how to display your children's artwork

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We do a lot of crafts around here that I often get asked what I do with all this artwork. Crazily, I save everything. I like to display a lot of the kids work around the house, and after I've switched it out, I save the artwork in large boxes in their closets. This system is working well for us right now, but I know I'll likely have to revise this plan as we have many, many years of art projects ahead of us. I have this wire display on the wall in the kids playroom that I use to show off the kids current creations. It's actually a wire curtain rod and clip set from IKEA (my most favourite place in the world!). The curtain rod is from the Dignitet line and I use the clips to hang the artwork. The kids just love that their masterpieces are on display for everyone to see, and it makes for a great decoration for the walls in their playroom. This was a pretty cheap setup, and I absolutely love it!

Here's the links on the IKEA website if anyone is interested in doing this themselves:

IKEA Dignitet wire curtain rod

IKEA Dignitet clips Pin It

easy strawberry cream cheese danish

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I made this so long ago, I almost forgot to post it. I'm trying to post everything that I've forgotten to post this week so I can move on to all the fun fall activities we've been doing. This danish is so yummy and so easy. It's kind of a cheater recipe because it uses a tube of refrigerated breadsticks instead of having to make your own pastry. Couldn't get any simpler. I always make this with strawberries, but it would be equally as good with any berries - raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, or a mixed berry combo. Here's what you'll need to make this:

Ingredients:

6 oz of plain cream cheese (about 3/4 of a brick)
1 egg, separated
3 tbsp powdered sugar
fresh berries of your choice
1 tube of breadstick dough - I use pillsbury breaksticks, and they're delicious

Glaze ingredients:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 350F
2. in a bowl, combined softened cream cheese, 3 tbsp powdered sugar and egg yolk - mix until well combined
3. remove breadstick dough from the tube, unroll it and place on a lightly greased baking sheet - the breadsticks should be lined up horizontally and all seams pressed together
4. spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the dough leaving a 2 inch margin around the edges - you may not use the entire mixture if you find it too thick
5. place berries of your choice on top of the cream cheese in an orderly fashion - don't overstuff!
6. slightly pull and stretch the dough at each perforation up to the centre and cross them over each other and press together so they are joined and slightly braided - make sure to tuck and seal both ends into the loaf
7. beat the egg white and brush it all over the loaf
8. bake for 20-23 minutes, or until golden brown
9. remove from oven and cool
10. combine the 1/2 cup powdered sugar and milk for the glaze - whisk until smooth
11. drizzle all over the cooled loaf before serving Pin It

my little ballerina

Pin It I finally had a chance to take a couple pictures of Kirsten last weekend before her dance class. I danced for about 14 years and couldn't wait to put my only daughter in dancing. I didn't want to push her into it, but I am so excited that she really seems to be enjoying herself. Here's a few pictures of my sweet little ballerina.







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go fish - plus free printable from Tricia-Rennea

Pin It I saw these adorable little fishies that were free for printing on Tricia-Rennea's blog and fell in love with them. She had made them to make a fishie mobile (which would also be super adorable), but I thought that I could make a fun fishing game for the kids with them. I was right, the kids LOVED this. The kids played together really well at first, until Cam had other ideas. You'll see what I'm talking about in the pictures below. He is such a boy. This was really simple to make and I know it's a game my kids will want to play with often. Here's some pictures and the directions:

The fishies



The fishies in their bowl



The fishing rods



The go fish game



Playing together nicely, at first



Kirsten really got the hang of the game and was really proud of all her 'catches'









Cam is a whole other story - first he had a little taste, of course!



Then he dumped the whole game and wanted to wear the bowl as a hat



Then he decided to stand on the bowl



Then he broke Kirsten's fishing rod - you can see her broken rod in the above pics



Then he decided to eat the broken fishing rod



What am I going to do with this little guy! Oh well, they still had lots of fun. Here's how I made this fun game:

What you'll need:

Tricia-Rennea's awesome printable fishies - get them here
scissors
glue
paper clips

blue bowl - mine's from the dollar store

sticks
yarn
magnets
glue

Directions:

1. print out the fishies and cut out the shapes.
2. glue them together, placing a paper clip in between, just sticking out. Allow to dry.
3. when dry, place in a big blue bowl.
4. put a little glue on the end of a stick and wrap a piece of yarn around it, have the yarn hang a bit, and then wrap a magnet with some glue around the other end. Allow to dry.
5. let your kiddos have fun! Pin It

fun food friday: a rainy day lunch

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I put this lunch together when we were stuck inside on a rainy day. Both the kids loved this. Blueberries would have made much better raindrops, but I didn't have any and had lots of blackberries to use up. They're a little big, but they're still cute! Here's how I made this rainy day lunch:

Cloud - peanut butter sandwich cut into a cloud shape
Umbrella - half a red apple, making slices out of the skin for stripes, and a green pepper handle
Raindrops - blackberries Pin It

owl pops

Pin It I've seen several variations of adorable little owl treats popping up all over the internet lately. Fall is the season for all things cute! Since I love owls, I decided to make some myself with my own little twists. These treats could be used for a variety of occasions, from Halloween, to an owl themed birthday party, or just a great fall treat. I made 8 of these treats, ate 1 myself, let the kids share 1, and brought the rest to work. If I had kept them in the house I surely would have eaten them all! Check out these little cuties:





Here's how I made them:

What you'll need:

1 9x13 prepared pan of rice krispie treats
lollipop sticks
milk chocolate melting wafers, melted
white chocolate melting wafers, NOT melted
candy corn
owl cookie cutter - mine is by Wilton
wax paper
silicone basting brush

Directions:

1. using your owl cookie cutter, carefully cut owls out of your pan of rice krispie treats - I got 8 out of a 9x13 pan
2. stick a lollipop stick in the bottom of your owl
3. carefully 'paint' your owl all over with the melted milk chocolate using your silicone basting brush - I say carefully because they become very fragile with hot melted chocolate on them!
4. quickly place 2 white chocolate wafers for the eyes, and a candy corn for the nose
5. make 2 chocolate dots on the eyes
6. allow to dry on your sheet of wax paper until they firm up
7. enjoy! Pin It

taco bowls

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Sometimes I get the biggest craving for Mexican food and I just have to have it. We don't have any good Mexican restaurants where I live, so it's tough to fulfill this craving when I get it. I saw this recipe on Annie's Eats and wanted to make it immediately. I think I made it the same day she posted it, and I never do that. You'll have to go to her awesome blog and check out the method she used to make these bowls. It's pure genius! Now I didn't make mine quite as authentic as she makes hers (I used packaged taco seasoning, gasp!), but they were still delicious and a nice alternative to regular tacos. I'll definitely be making these again. Here's my version of the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 pkg small/medium flour tortillas - about 6-7" diameter
ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
lettuce, shredded
tomato, diced
shredded cheese - I bought the pre-shredded mexican variety
sour cream

Directions:

1. cook ground beef and taco seasoning according to package directions.
2. heat tortillas in microwave for a few seconds to gently warm them.
3. brush a little oil on your tortilla and place in the grooves of an overturned muffin tin (check out Annie's blog for pictures!). Repeat for all tortillas.
4. bake at 425F for 8-10 minutes.
5. remove from oven and fill with meat and desired toppings. Pin It

parents pop beads

Pin It I bought these pop beads for Kirsten last Easter and she absolutely adores them. We usually pull them out when Cam is having his afternoon nap so he can't get to them and try to eat them! Kirsten loves making necklaces, bracelets and rings and the jewelry is so colourful. They just snap together, it's so easy. This set is a lot of fun and I'm so glad we bought it. I liked it so much I also bought a set for my adorable little niece. I'm pretty sure she loves it too. For those Canadians out there who are interested in buying these, I found these beads at Zeller's in the toy section. For everyone else, I've done some internet searching and can't seem to find the exact same ones. The closest I've found is these on Amazon. I certainly didn't pay that much for mine though - maybe about $20-25 Canadian. Maybe they don't sell the exact same ones in the U.S.? I don't know. These do look very similar though, just different colours. Here's a couple pics of Kirsten modelling her creations.









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fun with balloons

Pin It My kids can have hours of fun with something so simple as balloons. They just love them. Cam calls them boons and he gets so excited it's hilarious. Here's some pictures I took awhile ago, but just haven't gotten around to posting them yet. Of course Cam had to take a little taste test, because that's just what he does. EVERYTHING goes in his mouth. I can't wait until he outgrows this.





















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fun food friday: bear with berries

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This week's fun food friday is a bear with berries. The funny thing is, I only used berries because I had a lot to use up before they went bad. I wasn't even making the connection that bears actually eat berries. When I gave Kirsten her lunch she asked me if bears eat berries. Why yes, yes they do. And that's exactly why I did this, because I'm always thinking. Pretty sad when your 3 year old is smarter than you. Anyway, here's how I made this adorable lunch.

Bear - whole wheat hamburger bun with bologna and cheese. Slice the top half of the bun just a bit to be more oval shaped, rather than a circle. From the scrap bun, cut out 2 ears and place them at the top. The eyes are sliced blackberries, the nose is sliced bologna and the mouth is slivered almonds. Raspberries and blackberries for garnish. Pin It

calla lilies for my Grandma

Pin It This will be short and sweet because I am not good with things like this. Today was my Grandma's funeral. I took this calla lily from her casket as they laid her to rest. I felt that by taking it's picture it would help preserve this memory for me. I love you and miss you dearly Grandma. Thank-you for all the wonderful times and memories we shared. I am so blessed to have had you in my life.









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granola bites/bars and free printable from Martha Stewart

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There's an awesome bento lunch blog that I just adore called another lunch. I love her bento blog because the bento lunches she packs her kids aren't overly time consuming, they're full of practical food that my kids will actually eat, and they're super adorable. When my kids start school and I have to start packing their lunches, I want them to look like the ones she makes. She gives me a lot of inspiration and I just love her posts. She has a recipe for granola bites/bars which she often packs in her kids lunches. They're a lot healthier than the packaged granola bars and they taste sooooo much better. The only thing I did different, was add peanut butter to mine. My kids both love peanut butter, so I knew it would be a hit with them. I also didn't use flax seed or wheat germ because, well, I didn't have any. The kids just loved these - and so did James and I. James couldn't even wait for them to set before he dove in. Definitely try these. This recipe will yield one 8x8 pan of granola bars, plus 6 mini granola bites. Go to her blog to get her incredibly detailed post on these wonderful bites/bars. She has great pictures and offers a lot of great tips for making these. Her post about them can be found by clicking here. I'll just give you her main points below:

Ingredients:

2 1/2 C. quick oats
1/2 C. crisp rice cereal
1/2 C. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C. canola oil
1/4 C. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. peanut butter (optional, but I added to mine and it was great!)

* optional: ground flax seed and/or wheat germ (I use 3 heaping Tbs. or so of each).

Equipment:

6 mini silicone baking cups
8x8 square pan
parchment paper

Directions:

Mix all ingredients (except for the chocolate chips - keep those out for now) really, really, really well. I start with a wooden spoon and then usually end up using my hands too. Take your time to make sure everything is really blended. Taking your time also allows the wet ingredients to sort of soak into the dry components. If your mixture seems dry after mixing then you may need to add a little more oil and/or honey - a teaspoon at a time - until it starts to clump up a little.

When your granola mixture gets to this point, not too wet, not too dry, then stir in the chocolate chips.

Holding the mini muffin cups, scoop the granola mixture in and form the mound compactly. I use a rounded tablespoon to help form them, a small cookie scoop would work too. You need to use both hands to press the granola and support the muffin cup at the same time. Line them up on a baking sheet to place in the oven.

Press the remaining granola into your baking pan, lined with parchment paper. Make sure your baking pan has been sprayed well with non-stick spray on the non-lined parts! Press mixture firmly, compacting it as well as you can.

Baking:

350 degrees.
Granola bites: 12-15 minutes.
Granola bars: 17-22 minutes (keep an eye on them!).
They are ready to remove from oven when the tops are golden. If they don't cook long enough they may not hold their shape. If they cook too long they will get too dry (not to mention they can burn) and may not hold their shape. (I've found granola bars to be finicky.)

Let the granola bites cool completely. Just leave 'em alone for a few hours so they can set. Then, they are done! So easy.

The bars are a little more work.

MOST IMPORTANTLY - do not even attempt to touch them at all after they are done baking. You must let them set and gel and have alone time. Overnight. I mean it. If you don't leave them alone overnight you'll be sorry! Take my word for it. I speak from experience.
It doesn't matter if they seem cool to the touch and it doesn't matter if they "look fine". They really do need that time to come together and fully set or they will just fall apart.

Turn the pan over on a cutting board. Sometimes I get lucky and the whole granola slab plops out without further prodding. Sometimes it needs to be prodded. This is where having that parchment in there is a big asset. Just gently pull on the flaps of parchment hanging out and the whole thing will pop onto the cutting board.

Next, using a long, sharp knife cut into bars. I get 12 out of an 8x8" pan.



Lastly, you should wrap them up. Cut pieces of wax paper (not parchment because the sticker won't stick!) and wrap your granola bar in them. Secure with a sticker.



I found these adorable lunch labels on the Martha Stewart website that are free for printing. I just printed them on sticker paper, cut them out, and fastened to the granola bars. They are simply adorable. You can get your free Martha Stewart Lunch Labels by clicking here. Here's a picture of them, aren't they adorable?:



Store in an airtight container.

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