Urban Comfort

Child's Own Studio: Soft Toys Made from Kid Art

Yesterday I attended my son's Kindergarten graduation (and tried very hard not to be overly emotional and embarass my son, but c'mon!). I also came home with a boatload of art and projects to add to the boatload I've already collected over the year. At the moment, I can't part with a single piece of it. I know this will change, but for now, everything feels like a masterpiece, something special or sentimental to hang on to. 

But I'm always looking for ways to get art out of boxes and bins and there's only so much wall space I can dedicate to it. So I was excited to find Child's Own Studio, where Wendy Tsao, a craft artist, creates toy keepsakes that are faithfully created from your child's drawings. For me, this is a much more satisfying idea than two-dimensional art, and probably a lot more satisfying for children as well. After all, who doesn't want to see their masterpiece brought to life?

Clearly, I'm not the only person who's fallen in love with this idea. There's currently a wait list for Wendy's creations. However, she has a "Softies Showcase" on her site that features other crafters who can help you with your project (along with examples of their work and pricing). 

 

 
Polly Peanut Butter Bee by Joel

 

 Mika, by Jayme, age 5

 

Self-portrait by Zoe, age 5

 

"Stobbayew," the 6-legged bunny, by Maya, age 4

 

All photos by Wendy Tsao

Book Review: The Homemade Home for Children

I've looked at a lot of craft books over the years. If a book contains at least six projects I want to make, I'll generally buy it. But then there are the few craft books that are so lovely to look at, so inspired, that it takes a while before I'm even willing to put them away in a bookcase. That's how I felt when I received The Homemade Home for Children by Sania Pell. (CICO Books, $24.95. www.cicobooks.com)

The book is packed with 50 innovative ideas that cost little to make but are stylish enough for the most discerning of parents (and children). There are projects for the nursery as well as bedroom decor for the older set, projects for children to use in play, fashion accessories to make, outdoor projects, and one of my favorites, stylish storage ideas. The styling and photography are gorgeous and the projects are accessible, with clear, concise directions. 

If you have children or need ideas for unique gifts, this is definitely a book to add to your library. And for more of Sania Pell's unique perspective, you can purchase her first book, The Homemade Home. She also has a beautiful blog, At Home.

 

Play Sail

© CICO Books

 

Curiosity Cabinet

© CICO Books

 

Treasure Jars

© CICO Books

 

Clay Butterfly Garland

© CICO Books

 

Graphic Boxes

© CICO Books

 

Artist's Palette Chalkboards

© CICO Books

Coffee Filter Flower & Carrot Easter Favors

When someone once asked my son what I did for a living, his response was that I made pretty things and mailed them to other people. That's just about right, so during holidays I try very hard to make things for his Kindergarten class. His look of pride when I arrive with gifts makes it all worthwhile. 

This year I was tossing around the idea of making crepe paper flower baskets, modeling them on versions found in one of my vintage craft books. However, I was so smitten with the coffee filter flower bowls featured in Martha Stewart Living that I decided to alter my approach for a faster, easier, less expensive version. But those frilly flowers just weren't going to cut it for the boys in the class. My son and I settled on carrots and I was still able to make them with coffee filters, which visually pulls everything together.

As fussy as these projects look, they came together very quickly. I dyed all of the coffee filters in stacks, which was a breeze. The greatest time commitment was the overnight drying time (which could be shortened by creating smaller stacks of filters).  Once you get the hang of it, each basket or carrot takes about 10 minutes to make, so definitely a doable project, even for a large class. 

Fortunately, they meet my son's rather exacting standards, which is all that counts. I caught him trying to sneak a carrot in his backpack, so I know we have a winner.

 

Flower Baskets:

Materials:

Junior size basket coffee filters (4-6 cup size)
Food safe food coloring (I used McCormick Neon, Regular, and Fall (orange))
Shallow dish
Paper towels
Large rectangular baking pan or wire racks
Scissors
Nut/candy cups
Floral stems (for basket handle)
Glue dots (optional)
Quick-setting gel glue (Beacon 3-in-1 Glue)

Directions:

1. Dye your coffee filters:  Mix 12-20 drops of food coloring into a small amount of water (approximately 1 cup).

For the leaves: Put a stack of filters in the dye (as they absorb the dye, they will completely flatten out). Let them sit for a minute or two, then remove them from the dye. Let the excess drip off and then put them aside to dry on a paper towel lined baking tray or on a wire rack set over paper towels.

For the flowers:  Working in stacks, dip the edges of the filters into the dye, letting it work its way up as high as you'd like, but not saturating the bottom. Remove the stack from the dye, let the excess drip off, then put them aside to dry face down, keeping the shape of the filter intact. 

2. Stack 5 dry filters together (2 of one color for the middle, 3 of another color for the outer petals), then fold in half. Make a slit in the middle of the half, then cut those two portions in half again. Finally, cut slits along the folded edge. Round the cut edges to make petal shapes.

3. Cut a floral stem in half, then bend it to form a "U" shape. Attach it to the sides of the nut cup using glue dots or another strong glue.

4. Take the top coffee filter and push it into the nut cup, arranging the petals as desired.

5. Put a little glue on the bottom of the nut cup and around the top edge on the outside. Attach the second coffee filter around the outside of the nut cup. These two layers will cover it.

6. Run a line of glue around the bottom and the outer bottom edge of the petal covered nut cup and attach the third coffee filter, cupping it up a bit so it connects with the glued edge. Attach the fourth and fifth filters by gluing them onto the bottom of the cup.

7. Fold a green filter in half, cut a leaf shape, then glue it to the bottom of the flower basket.

 

 

Carrots:

#6 size white Cone Filters
Junior size basket coffee filters (4-6 cup size)
Food safe food coloring (I used McCormick Neon green, and Fall orange)
Shallow dish (9-inch square dish is perfect)
Paper towels
Large rectangular baking pan or wire racks
Scissors
Quick-setting gel glue (Beacon 3-in-1 Glue)
Pinking shears (optional)

Directions:

1. Create a dye bath for the carrots and one for the leaves.

Carrots: Lay a stack of #6 cone filters flat in the orange dye bath and let them soak for a few minutes. Remove the stack, let the excess drip off, and set aside to dry on a wire rack set over paper towels or in a paper towel lined baking sheet. 

Leaves: Dip the fluted edges of a stack of basket filters into the green dye and let the dye travel up around the edges of the filter. Let the excess dye drip off, then put the stack aside to dry face down, so that it stands up and retains its fluted shape. 

2. Make a cone shape from the dry orange filter and secure with a line of glue along the seam. Fill the cone with candy, blocking the bottom hole with a piece of candy (chocolate eggs are perfect). Fill 2/3 of the way up.

3. Pinch the edges of the orange filter together to create a carrot shape. Take the green filter and gather it into a point at the bottom. Snip off the bottom tip with scissors or pinking shears. 

4. Run a little glue along the outside the orange carrot top; place the green filter over the orange "stem" and squeeze shut.

Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies

Before my son was born, I used to make fancy oversized sugar cookies that I piped and flooded and flocked. It was fun and labor-intensive and gratifying, not to mention delicious. But I'm more realistic now and I simply don't have the time or inclination to do that anymore.

My son, however, is a full-fledged cookie addict and there's nothing he loves more than rolling out the dough, cutting the shapes, and decorating with sprinkles. In fact, the kind of decorating I remember my grandmother doing over the holidays. We went back to that this year, and unlike their more elaborate counterparts, we were able to make dozens in an evening. We gifted them to classmates and friends, and filled our cookie jar as well.

Sugar Cookies:

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened slightly
2 cups granulated white sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1. In a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; gradually add to the batter, mixing on low speed.

3. Wrap dough and chill, at least one hour.

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Roll the dough out on a well-floured board (1/4-inch for crispier cookies, 1/2-inch for shortbread like cookies); cut out shapes with cookie cutters, and transfer to an ungreased cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before baking.

5. Bake for 6 to 9 minutes. Let sit on pans for a minute or two, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Frosting:  Mix confectioners' sugar with whole milk and fresh lemon juice, to a consistency that's thin enough to brush onto the tops of the cookies, but won't run off. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of cookies with the frosting, immediately add sprinkles, then set aside to dry for about 30 minutes before packaging.

 

For a simple packaging idea, visit me on Momster today.

 

Edible Designs

It was my son's birthday this weekend and I had a bit of a last minute panic with his cake. We had a bowling party at a local bowling alley and originally we'd planned to have a bowling themed cake that I would pay someone else to make. Unfortunately, my son couldn't make up his mind which cake and cake design he wanted, only that he wanted it to be one of my recipes. I bake cakes - I don't decorate them. Before I knew it, it was Thursday and too late to order a cake. 

So I picked up a "cake tattoo" from Michaels and hoped for the best. Admittedly, I was a little nervous, but I found the edible sheets really easy to work with. While my finished cake wouldn't have made the cover of a magazine, my son was happy and his friends oohed and aahed over it, which also made him happy. What made me happy was that it didn't taste like anything and that it didn't change the texture of the cake or the experience of eating it. A win-win. 

I started researching edible designs, wanting to see if there were more sophisticated or modern designs that I liked. Mostly, no. I think the edible design transfers are more appropriate for kid parties or baby showers and some holidays like Valentines. But I did find the edible butterfly designs shown above, from Sugar Robot on Etsy. I think they're gorgeous and I wouldn't hesitate to use them for adult cakes and cupcakes. Even better, they're available in a range of colors.

I found a number of other DIY cake decorating options while I was in Michaels, including edible paper and special punches (similar to regular craft paper punches) to create borders and other designs for cakes in solid papers. Then there are stencils, die cuts for cake designs...it overwhelmed me at the time, but some interesting possibilities to think about in the future. 

 

Valentines is one of those holidays when I don't mind cute. I like this particular set from Lucks and I think the designs would also make good cupcake or cookie toppers (edible designs like this can be cut with scissors, so you're not limited to using them for cakes).

Cupcake toppers from The Frosting Gallery on Etsy. 

Carnival minis suitable for cupcakes or cookies. Can be purchased from King Arthur Flour.

My cake. The edible cake tattoo from Duff Goldman can be found at Michaels and Party City.

Babble's Top 50

I received word yesterday that Urban Comfort had been nominated as one of Babble's Top 50 Craft Mom Blogs of 2011 in the Best Overall category.  This is Urban Comfort's first nomination for anything, so it's exciting!  You can vote for your favorite blogger mama or submit your own nomination on Babble's site - or just get inspired.  It's a great roundup of blogs to bookmark! 

 

Strawberry Cupcakes

Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope your day is filled with love in many forms - including cupcakes.

Strawberry Cupcakes
(Adapted from Sprinkles cupcake recipe)
makes 24

3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup pureed strawberries (use all-natural frozen that have been thawed)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill two cupcake pans with cupcake liners.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

3. Add vanilla and strawberry puree to milk and set aside.

4. In standing mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.

5. Slowly add egg and egg whites and mix on medium speed until blended.

6. With mixer on low speed, add half the flour mixture until just blended.

7. Add milk mixture and mix just until blended.

8. Add remaining flour mixture and mix just until blended. Scrape down bowl to make sure entire mixture is smooth.

9. Divide batter between cupcake cups and bake for 20-22 minutes or until tops are just dry to the touch.

Strawberry Frosting

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm but not cold
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
3 1/2 cups confectioner sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons pureed strawberries (use all-natural frozen that have been thawed)

1. Beat butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy.

2. Reduce speed and gradually add confectioner's sugar and beat until incorporated.

3. Add vanilla and strawberry puree and mix until blended. Do not overmix, or the frosting will incorporate too much air. The consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.

Note: If you want the amount of frosting shown on the cupcake above, make 1 1/2 times the frosting recipe.

 

Sweetheart Candy Wreath

Judging from the number of hits on last year's Valentine crafts, plenty of you are ready to get into some holiday crafting. I thought I'd start out with a project that's perfect for the minimalist - a sweetheart candy wreath. It's small, at only eight inches in diameter, the perfect decoration to tuck into an unexpected place. I thought I'd hang mine on my inspiration board, but my son made off with it before I could. Which reminds me - it's a project you can make with your kids.

Materials:

salad plate or large lid to create a circle
Thin, but sturdy cardboard (package backing, gift box, etc.)
pencil
scissors
Sweetheart candies
Quick-setting gel glue (I used Beacon 3-n-1 Adhesive)
Seam binding or other ribbon, for hanging

Directions:

 1. Place your plate or lid facedown onto cardboard and trace around it with a pencil.  Cut out the interior of the circle, along the traced line, then cut around the outer edge so that you end up with a ring that's 1/4-inch wide. (I cut mine freehand since the ring wouldn't show and the outer portion didn't need to be precise, but you can trace around a larger plate if you're more comfortable.)

2. Start by arranging candies face down along the inner edge of the cardboard ring, the top edge of the candies resting along the middle of the cardboard ring and the pointed ends facing the center of the wreath. 

3. Arrange candies along the outer edge of the cardboard ring, with the top edge of the candies meeting the edges of the first row of candies and the pointed ends facing outward.  

4. When you're satisfied with your arrangement (If there's a small gap that's not large enough to fit an entire piece of candy, use that space for the hanging ribbon), glue the candies in place with the quick-setting glue (for less mess, apply a dot of glue to the cardboard ring, put the candy in place, then attach the next one).

5. When the two bottom rows of candy have all been attached, glue another row of candy on top, covering the seam where the bottom rows of candies meet, pointed ends facing outward.

6. Hang with seam binding or other ribbon. Further embellish, if desired.

Christmas Crafts for the Kids

This is the perfect time for kids to start Christmas crafting for classmates, friends, and relatives and I have the ideas for you. The projects pictured here are from a feature I did for Parents magazine this year, along with a snow globe ornament I did a few years back and still love. Most of the crafts are made from items you may already have around the house or things that are easily accessible and inexpensive.

Some of my favorites: 

Coffee cozies made from colorful, inexpensive knit socks found at Target (the beauty of knit socks is that the cut edges naturally roll up, creating an instant "hem" that doesn't fray). The snowman was made from buttons that were glued on and a scrap of felt for the scarf. The snowflake pattern is a self-adhesive felt sticker found at Michaels and embellished with a small button.

Bottle Cap Magnets are easy to make with fingerprint art and tiny scraps of wrapping paper.

Detail shot from the personal snaps I took to document what I was creating - see how perfect children's fingertips are for bottle cap sized canvases?

 

 

Stones decoupaged with strips of fabric and embellished with felt stickers make easy and colorful paperweights.

 

 

Finger puppets were made from felt covered coin wrapper rolls and 1 1/4-inch wooden doll heads (found at Michaels) that were glued onto the wrapper. Bits and pieces of felt and pipecleaners bring these guys to life. (If you twist in a small screw eye at the top of the head, I bet these would make cute ornaments as well.)

 

 

Even if you don't make the full ornament, I think these little pipe cleaner guys are lots of fun!

For more project ideas and directions for the crafts shown here, visit Parents magazine's website.

(Photos other than specified are from Parents)

Pumpkin Muffins

This is the first year I'll be making Halloween treats for a classroom and I don't want to send something overloaded with sugar. My son and I settled on pumpkin muffins and I thought of an easy tag idea that he could participate in. 

We've been making our way through pumpkin muffin recipes (as always, he's more than willing to be a helper), looking for the right balance of sweetness and a muffin that's moist, not oily. Here's the winner for us, an adaptation from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread.  They're perfect for breakfast or a snack and a nice alternative to all of the candy coming your way this month.

Pumpkin Muffins
(Makes 24-30 cupcake size muffins) 

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 2/3 cups pumpkin puree
2 1/2 cups sugar
Zest of 1 small orange
7 ounces water
4 1/8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Turbinado sugar to sprinkle on tops of muffins 

1. Position one rack in the top third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners. 

2.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter with the eggs. Whisk in the pumpkin puree and sugar. Stir the orange zest into the water then add to the pumpkin mixture and whisk to combine.

3. In a separate bowl, add the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt and whisk together.

4. Pour the dry ingredients onto the liquid ingredients and fold in gently until combined, being careful not to overmix.

5.  Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

6. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack and let them cool completely. 

**If you'd like to freeze some of them, remove the paper liners, wrap in plastic, then wrap in foil.

 

Tags:

Using a stamp pad, make a thumbprint pumpkin on a hanging tag. Let it dry for a few minutes, then draw on features with a fine-tipped black marker.  Add string (we used Divine Twine) and tie it around the muffin.

The Halloween Costume

I knew it would happen eventually and this year it did - my son decided he wanted to buy a Halloween costume instead of having one made. He's going to be Batman. The purchase has been made, he's ecstatic, and while it's one less thing on my to-do list, I'm already feeling a little nostalgic for the costumes of past years.  And so, to mark the end of an era, I offer you a trip down (my) memory lane:

The Pilot:

Ten weeks into the haze of new parenthood, I remember that this costume was the only thing my husband and I accomplished that day beyond the feeding and diapering. We were exhausted, but didn't want to let the first Halloween slip by unnoticed. I'm glad we did it because I still laugh when I see this photo. And the costume was so easy - I simply created an iron-on decal for his onesie, used a pilot's cap that someone had given us, and made goggles from felt (which I had attached on the inside of the pilot's cap with a little Velcro).

 

The Scarecrow:

I saw this costume in Parents, years before I actually had a child, when I first started working with the magazine. I loved it so much that I clipped it and saved it for the future - and finally made it. I loved this costume on him, but our evening was almost derailed when he declared he was going trick or treating in his pajamas. At the last minute he changed his mind (much to his mother's secret delight).

 

The Pirate:

Last year was the year I begged him to just let me buy a costume as I was neck deep in work and deadlines. He declined and casually suggested that I could just make something. This was the result of some last-minute maneuvering and he couldn't have been happier.  I put him in a pair of sweatpants that were a size too small (therefore, too short), bought some striped women's socks and pulled them up right over the sweatpants, made a coffee filter jabot that I attached to the front of a plain white T-shirt, added a fabric sash and bandanna, and purchased pirate accessories. He loved it - especially after he'd ditched the Pirate's hat and gotten rid of his face paint.

 

Now, if only he'd let me make that owl costume I've had my eye on...

 

It's Just Lunch!

I have lunch on the brain these days.  More specifically, WHAT to make for lunch. My son's school has a lunch policy - nutritious, no processed foods or snacks, and nothing sweet. Which is all fine and good, but I also have a child who's declared that he's "done with eating," and handles his blood sugar plunge about the same way I do. Clearly I want to send him to school with something he'll be eager to eat, for his sake and the teacher's.

Truthfully, I have never been much for "cute" food. I always think of it as too time consuming and when I spend most of my days crafting, it feels more like a chore. But I have noticed that my son is more inclined to eat something when it resembles something else, however inadvertent it may be. His tortillas get eaten into the shapes of various states, he arranges his fruit to look like tools and appliances, and lately one of his favorite books is about fruits and vegetables who have faces.

I give in!  I will attempt the art of the creative lunch. Doing a little research, I discovered Another Lunch, which is all about a mom's bento box lunches. They seem doable and cute and I'll probably spend a lot of time on her blog until I get the hang of it. I also found 20 Easy Bento Lunch Boxes on Parenting's website. These look a bit more complex to me, though awfully cute. Perhaps some of them I can pull off.

But I'm curious to know what others think and do.  Is there any benefit to the cute lunch? Do you think it actually inspires children to eat? And if cute food doesn't work, what do you do? It's a dilemma and challenge I face every day, except when he decides to confound me and eat the most complex thing he can find on my plate. I love food.  I want my son to love food, too. Is that too much for a Southerner to ask?

{Image from Parenting.com}

The Boy of My Dreams

It's hard to believe that my son is four years-old today. Sometimes it feels like I had him yesterday, sometimes like a million years ago. He was a gift after five unexplained miscarriages and a circumspect acceptance of a life without children.

I was never sure that I wanted to be a mother. Some women know for sure, but I didn't. I'm the oldest of five children. I understood early on that children were all consuming and often difficult and greatly hampered any notion of independence, and so I waffled and waited and waited and finally took a chance. And after I took that first chance, I had plenty of time to think about that decision before I finally became pregnant with him.

Motherhood has not all been rosy and there have been plenty of struggles, though it has gotten easier as we've learned to speak the same language. When he was younger, I never found him in any of the manuals, never felt like the experiences I read about had anything to do with me. I put the books away, as I finally understood that they would be of no help.

I was blessed with a very intense, willful, observant, bright, energetic, stubborn child with a heart of gold and affection to spare. If I hadn't been so exhausted in the days when he was a newborn, I might have understood what the pediatrician and the child development specialist on the street, and even strangers, were trying to tell me when they said, "he's so alert."  What they really meant was that I was in trouble and he was going to give me a run for my money. Truth be told, I wouldn't have it any other way. He is so beautiful and smart, and full of spirit and life and laughter. How could I want any less?

He's growing up so quickly and for all his independence, we are joined at the heart. I was surprised by him and blessed, but I had no idea that his birth was truly just the beginning. My grandmother taught me to recognize love, my husband gave me the acceptance and freedom I needed to learn to love, and my son carved out a whole new corridor in my heart.

Happy birthday, my sweet boy.

A Year in the Life

When my son was three weeks old, I took him to Brimfield with me (yes, postpartum insanity, but we survived) and there was a woman who pensively told me to cherish every day because it goes so fast. In the cycle of exhaustion that comes with a newborn, when I wasn't sure what day it was or whether I'd actually slept, time seemed magnified and endless. 

She was right, of course, as I find myself with an almost 4 year-old who's lost all vestiges of babyhood, ready to head off to preschool for the first time. My husband has been feeling it as well and there's just the tiniest bit of sadness that accompanies this growth process (along with great relief that we'll finally have some uninterrupted time on our hands).

I've never gotten around to doing a baby book (though I have a box full of special items) and I'm not nearly as organized with the memories as I'd like to be. But one thing I did for the first year was take a photo of my son each month. I kept it as simple as I could, the photo taken in the same window (the only window that got light in my New York apartment) until he was 10 months old and we moved to New Orleans. I look at these now and it seems like just yesterday and such a long time ago. I'm so happy I did just that one thing.  

As he heads off to school, I'm looking for new traditions to implement in our lives. What do you do (or have done) with your children that works for you?

 

Making a Little Art

 
My work life has been crazily, wonderfully busy lately - exactly the kind of busy a freelance creative type hopes for. From day to day, my home has begun to resemble a one woman factory as project after project gets completed and shipped out to the East and West. There are plenty of amazing tools, products, papers, and fabrics to work with - exactly the type of abundance that a creative type dreams of. I'm blessed. I'm grateful. Last year was tough. 

But recently my son told me he was going to his room to "make a little art." I was busy, distracted, and happy that he was willing to play by himself. He disappeared for a long while and when he emerged, he wore his masterpiece on his face. I thought he was so lovely and he had clearly had a wonderful time with nothing more than a jar of paint and a finger.

He stopped me in my tracks. It's been a long time since I've had only a few materials to play with and less urgent creative tasks. I wouldn't trade this time for the world, but it was a reminder that sometimes you just need to step back and "make a little art."  

Made with Love

 

I like to give handmade baby gifts and when a close friend gave birth to a baby girl recently, she also gave me the inspiration for her gift. The baby was named for my friend's grandmother who had been a seamstress when she was alive. I remembered a little "made by" personalized tag that my friend had kept from her grandmother's things, a little red and white tag, the kind you sew into items you've made. That also inspired the color scheme. 

Now, I don't do a whole lot of sewing. I can do the basics, but I'm certainly not an accomplished seamstress, so I tried to stay within my comfort zone but challenge myself as well. I started with some familiar projects - baby shoes for the fall, taken directly from my book, B is for Baby, paper and button covered hangers (also from my book), and two onesies. Then finally, a patchwork quilted blanket. The blanket was the challenge and I tried some new techniques and made my own binding for the first time. It's not perfect, but I think it's still charming and I hope Grandma Sadie would be happy knowing that I gave it my best shot. It definitely inspired me to get better and I'm already thinking about making something for my own bed or a quilt for my son. Next time, hand quilting!  (I will probably go blind from the effort, but what a wonderful heirloom.)

To wrap it all up, I uncovered some red and white tape measure ribbon. The baby "card" will be a strip of paper wrapped around a vintage wooden spool. A few things made with love, to honor someone who was well-loved by those whose lives she touched, and to welcome the new life whose journey has just begun. 

   

I made these shoes from wool felt. It's durable and easy to shape and has a nice weight to it. I reinforced the holes with eyelets to allow for frequent ribbon changes. I wrapped some additional, complementary ribbons around embroidery thread cards and attached them with a ring.

   

 

 
I used vintage fabric inspired scrapbook paper from Making Memories to decoupage child size wooden hangers. 

   

I designed this decal using the font Quicksand (Dash), which reminded me of stitching with its dashed letters. I then flipped the image and printed it out on iron-on transfer paper. You can download this design (for personal use ONLY!) below. 

   
  

 
I fused fabric scraps to pieces of iron-on adhesive, then cut flower shapes (using craft punches to create templates). I peeled off the backing, layered the pieces, then ironed them on at one time. 

  

   

Inspiration for this quilted blanket came from the large floral and oversized polka dot prints. Both were cotton dishtowels I had purchased a few years back. The top is pieced together with the dishtowels and other cotton prints. The backing is a soft white linen. I quilted the squares, but also used the tying off technique in the middle of each square. I used a surgeon's knot for extra security. 

Download Made with Love Decal

Birthday Love

 

I wasn't planning to post until Monday, but I wanted to share something sweet for a Friday morning.  I had a birthday yesterday, and lots of friends wondered who would be baking my cake, since I'm always the one in the kitchen. 

Well, I did get my favorite cake (and I'll share the recipe with you next week), baked by a special friend - and it was absolutely PERFECT, so I'm turning over the birthday cake baking to her from now on. But she also had the ingenious idea of giving my son his own ingredients to play with while she baked (instead of having him "help" her). Without measuring any of it out, she gave him some flour, sugar, milk, beaten egg, and 2 cherries - as he requested. He decided to add a little flour at the end, to make it just right, and then put the batter in the oven. When it came out, he made a "frosting" from confectioners' sugar and milk. It didn't rise, but it was entirely edible, and my son could not have been happier or prouder. I felt exactly the same.

Have a great weekend!

xo

Souped Up Bookcase

  
My son will be four in August, and we've begun the delicate process of transitioning his toddler room to a "big boy" room. Delicate, because my son sees it simply as an effort to move him from the family bed we'd never intended to have (palms in the air, "but Mom, who will hug me if I sleep alone?!!"). So, a slow and subtle transition it will be.

I don't want to buy all new furniture, but I admit there's a lot of white, so I thought I'd see what I could revamp. A couple of weeks ago, a friend sent me a box of Chartpak charting and graphic art tape that had been rescued from a university bookstore dumpster. I have red, white, blue, yellow, and a little green, in multiple widths. Since my son has declared red as his favorite color, it seemed like a good tape to work with. I used two packs of 1/8-inch tape to outline his bookcase. According to the price tags, I would have spent approximately $8 for this little transformation.  

What do you think? Did I succeed in making this bookcase less babyish? (I think I'll also cover the knobs with a patterned paper or paint them.) The jury's still out with my son. He kind of shrugged at me, not willing to give an inch...yet. All he can think about is the BIG BOY BED.  Poor kid.

BEFORE:

 

 AFTER:

 
  

Carrot Cupcakes

   
My son is on a carrot kick lately (who can understand the inner workings of the toddler mind?), and I told him we could make carrot cupcakes.  He seemed delighted but dubious at the prospect that carrots could be transformed into dessert. So we played hooky today and made cupcakes together. I used an old carrot cake recipe and simply baked it in cupcake form, but they weren't at all what I wanted. The batter rose and then flattened out in my cupcake liners and the resulting cake seemed dense and oily and altogether too heavy for the light, spring cupcake I was really craving. On to batch number two.

Armed with some baking fundamentals, five recipes, and a vision of what I wanted (sans toddler, who was happy with the first batch), I wrote out a recipe, crossed my fingers, and got really, really lucky!  I'm so happy with this recipe. It's probably not at all like the carrot cakes you've eaten in the past, but I think it's such a great springtime recipe. I grated the carrots so finely that they practically melt into the batter.  The crumb is very tender and moist, and incredibly light, while the flavor is bright and almost citrusy. The cupcakes rise and dome nicely as they bake, making them easy to frost as well. This is definitely a keeper for me and such a kid friendly cupcake!  I didn't include nuts, per my son's request, but if you want to add them, I suggest chopping them finely and adding them to the batter at the end. 

Carrot Cupcakes 
(makes 12 cupcakes)

1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
2 large eggs, room temperature
3 Tablespoons buttermilk
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2. Whisk the carrot, eggs, buttermilk, sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla together in a mixing bowl. 

3. Whisk all the dry ingredients together in another bowl, then add to the liquid mixture.  Stir well with a wooden spoon. Stir in walnuts, if using.

4. Bake for 22-25 minutes. Tops will spring back lightly and a toothpick inserted will come out almost clean. Let them cool in their pan for a few minutes then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

 

 

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the butter and cream cheese together on high speed until smoothy and creamy. Add sifted confectioners sugar and stir to combine, then beat on high speed until smooth. Add vanilla extract and beat to combine.

Divine Indeed

 

I'm a big fan of gifts, so I was delighted to find a lovely little sampling of Divine Twine in my mailbox last week. You've probably seen Divine Twine making its way across the craft blogs, but I thought I'd add my two cents as well. It's everything that I've always wanted bakers twine to be, but better than what's been available.  For one thing, it's thicker than regular bakers twine, which makes it stand out better, and the color is sharper.  And color!  That's what really makes this twine.  As of the summer, there will be eight different colors to choose from.  I love it!

I'm sure I'll use it on packages, but I always need birthday cards and tags for kids. I whipped up a few cards here, using paper scraps and rubber stamps. I also used a fine-tip applicator and white craft glue. (Fine-tip applicators are usually sold in the glass paint section of the craft store, but you can use Martha Stewart Crafts glittering glue, which has a fine-tip applicator on it.) For simple detailing, just add a strip of Divine Twine to add dimension.  You can also let it take center stage by outlining a number or initial. To do that, make a template from a computer font and trace around it lightly with a pencil. Use the fine-tip applicator to apply glue over the traced line and then guide the Divine Twine around the outline. For best results, use sharp scissors to trim the ends (I like Fiskars Micro-tip scissors.)

Divine indeed!