elliemoon

BACON AND EGGS TO THE RESCUE

thank you pinterest for a cute and simple, sweet treat. the perfect after school snack activity for my crew, half of whom are feeling the end-of-the-school-year blues::

they all left the kitchen feeling a bit more sunny side up!

 

 

WOODLAND EASTER EGGS

we did the scavenging for our woodland egg supplies two nights ago, thinking we would wake up yesterday to another 5 inches. luckily, the storm missed us. which was nice, as some of our favorite specimens had shriveled up despite our best efforts.

these easter eggs are the most "wow" inducing eggs we've tried. they even beat out last years. they are also super simple. just poke around the yard, grab some nylons, elastics, yellow onions and vinegar and you're good to go. that sounded more involved than it really is::

wetting the eggs definitely helps with the process. then just stretch the nylons tightly over the greenery and tie them up. for these dozen eggs i used the skins of two small bags of yellow onions and about a 1/2 cup of vinegar. add water until everything is just covered and bring to a simmer. simmer for 15 minutes and let sit for 15 more. worth every minute. so beautiful and all natural, what more could you ask for?

this post was inspired by this post. thanks alicia!

 

CLEMENTINE CANDLES DIY

looking for something to do with your compost? this is a pretty neat trick. i promise the kids will be impressed. and there's nothing to it. it's really just creative peeling, set on fire::

slice a neat line around. the half you will be using is the upper half where it came off of the tree, so i slice mine a little closer to the other end. this way the cup will be larger. just slice through the skin and keep the clementine itself intact. pull off the end you won't be using and discard::

see that little nub left behind in the center? scratch that off. don't pull it, just kind of pop it off. this helps release the "wick"::

see all those little strands that you just uncapped? that's the good stuff. using your thumb, gently separate the peel from the rest of the fruit while trying to keep the bottom point attached. then gently wiggle the peel back and forth, kind of like pulling a tooth. this is what you want to end up with::

if necessary, give the wicks a little pinch to make them nice and neat. then grab some olive oil and fill. leave about a 1/2 inch of the wick exposed::

grab a lighter or some matches, whichever you prefer::

yes, it smells like orange scented candles! and look, you made a snack for the kids at the same time! that's some impressive multitasking. wouldn't this be great for a fall harvest table setting? or if the power goes out and you've run out of both batteries and candles? clementines, they're a life saver and you never even knew it!

 

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!!

hope your celebrations were as celebratory as you had hoped they would be! we stayed in by the fire and rang in the new year close and quiet. or as quiet as a family of six can be. which, after all, is not so quiet. so we savor every peaceful and quiet moment we can get::

those dover coloring books? definitely good for some quiet time.

one of the christmastime crafts i finished up at the last minute was owen's colored pencil roll. remember he was supposed to get it for his birthday? two years ago? oops. the good part is that when i cut all those strips for kai's, i also cut three additional sets of strips. eventually they will all have a carrying case for their colored pencils. eventually.

happy new year! and thanks for all of the super sweet comments yesterday!  

 

 

GIFT IDEA - DOVER COLORING BOOKS

just about everyone, myself included, is getting a couple of these great dover coloring books. the nature mandalas book is excellent and the trolls and fairies is sure to be a favorite::

the nature books are filled with great info and are very realistic. owen especially will appreciate the fresh kill in that owls talons. the horses and unicorns have already been wrapped. the goddess book has already been scribbled in. in short, dover coloring books are great! wrap them up with a set of colored pencils and you can't go wrong.

 

 

JACK-O'-LANTERNS IN A HURRICANE

luckily for us, hurricane sandy wasn't very intense. we lost a few shingles off of the roof, a few big branches off of the trees and had no power for most of the day and last night, but that was about the worst of it. wish i could say that for everyone. 

our power outage crafting brought us around to the pumpkins we had yet to carve. we started a little on the late afternoon side and so, in the end, were kind of squinting our way through the final steps. maybe not the smartest idea to have little ones yielding sharp objects in low lighting, but they all came through unscathed and that's what counts::

owen didn't put his name stamp on his, he was too busy carving up a uniquely scary pumpkin that we were all very impressed with::

sending our thoughts out to those that weren't so lucky in the storm. with the power back, we've been seeing a lot of very sad photos and footage. and realizing just how fortunate we are.

happy halloween everyone!

 

 

 

 

ACRYLIC CRAFT PAINT AND MINIATURE PUMPKINS

good times!

 

 

HAND ART - AN OPTICAL ILLUSION

here's something to do with the kids on the next rainy day. very simple steps and very cool results. just trace any hand lightly onto a piece of paper::

that part's easy enough. now start drawing horizontal lines across the page and let the line curve upward and create an arc whenever you are drawing inside the hand. this gets easier when you get to the fingers::

et voila::

pretty cool right? a diy optical illusion. people were very impressed around here. 

 

 

IMPULSE BUY

i saw these when i was out recently and had to get them for the girls. crayola crayon rings, perfect little stocking stuffers::

so colorful and fun. someone has to convince the stubby pencil studio to start making these! 

 

 

COOL HAT, BY KAI

i guess this is an extension of my "can kids crochet" post. kai revisited the hook recently and worked up his first hat. he wanted a basic boys hat. i introduced him to ravelry and twenty minutes later he was printing up this great pattern. it is the perfect pattern for kids that are just starting out. very straightforward::

there was some unintentional decreasing, or maybe accidentally skipped increasing, we never really figured it out. no matter, overall it came out great. the irregularities smooth out when he puts it on, so no worries. he was a little put off when he realized the error, but all's well that ends well and it looks super cute on everyone::

he now has a list of people he will be making them for. i hope i'm on it.