Crafty Corner: Little Chef

My niece P likes to help out in the kitchen. So for Christmas, I found a kid-friendly knife she could use that actually cuts stuff (but not her cute little fingers)! 

The Kinderkitchen Dog Knife- After giving it a whirl, she and her mama report that it's da bomb dot com!

 

To enhance her cooking experience, I also thought it would be fun to make her a little lady sized apron! More on that later....I must first get on my early childhood educator soap box for one brief shining moment: It's so valuable to give young kids the opportunity to participate in meal preparation activities...the more they help, the more likely they are to try foods that they maybe wouldn't otherwise. Just think of all the healthy foods they may gain an appreciation/taste for if they can learn about how they grow and different ways they can be prepared! Plus, they are sharpening (no pun intended) their fine motor skills and boosting their self esteem in mastering new skills - they can be proud of what they have accomplished with the tasty end result...yum.

Some encouragement to you parent types who are raising the future chefs of America...don't be afraid to get in the kitchen with your kids (big and small)! It may get a little messy, but the experience you have together will be so worth the extra cleanup and stress!! And it doesn't have to be a fancy 5 course meal...even small snacks or healthy treats made together somehow taste better:)

Back to the apron making party. I found a basic pattern online and mondified it to my liking:

This is 1/2 the apron (obviously) so you would fold your fabric in half before cutting with the folded edge to the left.

I chose 2 different fabrics and white cotton belting for the ties:

Washed and ironed the fabric and placed the pattern on top to cut (with the fabric folded in half along the left edge):

All cut out:

I also wanted to add a front pocket so cut a rectangle of the opposite fabric and prepared it:

The next step was getting the ties in the right spot to be sewn in. This is always a challenge for my brain to not make a mistake- the goal is to sew it inside out and have the ties not stuck inside when flipped right side in (which I have done more times than I care to admit- argh). It's gonna be ok, we can do this! Place the first piece of fabric with the pattern facing up, lay the ties as shown in the picture and pin in place:

Now, place the other fabric piece pattern side down. You have just made a yummy apron tie sandwich:

Pin it all in place and sew around 3 edges, leaving the bottom open to reverse it when done:

To finish, tuck the bottom open edge in, iron all edges flat and do a final zig zag stitch around the whole apron (in a fun contrasting color if you so desire). 

Almost done, sew on a piece of Velcro to one side of the neck tie and apron for easy on and off around the head:

Ready for some cooking....

.....Mosby approved.....

....and kid approved too!

Happy Cooking....with kids!

Mosie Boo....I ❤️you.

Today, I would like to do my part to bring some happiness and joy to the world. On a related note, I have an explosion of Mosby pics that have been collecting dust in my camera roll. If you are not a fan of kitties, I apologize- but not really. He's adorable:

 

Sequins & Sofas: 5 Things

I haven't shared any 'things' since mid-summer, so how's about it:

1. Doterra OnGuard Toothpaste: Last month, my Target toothpaste was running out and I thought I would try something different. I was placing an order for Doterra oils and had some rewards points to burn, so decided to give their toothpaste a try. I like it! It's kind of cinnamon-y and seems to get the job done. I have a dental appointment tomorrow so we'll see if I get a good report card with the switch:)

2. Oiselle Vest- I got this as a gift from a friend (Thx K!!) and wear it pretty much all the time! Lightweight but warm...and I'm not one for wearing jackets anyway (even though I know I should because it's winter and stuff). It's a dynamite company...worth browsing the website and supporting a growing business run by women for women: http://www.oiselle.com

3. Himalayan Salt Lamp- I received an Amazon gift card from a family at school and decided to use it for something fun that I wouldn't normally buy. An add for this lamp popped up on the Facebook and a few days later, I saw one at a friend's house. I was intrigued. They are supposed to add negative ions into the air (which I guess are good), clean the air and help your body be healthier. Sounds good to me....plus, it's pretty.

4. Benzoyl Peroxide Gel- Ok, this is kind of a funny one but I have been on a regimen of many a prescription acne medication over the years. Some worked fine, some not. I really liked the last one, but insurance decided to stop covering it (thanks a lot, guys). Fed up (and a little desperate), I reverted back to the days of my youth and purchased the old school benzoyl peroxide from the drug store...it actually seems to be keeping things under control and is quite affordable! Thanks, old friend.

5. HGTV Magazine- Not much needs to be said about this one. It's just a wonderful little house magazine to flip through as I dream about future projects I hope to complete some day...I very much look forward to its arrival each month. This one just came today (yeehaw) and I shall delight in it to the fullest tonight after work....if I can wait that long!

 

Veggie Explosion of Yumminess

A pal of mine passed this tasty recipe onto me last week and I must share! I tend to gravitate towards vegetables and beans (vs meats) as a general rule in life and this recipe was a total party of flavor in my mouth. It's delicious...and packed full of healthy vitamins and stuff like that too! Bonus.

http://minimalistbaker.com/roasted-broccoli-sweet-potato-chickpea-salad/

I followed the recipe pretty closely aside from skipping the coconut sugar on the chick peas and I omitted the roasted bell peppers. I think I have some underlying childhood issues to work through when it comes to cooked peppers (It's ok, Mom. It's not your fault, I know you just wanted to serve your kids healthy foods and stuffed peppers seemed like a reasonable choice. I promise to keep trying them until i like them 😘).

It was a fairly simple prep with basic ingredients. The only thing I had to search for was the Tandoori Masala spice but found it at Whole Foods as the recipe had suggested. Into the oven:

As the veggies were roasting, I made the sauce. I am kind of a sauce girl, so I prepped a little extra to feed the need for the proper ratio of sauciness that I knew I would desire. Side note: The recipe called for 3 large cloves of garlic minced- I did that but will probably only do one clove the next time I make this. It was definitely a little too garlic-y as I was still tasting it the next morning...a little less would have been better.

Aside from that....this is a dish that I quite enjoyed and will be making again very soon. Some naan bread on the side made for a perfect after work dinner:

Try it, eat it, love it!

 

Crafty Corner: Barn Wood Beauty

Well, we have made it to a new year.....hello, 2017! Isn't it crazy how fast time flies by? Now that the holidays have passed, I can share a gift project that I completed for my sissie. My family has a fun tradition for gifting over the holidays:

At thanksgiving, you declare if you plan to attend the Christmas festivities. If yes, your name goes in a hat and we all draw one after dinner. That is your person, you get no gift ideas or help, you have to keep it a secret and can spend no more than $50. 

Upon drawing Sister B's name, I spent a week or so brainstorming what I was going to purchase (or perhaps make). I walked through a few cute shops for inspiration and then suddenly had a vision for a DIY wall art project....I was seeing some barn wood pieced together in some way, the names of her family members hand painted in a fancy layout and hooks on the back so she could hang it somewhere in her house. 

The biggest challenge to accomplishing this task was finding the wood. I emailed a friend who is a frequent barn wood art creator (you can find some of her other cute projects here: (http://www.housingaforest.com) and figured she would most definitely have ideas on this. She did not disappoint and sent me a link to this place:

http://rusticrevivalbarnwood.com

Guys, it's awesome! A warehouse full of all kinds of barn wood pieces- big/small, thick/thin, long/short, painted/bare. And if you are willing to take the time to hunt around, the perfect wood can be found for any project! They even have a clearance room (where I found the pieces I needed and only spent $8!!):

I found these 3 pieces of wood already the same size (almost)! A quick stop at Menards for the extra wood to secure them together on the back and this girl would be in business:

I chose a basic board for this part- and Menards will cut any wood to the size you need. Score! This is helpful, because I don't have such tools for wood cutting at home. I did have some frustrating moments drilling the screws into place (it would have been helpful to predrill some holes but I didn't have a bit for the power drill to do that)- so I had moments of screaming/yelling at screws that didn't want to go in their spots but muscled thru and won the battle in the end. Lesson learned. 

I took some deep breaths and regained my crafting composure before moving into phase 2. Before adding any actual paint to the wood surface, I lightly sanded and then wiped the surface off with a damp towel. While it was drying, I sketched out a few possible layouts for all the names on some scratch paper:

Next, moved to a piece of tagboard equal in size to the actual piece of wood to do one more sketch and make sure that all the names would have enough room:

Looked good, so it was time for the paints. I chose colors that would compliment the decor of her walls and furniture:

I lightly drew out the words with pencil on the wood and then just went for it! It worked best to use a smaller brush with an angled edge and to brush on a faint, rough line to start each letter. Then I carefully dabbed along the line with the edge to make a clean line. This process took awhile, but was definately worth taking my time and keeping a steady hand!

Phew...2 names down, 3 to go! 

Hooray! All the names spelled right and no major painting flubs to fix along the way. I call that a victory:)

Last thing to do was to add a clear coat to protect the paint from chipping off over time. I used this (in a well ventilated area for safety...it's kind of stinky):

The gift was a success (along with a few other trinkets to add to the holiday fun)! I'm pretty sure she almost shed a tear of joy....makes you feel good to make others feel good:)

And to top it off, it was a very satisfying project to complete! From the initial idea, to the wood search, the planning and finally the painting....i like when a vision comes to fruition just as you had hoped it would!