It's a Bird, It's a Plane...

It's Superman!  This is the first of the sewing projects from my list that I completed.  It's so far from perfect it's laughable, but it's done.  I've had the fabric for almost 6 months, so done and imperfect is better than still sitting in neat little bundles in my sewing room.

Superman (who refers to himself as Supaman, has no idea who Superman and Batman are, and will STRONGLY deny being Batman; both sides of the cape are Superman and that's it!) could take it or leave it.  I actually had to bribe him to get him to wear it long enough to get a couple pics.  But that's ok, he'll like it more when he's a bit older.

I used this tutorial, that I've had bookmarked in my sewing folder for ever and ever.  It was very easy to do and I think that the next one I do will be much better.  Oh, yes, there will be another one.  I think all of my children need capes.  And I probably need one, too!  They would make great additions to Halloween costumes!

If you look closely you'll see that the fabric around the logos is puckered and that my applique stitching is horrendous.  Next time I think I'll just straight stitch near the edge of the felt and call it good.  I actually think that look appeals to me more, anyway.  I tried a plain ol' zigzag and didn't like it, so I switched to my machine's applique stitch with the feed dogs down.  Talk about a learning curve!  Whew, it was a lot of work and more than a little frustrating.  Not at all worth the crooked-y results.  Oh, and a little stablizer probably wouldn't come amiss, either.

The bribery I mentioned.  "You can throw rocks in the pond if you'll leave this on for a minute!"

One final note in regards to Superman's appearance:  Yes, he had chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast (whole wheat, though, that makes it healthy, right?!) and I didn't wash his face.  Yes, the side of his face is covered in dirt because he fell down.  No, I didn't pick out his outfit.  Big Sissy did, and that t-shirt is Baby T's.  The shorts were a gift from Aunt Gigi, and when I told him who got them for him, he said that makes him happy. :)  So, thanks, Aunt Gigi! 

Blown Eggs - the EASY way!

Blowing eggs the traditional way can be a chore.  You have to mouth an egg and end up with two holes in the shell.  This way is much easier and your shell will have only one hole.  And, you won't get light headed unless you hyperventilate from sheer excitement.  In which case, you need to get out more. :)

Supplies:

*  eggs, can be dyed, but must be uncooked
* syringe with large gauge needle or sewing pin/needle and bulb syringe(also known as a booger bulb in our house)
*  some sort of receptacle to catch the egg innards
*  paper towels or old rag
*  mineral oil

Instructions:

1.  Decide which side of the egg you want to display.  On the opposite side, poke a small hole in the shell.  I used an 18 gauge needle and it went right in when I twisted it like a drill.  Then, I used the tip to break a tiny piece or two of shell outward.

2.  Wipe off the bits of shell using a paper towel or rag.  Try not to leave any loose pieces so you can use the eggs once they're out of the shell.

3.  Insert the needle and gently scramble the egg a bit in the shell.  You want to break the yolk up  a little.

4.  If using the syringe, pull the plunger back so it's full of air.  Insert the syringe or bulb syringe and gently blow air into the egg.  As air goes in, egg will come out.  Repeat as needed until the shell is as empty as you can get it.

5.  You have a couple options to clean the remaining egg residue from the shell.  You can use your syringe to squirt water in and blow it out until it runs clear(ish).  Or, you can hold the shell under running water in your sink, then shake the water out.  Both work fine, I did a combo of both using the syringe first, then the sink as I was washing the outside of the shell.

6.  Allow to dry hole side down or bake in a 200 degree F oven for 15 minutes.

7.  Dye or decorate, if desired.  I left my eggs natural, I love the variety of colors my hens lay.

8.  Coat lightly with mineral oil for a light sheen.  Pour a dime size amount on a paper towel, then rub the eggs well.  Allow to sit for a few minutes, then buff off the excess oil.  You could use a vegetable oil if you want, but the mineral oil will last longer.  This step is also optional.

Enjoy your beautiful eggs year after year.  Or until your kids break them. :)

Hints:

*  If you're using eggs you've already decorated, practice on one you don't love to make sure you've got the hang of it.
*  If you dye afterward, the eggs will float, so you'll have to fill them with dye if you want them to sink.
*  I did my eggs in batches as I needed them over the weekend for cooking and baking.  It only added about 5 minutes to each thing I was making and then the eggs didn't go to waste.

Linked to parties at: The Girl Creative, Cottage Instincts, Making the World Cuter, Today's Creative Blog, A Soft Place to Land

Irish Blessings to You

St. Paddy's day is one of my favorites.  I'm Irish, I'm Catholic, and...it's my birthday! 

So, my gift to you on this special day is a collection of Irish blessings.  I love reading them, they make my heart feel full.  I hope you enjoy!

This is a gorgeous flash movie.  Warning: it does have music, so if you have a baby sleeping on your lap make sure to turn down your speakers.  Baby T was on my lap when I played it the first time.  It was naptime and he had just nursed, but was still a little fussy.  I played it and he quieted right down.  I played it again to actually read the words...the scenery is so beautiful I didn't pay attention the first time..., looked down, and he was asleep!  Awesome!

This slide show has some lovely ones in it.  Number 4 is just beautiful and number 7 makes me chuckle every time.

Finally, this is a collection of blessings and prayers for many occasions.

Whether you read one or all of these I hope they brighten your day, as you brighten mine.

 

Last-minute Valentine's Craft

My almost 4-year-old loves crafts. She wants to "play a craft" every day, at least. And, she's started saving everyday objects to use for these crafts. Recently, she chastised me for throwing away a Hello Kitty bandaid box because she'd been planning to use it for a craft when it was empty. She rescued it, painted it pink, and cut it up. I love seeing this creativity come from her and it's fascinating to see what she'll create.

When my paper towels ran out a couple weeks ago, I saved the tube and stuffed bread bags into it. It fits perfectly in my drawer and my supply of bags for fresh bread is much more orderly. Well, my girl wasn't pleased because she had planned on using it for a craft. Of course!  How could I not know that?! So, when the paper towels ran out again this week, I saved the tube. After a little pondering, this is the craft I came up with. It's loosely based on my (ahem, award-winning) valentine box from an oatmeal container that I made in gradeschool.

First, I cut the tube in half and had them paint it.  You could really use anything here; TP tubes, gift wrap, just plain old paper.  Also, this is a good time for a color lesson.  What colors make pink?  By the way, I love freezer paper.  It's cheap and lets me clean less.  Which makes me much more willing to do messy crafts.  Which makes my kids happy.  Which makes me happy.

And paint, paint, paint.  Very serious business!

Then we cut out a bunch of different sizes of hearts in different papers.  I drew half hearts on the fold for my girl to cut out.  My boy and I cut some out, too, using these teaching scissors.  Well, we cut out two or three, then he just cut up a bunch of paper.  We were both happy with that arrangement. 

They drew on the hearts with markers and glued them together, overlapping them so they looked like butterfly wings.  After they dried a bit, they glued the wings to the tubes, using plenty of glue.  I folded the freezer paper over and set them on the shiny side to dry so they wouldn't stick.

Now you have the basic butterfly shape and can embellish them as you please.  We added googly eyes.  We loooove googly eyes here. 

Then we curled pipe cleaners by twisting them around markers.  I poked a couple of holes near the top of the tubes with a toothpick and in went the antennae.

Pretty fancy!  And my sweeties were immensely happy.  They got to use paint, scissors, glue, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners!  A little glitter and they would have been in heaven, but I just didn't have it in me that day.  Those of you with little ones know what I mean.  Glitter can take a toll on a mama's sanity.

Happy Valentine's Day!