Fall

Beware, this is a picture heavy post with all kinds of fall updates! I'm trying to get ya'll filled in with details from my 5 week absence. We are enjoying Baby V, figuring out a new normal and feeling incredibly blessed!

I haven't experienced fall since 2010. In New Orleans, we enjoyed summer and spring-like weather all year long, but I have to say...I missed cool, crisp mornings and that wet, earthy smell you only get once the leaves are lying in piles on the ground. I love all the typical fall activities. Right after V was born, I took P to the apple orchard with some friends. We ate apple cider doughnuts, fed animals, drank cider slushies, slid down a slide on burlap sacks and sat on pumpkins. It was thrilling :). 

I've also had grand ideas of taking pictures of my two boys with some beautiful, fall foliage in the background. I picked a gorgeous, warm day and we tried...I took 30 pictures...this is the "good" one. 

We did get a few belly laughs out of the deal...

The leaves were beautiful at the lake this year, here's P with Papa catching his first fish. His favorite part was pushing the release button and plopping the fish back in the water then reeling it in just to start all over. 

Another iconic (at least in my childhood memory) fall thing we missed last year were woolly worms, P calls them "Squirmies" and collects them in his bike basket. 

And Halloween! Love it, just love it!

P wanted to be a monkey (an "Ooh-Ah-Ah" in his language), I picked up a costume from Old Navy. It was super warm which was perfect for the drizzly, 35 degree, trick-or-treating. V was a pumpkin. Can you get any cuter really? I made this costume and I'm going to be posting a tutorial...which I realize no one will use until next year. Maybe you want a little, baby pumpkin for Thanksgiving though? The hat is certainly fall appropriate by itself.

My Mom and I did some practice trick-or-treating with P before the big night. He went up to a bedroom door, knocked, held out his pumpkin bucket, said "Candy" and then "Thank you!"

Yes, we tried to teach him to say "trick-or-treat" but he's a very literal child. Example: most of the folks handing out candy stood outside on their porches, P walked right past them to knock on the door before backtracking to pick up a treat. I wish I had it on video.

V accompanied us, he stayed snug as a bug in his carseat, wearing his PUMPKIN HAT!!

Can't express to you how much I love this hat, it was very easy! (Tutorial to come) Please make one for Thanksgiving.

On a pumpkin sidenote, you must go to Trader Joe's and buy the Pumpkin Butter ASAP. 

Or STASAP!

"Sooner than as soon as possible." (Gilmore Girls reference for all of you GG fans). 

It is awesome, especially when you toast an english muffin, slather it with butter then add a thin layer of Pumpkin Butter. I like it so much I feel like it should have a nickname...Pum Butt (nope)...PB (already been done)...oh well. 

Celebrate Easter: Funny Bunny Cake

Growing up, one of our Easter traditions was making this bunny cake. We have a running joke in my family about traditions because about 10 years ago we were sitting around the table on Christmas morning and my Dad said that we 'didn't have any traditions.' Of course, everyone was incensed, especially my Mom (the facilitator of all the traditions) so we immediately starting compiling a list. My Dad soon had to admit that we do indeed have them, and even now we say things like "See that's a tradition!" Anyway, this bunny cake is one of the traditions I remember. I loved it! I'm not sure my brother cared quite as much as myself about creating detailed candy features for a bunny rabbit cake. Even though P is a little small to actually help with this, he is definitely old enough to appreciate it. I wish I'd had a video of him when he first saw it. "OOOOOH!" he said and then leaned down to give Mr. Bunny a big kiss.

This cake is ridiculously easy, I kept it really simple and cartoonish and only bought a few different candies, but you could go crazy and make this as elaborate and gorgeous as you want!

Here's what you need: 
2 round cakes
       use whatever recipe or box that you like, mine are 8" rounds, but you could go bigger or smaller
1 bag of sweetened, shredded coconut
basic white icing
       I made my own cream cheese frosting, you could use store bought. Warm it up a bit before trying to
       spread it on.
food coloring
large cardboard or cutting board covered with parchment or freezer paper
Optional: assorted candies, almonds, white/milk chocolate

Bake your cakes according to recipe/box instructions. I used a boxed carrot cake but added freshly grated carrots. It's actually really good! Let the cakes cool completely on a rack then take them out of the pans. One round will be Funny Bunny's face, you can go ahead and lay it on your prepared paper covered board. The other will become bunny's ears and bow tie.

Position ears and bow tie. My board is a little small, larger will help you keep the coconut from getting all over your house!

Now just go nuts with the icing! I started with a thin, careful "crumb coat" (it's tough not to spread crumbs once you start icing the cut portions), then followed up with a thicker layer. I used the flat of my knife to add a little texture as I went. I also set the bow tie aside for a moment because I wanted to ice it with colored icing. It doesn't have to be perfect because we are going to top this with coconut

Before starting the coconut, coat the paper background with a tiny bit of leftover white icing just a little so that the coconut 'grass' has something to stick to. Now pour about one cup of coconut in a small bowl and add 3-4 drops of green food coloring, stir until it's pretty evenly distributed then start patting it onto the paper background. Save the remaining green coconut for touch ups later. Once that's done, sprinkle the bunny with white coconut, patting it onto the vertical sides of the cake.

For the bow tie (I changed colors later because the blue was such a weird color, it actually looks better in this picture than in real life), dye a small amount of icing your desired color and ice the bow tie while still on a plate or the counter, then scoop it up with two spatulas and set in place on the board. You can leave it plain or add candy patterns.

Tangent: Dying icing in really bright colors never fails to remind me of that scene in "Hook" with Robin Williams where he finally sees the food then they start having a food fight. Great movie!

So! That's it! I kept a few dabs of white icing to stick jelly beans on the background and help some of the candy face stay put. Black licorice (cut in thin strips, I tried to find black "Pull and Peel" Twizzlers) for the eyebrows and mouth, a blob of pink icing with a jelly bean for the nose, M &M polka dots on the tie and almonds for the eyes. That was a new idea for me this year. I dipped them in a tiny bit of melted white chocolate, let that set then dipped again in a tiny bit of dark chocolate. I love the way they turned out. I'll be doing that again! After the candy was on, I added pink cheeks and a little pink to the ears. Just dye a small amount of coconut with one drop of red food coloring and sprinkle it on.

Stay on the lookout for chubby hands swiping your candy.

So fun and definitely something to do next year, hopefully we will have our own list of traditions going soon! I love how the jellybeans on the coconut grass look like little clusters of Easter eggs or spring tulips. Can't wait to eat it!

P.S. I'd love to see pictures of this if you make your own. Add them to the "You Sewed" Flickr pool, tab at the top right of the page.

Celebrate Easter: Teach Kids the Real Meaning of Easter

My little guy is only 22 months old, but I am always amazed at how much he notices and understands and remembers. It is not too early to teach him Scripture and Bible stories. Though he's too young yet to grasp the concept of God incarnate coming to earth in the person of Jesus, who sacrificed Himself to atone for the sin of mankind then rose again to bring "life on life for you and me" on Easter morning, I don't think it can possibly be too early to start talking about it. I don't want him to know a day before he heard the gospel and loved the Lord, so we will talk and pray and read, hoping that the Holy Spirit will make his heart soft and that he will understand and know for himself the peace that surpasses all understanding and the joy that can only come from knowing the truth.

 

 

As P gets bigger, I have been interested in finding creative ways to teach him about God, particularly around the holidays when the focus is so often diverted too much to the trivial or the self-indulgent. To me, there's nothing wrong with fun traditions and things like the Easter bunny and Santa, but I hope that in our family those things never outshine the hope that we have in Christ!

 

 

So, here's a roundup of a few neat ways to teach your little ones the meaning of Easter or maybe just be a sweet reminder to you as you're decorating and cooking and dying eggs that there is nothing more important for a Christian than the fact that Christ died but rose again.

1) Almond Cookies: Each step of this recipe tells part of the Easter story. Older children can help make these cookies and you have a neat opportunity to talk through the gospel while your hands are busy with the steps that represent each part.

2) Resurrection Eggs: I used to get these in Sunday school years ago, the 12 eggs are filled with small items that represent everything that happened during Holy Week and an accompanying scripture reference. A thorn, a sponge, a small cross, a stone, and the last egg is empty. The 'The strife is o'er, the battle done! The vicory of life is won!" This talented blogger also had the idea of using these eggs on your Easter table, each person opening an egg and sharing what's inside. She has free printables for the cute presentation.

3) Resurrection Rolls: Here's another recipe, but it's definitely semi-homemade. All you need are marshmallows, cinnamon, sugar and crescent rolls. You wrap dough around a marshmallow and when they bake, the marshmallow melts and you are left with the miracle of an "empty tomb," children will be excited and it's a good conversation starter.

4) Easter Garden: I couldn't find the original source of this (it's all over Pinterest), but I like the idea of growing wheat grass this time of year and incorporating it into a centerpiece or mini garden for your kitchen window. It looks a little 'bonsai' to me :).

5) 12 Day Countdown to Easter with stories and activities: This blogger created a 12 day countdown to Easter with suggestions of gospel stories for each day along with some activities. It's a good resource!

6) Easter Garden and Linky Party: Here's another Easter Garden but this blogger's daughter helped make it, I love the empty potato tomb! For this post she was also hosting a 'linky party' of ideas for sharing the real meaning of Easter with your children-there are close to a hundred ideas all in one place! I didn't screen them all so you may have to pick through.


Let me just leave you with a bit of text from my favorite Easter hymn:

"Look there! The Christ, our Brother, comes resplendant from the gallows tree,

And what He brings in His hurt hands is life on life for you and me!

Joy, Joy! Joy to the heart all in this good day's dawning!

Good Jesus Christ, inside His pain, looked down Golgotha's stony slope,

And let the blood flow from His flesh to fill the springs of living hope!"

 Joy, Joy! Joy to the heart all in this good day's dawning!"

Celebrate Easter: Reversible Basket Liner Tutorial

I bought an Easter basket for P this year, a simple, classic white one from Target. I know there are much cheaper places to find them, but I couldn't make myself drive to one more store. You know how that is?

I knew from the get-go that I wanted to make a fabric liner with buttons on the sides. It was really easy and you could finish one in about an hour.. I debated between light blue and white seersucker or this black and white gingham, but I have been sewing so much with seersucker that I really needed to feel and look at another fabric! I'm happy with how it turned out and I love it against the great Easter grass I found at World Market.

You Need:
   Fabric, two different colors/prints (about 1/2 yd of each)
   fusible interfacing
   tracing or freezer paper
   2 buttons
   ruler, flexible seamstress' measuring tape
   thread, scissors, sewing machine, pins

Making the Pattern Pieces:

      You'll end up with these four pieces once we're finished! The cone shapes are cut on the fold (still folded in photo below).

1) Start by measuring the diameter of the bottom of your basket, I used the handles as guides so that I would get a straight line directly across the bottom. On a piece of paper, use a ruler to draw a straight line exactly the length of your diameter. Make a mark exactly at the center of this line. Now you're just going to continue to draw lines at different angles, matching the center of your first line with the center of each new line, like spokes on a wheel. Draw 4 or 5 lines so that you have a good idea of where the outside of your circle will be. Now find a bowl (size of bowl you need depends on the size of your basket). Use the curve of the bowl to trace lines from line to line, creating your circle. (this is the precise way, you could also just cut out a paper circle and keep snipping until it fits in your basket.)

2) For the sides and overlap fold of the liner, you need a large cone shape. The lower curve needs to be the length of the circumference of the basket.
        
              Circumference=diameter x pi  (Brush off the cobwebs...pi=3.14)
  
On a large sheet of freezer paper, use your flexible measuring tape to sketch a curved line the length of your circle's circumference (plus 1/2 seam allowance on each side).

Now measure your basket from the bottom inside edge, up over the lip and down as far as you want your overlap (mine is about 3 in) and add 1/2" seam allowance.

Go back to your freezer paper and use the ruler to draw a straight line out from the ends of the circumference curve, on a diagonal so that the outside edge of the cone shape will be longer than the inside edge (see picture top).

Next, use a large bowl to connect the diagonal lines with a gradual curve.

Cut out your paper pattern and put it right in the basket to be sure that it fits, make any adjustments needed then go on!


Putting things together:
3) Cut out the pattern pieces. For the circular base of the liner, add 1/2" seam allowance all the way around. (one outer fabric and one inner fabric) Back both pieces with lightweight fusible interfacing.

For the cone shapes, add 1/2" seam allowance to the lower curve only. Cut out one of each pattern and back with fusible interfacing.

4) Construction is super simple! First, start with the outer fabric and sew the diagonal raw edges of one large cone together, press seam to one side then pin right side of circle to right side of cone (small end). Sew.

Stick it in the basket just to make sure our calculations were correct :). Bingo!

Repeat the process with the inside fabric, leave an opening at the bottom for flipping later.

5) Now turn right sides together, matching seams and raw edges and pin together. Center the seam at the center back. Cut a slit down each side (exactly where the handles are), continuing just below the lip of the basket.

Sew the outer fabric to the inner fabric, all the way around the edges, sewing around the slits in a rectangle, see below.

After sewing, snip the corners of the slits like this... (also clip off the corners at the top of the slit) 

6) Turn right sides out through the small opening in the inner fabric. (sew up the small opening by hand or by hiding raw edges and machine stitching--it will never show once you fill your basket with Easter grass and goodies). Press, making sure the edges and corners are fully turned.

7) Put the liner in your basket and fold over. Pin the open sides (with enough overlap for a button and buttonhole). You'll notice that there is still a fair amount of slack in the front and back, we are going to add a few little pleats to make things fit a little more snugly.

Keeping things symmetrical, add two small pleats in the front (all thicknesses and pin securely) and two in the back. Unpin the liner at the sides and topstitch the liner around all edges, sewing pleats in place as you go.

7) Put the liner back in the basket, repin the sides and mark where your button and buttonhole need to be using a disappearing fabric marker. Sew them in place.

Done! That's it! Now you have a cute reversible basket liner, you can add your child's name or some ruffles, piping, ribbon, any number of fun things. I think these probably improve every time you make them (especially since you're making your own pattern from scratch, an awesome skill to learn) and you'll get new ideas every time.

Celebrate Easter: Bunny Bum Applique

I've been seeing such cute Easter things in stores lately--dishes, cloth napkins and guest towels. We're moving in a few months so it doesn't make sense to stock up on lots of seasonal things that I'm just going to have to store. Soo...I decided to get going on an easy bunny applique for...well, anything you can get under the presser foot.
I quickly sketched it out in two sizes and uploaded it as a PDF for you, personal use only please. The larger size is perfect for a hand or kitchen towel and the smaller size is great for a fun t-shirt!

You can print or download the template here:
Bunny Bum Template

I usually do applique one way, back the fabric shape with interfacing then cover raw edges with a really dense, wide zig zag stitch: like THIS. For this project, I decided to try a different way. I used freezer paper to press the raw edges under 1/8 to 1/4 inch so that I would have more options as far as how to apply the shape to the garment (because I won't have to worry about the applique unraveling.) You could do a chunky running stitch or blanket stitch by hand with embroidery thread, or use the machine to do a blanket stitch around the edge, like I did.

You need:
Freezer paper
fabric scraps
small pieces of fleece or felt (tails)
fusible interfacing
fabric glue stick (water soluble)

Here Goes:
1) Print and cut out your bunny bum template. Pin it to your chosen fabric scrap, use a fabric marker to trace around the template adding an 1/8 to 1/4 inch all the way around.
2) Next trace the template onto freezer paper (don't add any extra) and cut it out. With shiny side down, iron the freezer paper bunny onto the back of your fabric bunny.

3) Next, all the way around the shape, make small cuts in the fabric, stopping at the freezer paper so that it will fold and overlap more easily around the curves. For the ears, don't snip the very end, press that down first then fold in the other edges and press. (See below). 

Once you're finished pressing, you'll have this: (freezer paper still attached)

4) If you're doing the t-shirt, turn the shirt inside out and attach a piece of interfacing to cover the area you will be applique'ing.

5) To prepare the bunnies for applique, peel away the freezer paper, dab the fabric glue stick under your creased edges and press them down. Next, add a few more dabs of glue around the edges of your applique and position the bunny on the right side of the  t-shirt, use a pin and to tuck under any stray threads. I dragged my pin through the glue every once in a while and used that to help tuck under. Once that's finished, secure the bunny with a few pins then stitch applique to the shirt. If you are using the machine, remember to decrease your thread tension before sewing, it really helps things not to bunch or wrinkle as you sew.

6) Now for the tails! I used small pieces of fuzzy felt from Joann's (leftover from my Santa costume), but regular felt or fleece or even a couple layers of white jersey could work--anything that doesn't fray. Cut out a "roundish" shape (too round isn't quite as cute). Then just use white thread to attach. I tried to smooth the fuzz away from my stitches as I sewed so that they would be hidden once I fluffed it back up. You can barely see them at all.

I love it! I stayed away from pastels because I don't enjoy them and I wanted to keep it boyish.

P loves it too!

Since I was on a roll (P took a 3 and a half hour nap today, woohoo!), I went ahead and whipped up a hand towel too. I had a plain white, cotton towel lying around so I used the same method as above to attach a fun, bright colored bunny. I think the tail is too round, I'll probably switch it out for a better one. Still, I like the bright floral (a fabric I don't get to use very often with a boy) and it seems very springy!

Happy Easter!

Celebrate Easter: Decorating Eggs with Toddlers

It's Easter week! (At least at our house!) A whole week...and maybe a bit more...of fun ideas and projects to celebrate Easter with the little guys (and gals of course).

Today is egg decorating with toddlers! While this idea may be a 'no-brainer' in some ways, it's super cheap and simple and even my 22 month old boy had fun with it!

This year, Baby P is big enough to enjoy crafts but definitely doesn't understand the concepts of spilling dye or fragile eggs and lacks the patience for time consuming projects. So I picked up a big bag of plastic eggs from Target. They were cheap and had great colors! Did you know that a lot of plastic eggs these days have pre-punched holes in case you want to make garlands or wreaths? Good thinking, Target!

After checking out the paints and glazes that would actually adhere to plastic, I decided I didn't want P's chubby fingers and potentially face...hair...eyes touching any of them. So I stopped by the Target scrapbooking section and found some fun stickers for 99 cents. I wanted relatively small ones with nice colors, my boy is animal crazy so we got the animals. Here's the label in case you want to find them. I went with a small size so that they wouldn't have to "crimp" too much when curved around the eggs.


Look at this concentration...

I handed him stickers one at a time and just let him decide where to put them. They turned out so cute! Of course my cool egg carton from Anthropologie helps too :).

(Love the idea of functional holes, but they do take away a bit from the "pretty")

Here are some variations on this project if you have older or more patient kids:
*wrap eggs in thread or yarn, secure with dabs of glue
*use glue and small scraps of tissue paper or fabric to cover eggs
*use construction paper and glue to make faces and hats

I'd love to see pictures if you made some fun, creative Easter eggs with your little guys! Click on the "You Sewed!" Flickr pool under the blog header and add photos, you can link up to your site in the photo description.

Happy Easter!