Jewellery Organization

I found my jewellery storage, or lack thereof, overwhelming. I had stuff everywhere, and when pressed for time, I could not seem to locate things. I looked online for some ideas, and ended up picking up a fairly cheap shadow box ($20). We mounted the box to the back of the closet door, and I arranged all of the items I wanted to keep. The box was smaller, so I was limited to what I could keep. This method keeps everything organized, visible, and snag free!

Fall Walk

I know it isn't officially fall yet, but it sure does feel like it. Back to school, the leaves are falling, and the nights are cooler. I thought it was the perfect time for a fall craft. The girls and I went on a walk in the wild, wild forest today, and found lots of beautiful leaves. First we did some leaf imprints with crayons which always reminds me of when I was little . Then my daughter said she wanted to make a tree. So I drew the tree, and she glued all of the leaves on. Then, like the girl she is, asked for the glitter. She had a lot of fun.

Claire's First Birthday

For my first daughter's first birthday we had a big party, and I made her a tutu. For the second child, I decided a small affair would be better. I wanted to make it special though, so I decided to try a cake with fondant decorations. I have never in my life used or made fondant so this was a big undertaking. I am NOT a baker. I prefer cooking, as I have a hard time following directions. I think it turned out well though.

I used the recipe for marshmallow fondant. The only change I made was that I broke the recipe down into three parts and created three different colours. The fondant is very sticky, and it does take time to work it. I used coconut oil instead of butter for my hands. It worked out very well, and the kids loved the taste (of course)!
The cake was just a plain vanilla cake, but I made a strawberry mousse filling with this seasons strawberries. See recipie below. I also used a buttercream icing, as I think it tastes much better than fondant.

Strawberry Mousse

·         In a small saucepan sprinkle 1 ½ packets of plain unflavoured gelatin over ¼ cup of water. Let it soften – five minutes.

·     Puree fruit in food processor should have 2 cups of liquid.

·         Heat puree in saucepan. Add ¾ cup of sugar and let dissolve. Then add 2 tbps of liquer, and 2 tbsp lemon juice.

·         Heat the gelatin over low heat and add in puree until gelatin dissolves. Then chill over a large bowl of ice and water. Stir occasionally for 20 minutes. Should be the consistency of raw egg whites.

·         Beat 2 cups of whipping cream until soft peaks form. Fold into cooled raspberry mixture.

·         Let set in fridge – they say gelatin needs 8 hours but 24 hours is better.

·         I used the unflavoured gelatin and it was lighter not so sweet. If you want sweeter use the Jello mix.

Our New Playhouse

I am not sure where the summer has gone.  It always goes by too quickly, but we sure have been enjoying it!
I have been looking for a good swing set/playhouse for quite some time, but I could not find something that I liked, and that would fit our space. I found some pictures on the Internet, and my husband drew up some plans. This is the final product of a lot of hard work. Definitely a labour of love. He has done an excellent job, and the girls love it!  Thanks honey.

Zucchini Carrot Muffins

I found this recipe on About.com . I made a few modifications and they turned out awesome!!

• 2/3 cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce (instead of the oil)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar (changed amount from original)
• 1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar, packed (changed amount from original)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups whole wheat flour (instead of white flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup finely shredded unpeeled zucchini
• 1 cup finely shredded carrot
• 1/2 cup of raisins

Preparation:

Heat oven to 375°. In a mixing bowl, beat the oil with eggs, sugars, and vanilla extract.
Combine the flour, soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; add to the wet ingredients; stirring until blended. Fold in the shredded zucchini and carrots.
Fill greased muffin cups about 3/4 full; sprinkle. Bake for 20 minutes. Makes 12.

Grocery Shopping Sanity!

As of late, grocery shopping has become a bit of a chore. I have to make sure I am saddled with food, and toys before setting out in order to maintain my sanity.

Today I decided enough was enough, and I came up with an idea that worked miracles. First of all, I separated the two girls. The littlest is on top, and the oldest is in the bottom of the cart. Then I created a grocery list just for her. I copied pictures of items that we generally use every week into a word template. Then I created a check list on the side. I cut out the front page of a binder that has the plastic sleeve on the front. I stuck in the grocery list, and gave her one of her Crayola Dry Erase Crayons. It was awesome, and she had a ton of fun. She had to show everyone in the store! They were as good as angels, hooray!!

Link to Crayola Dry Erase Crayons

Dressing Practise Boards

My toddler loves to fasten things all by herself. So I decided to make some dressing practise boards. I wanted to do something quick and easy. I also wanted to recycle things from around the house.
I fully intend on doing more than two, but this was my first attempt. I have to say the first two took me around 3 hours of precious nap time!!

For the jean zipper and button, I used the zipper section, and part of a paint leg from some old painting jeans.

I first cut up the jeans, and used the leg as the covering for the board. I then cut out the zipper and used the applique stitch on my sewing machine.

The second board which is the snaps, was from an old baby sleeper that was ripped. I cut out the snaps and the back from the sleeper for the front, and sewed them together.


I learned a lot about myself in this project, between swearing and cursing.

1. I really don't like sewing - it is a means to an end.
2. I usually dive in, without thinking about what I need to do. Which in the long run takes a lot more time!
3. I don't read instructions
4. I am a danger to machinery - my poor sewing machine. I hope it will be okay.

I hope my daughter will enjoy these!!