for her

I must admit I was quite surprised to meet this baby and discover she was a she. I was convinced there was a boy rolling around in there (though, truth be told, I have been wrong every single time!). With two girls already in the house, I thought we were set for clothing this little one, until I remembered that the other girls were born in warmer seasons. I pulled out some outfits from our winter boy, and while I'm not set on the girls wear pink/boys wear blue division of things, I did feel this little lady deserved something a bit more fitting... which is how I found my way to the stacks of fabric in the sewing room and a few new pairs of pants for Hazel.

 

I hadn't sewn newborn clothes before, but I've clothed plenty of dolls, and since Hazel is only slightly bigger than most dolls I figured I could handle this one. I based the pattern on a pair of pants that I knew fit her and went from there.

   
Through most of the pregnancy, I felt my creative energy was directed elsewhere. Making "things" had taken a backseat to the making of one very small person, and so it felt very rewarding to find a creative spark and make something useful for this babe. While I was at it, I made a new diaper bag... not that it's really for her, and not that I needed any more bags, but I have enjoyed making these tote bags from this easy tutorial a friend shared a while back.

 

Made with a sturdy cotton duck cloth and lined with cotton, it's just the right size for a few diapers and a water bottle. I even added pockets for wipes, keys and a phone, which made me feel extra talented!

It feels good to be making things again, and to have such a good reason to be doing it:  for her.

in the making

Strands of lights... pencils, paper and glue... yarn and needles... dough and batter... pots of stock and plates of muffins... gathered odds and ends... fabric, thread, ribbon and a whole lot of imagination are all busy in the making of these days.

What's in the making for you?

homemade ornaments

These lovely little ornaments are one of our favorite holiday crafts. Using homemade playdough, cookie cutters and presses the kids create simple ornaments to give as gifts and add to our tree.

Play Dough Recipe

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 Tbsp cream of tartar
2 cups warm water
2 Tbsp oil
food coloring

Combine the dry ingredients and place in a heavy pot. Mix the water and oil together before pouring into the flour mix. Whisk to combine and heat over medium-low heat, stirring as the mixture thickens. In a few minutes, you will have playdough! Press a bit between your fingers to test the consistency. If it's still too sticky, stir and cook a little longer. Separate into as many pieces as colors you want to make. Roll the dough into a ball, make a well in the middle, add your food coloring and knead the color into the dough.

Once you have your dough colored, you can get to work rolling out the dough and cutting the shapes. Using a small point (such as a toothpick) make a hole for stringing the finished ornament.




Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 300 degrees for one hour. When the ornaments are cool, you can decorate with glue, glitter, paint, ribbon and more.



Once dry, they're ready to add to your holiday cheer!

indian summer

Here's a fun project for those warm autumn days that call us out among the changing leaves. The kids love these fun streamer toys, especially since they are quick and easy to make and bring hours of enjoyment. They're simple enough for children and beginning sewers to create and small enough to use up scraps of your favorite fabric!



You will need:

• Fabric


• Three lengths of ribbon, about 12" each


• Scissors, needle and thread


• Pen or pencil


• Funnel


• Rice or beans to fill the ball

Begin by selecting and preparing the fabric for cutting.



Fold your fabric in half and trace a circle on the wrong side of the fabric. You can use a jar lid or any other sized circle as a guide (unless you are better than I am at drawing circles freehand!). Cut out your circles.



Stitching by hand or machine, sew the edges of the circles together, right-sides facing, leaving a space large enough to turn your work right-side out.

Turn your work right-side out. Using a funnel, fill your bag with rice or beans.

Cut your ribbons and place them inside the opening in your ball. Fold the fabric of the opening in and pin the ribbons and fabric in place.

Sew the ribbons securely in place, making sure to catch both sides of the fabric to seal the opening. A few extra stitches here will ensure the rice stays inside the ball!



It's done! Swing it by the ribbon tails and watch it fly...

rhythm of the home

Today, the Autumn Issue of Rhythm of the Home is out, and I couldn't be more pleased to have contributed to this lovely publication. This, along with turning the calendar to September, has provided that final nudge into the season ahead that I needed.

Rhythm of the Home is an inspiring collection of recipes, crafts, words and ideas, drawing on the influences of the seasons. I feel honored to have been included in the autumn edition and am looking forward to reading through all the other amazing contributions included in this issue. Here's to autumn and the inspiration it brings!

with the oven turned on

Despite all the heat lately, I just can't resist turning on the oven. There are too many good things that happen behind that creaky door.

Today, we tried out a new baking clay that was so easy to make and incredibly fun to work with.

Baking Clay

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups salt
3/4 - 1 cup water

Mix together and knead until smooth. (We used about 3/4 cups of water, sprinkling in a little more as we kneaded to smooth the dough). Make your shapes and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

We divided the dough among us and set about creating our sculptures, using knives, skewers, imagination and our hands to shape the dough.



Soon, a variety of animals, nature scenes and doll-sized bowls and cups were ready to be baked.



While the oven worked its magic on the clay, we mixed up a batch of our favorite chocolate chip cookies. I'm partial to all the healthy cooking and baking we do around here, but there is a place for a good ol' fashioned cookie, don't you think?

When the clay had cooled, we painted our work.



Some other things were painted in the process...

At the end of all that baking, we sat back with warm cookies and mugs of milk, admiring our new creations.

Yep, good things happen when that oven is turned on.

from the weekend

The weekend was full of...

baskets, egg hunts, good food and family to share it with

explorations and water

baking and decorating, crafting and creating

and lots of reasons to celebrate.

This week, we'll just keep right on celebrating as we prepare for the official birthday tomorrow, gathering with friends in honor of the birthday girl, and the (hopeful!) hatching of our chicks!