Moon Sand

The bean box, a very popular activity at our house, got a new look today in the form of moon sand.  It is a big hit as you can tell.  

Recipe:  8 cups flour
              1 cup baby oil

Directions:  Mix flour and oil together with your hands.  Easy!

I really don't know if other oils will work if you are wondering, but it does smell really nice and has an awesome texture and enough clumping qualities for packing and making castles.  Perfect for the months that the sandbox is buried in snow!

The Land of Fermentation

In attempts to eating healthier and foods we can make at home, Jared and I have added two new foods to our "never buy again because we can make a tastier version ourselves" list.  Plus, we know what is in it and they are cheaper too!

First up, Sauerkraut!  We made this bad boy up a week before Christmas, let it ferment away on the counter and stuck it in the fridge right before leaving town after church on Christmas.  We used it today on our sandwiches and it will be a welcome bite and nice crunch in the coming couple of months.  I used a combination of two recipes, the first from Jared's aunt, Kim, and the second from The Homemade Pantry.  For those of you who are interested in another cookbook (because you can never have too many of those) the link is here.  I highly recommend it.  Along with making your own sauerkraut.  :)

Second in the bacteria journey is yogurt!  I was considering making this in the crockpot, turning it on and off and wrapping it in towels to keep it at the right temperature, and then my in-laws gave me a yogurt maker for Christmas.  Yippee!  :)  It has 7 6-ounce jars that you dump your prepared milk into, place into the countertop incubator, cover, and leave alone for 10 hours.  Done!  Pictured below is the first batch of many I am sure.  I'll be experimenting with different milks over the coming months too, right now I have 1% of the store-brand and that works really well.

Here is to healthy tummy bacteria in 2013!  :)

A sharp dressed man

Little man got a new church outfit for his birthday and we got a few pictures while he was decked out.  :)

And then he was done smiling...can you tell he is teething?

Christmas Projects

Most of the sewing lately has been gifts, so there haven't been too many things to write about here.  But, I finally finished a couple of things that I can show!

First up, an apron and chef's hat for my nephew and his soon-to-be play kitchen: 

(before I ironed it, sorry about that)

The hat tutorial is here and the apron tutorial is from my friend Gina, found here.  Both tutorials are really well written and easy to do.  There is an apron pattern with the hat that looks good too, but a little large for the 2.5 year old that is the receiver - it might be the next apron he gets after he outgrows this one in a few years.  I found some fun food-texted fabric at our local B & F and paired it with white muslin and some denim looking bias tape.  While I made this set, I also made a hat and apron for Timothy.  I tried to have him model, but he was so not willing.  Gina, I am looking for your advice here.  :)

I also made us stockings!  I love how I can fill my son's stocking and he has no clue...I am sure this is the last year that I will be able to get away with it. :)  I used this pattern for my outline and these instructions to put my stockings together.  I choose not to post the picture I had taken of the couch residents who where watching Snoopy at the time...my hubby was dealing with a touch of the flu...not pretty.

I did a quick loopy quilting all over to give them some texture and am really happy with how they turned out.  I used some cream heavy duty fabric that I had originally bought to make some bags with, so they are quite sturdy.  I have no clue what kind of fabric it is, other than not 100% cotton, because I actually melted a piece with my iron while trying to press out a crease.  oops.  :)

The only issue I have is that I completely forgot to insert a hanging loop in while putting them together. FAIL.  :)  So for right now, until I figure out what to do, a safety pin is being used...let me know if you have any good ideas to add a loop after the fact.

Linking up!