length of my fabric using a quilting ruler and rotary cutter. I liked the randomness of varied widths, so I my smallest strips were about 2 inches wide, and I think my widest strips were 9 inches wide.

Once I had my strips cut out, I laid them out on the floor and arranged them the way I liked them.

Then I started sewing. I made sure to always start sewing from the same side and have it trimmed and even. The other side, came out with different lengths because that just happened to be the lengths of the strips.

After sewing each seam, I pressed the seams to one side. I find that easier than pressing them open.

Once the whole thing was sewn together, carefully folded the quilt in half and used the even side to trim the uneven side. You'll also want to be sure to measure after it's folded to make sure that the even side really is even.

The trimming was probably the hardest part of making the whole quilt.

For the back, I decided the cheapest way to buy the fabric was to buy 4 yards of fabric (just over double my width). Then I cut that into two 2-yard lengths. Since the fabric was just under 45 inches inches wide, it wasn't quite long enough for the quilt, so I used some extra floral strips to fill it in. A little nontraditional, but I like the interest it gives the back of the quilt.

To prepare the quilt for quilting, I used basting spray. I'd never heard of it until reading this basting tutorial from Heidi at Honeybear Lane. I love the stuff...and I don't think I'll ever be able to go back. She mentioned using pins to make sure the sides were secure...I didn't use a single pin and the basting spray held it perfectly.

I used bright pink machine quilting thread to machine quilt it...and I don't have a fancy sewing machine or anything. I just rolled the sides in.

I love the subtle decorative touch it adds.

And even though Firecracker got the simplest of quilt designs...she was thrilled with it Christmas morning.

I had fun using some of the scraps and trimmings to embellish the wrapping.

And she didn't even remember helping me choose the fabric.

The biggest challenge may be that she's used to dragging her quilts all over the house...and we're going to insist that this one stays on her bed...

(My mom made that cute blue neck buddy for Firecracker for Christmas. You can find out more about the pattern on her blog here.)

...because it's actually a little difficult to "make" a loft bed. Click here if you'd like to see our favorite children's books about Hawaii.

(We love the front-facing bookshelves we put by each of the girls' bed. They're great for holding books, a sippy cup, etc. You can find the tutorial to make them here.)

If you're thinking of making a quilt from strips, here are some of the quilts that I pinned for inspiration. Ultimately, I went for more of the look of this first one...although I love all the embroidery on the last.

Stripey Quilt from Alexis at Fifi and Florence.

Stripey Quilt from at Noodlehead

400 Kids Made This Quilt from the long thread.

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Sprouting Coconut Original Painting from nJoy Art	Handmade Buttons - Set of 20 Cool Colors - From The Red Kitchen	Tropical Fish Original Painting Set from nJoy Art

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A Frog Prince: Favorite Fairy Tale

2012-01-14T05:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I shared how to make an easy little Valentine Tree with twigs and felt scraps as well as sharing the rest of the mantel...

Which also included our melted crayon LOVE tiles.

...and also this little painted stone frog.

Firecracker was the one who thought he should be included. (He'd previously lived on the bookshelf next to the mantel.)

When I got to thinking about it, he did seem to fit on a Valentine's mantel, because it reminded me to pull out one of my favorite fairy tales.

A Frog Prince by Alix Berenzy

I first came across this book as a teenager when I worked at the local library shelving books. I'd keep my eye out for particularly amazing children's books thinking I'd build a stash for someday when I had kids. I only ended up actually buying a couple (those were the days before the internet was big and cheap used books were easy to find), but this was one of them.

The story starts out like the traditional Frog Prince story, but has an unusual and endearing twist...and the illustrations are gorgeous! The frog retrieves a ball from the bottom of a pond for a distraught (and very spoiled) princess who promises to be his friend and have him as a guest in the castle. However, instead of turning into a prince when the princess is mean to him, the frog decides to go on a quest to find a princess who will truly appreciate him and see him for what he is. After several kind, noble, and brave deeds, he eventually finds his princess asleep in a castle.

His kiss wakes her up, and she sees his princely character, even though is is just an "ordinary frog in fancy clothes."

And they are married and live happily ever after.

I think it has a great message about appearances and what truly makes people worth having as a friend.

Firecracker read the whole thing herself said her favorite part is when the nasty witch gets her eyes pecked out by the birds helping the frog escape.

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Modern Art Heart Original Painting from nJoyArt	Girl with the Savior Print from Shirleen Bland's Art Studio	Binary Love Pendant from Boutique Academia

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nJoyArt: New Sponsor Spotlight

2012-01-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

If you follow me on Pinterest (my Cakes and Party Ideas Board in particular) , you might have guessed that we have some kind of space party coming up at our house. Little Brother got his solar system themed quilt (I promise...the post about it with the pattern ARE coming) as well as several other solar system themed gifts for Christmas, which inspired Firecracker to ask for a solar system themed birthday party.

Which led me to searching the for various solar system and space graphics...which led me to this original painting...

Rocket Ship by nJoy Art

...and then this one...

Flying Saucer by n Joy Art

And then by the time I saw this amazing Solar System Print, I knew I wanted it for Little Brother's wall to go with the quilt...it's in the mail...and I.CAN'T.WAIT for it to show up in my mailbox.

nJoy Art has a lot more to offer than just Space and Solar System art, though, so I emailed Nicola to see if she'd be interested in becoming a sponsor, so I'd have an excuse to show her amazing work off to all of you.

And she said, YES!

So I'm pleased to introduce Nicola of nJoy Art as the newest sponsor of Helping Little Hands! (And make sure to read to the end of the post to find out how you could win an amazing painting of your own.)

Nicola has almost 100 different works of art listed in her shop, and nearly all of her pieces are the original works of art, with a few prints available.

Here's just a small sampling of what you'll find.

All sorts of children's pieces

Peace Love by nJoy Art

Flowers are Natures Way of Laughing by nJoy Art

Monster Pair by nJoy Art

Butterfly Kisses on Poppy by nJoy Art

Bro-Bots by nJoy Art

Amazing pieces for YOU

POPPIES, 36x24 Acrylic Canvas by nJoy Art

GOLD LEAVES, 24x36 Acrylic Canvas

And several that would be great for Valentine's gifts that could stay up all year.

Lovebirds at Sunset by nJoy Art

Modern Art Heart by nJoy Art

And once you're finished drooling over all of her amazing paintings, Nicola's offering a chance to win one! Once her Facebook page reaches 300 "likes," she'll be giving away one amazing piece of original art to one lucky Facebook follower, and you get to vote on which piece it will be. Go here to "like" nJoy Art on Facebook. Then go here to vote on your favorites by "liking" the individual paintings.