Dec. 11, 2008 - My Garlic Baker

Posted in Handicrafts


My mother-in-law is so sweet to humor me and make things I want!  I love using my dishes everyday because they are just beautiful AND she made them AND they don't contain any lead or weird chemicals.

A while ago I sent her a link to a Garlic Baker I saw on amazon.com .  I thought it would be great to have since you can roast garlic without using aluminum foil.  She decided to make one and look how cool it is:

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Here is a top view:

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Isn't she talented.

I can't wait to get roasting!

Thank you!  I love it

And while we're here...my daughter is a budding potter too (she's 7 years old):

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She made this cup and gravy boat while visiting her Grandma over the summer.  Grandma glazed them for her since we had to go home.  It was fun to pick them up at Thanksgiving.  I think they are so cute.

If you look really closely at the gravy boat, you can see a little smiley face etched into the side (on the light part).  I guess that is her trademark!

For more Show and Tell, visit Canadagirl
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Nov. 19, 2007 - Easy Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Soap Balls

Posted in Handicrafts


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We made these over the weekend.  They are so cute and very easy.

Little kids can be involved:  Press the button on the food processor, stir the mixture, shape the balls.

Older children could make them alone.

Here is the link to the instructions:

How to Make Old Fashioned Soap Balls


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Nov. 9, 2007 - Sew Crafty Friday - Fabric Memo Board

Posted in Handicrafts


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This is my first time to participate in Sew Crafty Friday.  I am a little nervous posting my crafting efforts along with other really crafty people.  To view more crafty projects please visit Waiting For Him , our Sew Crafty Friday host.


My project for this week is a Fabric Memo Board.  It was made for my daughter.

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It holds pictures and looks very pretty in her room.
She has actually made it her prayer board.  She prays for the people in the pictures. 

Making the memo board was fairly simple.  All you need is some canvas, quilt batting, fabric, ribbon or rick-rack, need and thread and a hot glue gun.
It could be made in one afternoon.  I, however, took months, since someone stole my cart at Wal-Mart which had the last of the ribbon and I could not find any more! So don't look too close...there is one piece of ribbon that does not match .

I allowed my daughter to choose the fabric, ribbon and buttons (with a little direction).  This made it extra special for her.

The following links have the instructions I used to make the memo board:

Crafty Gal - Jazz Up and Organize
 
Post with panache on fabric-covered bulletin boards

Thanks for visiting.
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Sep. 27, 2007 - Kool-Aid Playdoh!

Posted in Handicrafts


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We had fun making our own playdoh yesterday. 
It turned out well and was quite easy to make.

The recipe we used can be found here
(we did need to add at least another 1/3 cup of flour ).

 The playdoh is smooth, smells sweet and is a pretty color. 

We are going to buy more Kool-Aid so we can make other colors.
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Sep. 26, 2007 - My Daughter's Book

Posted in Handicrafts


SugarBean has made many books in her spare time. 

It all started last year when I was sick for a few days.  As I lay on the couch I told her to try and make a book.  She loves to draw so this was right up her alley. 

By the time I felt better there was a huge pile of books for me to write in.  It took a few days to get them all finished.  She enjoyed sitting next to me and dictating the story as I wrote it out for her.

Below is a recent story I found amusing.  It's called, The Spaceship.

(I'll type the story under each picture so you won't have to read my handwriting!)

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Jodi was fishing.  She was lonely.
She hadn't caught any fish yet, so she was sad.
Then her Mom came over and said, "Want me to fish with you?"

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Then, both caught one fish.
Jodi didn't know there was another fish coming over to her fishing pole and not her mom's.
Her Mom had a big flying fish in her bucket.

(I love how sad the fish look.  I'm not sure if you can see it, but the little fish near the fishing line has it's tongue out - cute!)

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Jodi's Mom took her to the store.
She found a little space ship to fly to the moon.
She thought she would fly to the moon and walk on it. 
There was a slot in the space ship so you could buy it.


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Her Mom put the money in the slot.
Jodi kissed her Mom.
She changed the window to a cross window.
(If you look closely you can see that Jodi's eyes are closed)

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Her Mom and Dad were fixing the Spaceship for her birthday. 
Just like Jodi wanted.
Jodi's birthday was next Friday.

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Jodi was happy about her Spaceship beacuse her parents had fixed it just like she wanted.
Jodi was happy that it was her birthday.

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Jodi's Mom's Spaceship had two windows. 
They flew in that one first.
Jodi put down a ladder to climb down and see where she was.

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She fell from the ladder!
She was scared that she had fallen.
Jodi caught the ladder.

 

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She was happy it was just a dream that she had fallen from the Spaceship!

-The End -

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Aug. 16, 2007 - Teeny Tiny Dollhouse Treats

Posted in Handicrafts


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This post has been entered in Shereen's Sew Crafty Friday, please visit Waiting For Him for more crafty ideas.

There was an article in the May issue of Family Fun Magazine which explained how to make tiny treats out of clay . We thought this would be a great idea for my daughter's Dollhouse. She is always looking for little things to put in it.

We searched for sculptey clay but could not find it in our small town (Sculptey III is supposed to be the best for little ones to work with). My mother-in-law remembered making clay out of white bread and glue. I thought, "What!?" We looked it up online and found the recipe. It really works.

  • 7 Pieces of White Bread
  • 7 Tsp School Glue
  • 1/2 Tsp Water
  • 1/2 Tsp Dish soap
  • A little acrylic paint to add color

Instructions:
Cut crusts off of the bread and break the bread into small pieces. Put pieces in a bowl and add the glue. Mix well. Next add the water and dish soap and mix to a clay consistency.

When you begin it seems that clay cannot come out of this...but keep at it. It will! Feel free to add more water if your mixture is dry. Adding the acrylic paint also helps to add moisture.

Keep dough in a ziplock bag until ready to use. Make shapes and let air dry, it takes about 24 hours. No baking required.

After your creations are dry you may wish to spray with a craft finishing spray to keep them looking their best.

You could also try other homemade clay recipes here

Here are a few pictures of our homemade treats:

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Cookies and Strawberries

 

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Fruit!

 

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Crescent Rolls

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To decorate for the fall we needed Pumpkins!

 

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Pretzels

 

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Tulips

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Lots of lollipops!

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A Plant

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Dounuts

 

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A meal fit for any little dolly!

 

Instructions for making a cupcake, caramel apple, lollipop, doughnut, cookie and birthday cake can be found here.

This was a great project. We all had fun. Grandma was still here and she helped make a lot of these tiny treats. We used the instructions above for many of them. We also used our imaginations!

Add a little glue when putting the pieces together to ensure they stick. You can also use playdoh cut-outs or molds to help with some of the shapes. We did that for the tulips.

My daughter just turned 6 years old and had a wonderful time with this. It would be a good project for kids of all ages.


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Jun. 26, 2007 - Homemade Sidewalk Chalk

Posted in Handicrafts


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I think I am becoming obsessed with making things!  A few days ago I stumbled across a recipe for homemade sidewalk chalk and decided to give it a try.  My 5 year old did a lot of the stirring and pouring so it was a good project for her too.

If you want to give it a try check out this recipe.  It is not the one we used....ours had a few problems!  This one looks better.

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Mar. 10, 2007 - Make a Hooded Towel

Posted in Handicrafts


When my daughter was a baby, a friend gave her a hooded towel made from a regular bath towel and a hand towel.  It was a favorite and is still used today.  I have always wanted to make one, knowing it wouldn't be too hard.  I finally did.  And it really was not hard at all (I don't even sew in a straight line very well - so you know I mean it was not difficult).

These are thick and thirsty-  like real towels.  They are not the thin hooded towels for babies that soak up very little water. We loved it because you can really wrap the baby up in it.

Here are a few pictures of the one I made for a sweet little baby boy who is being adopted by a friend of ours:

Here are the links I used to make it:

http://www.inciid.org/cgi-brd/getmsg.pl/111/549

http://www.megadaisy.org/pics/hoodedtowel.jpg

 

 

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Feb. 6, 2007 - Psychedelic!

Posted in Handicrafts


SugarBean was given a tie dye kit for Christmas.  She was absolutely thrilled!  Her desire to tie dye goes way back.   Her grandmother actually gave her a tie dyed onesie when she was a baby AND tie dyed the bassinet!  (It looked good - I’ll have to get a picture for you )

Here is a picture of her creation. 

The kit made it so easy she was able to do most of it herself.  I helped with the rubber bands but she did all the coloring.  I remember tie dyeing when I was a teenager - but it was much harder - we had to heat water on the stove and pour the dye in.  Then dip the clothing into the hot water.  Not something I could do with a 5 year old!  We will have to try it this way when she is older.

Peace, Love and Mungbeans! 
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Jan. 13, 2007 - Hope Chests and Needlework Skills

Posted in Handicrafts


I really enjoyed the phone seminar mentioned in my previous post. It was hosted by Marilyn Moll from the www.Urbanhomemaker.com She interviewed Ruth Sundeen and Rebekah Wilson regarding Hope Chests and Sewing/Needlework Skills. Both ladies had a lot of good information to share and I even had my question answered!

I am planning to purchase Rebekah Wilson’s Needlework Skills, Book 1 when possible. She spoke briefly about it in the phone seminar and it sounds great. Rebekah said she tired to write her instructions assuming that you did not know anything about sewing. I like this idea since even Sewing for Dummies has me a little confused! If you want to know more about her book click here

Both ladies spoke about the satisfaction one receives from sewing, especially by hand. I have experinced this a little and would really like to learn more and teach my daughter.

Which brings me to my next point...I asked what was the best way to start with a 6 year old (My daughter is only 5 but I don’t think we will start until she is 6). They said simple running stitches and backstitches were good. Also practicing sewing in a straight line. It is also good to do small projects that can be completed in a short amount of time so that the child can experince that satisfaction we were talking about. Some projects they suggested were bookmarks, fabric covers for canning jar lids, embriodery and small pillows. I also asked if there were problems with the little ones pricking their fingers with the needle; Rebekah said to start them out with a cross-stitch needle or tapestry needle since the end in blunt. She also uses cross-stitch fabric to teach the stitches.

The other topic discussed was Hope Chests. I love this idea! A hope chest doesn’t even have to be a big fancy wooden box, you can use a rubbermaid container or a shoe box. The idea is that you put special items in throughout the child’s life so that when they leave home and get married they will start out with some much needed things (and also some sentimental ones). Some of the items to include in the hope chest may be tablecloths, hand towels, and aprons. Even better if they are ones you made together! Also books that were important and special family heirlooms. I received Rebekah’s book Hope Chest, A Legacy of Love for Christmas and I can’t wait to read it. Please visit her website for more information Hopechestlegacy.com Also visit Ruth Sundeen’s website, Hopechestsociety.com for more ideas.

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Jan. 5, 2007 - First Sewing Project

Posted in Handicrafts


For Christmas we bought SugarBean a Learn to Sew Beginners Sew a Door Hanger kit.  We have worked on it this week and finished today.  It was a lot of fun!

It is a great first sewing project.  The package says it is for ages 5 and up, but I did need to help quite a bit (my daughter is 5). 

I thought it was decently priced at $6.99.  We bought ours at Walmart.  It is also available on Amazon.com (click here).  It comes with a large plastic needle, yarn, stuffing, and felt pieces.  The felt pieces are pre -cut and have holes punched wherever sewing needs to happen. 

Most 5 year olds will need help.  I'm sure an 8 year old could handle it herself.  It is so much fun to make something you can use.  It turns out to be a door hanger with a pocket for a little note pad.  Great for leaving messages on her bedroom door.

Here are a few pictures of ours:


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Dec. 14, 2006 - Pottery

Posted in Handicrafts


This past summer we visited Grandma and Grandpa for a whole month.  It was a lot of fun!  One of our projects was making bowls.  We put them together and had to leave them there to be fired.  At Thanksgiving we were able to see how they turned out. Talk about being patient  :)

Here is what we did:
First we made a small circle shape with the clay and then pressed in some grass, weeds and flowers.
The idea is for the flowers to leave an imprint once they burn out in the firing process.

Next, press the circle into the bowl lined with saran wrap (flower side down)
 

 Once the inside of the bowl was fully covered we used wet fingers to make it all smooth.  It then dried to "leather hard" .  We ran out of time and had to leave it for my mother-in-law to glaze and fire for us.  Here is how they turned out....

SugarBean's bowl


My bowl:


Here is a close up of the imprints.  It is very rustic!

SugarBean also made a little wall hanging that I really like:

 
It is a lot of fun to make something that is useful.  There is something very satisfying about it.  Much better than cut and paste projects that will end up in the trash.
Thank you to my sweet mother-in-law for helping us do this.
Stacy
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Oct. 16, 2006 - Salt Dough Leaf Magnets

Posted in Handicrafts


A few days ago we made these fun magnets.

The kids had a great time making the dough and cutting the shapes.

Today we painted them.  Now it’s time to hot glue the magnet on the back. 

Click here for the instructions.





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Oct. 16, 2006 - No-Sew Fleece Blanket

Posted in Handicrafts




This is a great handicraft project.  We made one today for a new baby in our family.  I am not putting a picture on here because I don't want the recipient to see it!  This photo is of a blanket a friend made for my son.  It has been wonderful for the cold weather, and it is very soft and snuggly!

The blanket is made of 2 pieces of fleece fabric.  All you need after that is a pair of scissors, a ruler or measuring tape, and willing hands to tie knots. The knot tying was a little too difficult for my kindergartener, but I’m sure an older child could do the entire project on her own.  

For complete instructions click here 

 

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I am an Australian married to an American, currently living in the U.S.A. Join me as I strive to delight in the moments that make up our days and aim to have a happy family that loves God and serves others.


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