Upcycled Fall Tree Craft

I sometimes find the debate on whether or not it's good to have planned craft projects for kids interesting.  Obviously the kid projects based on a model are cute as cute can be. They often work on following directions, which the therapist side of me likes.  But some say they squelch creativity and sometimes the projects are done more by the adults than the kids.

When I was a kid, I loved loved loved project time (big surprise).  I loved when a model was set out for inspiration and I could put my own spin on it.  I also loved art time without rules too. As a mama, I go along with a hybrid.  We have plenty of crafting times without an agenda, but my little guy also enjoys projects. 

Now...I wanted to share a tip on what I've done as a therapist and will continue to do as a mama.  I get an idea for a crafty project.  Whip up a model.  I then prep enough for a dozen or so.  I let creativity flow, as many are created as wanted, and then store the extras away for next year.  The prep ahead of time means there's more chances for creativity and less work from me.  During a busy week, it's nice to pull out a file folder from last year and boom...there's a project you don't even have to prep for. 

This fall tree is an activity that my mom did with me when we were kids.  Upcycled, just the way I like it.

I free handed a tree on a paper bag and cut it out to paste on plain paper.  (I included the template in case you would rather not draw your own tree). Template here.

The leaves are tissue paper left over from a gift.  Tear, crumple and glue. 

A great fall project.Even for a two year old.

 

As an added bonus, it will be fun to see how his tree from this year and next year differ.

I'm guessing there will be more kid crafting ideas coming up now that my oldest is more able.  Unsure of whether to blog about kid crafting ideas or not.  Thoughts?  Feedback is appreciated!

A bit of girly sweetness...

I sent out to post a couple pics of our sweet baby girl.  Umm...I sort of went out of control.  Hope she makes you smile today. :)




 
 

 

 

Appliqued Spider Shirt (Free Template)

What?!  No Halloween shirt for my two year old?!  A thrifted $1.00 GAP striped shirt and a bit of imagination...voila!
 
Best part is it can be worn year round, as a spider doesn't need to be for Halloween. If you want to make it  yourself,   The Template is here.    For the arms and legs, I found it was easier to cut a long 1/2 inch strip and bend and place the legs where needed fit, trimming the desired length.
 
Here it is on my little model.

When I gave it to him, he checked it out and said "Ooo, Adri SO cute!  Adri snazzy".  He used to say he looked delicious.  Now 'snazzy' is his word of choice to described his favorite apparel.  This kid is one of a kind.

A new shirt inspires a dance party, of course. 

What?  You didn't know the Itsy Bitsy Spider had a dance beat?

There's a lot this kid can teach you.

Ohh, to have that energy.  Happy Monday everyone!

It's okay. Go ahead.

Every single day, I find myself *just about* ready to redirect when those little paws get close to the book shelf. You see, when those paws touch a book, they cannot just take one.  Every single book, yes, every.single.book must come off the shelf.  It makes a ginormous mess. A mess x 3, as we have a filled book shelf on every level of our house. While I do make him clean up the mess, he cannot shelve the books without help. Some days I think that I'm soooo tired of cleaning up books that I'm going to make them off limits for the day.
 
But...the books aren't removed from the shelf out of malice.  They're removed one by one, most looked at page by page.  Some require mama to read.  Some are entertaining enough to read on his own.  Some are so good that he must share them with his sister (which she already has a strong love for books). Those books are most important (which is good, as this mama has hundreds of books for her babies...literally).

Yes, there's not a single book left on the shelf.  Yes, we have to step around books in the living room. Yes, there's piles of books all over our house.  Yes, I'm going to have to help you clean up the books one by one....again.

But go ahead, little ones.  Choose away.  Read all you want.  The mess is worth it.

Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Drizzle

I told my brother and his girlfriend what I was making.  They asked me if I was going to blog about it.  "Only if it's good", I replied.  It occurred to me that I never mentioned to my readers that I don't blog about everything I make.  Only the stuff that I think is really good.  This recipe came recommended from a couple of friends.  My little guy says "Nice cake.  Delicious, sweet mama!  Happy Birthday to you."  I love that he finds it necessary to celebrate birthdays multiple times a year, heck sometimes even multiple times a day.  He's got the right idea, no?

Back to the cake...the recipe is from here, but I simplified the directions. My cake isn't super orange, as I used fresh homemade pumpkin puree from sugar pumpkins and not canned stuff.  It's yummy though!

Chocolate-Pumpkin Marble Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

Cake:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened*
• 5 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree
• 2 3/4 cups cake flour, divided
• 3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp. baking powder, divided
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda, divided
• 1 tsp. salt, divided
• 3/4 cup Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/3 cup regular or low-fat buttermilk, divided

Cream Cheese Glaze:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 4 oz. (1/2 cup) regular or low-fat cream cheese (SOFTENED)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 3-4 tbsp. milk (or more if you want a thinner glaze)

You'll need 2 Bowls. 

1) Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, vanilla. Beat.
2) Transfer 1/2 of batter into another bowl.
3) In BOWL 1, add pumpkin, 1/3 cup butter milk, pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1 3/4 cup flour. Mix. Set aside.
4) In BOWL 2, add 1 c. buttermilk, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 3/4 cup cocoa and 1 cup flour. Mix.
5) Spoon 1/3 of pumpkin batter into greased bundt pan.  Drop heaping tablespoons of chocolate and pumpkin on top in alternating fashion until both bowls of batter is gone. Gently swirl knife through batter.
6) Bake at 350 for 45-55 min. Turn out of pan and let cool for 15 minutes.

7) Make the glaze.  Mix powdered sugar and cream cheese, beat in vanilla and milk, 1 tbsp. at time. Drizzle on the warm cake. Let cake cool completely.

Fall. Love it.

A crisp fall day and some family fun in the sun, both kids happen to be wearing mama made (that also happen to have free patterns: baby hat, whale shirt.  There's nothing better.

 

 

Oh.My. Daddy....

I came home from work and all I could hear was exercise type music pumping. I went downstairs to find this...

 Adrian was sharing his cars one by one with sweet Audra, who was enthralled with watching her dad run.  I just laughed. That's their daddy. Hey, we have to do what we can to get our exercise in.

There's been plenty of times I've just smiled in recent days watching this daddy love his two littles.  He's a great dad, this guy I married.  We're all lucky to have him.

 

Top notch dad, that's what you are.  Thanks a bunch.