Pop-up Lotus Card

I first discovered the lotus card on folding trees and decided to give it a try. I'm really pleased with the results. The lotus flower seems to come to life when you open the card. There are detailed directions with templates here, on how to make the card. The card takes about an hour to make but it's well worth it.

Best Biscotti Recipe

My Grandmother would keep her breakfast bar stocked with this biscotti during the holidays. I remember how the aroma would fill up the whole house when she baked it. It smelled heavenly and tasted delicious. For me, this is the best biscotti I've ever had.


Ingredients:
3 cup flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
3 tsp anise seed
1 tsp lemon extract
1tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

1. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugar. Add beaten eggs. Add the extracts and almonds. Add the dry ingredients and mix.

3. Shape into two oblong loaves and place on two parchment-lined baking sheets.

4. Place in a 325 preheated heated oven for twenty five minutes.

5. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Keep oven on.

6. With a serrated knife, cut the loaves into diagonal slices about 1/2 inch wide.

7. Place slices on their sides and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly brown. Remove from oven and cool.

How To Make a Ben 10 Costume

It was no surprise when my son requested a Ben 10 Halloween costume. Here's how the conversation went.

Evan: Can you make me a Ben 10 Halloween costume?

Me: Sure

Evan: I can't wait to wear it.

Me: You don't think I'm going to make it today, do you?

Evan: No, you're going to make it tonight when I'm asleep.

Apparently I'm one of the shoemaker's elves.

For those not familiar with Ben 10, it's a cartoon about a boy who can turn into different aliens. There's a picture of the actual cartoon, here. Simple directions below to make the Ben 10 shirt.

Supplies:
Plain white shirt
Black fabric paint- costs about a dollar at the craft store
Painters tape
Sponge Brush, Paint Brush
Wax Paper



Place Painters tape on front/center of t-shirt to make a 3 inch wide stripe. Make sure the tape is pressed firmly down on the t-shirt. You can measure it out if you wish, I just eyeballed it.








Place wax paper inside the shirt so the paint does not bleed through to the back of the shirt. Paint inside the blue tape. Make sure to place the paint on evenly for best results.








Last paint the the collar of the shirt and the edges of the sleeves. I used the hem lines as my border lines. Make sure to place wax paper in the sleeves and neck. Let dry, turn over and do the back of the neck and sleeves. Refer to pictures.

For Pants
You can purchase green pants at the thrift store. Another option is to dye an old pair of khaki pants green. You can purchase green fabric dye at most craft stores.

For the Watch
We already had the toy watch so I didn't have to make anything. However, if you don't want to go out and buy one I recommend drawing one on the child's wrist with face paints.

If you need more inspiration, here's the link to the Ben 10 theme song, click here.

Sweet Little Mittens

I made these little mittens out of an old sweater. I had planned to donate the sweater but could not bare to give away such good fabric. So, I searched for items to make with sweaters and found a great mitten tutorial, here. Then I added little pink bows to make the mittens more girlie.

Child Birthday Invitation

For each child's birthday I like to design the invitations. This is what will be going out in the mail this year for my daughter's birthday. We decided on a tea-party theme. Okay, okay, I decided on the tea party theme. She wanted a princess party but when we discussed the matter it turned out her main concern was if there would be a cake. I'm pretty sure this will be the last year I get to choose the theme, so I plan to make the most of it. I plan to share more details of the party in late October.

Have any good party tips? Please share.

Pumpkin Mochi Recipe

I've been on the hunt for a very specific pumpkin mochi recipe for sometime now. You could call it a borderline obsession. Ever since I purchased it at a Japanese Craft fair years ago I've been trying to figure out the recipe. I even tried to get the recipe from the vendor directly only to be denied. However, recently I came into possession of the recipe. It tastes just like the mochi at the fair. The only difference is I'm sharing the recipe with all of you. Hope you like it.

Ingredients
29 oz can Pumpkin puree
14 oz can Sweetened condensed milk
1 Cup of butter melted
4 Eggs, beaten
2 tsp Vanilla
1 lb box Mochiko-sweet rice flour
2 Cups Sugar
2 tsp Baking powder
1 1/2 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1. In a medium bowl mix mochiko flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon.

2. In a large bowl mix all the other ingredients. Then add the dry ingredients.

3. Pour into a greased 13 by 9 inch baking dish.

4. Bake at 375 for one hour. Let cool. Done.

*The texture of this is a cross between pumpkin pie and mochi.

A Little Bird Told Me

card opened

card closed

This little bird card was inspired by an avatar, proof that inspiration can come from anything. The wing swivels out to reveal the message, as if the bird is telling a secret. Directions below, if you would like to make one.

Supplies:
one small brad
scissors
double stick tape

Right click on the image and save. Paste in a program such as Word. Print out on a heavy card stock. Cut both images out.


Cut out a small white circle. Place the brad through the wing and the small circle (refer to picture).








With double stick tape, adhere the wing to the back of the bird (refer to picture). The double stick tape should only cover the small white circle on the wing. This will allow the wing to swivel freely. All done.

How To Make a Child's Art Smock

I made this little art smock out of a used rice bag. It takes about a minute to make and requires no sewing. Directions below if you want to give it a try.

Supplies:
Large Rice Bag - if you don' have any on hand, ask your local Asian Restaurant for one
* try to find a bag that has a plastic lining

Scissors

* I turned the rice bag inside out to expose the plastic lining. The plastic repels the paint.

This smock does not close in the back but you could easily add Velcro for a back closure.

Redesigning the Greeting Card

Greeting Card - closed and opened

When you think about the greeting card, not much has changed when it comes to the design. It opens sideways or it opens up and down, those are pretty much your options. And maybe rightfully so, the card is a solid good design. You can hide money in it. A card stands up by itself for display. The flat design makes it easy to mail. Why mess with perfection, right? The answer, because you can. Here's the how to.

Supplies
Card stock
wrapping paper
scissors
exacto knife
glue stick
tape
ribbon



Print or write your message on a heavy piece of card stock. Any size you want.












Cover the top of your card stock with the wrapping paper. Fold the edges around the back and glue. With an exacto knife cut an "X" on the wrapping paper. The "X" should be right over the main message. This will help the recipient open the card easily. You don't want them clawing at it after all.






This is how it should look from the back. I drew a small arrow on the back to let me know which way the message was right side up.












Tape the ribbon to the card. Place the ribbon over the small "X" so it doesn't show. Done.

Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Mary Kay, the winner of the Precious Moments Book giveaway!

School Lunch Bento

bento for my son's school lunch

My son started Kindergarten this year. And with that came the time old question, what to pack for lunch? So I decided early on that I would make bento lunch boxes for him. All summer I've been gathering up kawaii(cute) bento accessories, supplies, and recipes. The picture above is the first bento I made for his school lunch. Hopefully I'll be able to keep this up for the school year.

What do you make for lunches?

*Below are some bento supplies I use

small food picks

food cutters made for vegetables, fruits, bread, etc.

tiny spoons and forks

plastic food dividers - just like the plastic grass that comes with sushi

Giveaway Sites and an Award

necklace made by Christina

I don't know about you but I always like to enter giveaways. The nice thing about the blogosphere is there's always a giveaway going on. The necklace above I won from Christina over at "The Joy of Christina". There were also some other fun goodies in the box that she sent me.

Here are some sites I visit for Giveaways

Prizey

Bloggy Giveaways

Goodyblog

5 Minutes for Mom

Where do you go for Giveaways/contests?

Thank you Ginger for passing another award on to me.

Here's who I'm passing it on to.

Little Miss Firefly

Greetingarts

Bloomize

How To Make Miniature Bowls

Me assembling the Doll House

Last Christmas, my Grandmother got my daughter a dollhouse. Since then it has become apparent that the dollhouse is more for me rather than her. And lately I've been on some kind of dollhouse kick. I've been making and buying all kinds of things for it. One of the items I made recently was the egg carton bowls.

Directions below on how to make the bowls.

Supplies
Egg Cartons
decoupage glue
scraps of paper - I used washi paper

Starting with this part of the egg cartons, cut one of the sections off.








Cut the carton down so it resembles a bowl shape, it should look something like this.





Cut the paper into small strips and glue it to the bowl with the decoupage glue(refer to picture). Once the entire bowl is covered with paper, coat it twice with the decoupage medium. Let Dry. Done.

Miniature Tansu I purchased at Daiso

Other dollhouse posts:

A Magazine Rack Fit for a Dollhouse

How to Make Miniature Food

Doll Accessories

Precious Moments Book Giveaway

Precious Moments has recently created a new book series called the Precious Girls Club. The books are written for girls between the ages of 4-10.

One lucky winner will receive a copy of "A Little Bit of Faith" by Cindy Kenney. For a chance to win the book, please leave a comment with your email address so I can contact you if you win.The Email address will only be used to contact the winner. Contest ends Sunday, 9/7/08.

*This contest is open to USA residents only.

However, everyone is welcome to visit the new Precious Girls Club site. I've already checked the site out myself, and really like the concept. It's set up as a virtual world based on the book series. There your child can learn and play in a safe environment. You can also find free stories, games, and craft projects on the site. It's definitely worth visiting.