A new batch of button babies and some fine winnings

I have the honor of leading a little preschool this coming year and I couldn't help but show off some of the little tidbits I've made for the occasion. You can see all of the fun things I'm doing with my kids on my other blog that is now dedicated to that subject. Just a warning, I'm keeping my kids and their growth and development a top priority, so the blogs will only be updated when it fits around my mommy schedule. (aka, sporadic)

Anyhow, I'm going to be doing a Letter-of-the-Week club with the kids, adding in all the extra preschool skills within the realms of the letter we are addressing. These sweeties are for B week and are Button-up Blanket Babies. They will not only be learning the sound of the letter B, but also be practicing the buttoning skill. Eventually I'll write a tutorial on how to make them, but I thought you'd like a sneak peak at what I'm up to for now.

On another "note", I recently won these little notes in a contest from kindnotes . Okay, so the photography really doesn't do them justice, but I've been having a ball using them to pack in my kids lunches for scout camp and as thank you notes. They are tiny and darling. I love to just sit and look at them, but then I remember that the point is to write something kind on them and give them away. A neat idea really.

Reusable Produce Bags

I put a few of these reusable produce bags together for a friend of mine.  I thought they turned out pretty good.  I simply made a few drawstring bags out of unbleached muslin.  Then I embroidered some delicious lovelies.  Here they are posing out in my garden.  You can see the green onion trying to get it's seedy head in the shot.

This is also the first time I've had lettuce grow so well.  Which is a happy thought.

A camping we will go!

What does this have to do with camping?  Well this happens to be what a glow stick looks like waving around in the darkness of a tent at night.  Just in case you wanted a beautiful mental image picture this:  about 40 kids each with 6 glow sticks dancing around in the dark.  

When and where did this happen?  Why at outdoor school of course.  My kids had a ball, and I got to snap a photo of some lovely camping feet of a lovely camping friend.  They were just too cute to pass up!

What the. . . ?!

I looked out the window one morning to see what my kiddos were up to and was greeted by a rather interesting site.  As I was wondering what on earth it was supposed to be, my kids started walking across this crazy tightrope one by one.  Apparently they decided to build an obstacle course to train for "Wipeout" which is a show we've been watching lately (it's a bit fluffy and pointless, but apparently intriguing to a certain young inventor/athlete of mine).

Next I found this rather scary monster lurking in my dungeon of a basement.
Just anther reason to avoid my basement (the laundry monster is down there too!)

Busy Little Red Hen

True to Little Red Hen form, I got a little help in making the bread in exchange for being able to eat the bread.  As a glimpse into my everyday life, I make bread a lot!  My husband loves it, and my kids go through about 2 loaves a day.  I love that I know exactly what's going into it, and it makes a great workout for your arms.

Here's the finished product.  It's hot, delicious, and heavenly!  I'll add the recipe that I most often use below.  I make 6 loaves at a time.  This is as many as my oven will comfortably hold, and keeps us in bread for at least a few days. 

My grandmother once got sick of making bread so often.  So one day she put blue food coloring into the bread.  She laughed as she told me that it lasted a whole week!  The woman was born in 1901.  So this was one of the amazing stories from a different era (she remembered the first time she saw a car) that she told me when I was a kid.  I'm glad I got to know her.

Here's the recipe:  Enjoy!

Bread

makes 6 loaves

1/3 cup yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

Mix together and let set for a little bit.  Then add:

3/4 cup honey

3 cups milk

3 cups warm water

2 Tbs salt

3/4 cup applesauce (I use this to replace the oil)

9 cups whole wheat flour

Let rise for 15 minutes (this is the sponge)

Then add enough flour to make a soft dough that holds it's shape pretty well when held in your hand, but careful not to add too much flour or it will be a brick.  Whether it's whole wheat or white flour is up to you.  I started with mostly white and then bit by bit added more whole wheat to wean my family onto whole grains.  Now I rarely use any white flour. 

Let rise about 1 hour or until doubled.  Yeast likes it warm and moist, so placing it above a running dish washer is a wonderful place to get it to rise quicker.  Next shape the dough into 6 loaves and let rise again about 15 minutes.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. 

Return of the Church mice

I've had a request for a church mice tutorial.  So, here it is.  Enjoy!  

A little bit about these little cuties is that they are only about 2-3 inches long, so you can use the last little scrap of your favorite fabric to make them.  

Church mouse tutorial

Start with a couple of sketches of these basic shapes.  A tear drop and a half heart shape.  They don't have to be incredibly exact.  Just a basic shape.

Next cut out your fabric.  You'll need to cut one layer of the #1 and 2 pieces of the #2. (#1 is the bottom and #2 are the sides).
The last pieces to cut are a pair of ears out of felt.  Here is the shape of ears to cut along with the bottom piece for scale.
Next, you're going to sew up the "spine" of the mouse.  After that sew, the top to the bottom leaving an inch space to turn and stuff.  Just a warning, the top will be considerably smaller than the bottom when you are attaching them.  This is okay, you can just leave off a big chunk of the bottom piece and cut it off later.  I find I like a little wiggle room on the bottom.  It keeps you from getting big ol' sewn in wrinkles while trying to squeeze the top onto a too small bottom.  

After you sew the top to the bottom, clip around the curves and turn right side out.  Using a piece of yarn on a yarn needle add a tail by tying a knot in the end of the yarn, pushing the needle through the tail end of the mouse and then tying a knot to the end of the tail to keep it from unraveling.   Stuff, but do not sew shut.

Using three strands of a dark embroidery floss stitch an X onto the nose.  Next make two french knots for eyes (you could use small dark beads instead if you choose).  Last, fold each piece of felt in half lengthwise and stitch to mouse using X's.  

To finish up, whip stitch the stuffing hole closed. I find if I do this last I can hide the knotted ends of the embroidery floss inside.    

Voila!  Sweet little church mice who line up so nicely.

If you make one, feel free to leave a comment with a link to your blog picture.  One of these days I'm going to set up a flickr account so we can share.  In the meantime, I just might bug some of you to show me how to do that.