Crafting and Cooking. The story of my week.

Last week I had a blast, I got to try some things in the kitchen I've been wanting to try, I was able to craft some new crochet projects and I also got some great quality time with my niece, nephew and sister in law. Here is a look at my week, my latest projects (the successes and the failures as well), enjoy and maybe you can take something from this and enjoy some new ideas with your family. Oh, and I'll be sharing the recipe that worked soon so keep an eye out!

Well, here goes, I want to start with my favorite, I think, I can't really decide this week was so much fun. This was my daughters favorite too though by a long shot, HEALTHY cheese crackers, she helped make them and was so excited as they came out of the oven. Cheese crackers are most definitely a favorite with most kids, especially mine. These have very few ingredients including grated carrots that create a great filler and integrate vegi's into a wonderful kids snack. The recipe will be up soon so check it out, they are GREAT!

The first thing I tried was homemade gummy candies for my daughter since she loves them so, I was so excited about this, it is healthier and cheaper. Juice, gelatin, just some simple ingredients. Well, this I will say was in fact the project that FAILED this week. Not that I'm giving up, I'll be finding a recipe that works and hope to soon but they were gooey and sticky, my daughter is quite the prissy little thing so anything that makes her hands dirty she doesn't like to touch. Also tried with my son, since he doesn't care if he gets messy and he didn't like it. I don't know why but it just didn't work, hopefully the next attempt will!

 

The next thing I want to share is homemade Velveeta, (this recipe will also be up on the blog soon) my husband LOVES Velveeta cheese dip, but have you bought that stuff lately? It is HIGH, seems like the prices keep going up and up! Well, this was something extremely fun for me, not only does it give my husband something he really likes for a little cheaper and to us an even better flavor but, it is much healthier too, no preservatives all real ingredients! 

Apparently I didn't take a picture of the finished product, sorry!

Next, I crocheted a really cute bow holder for my niece for her birthday to go with some bows I had crocheted for her. See, I have been doing so many different projects, including a hello kitty hair bow I made for my daughter who is slowly becoming a great fan of all hello kitty products. My grandmother taught me how to crochet when I was younger and I regret not taking more of an interest until lately, see, I have gotten pretty good at this and enjoy making things without patterns and with them. This bow holder that I didn't have a pattern for turned out really well and I hope to get it pinned down to stitch numbers and all so I can post the pattern soon as well as the bows that are on it.

 

And, last but not least, although I enjoyed all my new experiments with crafting and cooking, this picture below sums up the greatness of my week last week. My daughter, niece and nephew were all so tired from playing together that they actually decided to tell us "night night" and go pretend to sleep in my daughters room. They weren't actually sleeping but they were so sweet together and such a joy to be able to watch them together, if only my son was in this picture too! 

Left daughter Annabelle, Middle Luke, Right Julia

Grandparents gift ( Valentine's or whenever!)

So, if you saw m prior post on valentine's day you know I promised a grandparent valentine... Well, I know this isn't going to post early enough but due to my sick kiddos we were a little delayed getting things done for this year. BUT, on the plus side, this is an amazing idea for any occasion so here goes!

What you need:

Unfinished wood 8x10 (big enough for toddler hand prints and 3x5 picture)

Picture printed out on REGULAR paper, no photo paper!

Mod Podge

Craft paint for hand prints

Paint pen (or brush to write with)

Hardware for hanging on wall

FIRST: I'll give you a quick summary of how to transfer the photo onto wood in case you are doing a separate craft and just need that part; then you can continue on and the rest will answer any questions you have and explain how we did it... Cover the wood where your picture will be placed with mod podge, place the picture (printed on REGULAR paper) face down on top of the mod podge, press down evenly, let it set overnight. Using a damp cloth rub off paper and the photo will be on the wood, then moisten it with a damp rag and using your fingers gently rub off extra residue. Cover with mod podge again.

Found the idea of how to transfer pictures to wood on pinterest (love this site) but I found it on so many different places I don't have an original source to give you.  

Get your kids together and get out the paint! Oh what fun! I don't have any pictures of my kids doing this because at 1 & 2 years old they needed some help and I had too much paint to take pictures. (Next time I'll enlist my husbands help :)

Here is the wood with the hand prints on it...

   After the paint dries line up the pictures where you want them so you know it will fit how you like.  

   

Then coat the wood where the picture will be placed with mod podge, place the picture face down on the mod podge. Press it down making sure it is touching the wood good.

As you will notice I put mod podge on the backs of the pictures for some reason but there is no need to

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NOW THE HARD PART... YOU HAVE TO LET IT SET OVER NIGHT! 

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OHHH, If you are any where near as impatient as I am with stuff like this the wait drives you crazy lol! But, if you've waited over night you can now take a damp wash cloth and gently rub the paper off. Toward the edges rub out and not in so you don't catch the edge of the photo and pull up too much of the picture. 

 

 

(Side note: the damp rag will make it look like you have all the residue from the paper but give it a few minutes to air dry and you will notice white splotches again, gently wipe over it with a fresh damp rag to moisten and using your finger tips gently rub to get the remainder of the film off. This takes a little bit of trial and error of thinking you are done and having to go back and do it some more, you should be able to feel whether it is smooth or still has residue.)

 

This is where I was rubbing the remaining residue off... remember to do it gently!

 

 

At this point you could easily cover it with mod podge for the final coat and be done but we did want to do something a little more to add to the "sentiment" of the gift for the grandparents and my brother and sister in law (aunt and uncle). 

Here is our final product:

Using a paint brush since we didn't get to pick up a paint pen we added initials at the palm of each print and added the date and occasion, Valentine's 2013!

And after we added those touches we covered with mod podge and let dry.

(Oh, and the original plan was to make the hand prints form a heart shape but I quickly found out my kids aren't old enough to be that cooperative, especially when they are playing in paint. But, if your kids are older or you can get them to work with you well enough I think it would be really cute to have the heart with the palms overlapping as the bottom of the heart and the fingers forming the top.)

 

Hardware on the back... 

 

AND here are the proud artists... They woke up to see them dry and Annabelle picked it up and carried it everywhere and saying she made it. Was so happy to hand them out to people too! Oh, and excuse the Christmas pj's, it is my daughters absolute favorite pair and we haven't seen the need to put them away yet.