All Gifts Big and Small

 

Remember when you first looked down on your little baby?  That moment when your eyes met theirs and there was an instant recognition?  I know you!  

 

 

That memory runs through my head each time my now 2 year old girl looks me in the eye.  She loves to get right into my face, forehead to forehead, and stares into my eyes.  If I blink, she pulls away immediately screaming and giggling while covering her eyes.  “It tickles!” she screams.  The best moments of my day.  Right there.  Hands down.

 

These memories are the best gift she can give me.  All these small moments, when time stands still and I bask in the love that little girl has for her mummy.  Simply, unique, unfaltering love. 

 

 

…a must to remember when she grows up and becomes a teenager...

 

 

To help keep these moments alive all the time we create these beautiful pieces of art.  They are favorites for Mums, Grandmothers, and Great Grandmothers alike!  Made, literally, by little hands.

 

We always start with a blank canvas.

 

 

Mummy painted the stems…

 

 

…and dotted her fingers with pale yellow paint.

 

 

Smooch then dotted her fingers around in colored paint to create tiny little flowers.

 

 

While those dried I got to work on the pots…

 

 

Just brown textured paper cut into the shape of a pot.  LOVE textured paper!  Then a little brown paint around the edges is applied to make it look a little more rustic.  I picked out two shades of the same type of paper, to provide more dimension overall.

 

 

Anyone else in love with making homemade gift tags?  I love these little guys, so easy to make…I never knew!!

 

Okay…piecing it together.

 

 

I’m also obsessed with ribbon.  I need help… but it sure does make things beautiful!

 

 

…drum roll…. Voila!

 

 

So when my little girl is growing up too fast, making her own choices (like the festive outfit below) I can look back and remember all those silly little tickle moments that make my current days so bright.  LOVE.

 

 

P.S. When making these for Mother’s Day gifts for Grandmothers it is best to ship them out before September.  Heading to the Post Office, be back in a bit.

Little Cowgirls

My daughter is certainly blossoming into her own version of a cowgirl.  Her Mummy LOVES this!  I was always worried that my daughter would not develop the passion I have for horses and riding.  What on Earth would I do?!

We love this man!

 

 

Thankfully I don’t have to worry about it.  My Smooch loves it!  We’ve made a couple trips up to Montana the last few months, further developing the budding passion.

 

 

 

 

What a joy to see this tradition develop in the next generation.  :-)

  

Another passion of mine is visiting yard sales!  I love to see what possibilities are out there just waiting to be discovered.  On one such trip I found a very beat up child’s vanity that was in desperate need of TLC.

 

 

So off I went to Hobby Lobby.  Anyone else feel an addiction building to that store?  I heart Hobby Lobby!!

Smooch picked out beautiful cowgirl stickers, to my enjoyment.  I picked some paint, paper, and some embellishments to match.

First things first, spray painting the parts.  Make sure you tape off the mirror first! 

 

 

 

I find it important to take time when doing this.  A little bit of paint on the mirror really does ruin all the effort that goes into the project.  Well, in my opinion at least…

 

 

Three cans of paint later, one of which exploded paint all over me, we have a finished product.  Tada!

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, little cowgirls have to have lots of horses and cows to play with.  And a beautiful vanity to cover with them!

 

Much to Come...Promise!

So, I have a virus that's been hanging out in my lungs for a couple of weeks now. I'm waiting to get in to see the pulmonologist after the New Year.  Whew, I’d LOVE to take a deep breath again or breathe after walking up my stairs.  I certainly have enjoyed the last year without asthma issues, but we shall see what happens.

C has been sick the two weeks before that; first a cold and then pink eye and ear infections, poor thing.

None the less, my blogging energy has gone downhill…although the projects and the recording thereof have not!  I have many things to post once I find the energy and time.  Just wait…such cute and easy things to make!  While you wait, I have this video to share with you all.  Grab a tissue first, okay?

 http://youtu.be/Ye39mgcHC3E

Hold your children close to you this season and think about all those kids who are not healthy enough to make messes, scream, talk back, or slam doors.  Just food for thought…

DIY Stacked Picture Frames

I love crafts, can you tell?  Not like I want to paint and glue paper to toilet rolls or anything.  I like practical, colorful, and beautiful crafts that serve a purpose in my home.  Like picture frames!  This is my first year actual participating in Super Saturday; apparently posting a blog about all my craftiness puts me as a shoe-in for leading a project.  Not that I mind.  I had a lot of fun, especially once I got to the event on Saturday; running around for three days beforehand…not so much.  Lessons learned… J

One, very important, lesson that I learned what that I may not have the ability to complete all the projects I signed up for and lead my own.  In fact, I ended up taking all of my signed up projects home to complete.  My favorite project?  It’s a toss-up between the cup holder and the stacked picture frames; unfortunately I only photographed the frames in progress.  So here we are:

Start by spray painting three wooden boards.  You can do whatever size you want really, just figure out how large you want them in relation to the picture frames you want to use.  Tip: press thump pins into the back of the boards so the newspaper doesn’t stick to the wet paint.

Let the board paint dry completely.  The next step is creating whatever design you want on the middle board.  I went with a chevron pattern, which took me about an hour to tape up.  I’m a perfectionist, but eventually I just had to live with what I did.  I was tired of retaping to make it perfect.  

I then spray painted the patterned board.  I also spray painted the three picture frames in contrasting colors. (I ended up repainting the blue boards with a teal acrylic paint because the spray paint was too light blue for my home.)

When all the frames are dry I hot glued Velcro pieces to the backs.  This will allow the frames to come off the boards so the pictures can be changed.

Next, I distressed the boards and the frames.  I did this simply by streaking and rubbing antiquing medium into the wood.  Love the weathered look!

Hot glue the Velcro pieces, while attached to the frames, onto the board where you want them.

Voila!

Oh BTW, here’s the adorable and function cup holder that I made, with plenty of room for family additions.  ;-)



Growing Up Yeast-Like

This time of year is a whirlwind of projects, family, travel, cooking/baking, and of course, being sick.  October flew by in just that fashion; starting with traveling, a family wedding, and ending in being very sick.  Happily we seem to be past all that and are now looking forward to a missionary farewell at the end of this month.  Sigh…how is it that my “little brother” is old enough to go on his mission already?  Here we are at the wedding, in which I was a bridesmaid, you can see just how “little” he really is (note, I'm wearing 3 inch heels):

It seems very fitting that we were able to meet at this wedding in my dear Virginia; now that I live in Washington, and he from California.  I’ve always felt a special bond with my brother, I do with each of my brothers and my sister; however, he is a sibling that has a unique beginning.  He is a survivor and laughs in the face of “shouldn’t have been”, in many ways.  See, not only was my step-mother not supposed to have him, but then he survived with a fatal, and undiscovered, congenital heart-defect for 16 years!  It is truly amazing how God’s power blesses our lives.

I’ve loved watching him grow up, seeing the interesting individual he’s become.  It hasn’t been easy, but what is?  Relationships, like bread, are some of the hardest recipes to perfect.  I’ve long been afraid to make scratch-made bread; and when you have perfect bread available at every market, why even try?  The temperamental nature of yeast and the perfect amount of kneading is daunting.  However, watching the final product rise and grow sends warm fuzzies up my spine, reminding me that all this work is going to be worth it.

Kneading still makes me cringe.  If it makes you run and hide, here’s a fun recipe that requires no manual kneading.  Perfect for me!  Bonus: they are pretty darn close to the Texas Roadhouse rolls, just a little more bready…all you need is some cinnamon butter and you’d never know!

Mum’s Roadhouse Yeast Rolls

5 Tbsp. butter (real butter, not margarine!)

1 cup milk

½ cup water

4 ¼ cups flour

¼ cup white granulated sugar

4 ½ tsp. active dry yeast (or two packets)

1 tsp. salt

I removed the top rack from my oven, leaving the bottom rack on the second to last level, and then set the oven to 200 degrees.  I sprayed a glass bowl with non-stick spray, and set to the side.  Take a small sauce pan and melt 4 Tbsp. of the butter, which is half a stick.  Once melted add the milk and water.  This needs to heat to about 125 degrees; I do not have a candy thermometer, so I used by meat thermometer.  Worked great!  Take it off the heat when ready.

In a mixing bowl add 4 cups of the flour, the sugar, yeast, and salt.  I used a paddle attachment for this part, on a slow setting.  As the dry mixes slowly poured in the warm milk/butter mixture then increase the speed to medium for a few seconds until everything came together.  Slowly add the last ¼ cup of flour until everything came together in a sticky ball.  Time for kneading.

Easiest thing in the world, I simply removed the paddle attachment and added my dough hook.  I set the mixer on medium-high and the timer for 5 minutes.  Then walk away.  When the timer goes off, move the dough from your mixing bowl to the prepped glass bowl.  Turn the oven off and place the bowl inside; the dough will need to rise in the warmed oven for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes of rising turn the dough out onto a floured countertop and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Divide the dough ball into quarters, and then divide each new ball into quarters again.  This will make 16 pieces.  Gentle roll each piece into a loose ball and place into a greased springform pan.  Once all the balls are nestled into the pan (nestled if the appropriate term here) set the pan on the back of your stovetop and cover with the towel.  The warming oven makes a perfectly warm nook for your dough to rise for another 10 minutes.

After the second rising, you’re ready to bake!  Bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown and delicious.  Melt the remaining 1 Tbsp. of butter.  When the rolls come out, brush all that butter on top and let rest for about 20 minutes. ENJOY!

Blah to Gra – nola That Is!

Allergies have haunted my life since I can remember.  Memories of the first time I was tested still haunt my Stepmom, whose fingers I may have broken had I been stronger.  Back then they did skin testing on your back, not on your arm…thankfully, for my daughter the testing process is considerably less painful and quick.

Little C tested positive to dairy allergies last year and she exhibits symptoms of wheat allergies, which we will be tested for next month when we go back to VA.  Developing meals free from both products has been quite a challenge…one that I welcome with gusto!

The puffed rice that once was a great breakfast at school has now become subpar in the world of more interesting things to eat.  What do you do with a ton of plain puffed rice?  Why, make absolutely wonderful granola, that’s what!

Start off by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

I raided my pantry to find different ingredients; this is a great time to use nuts or seeds that might be flirting with an expiration date or dried fruit that were bought and then forgotten.  This is what I found:

1 cup of Puffed Rice

2 cups of Rolled Oats

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup of raisins

½ cup of dried plums

You will also need the following:

1 tsp. Vegetable Oil

1 tsp. Vanilla extract (real pleeeeease!)

6 Tbsp. Honey

¼ cup Apple Juice*

1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

½ tsp. Cinnamon

*I did not have apple juice, we just don’t drink it.  So, I used a packet of apple sauce that I had in my pantry.  Perfect substitution!

Combine the oats and the puffed rice and layer it onto a cookie sheet.  Pop it in the oven for 10 minutes, just to toast everything a bit.  Keep an eye on it, if you burn any of this it’s done.  I stirred mine half way through.

While that’s getting roasty-toasty, combine all the wet ingredients and the spices in a measuring cup.

When the oats and puffed rice are done toss them into a bowl and pour the wet mixture over it all.  Mix it well.

Then spread a thin layer onto a cookie sheet.  You can use the same cookie sheet as before; I chose to use my Pampered Chef stoneware for this because I didn’t want anything to burn.  I baked this part in batches so that things would toast nicely.

Bake each batch for 15 minutes, mix some, and then another 5 minutes or until it’s lightly browned.  The mixture will still be moist when it’s done, but it should look a bit toasted.  Spread out onto another cookie sheet to cool while you start on the next batch.

Once cooled you can put back into the bowl and mix in the dried fruit.

You’re finished!  Super easy, super cheap, super yummy!  What more could a sweet little girl ask for?  Pour on some unsweetened coconut milk with a side of banana and you’ve got one energy-packed breakfast!



Seasoning Life

In April my daughter and I drove from Washington D.C. to Spokane, Washington.  Okay, I lied, my amazing Dad drove…we rode.  So here I found myself ready to establish a wonderful life for our little family, in a quiet area with a slower pace than the big city.  Of course, what I hadn’t really thought about was what I would do without all my friends.  Making new friends comes easy to some people, but not to me.  I’m inherently shy and very sensitive to feeling like an outsider.  By chance the opportunity came to me to host a craft/girls night every once in a while…thanks to the Party in the Back skirt.  This was the project we worked on this last night.

  

If you haven’t already realized, I’m anal retentive.  I spent about 30 minutes at the Hobby Lobby picking out the paper for this project.  So much fun...anyways, I folded and tore the paper, making sure it was slightly smaller than the actual size of the block.  I then wrote the word on the back of the paper and the side of the block, so I could keep everything organized.  You won’t believe, it took an hour and a half to just tear all the paper (talking included).  I’m silly sometimes…

I then sanded down all the edges…with a nail filer.  That’s right.  The sandpaper I bought was too fine and taking too long, so I just used what I had…easy enough to replace.  One of the blocks even had a stamp on it that I filed off, the best I could anyways.

I then Mod Podged the torn paper onto the matching block side.  I was very careful to make sure that if each block rotated once it would still show the same season on all three blocks.  Once the Mod Podge dried I sponged white paint onto all the bare wood areas, wiping it with a paper towel to remove all excess.  I repeated the exact same steps with an antiquing dye.  I used FolkArt’s Antiquing Medium #811.

Finally I applied the vinyl, making sure to rub firmly with a credit card to make sure everything stuck nicely.

Tadda!  LOVED this project!  Here is where you can get yours.