Happy Halloween-y to You!

"Happy Halloween"

from my two monkeys and their little banana!

Did someone say 'Free Candy?'

Just for ringing a doorbell?

Well then, count me in!

We had lots of fun loading up on candy.  We may even have heard the words, 'can you carry my pumpkin, it's too heavy' uttered from someone...

One of our neighbors even had a candy buffet table.  I'll take one of everything please...

Some of us even got a little bit too into the spirit of Halloween.  No Penelope, you cannot take a pumpkin decoration home with you...

By the weight of their pumpkins, I think they did well.

We hope you had a fun-filled night too!

Halloween is Here!

Happy Halloween!

I have chili in the crockpot.

And cornbread in the oven.

I think we are ready for a long walk around the block collecting candy.

Have fun tonight and be safe!

I'll post some pictures of the kidlets in their costumes later.

Talk to you soon.

Have a Boo-tiful Friday!

We are having a Halloween party today.

It should be lots of fun.

Lots of little ones in costumes.

And some kid-friendly scary treats.

Happy Friday!

Proud Owner Of...

So, I received this in the mail a while back and realized I've never shared it with you...maybe because I'm not totally sure it's a good thing :-)

Yup, another pretty white envelope...not from the President this time...

But from Starbucks.

Wanna see what they sent me?

Okay, here goes nothing...

Hmmm...a congratulations card?  

For having a baby?

Nope.

For patronizing their stores a little too frequently.

You see why I'm not sure if this is such a good thing.

You see, this is a 'Gold' Card and it's for those of us that have a Starbucks problem and should probably really be going to some type of Starbucks Anonymous group (let's just add that to my weekly Fabric Addict group and my evenings will be all scheduled up!)

Maybe this card is our honorary membership into that said group...

Did you all catch that date up there telling you how long I have been a cardholder since?

Yup, 2008...wha-wha-whaaat?  2008!!! (holding head in shame)

Hey, to be fair I put in a lot of years of school...really, years of it...studying for tests and board exams and all that fun stuff that I am just so glad is behind me now.  I needed something to keep me going.  

When I peeled off that lovely Gold card up there, this was waiting for me underneath it.

Really?

Like I need another reason to stop in...

Twisting my arm, aren't they?

If you are lucky weak addicted cool enough to get to this level, just look at all the benefits you will receive! 

See, it's really a money saving tactic on my part.

So Gold card, my new shine-y love, I will gladly use you the next time I visit.

(Since I'm all about saving a buck or two.)

I've even got the perfect little place to keep you in my wallet...

:-)

Happy Middle of the Week Day to YOU!

Happy Bat Crayons

So, did you all have a fun weekend?  The hubs and I had a full day date yesterday, it was awesome.  We took Ellie with us due to our current breastfeeding situation (she's my little sidekick these days :-) )and headed down to Chicago.  We did a bunch of shopping at a ton of places that we have been wanting to go to for, like, ever but just never do because of the crazy that happens when you have 3 little ones with you.

Anyways, I wanted to show you what the kids and I did on Saturday.  We made neat-o Bat Crayons to gear us up for Halloween this coming weekend.  Did October go by super fast for anyone else?

This project is super easy, I'm sure you've seen it before but I just wanted to share our Batty version cause well, I just thought they were really cute!  My kidlets really enjoyed doing this, I mean what kid wouldn't want to make their own personalized crayons.  It's really a win/win project, the kidlets get to have fun peeling the wrappers off of old and broken crayons and us adults take it from there and bake the crayons.  Thus, in part making us like total rock stars handing over some cool crayons in the end...we didn't really want to do the hard part now did we?


Make-Your-Own-Crayons

Bunches of old and broken crayons
Some type of mold, like a silicon mold or even a metal mini cupcake pan (DO NOT re-use this for food!!)
Cooling rack
Your oven!!

Just unwrap your crayons and place them all broken up into your mold.  Bake in your oven at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes.  Once completely melted, let cool on your cooling rack for about 30 minutes or until the crayons are hard again.  Pop out and let your little artist have at those coloring book pages!

First grab all those crayons and have your little helpers unpeel them for you!

Grab your mold...I found this Batty one at Joann's!

Love the silicon mold for this project!  It makes it super easy to flip out the crayons :)

Then, fill your molds up with your broken crayons.  I did mine by color cause I'm Type A like that!

Bake at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Once your crayons are completely melted, pull them out and let them cool off...be very careful with this step cause that liquid crayon is H-O-T!!  

Then, just pop those little cuties out...

Spooky...

Yet, cute!

There's nothing more fun than coloring with a rainbow of bats!!

Wouldn't these be perfect for a treat bag for a Halloween birthday party?  

Just sayin'  :)

Have fun!!

Cheerios Aren't Just for Breakfast!

So, I wanted to share a little obsession I have been having since last spring.  I am just a lee-tle obsessed with itsy, bitsy, teeny, tiny, mini you might say, cookie cutters.  I love them!!  Maybe it's cause I love all things tiny-sized (mini oreos, cupcakes and Halloween candy anyone?)  Here are the latest ones I bought:

Little mini Fall cookie cutters!

Look at all these cute fun Fall shapes!

Here are just a few more itty-bitties in my ever-growing collection...

Aren't they fun?  You wanna know what I do with them?  

Well, as part of the Cheerios Blogger Circle, Cheerios asked some of us mommas how we use quality time with our kids to ensure the best nourishment for their bodies and minds.  So, I thought I'd share with all of you how I make lunchtime at our house nutritious yet fun so we can talk and laugh but also eat and enjoy a meal together.  

I use these little cutters to cut their foods into fun shapes and then I serve their lunch (...or dinner...or snack) in these fun cafeteria-style trays with little compartments.

These trays have the perfect sized compartments for just the right amount of food and enough food choices for my kids.

I like to fill the smaller areas of the tray with nutritious foods like cheese pieces, fruit, raisins, dry cereal, carrots, broccoli, salsa, hummus or other assorted dressings and sauces for dipping.  The bigger compartment is for their main meal component...grilled cheese, peanut butter crackers, pasta, roll-ups, kabobs and the like!

Here's a look at the lunch we had the other day:

I used my fun new cutters and cut up some cheddar cheese into little mini pumpkins...

Another compartment was full of Cheerios.  I like to have something crunchy with each meal...it might be dry cereal, crackers, carrots, or maybe even some of those 'healthier' veggie chips!

This compartment has a slice of homemade pumpkin bread...see a theme here?  :)  This was also my 'fruit' section for this lunch ;-)

And in the bigger section we had turkey roll-ups for this lunch.  These are very simple to make, just take a tortilla, swipe on some chive and onion cream cheese then put a few pieces of turkey lunch meat on top and roll up.  Cut into little pieces and there you have it...cute lunch finger food!

My kids love to eat meals like this and I have to admit, I really enjoy making them.  Noah and Penny are excited to gobble up all their little portions (which by the way makes trying new foods a lot easier!) and we can also learn shapes, animals, and numbers with the little food cut outs.

Then we can spend out lunchtime with a little girl talk...

Or laughing at some of Noah's silly jokes....

And then we can actually sit and eat our lunch...

Fun 

and

Yummy in the Tummy!

How do you make meals fun for your kids?  

Please share, I'd love to hear what you do!!

The Strappy Camera Lens Pouch Tutorial

So, I have been wanting to make a little pouch for my DSLR camera lens for a while now and this past week I finally did it!  I was getting so tired of wrapping it in burp cloths and onesies in my diaper bag whenever I took it on our little family adventures we tend to do.  I wanted to have something that would protect it a bit, especially keeping that lens cap from getting bumped and falling off, as well as something I could keep on my wrist or clip to my diaper bag strap for easy access.  I usually just have my shorter 18-55mm lens on the my camera for stuff around the house but when we go out I like to have the option of using my longer 55-250mm lens cause that way I can capture the kidlets doing cute stuff without them knowing that I am taking their picture.  What a sneak I am!

Anyways, since the weather was to be gorgeous this past weekend I knew we would be out and about doing fun fall stuff with friends.  It was just the kick in the pants I needed to make myself a sweet little lens pouch.

Here is what you need to make your own 

Strappy Camera Lens Pouch too!

4 pieces of fabric (2 for the outside of the pouch and 2 for the lining) 

   measuring 7" across the top, 6" across the bottom, and 8 1/2" tall

2 pieces of fusible fleece with the same dimensions above

1 piece of fabric 3" x 12" for the strap

1 piece of fusible fleece measuring 1.5" x 12"

1 zipper measuring 7" in length

First, take your 3"x12" piece of fabric and iron on your 1.5"x12" of fusible fleece to the center of it.

Then fold it in half lengthwise with right sides together and sew the raw edges together with a 1/4" seam allowance.

Flip your tube right-side out and press it with your iron so the seam is in the middle, set aside.

Next, iron your two fleece pieces to the wrong sides of your two outer fabrics.  

Then, take one of your outer fabric pieces (right side up) and place your zipper (right side down) at the top (7" wide edge) with the zipper pull to the left.  

Then place one of your lining piece of fabrics on top wrong side down, making a zipper sandwich of sorts. 

It should look something like this.

Put your zipper foot on your sewing machine and make sure you sew through all three layers!

Next, fold the outer and lining fabrics back so that their wrong sides are together.  

Then, place your zipper (wrong side down again) BUT this time with the zipper pull to the RIGHT (or bottom as in the picture above) on top of the right-side of the other piece of outer fabric.  

Then, place your other piece of lining fabric on top of the zipper just like you did earlier!

Here's a closer look at the second zipper sandwich you are making.  You can see the first two pieces of fabric you attached to the zipper over there to the left.

Next, spread open your fabrics so you have an outer fabric with a piece of lining underneath on each side of the zipper.  Press with an iron and then sew a line about a 1/4" from each side of the zipper to keep the lining down nice and smooth.

Then, open up your zipper 3/4 of the way...this will help you when you are flipping your pouch out in the last step!!

Okay, so next you are going to place your fabrics so that both lining fabrics are on one side of the zipper (with their right sides together) and both outer fabric are on the other side of the zipper (with their right sides together).  

You are going to fold your strap piece in half (with seam sides together) and place it between the right sides of the two outer fabrics about an inch from the zipper.  Pin in place.  Make sure you have a little bit of both raw edges hanging out just so you are sure to sew it within your seam allowance!!

Then just sew all the way around with a 1/4 inch seam allowance, leaving a 3 inch gap at the lining end (see the picture above) for turning!

Here's a peek at where your strap should be hiding in case I wasn't clear above!

Alright, so once you are all sewed up you are going to pucker the corners, measure 1 inch in from the tip and then sew a line straight across...do this to both lining and outer fabric corners (4 in all!)  

Cut off all four corners when you are done.  This will give you a box-like pouch.  

Then, all you have to do is turn your pouch right side out!

Once you have it like the second picture above go and find the gap you left open in your lining and sew it closed...you can hand sew it if you'd like!

And, there you have it!!  

You just made yourself an awesome little 

Strappy Camera Lens Pouch!

Perfect for that long DSLR lens you just might want to carry around with you!

Now you can just place it in your purse or diaper bag without fear that that darn lens cap is going to fall off and your lens will get all scratched.

Or

You can wear it on your wrist for those quick lens changes

Or

Grab a carabiner and hook it to your belt loop or purse strap for easy access!!

Oh, the possibilities :)

Yay, I'm in love!!  It's cute and handy!!

And for those that may ask, the lining fabric is Amy Butler's Midwest Modern Martini in Linen and the outer fabric is her Garden Maze in Brown.

Happy Making!!