A Quiet Place

I've been working on putting together a quiet place for my children over the last week or so. You can read about the beginning of this here.

It's amazing how noisy a little one's life can be if you think about it. Background media noise, crying children, noisy pets, constant bus or car chatter, classroom activities, and flashing gadgets are just a few. None of these things on their own a necessarily a bad thing, but combined together into one full day can be stressful. I know I can't handle constant stimulus, so I don't think it's fair to assume my children can handle it either. Which leads me to their "Quiet Space".

We had a tent set up for the kids to play in, but it ended up just turning into a catch-all for a bunch of stuffed animals, that really, no one ever went near, except for the dog. I cleared all of toys out and only held onto a few favorites. I put a few of the most loved books inside the tent, along with one or two stuffies, and a really soft "Sherpa" rug (I don't have the funds right now to buy anything new, so I had to scavenge around the house and found this scrap piece of fabric from an old project), which in time will be replaced with the real thing.

I also compiled a bunch of books to keep in a wooden box outside of the tent in case they want more choices.

So far, it's worked out really well. I showed both of them the updated tent, eh, quiet place, and what it was for. Explaining that if they want to go somewhere to relax, or calm down, and not have worry about anything else, that's where to go. I have made a promise to both of them that if one is inside and needs to be alone, I will make sure the other stays out until they are ready. I have only had to do that one time so far. Right now, I think they are just both enjoying the "new" space, and have been sharing it well.

Now, if I could just have my own "quiet place"...

Fairy Wee Folk

Hannah is just obsessed with Fairy's, she loves them, and thinks she is one for that matter. So, it only made sense to have her big Christmas gift this year be Fairy related. We decided on this, and absolutely love it! (I know she won't be checking my blog any time soon, so it's safe to share, lol). It's made of wood and constructed well, so there is no worry of chemicals and lead paint. It will hopefully be a toy she can one day pass on to her own children.

And so, this brings me to the actual fairy part. Though the fairy's made by the same company as the lodge are cute, I had come across some that I liked a bit more in a book called Felt Wee Folk by Salley Mavor.

Oh how I love this book! Not only does it give great detailed instructions, but the images are just beautiful! Salley Mavor does an excellent job creating scenes from her Wee Folk that instantly draw the reader in. Case in point, my 5 year old, who is sooo not into dolls, as he'll tell you, couldn't put the book down. He sat in his chair, head down, and lightly ran his fingers over the glossy pages, only stopping to look up at me to ask if we could make them. All of them. He's especially drawn to Hanzel and Gretel and the Pirates.

There are also instructions for making felt pins and purses. The projects start out very basic and easy enough for a child - so don't be intimidated. I will admit, it took me a while to put together this fairy, but I'm pretty sure it's because I had no clue what I was doing in the beginning. But I am proud of my very first fairy, and know there will be more. Actually, I don't think I have much of a choice. Between Austin and Hannah, I have my Wee Folk work cut out for me. My husband wants some for our Christmas tree too -which I think would look really cute. If you're interested, you can find the book here.

**Just a quick note, these have small parts, and children under 3 should be closely supervised if playing with them.**

Have a great day!

Insulated Coasters & Upcycling

First and foremost, I just want to say, I'm not too proud of these. I was a little bummed with the bias tape and how cruddy it handled (eh, "I" handled) the corners. I'm sure all it boils down to is that I put it on wrong - I'll have to search that.

But, what I am happy about, is that we had a small problem, and I was able to fix it for free, using materials we already had around the house. I get sooo excited about doing things like that.

We recently purchased a lava lamp for my 2 year old daughter. She has been having trouble sleeping at night, and I thought the slowly flowing globs of color might soothe her a bit. If you have ever owned a lava lamp, you know that the bottom gets very, very hot. So hot, that it made me nervous to leave it on at night for her (which was the reason we bought it).

My solution?

Insulated tiny hot pads!
I made six, even though we only have one lava lamp. I just can't help myself sometimes. But we have found other uses for them. They fit perfectly under my coffee and tea mugs - yea! And if you ask my children, well, they are quite possibly the very best flying saucers they have ever owned.

It was really simple to do. I used one of Hannah's old flannel baby blankets for the outer material. Then, as batting, I took a stained old towel and sandwiched it in between the flannel fabric, pinned it down and quilted the three pieces together following the pattern on the flannel fabric. You could also just do straight lines every inch or so. Using a compass, I drew circles directly onto the quilted piece and then cut them out. I pinned on some thrifted bias tape, sewed it on, and wah-la!

What have you thrown together in a pinch lately? Please share in the comments section!

Take care!

Applesauce Our Way

I'm not quite sure what got into me yesterday, buy my goodness was I in the mood to cook! I think I spent more than half the day in the kitchen (thanks Chris!). I had a little kid help too, which is always fun. We made bread and buns (using this book), more rice pudding (oh dear!), pizza, and the hit of the day, applesauce. Applesauce is sooooo easy, and after you have it homemade, it's almost impossible to go back to store bought. Give it a try, trust me, you'll be happy.

What you need:
6 Medium Sized Apples
1 Cup Water
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
Sweetener (optional - I use 12 drops of liquid Stevia)

Slice and core your apples - we leave the skins on.

Put apple slices, water, cinnamon and sweetener in a large stock pot. Cook covered over medium heat for 20 minutes or until the apples are soft enough to mash.

Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Transfer to a blender and puree, or use an immersion blender in your stock pot.

That's it!

Enjoy!

Right Now

No words, just images from our week...

Have a wonderful weekend!

Just a Little Bit More

I am on a mission to redo Austin and Hannah's bathroom for as little as possible - where money is concerned anyway. I found this super cute fabric at a local store on clearance, and ended up paying about $2 for two yards. I love it! Look at those cute blue birds and graphic trees - they make me smile.

So, here are two of the projects for that room. The hand towels above were super easy, and took about 30 minutes to finish them both (with Hannah crawling up legs and on and off of my lap). To make your own, just measure your hand towel (I found these in our closet, we haven't used them in years. I just got lucky with the color) and add 1/2" in the height to accommodate a 1/4" seam allowance on the top and bottom. Sew across, and once you get to your edges, trim, fold them under, press and then top stitch.

The second picture is a bath mat (a.k.a. the kids old hand towels). I know this project is from Amanda Soule, but I'm not sure which book it was in. My guess is Handmade Home. I didn't follow instructions of any kind, I just looked at it and decided to wing it (I don't own the book - it's definitely worth checking out though. She is a huge inspiration for me, and if you have time, you might want to stop by her blog - it's amazing and full of beautiful photography). I think I'm pretty close to spot on with it, and even if I'm not, I'm happy with how it turned out.

I plan on making a fabric shower curtain using appliques to mimic some of the graphics in the fabric design. I just need to find a solid white cotton curtain...

Our local hardware store sells VOC free primer and interior paint and the prices are pretty competitive with the smelly stuff - so we'll definitely be going the healthier route for the paint. I'm sooo excited to get some color on those walls!

I have a few more projects up my sleeve, but more updates on that are sure to come.

Take Care!

A Little Bit of Crafting

I finished my first handbag/clutch project ever, and here it is! I'm so excited about it for so many reasons. One, well, because I love the fabric. I found it on clearance and have lots and lots of it left -woo hoo! The inside is lined with a natural linen - have I mentioned before that I really, really love linen, hmmm... Oh! And that button! I adore it! It is an actual piece of a branch. I found it here. I had originally purchased a bag of them on etsy for a jumper I want to make for Hannah. I miss judged the size though, and I think they might be too big for their original intention.

Here's a shot at the inside lining -sorry for the poor lighting. This was such a quick stitch! I found the pattern for free (gotta love that price!) here. I only struggled a little bit with the pattern around step 5 or 6 because it didn't make sense to me how the bag would eventually be turned right side out, and I kept second-guessing the pattern itself. I do that a lot. I have no reason to, it's not like I'm a seasoned sewer or anything. But I do it, and wastes lots of time - that's me! Anyway, even with all my wasted time, this bag came together in a little over an hour. I know if I make it again (and I will! Soon!) it will go much faster. And no worries, the pattern is exactly right, of course.

Take Care!

Bowl Full of Beads

Sunday afternoon, the kids and I sat down to string some colorful beads. I know this is such a simple concept, but it turned out to be pretty entertaining, for everyone.

This was great for Hannah to work on her fine motor skills. We used a strip of yarn with some scotch tape around the edges to make threading easier. She also got in a lot of practice naming colors. She adores pink by the way.

And my Austin. What he's holding here ended up turning into a dragon catching device, with more beads evenly spaced out and the yarn ends tied together. It promptly got taken away after it some how, all on it's own of course, went spiraling into our living room window. Thankfully nothing shattered, but my goodness, I definitely didn't see that one coming. And if you're wondering, yes, he did get it back, but with out it's flying power - where's the fun in that mom?

About two seconds after I took this shot, Miss Hannah was up, crawling across the top of the table to get her bead. Which then flew off the table, rolled across the floor, was pounced on by the dog, picked up by me, put back in the bowl and our bead session was officially over. Maybe we'll try again in a few more days...

Take Care!

Basket Tag Tutorial

In preparation for the colder weather, which is already here actually, I gathered up all of the hats, mittens, gloves and scarves I could find. Wow! Did I find a ton! Not to mention my knitting addiction to quick projects, eh hemm - hats... So what I guess I'm getting at here is that I have a lot of cold weather gear, and no wear for it to go. At least until I picked up these baskets. I have them under the bench by our front door for easy access. Each child has their own basket labeled by a tag with their initials.

If you like what you see, read on, here's the tutorial...

This is a great project for scrap pieces. I have a small obsession with vintage linens, and that is what I used to make these. They can be made to whatever size you want. Mine are on the larger side, so be sure to check your measurements.

What you need:
-Enough Fabric in your Main Color to make 4 Circles to the size you want - be sure to add 1/4" around the edges for seam allowances (mine are 6" in diameter)
-4 pieces of ribbon to desired length ( mine are 10" each)
-Contrasting fabric - 2 squares of desired size (I used 4" x 4")
-Double sided Iron on Adhesive (I used 2 - 4"x4" squares)

First cut out your pieces. You should have 4 circles and 4 ribbon strips. I used a compass to make my circles, and just drew right on to the fabric. Don't forget about your seam allowances here. I allowed for 1/4". Also, it helps to take a lighter and singe the edges of your ribbon so it won't fray.

Now take 2 circles and 2 strips of ribbon. Sandwich the ribbon inside of the two circles, with the right side of the fabric facing each other inside.

Pin your sandwiched piece down and sew around, leaving about an inch of space open to turn the circle right side out. I actually started at the top by the ribbon and sewed one side until I came to the other end of the ribbon that hangs out, then returned back to the top and did the same on the other side. This reinforces the hold for the ribbon, and then when it's finished, all you have to do is tug the ribbon down and it practically turns itself right side out. Don't forget to snip along the edges after sewing so your circle looks nice once turned right side out.

Once it's turned right side out, you can either sew the opening closed using an invisible stitch, or just top stitch around the entire circle to close it - I did the later.

Next comes the fun part. To make these initials, I just went into Word, and played around with some fonts, found ones I liked and sized them to fit by playing with the point sizes. For the "A" I used Blackadder ITC at 300 points. The "H" is French Script at 300 points. Print these out on regular paper (make sure they will fit inside the circle - check your sizes), but go into the properties tab in your print options and click the box that says mirror image so that it prints out backwards. I forgot about this at first and almost had to start over, thankfully I caught my mistake before I ironed anything!

So here is the correct "A", backwards. I just traced the "A" onto the iron on adhesive. Iron your letters to your contrasting fabric and allow to cool. Then cut out each letter. Remove the backing and then iron them onto the center of each circle.

I also top stitched around the edges of my circles because I'm pretty sure these will need to be washed from time to time, and I want them to lay nice and flat.

Here are my finished pieces - in terrible lighting. Most of my sewing is done in the evening, so the lighting is always poor. Hope you can look past that :)

And here they are, tied on and ready to use!



Take Care!

Happy Birthday Nana!

Today is a very special day. Today is my grandmother's birthday, or as we call her around here, Nana.

Why am I sharing this day on the blog? Well, because I'd like to also introduce you to the woman who introduced me to the natural food/living movement.

At first it freaked me out (come on, I was like 8 or 9). "Goat's milk? Really Nana? Ewwww, it smells..." So she offered some almond milk instead. That's the thing, I don't ever remember her pushing anything on me, just insisting I give things a try - whatever it may be.

I tagged along to a lot of fiber festivals when I was little. The memories of all the sheep and wool still stand out so vividly - the strong smell of soap, the fluffy poofs of wool flying up in the air and the oddly soft, dark skin of a shirred sheep. When I was nine she taught me how to spin wool into yarn, and how to knit. Unfortunately, I abandoned most of what she introduced me to while I was a teenager. I, apparently, had better things to do.

But now, oh how I appreciate it all sooo much! Every time we talk, I learn something new. And lately it seems like everything I tell her I want to try (like winter gardening, using plants to dye material, country living and so much more), she's done and most likely has a book to go along with her real world advice.

If only everyone could have a Nana like mine. We are blessed...

I just HAD to add this picture of my grandma because you'll still find her riding a very similar bike, with her tiny dog in the front basket.

We love you Nana!

Happy Birthday From All of Us!

Slowing Down

With everyone in the house being sick, we have had an opportunity to slow down. I wish it didn't take all of us feeling so cruddy to get to that point. There has been a lot of knitting, a lot of reading, and a lot of rice pudding making (4 batches to be exact). Oh, and a whole lot of sleeping - which is something I tend to not do so much, lol.

Something I've been focusing a lot of my attention on lately is staying in the moment, and trying to promote a calm and relaxed atmosphere around our house and with the kids. Much easier said than done, I assure you! :)

A while ago, I sat down and really put a lot of thought into what values I thought we should focus the most on with our children. I want my children to be honest, compassionate, happy people who contribute to society - ultimately. I realize those are very broad terms and ideas. So I set to work researching different child rearing books, methods and so on.

I feel from the research that I have done, that the best way for me to accomplish said goals, is to keep my children in tune with nature and their surroundings, engage their senses, and most importantly, stay in the moment with them, and really listen to what they have to say. Please note that this is just how I feel, and I am not an expert, nor is there only one right way to raise a child. This is just what feels soooo right inside, and for that reason, what I'm going with.

We're not too far off track, but adjustments will have to take place. For one, the T.V. is on too much in my house. It has become a sort of crutch for me, in order to get things done quickly, and it's just not right - I know this. I also know that there are a million studies out there to prove it as well. The kids watch about an hour a day, sometimes more, sometimes less, but I'd like to keep it much less. So we'll see. I'm sure we'll all do just fine :) It helps that the only T.V. in the house is in our bedroom, so a lot of the time, it's as easy as out of sight, out of mind.

The house is (was) too cluttered, with papers, toys, and random odds and ends. Over the course of a couple weeks, I successfully cleared out most of the excess. Our local thrift store really likes us right now, lol. I think we donated close to 15 super large garbage bags full, and gave away boxes and boxes of clothing to friends. I have to say, without a doubt, a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders since doing so. The house is more relaxing and enjoyable to be in. Not to mention more work is getting done. I'm not done yet, and have made a personal goal to remove at least one bag a week of unnecessary "stuff".

The toys. There are too many, and most offer either very little or no opportunity for creative thought and play. My son obviously has his favorites, and obsessions, which I would never ask him to part with. My daughter, thankfully, is still pretty young, and once the tv characters are out of her world, the desire to play with them probably will be too. We did go around and pick out the toys no one plays with anymore to donate, and that's done. But from now on, I want to keep everything we bring into the house educational, thought provoking and from natural sources. Obviously they need to be fun of course too.

We read a lot, and I have always placed quite a bit of importance on books. The only change I want to make with those is maybe to have a few baskets full of them in different areas of the house, to encourage the children (and adults) to pick up a book.

This is a starting point, and it may not go according to my plan - but it's a goal, and everyone is on board. The overall goal really is just to slow down and simplify, which should help allow a more natural curiosity to evolve in my children.

Here are a few (but not all) of the books I've been reading to help get us to where I want to be...

Calm and Compassionate Children by Susan Usha Dermond - I can't recommend this one enough

Making A Family Home by Shannon Honeybloom - I teetered listing this one, but overall it is helpful and full of vivid photography.

Last Child In The Woods by Richard Louv

And for the kids....
Peaceful Piggy Meditation by Kerry Lee MacLean - it sounds goofy, but they love it

I think that's enough for today :)

Take Care!

Playing Dress Up

Both of my children love to dress up, and not just around Halloween, but all year long.

So a few years ago, I started picking up Halloween costumes a few days after the Holiday, when they're priced super low. Say, around 2 or 3 dollars. If I were better at sewing, I would most likely make a bunch of dress up outfits for them, but I'm still a work in progress in that department. So at least this way, I'm not breaking the bank, and the kids get a lot of creative, imaginative play out of them. At some point, I want to put together an inexpensive clothing rack to hang them up on for easy access. Of course it would have to be low to the ground too, so that they could help themselves to the clothing and accessories. I want to have it resemble something close to what you might see behind stage at a musical or what not, and made of wood. I think it will require a design by myself, and some gentle persuasion from Chris :)

Hannah is still under the weather, and has shared whatever it is she has, with everyone in the house. So, on that note, I will be taking a little break from blogging. I should be back on Friday with a Right Now post.

Take Care!

Happy November and Weekly Menu

Happy First Day of November!

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. Austin surprised me this year by insisting, after about an hour, that we needed to head back, because, well, "I don't want to get a bellyache you know momma." Yes sweetie, I know, lol. Even more surprising, after we ran out of candy to hand out, he offered up his stash to give out. We don't keep candy in the house so I thought for sure he'd be all over this holiday. But I guess not so much - which makes me happy only because it's showing a little glimmer of healthy food choices that I hope he will hold on to. I guess we'll see.
And poor little Hannah I think is trying to make a Halloween tradition of being sick. The poor girl has yet to be healthy enough to go out. Figures, because she hardly ever gets sick.

So that was our night. Oh, and I should mention, the hat Austin is wearing in this picture was not only Momma-made, but glows in the dark too! A gift from Grandma-Gayle (the kit), and enjoyed by both of her grand kids :)

Which brings me to our weekly menu plan, because it IS Monday...

Monday: BLT's and Baked Potato Wedges
Tuesday: Chili and Corn Bread Muffins
Wednesday: Grilled BBQ Pork chops and Orzo Salad - we use the recipe from here.
Thursday: Chicken Marsala over pasta and Steamed Broccoli
Friday: Garlic Bread Pizza

Have a great day!