Enjoy!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Loops and Pockets: Boy's Own Style
Just a reminder that you can find my post about adding loops and pockets to boys' pants over at Cook Clean Craft today. Here's a little preview:
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Sad News
Yesterday brought some sad news. One of my cousins passed away in his sleep early Saturday morning. Like me, he was in his mid-thirties, and seemingly in good health except for being overweight. His unexpected death has been a grim reminder that even 'young' people can't take their health and longevity for granted. It's time to make changes.
Rest in Peace, Trevor.
Rest in Peace, Trevor.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Mmm, Corn Dogs
When we have treats in our house, they usually come in the form of dessert. The other night, however, I was at a loss for what to make for dinner, when I spotted an email from allrecipes.com touting a recipe for corn dogs. I happened to have part of a package of wieners in the fridge left over from Canada Day weekend, so I thought I'd toss healthy eating to the wind for one night and give these a shot. Oh my goodness, they were delicious, on top of being fast and easy to make.
I only had three wieners left in the package, so I cut each one in half, and stuck in a popsicle stick. I mixed up half the batter recipe (using a whole egg, because I couldn't divide that in half), and dumped the batter into a drinking glass to make it easy to dunk the wieners. A quick fry in peanut oil (sticks and all), and the corn dogs were done. My kids devoured them, and I added some salad on the side to assuage any mommy guilt I may have felt about the questionable nutritional content of dinner.
Corn Dogs (from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 quart vegetable oil for frying
2 (16 ounce) packages beef frankfurters
16 wooden skewers
Directions
In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper, sugar and baking powder. Stir in eggs and milk.
Preheat oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Insert wooden skewers into frankfurters. Roll frankfurters in batter until well coated.
Fry 2 or 3 corn dogs at a time until lightly browned, about 3 minutes*. Drain on paper towels.
* My corn dogs cooked for barely a minute, instead of the three called for in the recipe. I broke my cooking thermometre last time I used it, so maybe my oil was hotter than I thought, but just keep an eye on them when you're cooking, and you'll see when they're done.
***************
Changing gears, I have some exciting news. Narelle from Cook Clean Craft has invited me to be a guest blogger next week as part of her Boy's Own Style series.
Check me out there July 9th, as well as the other great guest posters who will be sharing their best boy clothing ideas throughout the month.
I only had three wieners left in the package, so I cut each one in half, and stuck in a popsicle stick. I mixed up half the batter recipe (using a whole egg, because I couldn't divide that in half), and dumped the batter into a drinking glass to make it easy to dunk the wieners. A quick fry in peanut oil (sticks and all), and the corn dogs were done. My kids devoured them, and I added some salad on the side to assuage any mommy guilt I may have felt about the questionable nutritional content of dinner.
Corn Dogs (from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 quart vegetable oil for frying
2 (16 ounce) packages beef frankfurters
16 wooden skewers
Directions
In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper, sugar and baking powder. Stir in eggs and milk.
Preheat oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Insert wooden skewers into frankfurters. Roll frankfurters in batter until well coated.
Fry 2 or 3 corn dogs at a time until lightly browned, about 3 minutes*. Drain on paper towels.
* My corn dogs cooked for barely a minute, instead of the three called for in the recipe. I broke my cooking thermometre last time I used it, so maybe my oil was hotter than I thought, but just keep an eye on them when you're cooking, and you'll see when they're done.
***************
Changing gears, I have some exciting news. Narelle from Cook Clean Craft has invited me to be a guest blogger next week as part of her Boy's Own Style series.
Check me out there July 9th, as well as the other great guest posters who will be sharing their best boy clothing ideas throughout the month.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Handmade Gift Exchange
Wow, the month of June has flown by in the blink of an eye. And that means the deadline for the Handmade Gift Exchange going on over at Craftaholics Anonymous is just about upon us. Well, for me it was today since the post office isn't open this long weekend.
Add my usual procrastination to orders to rest after I had bleeding and contractions at 25 weeks, and it's a miracle I finished at all, but my exchange partner will be getting this summery market tote. The second shot is truer to the real colour. I had, literally, only 15 minutes to get to the post office, so photography was not on top of the priority list!
Since I was home, I sent hubby to the store for yarn. He didn't come back with the green I had in mind, but I added a strand of cream from my stash, and it didn't turn out badly. This wasn't the project I originally wanted to make, but under the circumstances, it was something I could do easily from the couch, so I hope by exchange partner likes it anyway.
On that note, the baby seems to be staying put after our scare, and I'm starting to feel more like getting out of the house. I spent a couple hours at Ikea with my boys today, and, it turns out, that was too much, so I'll be taking it easy for a while longer.
Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends, both bloggy and real!
Add my usual procrastination to orders to rest after I had bleeding and contractions at 25 weeks, and it's a miracle I finished at all, but my exchange partner will be getting this summery market tote. The second shot is truer to the real colour. I had, literally, only 15 minutes to get to the post office, so photography was not on top of the priority list!
Since I was home, I sent hubby to the store for yarn. He didn't come back with the green I had in mind, but I added a strand of cream from my stash, and it didn't turn out badly. This wasn't the project I originally wanted to make, but under the circumstances, it was something I could do easily from the couch, so I hope by exchange partner likes it anyway.
On that note, the baby seems to be staying put after our scare, and I'm starting to feel more like getting out of the house. I spent a couple hours at Ikea with my boys today, and, it turns out, that was too much, so I'll be taking it easy for a while longer.
Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends, both bloggy and real!
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Spiderman Light
Before my first son was born, I bought a couple little wall sconces from Ikea to light his room softly at night. When son #2 came along, one of the two sconces migrated to his room. The design is a very basic pale blue with moon and stars. Fine for little kids, but my big guy (I'm almost SIX, Mama!)decided he would much rather have a Spiderman light fixture.
With son #3 well on his way, which likely means needing a bigger vehicle to fit everyone, our budget is really tight right now. We just don't have the cash to replace a perfectly good light with another perfectly good light. That said, I figured a trip to the Dollarama couldn't hurt. There, I found some neat Spiderman window decals. I popped out the old moon and stars sconce cover, and added Spiderman to the front. The result was okay, but the light bulb was shining through pretty brightly without the cover in front of it. I thought adding paper to the inside (where the old cover was) might be a fire hazard, but hubby came up with the idea of using a scrap of window screen to filter the light. Perfect. Love when he's cute AND smart (=
Josh knows he didn't get a new light, but he's happy it's not so babyish as the old version.
********
Remember when I posted about participating in Kids' Clothing Week a while back?. It was a bust. Not a single finished outfit, and one night, I was so tired, I actually fell asleep at my sewing machine long before my hour was up. On the bright side, I have a few projects that did get started, so hopefully we'll see them soon. Soonish.
Despite my KCW fail, I've joined the Handmade Gift Exchange being hosted over at Craftaholics Anonymous. There's a hard and fast mailing deadline of three weeks from now, so best get to it!
I've been stalking my receiving partner a little, looking for ideas, but I have no idea who will be gifting to me. I hope she's not stalking my lack of posts lately...I'm pretty boring right now!
With son #3 well on his way, which likely means needing a bigger vehicle to fit everyone, our budget is really tight right now. We just don't have the cash to replace a perfectly good light with another perfectly good light. That said, I figured a trip to the Dollarama couldn't hurt. There, I found some neat Spiderman window decals. I popped out the old moon and stars sconce cover, and added Spiderman to the front. The result was okay, but the light bulb was shining through pretty brightly without the cover in front of it. I thought adding paper to the inside (where the old cover was) might be a fire hazard, but hubby came up with the idea of using a scrap of window screen to filter the light. Perfect. Love when he's cute AND smart (=
Josh knows he didn't get a new light, but he's happy it's not so babyish as the old version.
********
Remember when I posted about participating in Kids' Clothing Week a while back?. It was a bust. Not a single finished outfit, and one night, I was so tired, I actually fell asleep at my sewing machine long before my hour was up. On the bright side, I have a few projects that did get started, so hopefully we'll see them soon. Soonish.
Despite my KCW fail, I've joined the Handmade Gift Exchange being hosted over at Craftaholics Anonymous. There's a hard and fast mailing deadline of three weeks from now, so best get to it!
I've been stalking my receiving partner a little, looking for ideas, but I have no idea who will be gifting to me. I hope she's not stalking my lack of posts lately...I'm pretty boring right now!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Doll Quilt and Pillow
I've been into a little early Christmas gift making this year. Some of the little girls in my life will be receiving these miniature doll quilts with matching pillows.
(Sorry, I still haven't figured out how to stop my phone photos from cutting themselves off on one side.)
I love these little sets. They are made almost entirely with scraps, so are budget friendly, and they're quick to make. And, I think they're pretty adorable, too.
This one is a basic patchwork quilt, about 18 inches square. I cheated on the binding by just folding the backing over to the front. There are only two lines of quilting. Keeping it simple! The pillow is a rectangle of folded, sewed and stuffed fabric -- again, nothing fancy, but I remember loving this sort of thing when I was a kid. Feels like so long ago.
I love these little sets. They are made almost entirely with scraps, so are budget friendly, and they're quick to make. And, I think they're pretty adorable, too.
This one is a basic patchwork quilt, about 18 inches square. I cheated on the binding by just folding the backing over to the front. There are only two lines of quilting. Keeping it simple! The pillow is a rectangle of folded, sewed and stuffed fabric -- again, nothing fancy, but I remember loving this sort of thing when I was a kid. Feels like so long ago.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Bedtime Book Sling
My oldest son and I have gotten into the habit of reading a few chapters of a big-kid book together each night before bed.
Unfortunately, his books would end up all over the dresser or the floor. So last night I found a piece of denim-y canvas-y type fabric and stitched it into a nifty book swing. It attaches to his bunk bed with snaps.
I was going to make a full tutorial, but really, this is just a rectangle of fabric with the long edges hemmed and short ends stitched together. The strap were stitched on last, with a single snap added to each one. I was afraid that the sling might sag in the middle, so I stitched two lines through the rectangle to create three separate pockets. It works brilliantly
Sorry about the wonky and fuzzy pictures. They're from my phone and aren't orienting properly for some reason (you should be able to see the whole sling, not just parts of it!). Could be because I'm learning to post from my phone, too. Live and learn!
Linked to:
Unfortunately, his books would end up all over the dresser or the floor. So last night I found a piece of denim-y canvas-y type fabric and stitched it into a nifty book swing. It attaches to his bunk bed with snaps.
I was going to make a full tutorial, but really, this is just a rectangle of fabric with the long edges hemmed and short ends stitched together. The strap were stitched on last, with a single snap added to each one. I was afraid that the sling might sag in the middle, so I stitched two lines through the rectangle to create three separate pockets. It works brilliantly
Sorry about the wonky and fuzzy pictures. They're from my phone and aren't orienting properly for some reason (you should be able to see the whole sling, not just parts of it!). Could be because I'm learning to post from my phone, too. Live and learn!
Linked to:
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