Two IKEA Towels Become Hooded Changing Towel

We took 2 IKEA Frajen Bath Sheets, at about $8 each, and turned them into a cozy, personal space in which Spud could change. Sure, you might think this is the wrong season for such a project. Wouldn't this be more useful during beach season? But Spud takes his swimming lessons in the winter, and when you have a boy as shy as he is (he doesn't even want to show his parents his belly button!) then you have to come up with something.

Originally I had big plans to include a carefully illustrated tutorial in this post. But things have been busy and now enough time has passed that I don't even remember all the details. But suffice it to say, we chopped off the bottom 17", or so, of each towel and used those pieces for pockets in the front and a hood. There was even a bit leftover to make little bags to hold flip flops or goggles.

The rest of the sewing is very straight forward ... leaving two arm holes and a neck hole ... and we embellished a bit here and there using some of my own fabric.

Features we like:
· Large arm holes make it easy for Spud to get his clothes inside to change into.
· The pockets in the front are large enough to hold the clothes he's changing into and then the clothes he's changing out of.
· The whole thing is long enough that he should be able to wear it for a few years. If he becomes too old for the robot, it'll come off easy enough.

And, yes, he loves it. I think he would live in it if we would let him.

"Drink it if You Dare"

Hubs and Spud were busy in the kitchen making potions, just now. "Mama, drink this and then you will become my house elf and do everything I say". A la Dobby from Harry Potter, no doubt. *Giggle*



They also tried to pop some corn without a lid on the pot just to see what would happen. Once it started though, neither of them could stand it, as the kernels began to fly about. Thankfully. And I reaped a few of the rewards of that experiment. Yum. But no brown goo chaser. Sorry Spud.

Photo Friday #30

REMEMBRANCE DAY CEREMONY  |  VANCOUVER, BC

Our little guy expressed a strong interest in participating in the traditional 2 minutes of silence at 11 o'clock (we cheated a bit and made it an easier 1 minute) for this year's Remembrance Day. He also wanted to witness one of the many ceremonies around town. It seemed like a good idea at the time — let's go down to the docks, an area of our home town we have yet to explore, to watch the 21 gun salute.

Is this the time to mention that I actually abhor guns? This 21 gun salute was actually 3 Howitzers, taking turns every minute for 21 minutes. Each time one went off, it pounded our chests so powerfully it made our hearts flutter past a few beats. I think I lost a couple of weeks of my life in that 21 minutes.

I see the value in conveying the Remembrance Day message to our son — that we must never forget the impact of war. And I think this experience brought home some of the realities of war, to me at least, a little bit. But I'm going to say "Tick. Done that." and look for a less dramatic, more peaceful way to remember next year. I wonder if there is such a thing as a Remembrance Yoga Class? More my speed I think. Hee.

Share your travel pics on Fridays too ... at Delicious Baby.

Holiday Fabric

It's here! My etsy shop is sporting a few yards of Bobble Garland, my new holiday-themed fabric. I should probably wait until after Halloween to announce it but I simply couldn't wait!

Carving Collaboration

Yesterday's ohdeedoh post ... Spud and Hubs make a mean carving team.

Hedwig Halloween Treat Bag

Our little Harry Potter will have his messenger owl in tow. We were having troubles figuring out how he was going to carry a wand, a treat bag, an owl ... it was getting out of hand. Until I came up with the idea of combining the owl with the treat bag. Here she is!

1. I sewed the felt eyes and beak onto the faux fur. You can see in the photo that I sewed across the two biggest eye shapes in several directions. I finished off the eye with a dark grey pupil by sewing around the perimeter. This hid all sorts of sins at the centre of the eye. (Did I mention that I'm not a sewer, at all!)

2. Sewed on the check lining to the back of the faux fur. I sewed the good sides together, leaving a 5" gap along the bottom to be sewn up later with the tallons. Then turned right side out.

3. Sewed the black back to the check lining in the same manner at step two, so that the seams were hidden.

4. Next, I pinned the two panels together carefully folding in and pinning the bottom open parts and slipping in the tallons. I sewed from the outside of the left ear, down and around to the outside of the right ear.

5. Made handle by sewing a black strip and check strip together and then attached to the top of the bag.

There are two downloadable templates for all of Hedwig's bits and bobs, if you are interested.

Check out Made by You Mondays over at Skip to my Lou for loads more handmade goodies.

Halloween Lollies

We decorated some spooky, creepy lollipops on the weekend. Hairy-legged spiders, just-off-the-vine jack o' lanterns plus a classic — the ghost. Hop over to ohdeedoh to see how.

Project in the Making

HEDWIG THE OWL HALLOWEEN TREAT BAG

The little guy is pretty excited about being Harry Potter this Halloween. Although his natural red locks would make Weasley the obvious choice, he understandably chose Potter. In the interest of time, we decided to buy most of the costume, all but two items — the treat bag, which will be Harry's white owl, Hedwig, and Harry's wand, that Hubs is working on.

Last night, after a trip to our favourite notions and fabric store, Dressew, I started sketching out the idea of the bag. And this morning I stole some time to print out a paper prototype to size it on the boy. Picture it in white faux fur (leftover from this penguin project) and felt. Wish me luck. I'll post progress as I go ...

Not Just Ordinary Granola Bars

My dear friend [shout out to KR!] found this recipe and modified it to include more nutritious ingredients (she punted the corn syrup, for example). We always look forward to camping with her, for a number of reasons, one of which is that she tends to bust out a large tray of these. They never last very long. Finally, I've decided to give it a try ... and surprise ... they are easy to make too!

INGREDIENTS
3/4 C. honey
3/4 C. peanut butter (we used almond butter), natural and organic
3 C. granola, whole-grain and naturally-sweetened
1/2 C. dates, chopped
1/2 C. apricots, dried and chopped
1/4 C. sunflower seeds, toasted
1/4 C. sesame seeds, toasted
1/2 t. sea salt, unrefined

METHOD
1. Place honey in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Add nut butter, cook for one minute. Remove from heat.

2. In a large bowl, add together remaining ingredients. Add honey/peanut butter mix to bowl and mix well. Press into a greased 9- x 13-inch pan. Cover, refrigerate and serve.

NOTE

We were a bit short on the granola, so I added some pecans I had the cupboard. And I think a few pumpkin seeds made their way in there too. Just shows this recipe is easy to modify according to taste. Another reason to love it.

Pumpkin Grilled Cheddar Sandwiches

Hee hee. The orange is on the inside.

Photo Friday #29

TRAVELS WITH KID | WHISTLER, BC

It's been almost 8 months since the Olympics came and went in my hometown. It was a project that I, among many others, worked tirelessly to make happen. I think I've finally recovered from the 4.5 year experience. And I enjoy spotting the remnants of our work here and there. Up in Whistler, the host Mountain Resort for the Vancouver 2010 Games, last weekend we were all pretty smitten with the giant shiny rings that remain. A couple of us thought it warranted a little lie down though.

And just as good, is the re-purposing of what was the Celebration Plaza into a playground. Phase one boasts a beautiful tree house. Phase two, which is currently being constructed, will be a playground for all types of kids with varying abilities. It warms my heart.

Needless to say, we spent a fair amount of time here. Well, here and the pool; that pretty much sums up our Whistler weekend.

Share your travel pics on Fridays too ... at Delicious Baby.

New 2-tiered Tiffin

I love the tiffin. It's such a nice way to separate foods in a cool stackable container. It's also great to get away from plastic.

Well, look what prezzy came in the mail earlier this week? That's right, a new stainless steel tiffin! And best of all is the cozy carrying bag. I can add extra containers of goodies in there and it keeps it all together nicely.

Spud's favourite feature? The pocket with the napkin. I wonder if that means he'll actually use a napkin now!? Heh.

Here are two simple lunches I sent him off to school with last week.

Strawberries, apples, carrots, grapes, mortadella sandwich.

Buttered bun with star cut, wieners, strawberry, tomato, banana

blueberry muffin with fruit leather star, cheese and popcorn.

Pure Nuttiness. And So Easy!

I posted about these gluten-free bad boys on ohdeedoh yesterday. Just 3 ingredients, not including the decorations. Points go to anyone who can tell me what these animals are ...
; )

Weekend Project — Stretching Fabric

We stretched fabric over some IKEA frames on the weekend with our new electric staple gun. Fifteen bucks worth of frames and some fabric I have been meaning to showcase for a while now ... and we have swished up one of our walls quite a bit.

For the full 'how to' check out my post on ohdeedoh.

Spoonflower Shipment Arrived

Twenty new yards of Robot Gear Garden Fabric!

Fruit and Cheese Plate

· Strawberries
· 4 Apple-grape skewers
· 4 Crackers
· Babybel cheese with a car shape cut out of the outer wax coating

This accompanied some warm cut up, leftover chicken strips, in a thermos. I just realized that I forgot to include ketchup. That may mean the chicken strips come back un-eaten.

I Heart Cookie Cutters

· Bun stuffed with cheese with heart-shaped fruit leather on top and flanked by carrots
· Fig Newtons
· Asian Pear slices
· Cukes, heart-shaped
· Chocolate chips in the centre heart

Fish Bowl Jello

Stumbled across this on Martha and just had to try it!

The gelatin recipe is interesting; you add your own food colouring so you can make the colour more subtle. Isn't it pretty? And the sweetness is toned down quite a bit too, which I like lot.



Once the gelatin is set, make slits with a warm, sharp knife and slip the little fishies in.



This little red guy is taking the plunge.

Off to the Post Office

Three orders of Robot-y fabric off to San Diego, San Francisco, and Athens, Georgia.
xoxo.

Today's Finds at the Used Bookstore

We used up the better part of our $80 credit today and it was so much fun. I'm pretty creeped out by old, dirty books but these ones are all in great condition. The most interesting find, I think, was Spud's pick. Wait for it: "Italian Style". I don't get why but I'm intrigued to find out what he gets out of it.

Call it Courage, Armstrong Sperry
George's Marvelous Medicine, Roald Dahl
Pippi Goes On Board, Astrid Lindgren
Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J. K. Rowling
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning, Lemony Snicket
Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe
The Swiss Family Robinson, Johann Wyss
The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary, P. D. Eastman

Off to go start one of them now.

Photo Friday #28

TAKING IN THE FAIR AND ITS PARADE

Share your travel pics on Fridays too ... at Delicious Baby.

Free Lunch Box Notes for Downloading

In anticipation of school starting soon, I've designed a few lunch box notes to include in Spud's bentos. And I'm making them available to download for anyone who is interested. The first page of the pdf has little sayings on each note.



The second page has blanks spots for a personalized message.



I'm going to try making these re-usable with some lamination and dry-erase pens.

Click on the wee printables button on the side bar for your copy. A comment would be lovely. Have fun!

Lemonade Bubbly

We are busily planning a little lemonade stand for the up coming weekend. We thought a little practice was in order.



I LOVE lemonade. Especially when it's homemade and I can adjust the sweetness. And now that we have a fancy stainless steal lemon-doohickey, I'm so happy.

3/4 C. lemon juice, strained
1 1/4 C. sugar
1+ litre soda water

Stir lemon juice and sugar together in a medium pot over low, until sugar is dissolved. Simmer for a few minutes to thicken. Remove from heat and cool. Voilà, you have a very lemony simple syrup. Now, just add ice and soda to taste.

Homemade Chocolate Popcorn

Believe it or not my kid was actually skeptical of this one. Until he tasted it!



1/4 C. Icing Sugar
2 T. Cocoa Powder
Cooking oil to coat the bottom of a large pot
1/4 C. Popcorn kernals
1/4 C. Butter, melted

Sift the sugar and cocoa into a bowl. Heat oil in large pot, add kernals, shake the pot for a few minutes until the popping is done. Coat popcorn with butter. Add icing sugar mixture and toss to coat.