Canada Day berry, yogurt and granola parfaits

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Here's the other Canada Day treat I whipped up for my kids this week. I often serve them berries with yogurt and granola in a bowl for a snack, so I knew they would love this slightly fancier version. I just added a swirl of whipped cream on top with some Canada Day sprinkles, and called it a parfait. So simple. Of course, my American friends could make this for the fourth of July by adding blueberries in too. It's just too easy. Here's how to make one for yourself:

What you'll need:

parfait glass
vanilla yogurt
raspberries
granola
whipped cream
sprinkles

Directions:

1. in your parfait glass, alternate layers of yogurt, berries, and granola. I try to repeat this twice if there's room in the glass.
2. put a swirl of whipped cream on top and sprinkle on your sprinkles



Enjoy!

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Canada Day ice cream sandwiches

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I was supposed to post this yesterday, but never got around to it. Too much going on in my life right now. I figured I'd better post these soon, or Canada Day will be come and gone. The first dessert I'm sharing couldn't be any easier. I had seen a version done of these for the fourth of July, and figured I could do them up Canadian style. In case any of you are wondering, yes, I am a proud Canadian. Here's how you can make this super easy treat:

What you'll need:

ice cream sandwiches
popsicle sticks
maple leaf sprinkles - I found these at my local bulk store

Directions:

1. remove the wrapper from your ice cream sandwich
2. stick a popsicle stick in the bottom and push it about half way up
3. pour out some sprinkles on a cutting board and press all four ice cream sides of the sandwich on the sprinkles.

And there you have it - a super easy, super fun, awesome Canada Day treat.

Because I'm behind on posting, another treat will be following this post! Stay tuned.

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handprint ballerina tutu

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This is probably one of my most favourite crafts I've done with Kirsten so far. This is just so cute and incredibly creative and I can't take credit for any of it. When I posted Kirsten's first dance recital pictures last weekend, my blogging friend Michelle, from The Nature of Grace , emailed me this adorable craft she did with her daughter. I went out that same evening and got some canvas to do this craft with Kirsten. I'm never that excited about a craft that I go get the supplies the same day. Never. Now I'm nowhere near as artistic as Michelle, so you simply must go check her version out here . Hers turned out so beautiful. Mine are more basic, because that's about the extent of my artisticness (is that a word?). Hers are also a little neater than mine because Kirsten wasn't too careful stamping her handprint in the tutu pattern. Oh well, she had fun with it! While you're over there, be sure to check out some of the awesome lunches she makes too. She is one crafty mama. Here's how to make these adorable handprint ballet tutus:

What you'll need:

canvas
2 shades of pink paint
paint brush
pink cardstock
scissors
glue
pink ribbon

Directions:

1. fold your piece of pink cardstock in half and cut out a dance suit shape. Unfold it and your dance suit will be completely symmetrical.
2. cut a piece of pink ribbon and glue it on your body suit at the waist, folding and gluing the ends on the back side.
3. glue your dance suit on your piece of canvas
4. using your lighter shade of pink paint, stamp your child's palm 4 times to make a tutu shape on the bottom half of the body suit
5. using your darker shade of pink paint, stamp your child's palm 2 times to create a fuller tutu
6. cut a piece of ribbon and tie it in a bow and glue it to the ribbon on the bodysuit.
7. display your beautiful masterpiece.



We made 2 and I'm not sure which one I like better. I like the tutu better on the first one and the body suit shape better on the second one. Right now, I've got them both up in her bedroom and she just adores them, as do I. If you've got a little ballerina, this is just an awesome craft to make. Thanks for sharing this awesome craft Michelle!

Idea from The Nature of Grace



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fun food friday: sweet little teddy bear lunch

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Here's another lunch from my picture archives. I made this one ages ago and never posted it yet. I've got so many cute ones that I've made lately that I'm trying to clear out some of the older ones. I actually think this one is pretty cute and don't know why I haven't posted it. I also made a boy version to this lunch for Cam which I'll try to post soon too. Here's how I made this little lunch:

Ham sandwich cut into circle shape using a cup or glass. Little bear cut out of ham with icing eyes and sprinkle details. Flower silicone muffin cup filled with yogurt and a fruit leather bear. Bear-shaped cucumbers with ranch dressing in a bear cup.

Have a great weekend everyone!



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handprint sunflower

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I've been wanting to do this craft for awhile, but for some reason it always got pushed to the back of the list. And yes, I have a list of crafts I want to do with the kiddos. With the amount of crafts we do, it's the only way I can stay organized. Kirsten thought this was really fun and it turned out really pretty. I currently have it on display in my living room and I think it will probably stay there all summer long. Here's how you can make one yourself:

What you'll need:

yellow paint
green paint
paintbrushes
green craft foam
scissors
glue
black beads
canvas or paper

Directions:

1. paint your child's palm yellow and have them stamp it 4 times in a circle at the top of your canvas
2. paint a green stem
3. cut 2 leaves out of your green craft foam and glue them to the stem
4. when the yellow paint is dry, put some glue in the middle of the sunflower in a circular shape and sprinkle with black beads
5. allow to dry and display your beautiful masterpiece



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my little ballerina

Pin It Kirsten had her first dance recital yesterday and she made us so proud. She was so beautiful in her costume and the joy on her face while she performed her routine was just amazing. There is nothing sweeter than a group of 3 and 4 year olds dancing on stage for the first time. It's sure to bring you both laughs and tears. I danced for 14 years and absolutely loved the experience and I am just thrilled that my only daughter is now sharing in this joy as well. As long as she loves it, I'm looking forward to many more wonderful recitals. Here's a few pics of Kirsten in her costume at home just before we left. I can't wait till I get the DVD of her performance!



And here's Kirsten with her cousin Katie who was also a beautiful little ballerina that day too!





I hope everyone has a wonderful Father's Day today. We're going out to camp to have a fun day to celebrate Dad. The kids and I made James a delicious rhubarb cake and Kirsten was so excited for him to try it. It was pretty good if I do say so myself. See you next week!

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fun food friday: somewhere over the rainbow

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This lunch is super colourful and super fun. My kids love fresh fruit so the rainbow of fruit was a hit with them. Kirsten wasn't too fond of the whipped cream clouds, so I stepped in and ate them! I know, it's pretty tough what a mom has to do sometimes! If your kids are fruit lovers like mine, this lunch is sure to be a winner. Here's how to make this lunch:

rainbow - sliced strawberries, oranges, pineapple, kiwi, blueberries and grapes
whipped cream clouds for dipping the fruit in
grass - spinach tortilla with veggie cream cheese
pot of gold aka yellow jelly beans

Have a great weekend everyone!

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apple smiles for a first dentist visit

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Kirsten had been to the dentist before just to check things out and watch us get our teeth cleaned, but this week she had her first real dentist appointment for herself. She was such a great little patient. They told her she was the best patient they had all day which made her smile so big! Cam got to come and observe all of us get our teeth cleaned and he gets his first appointment next time we go. My babies are growing up! I made the kids a little snack this week to go along with Kirsten's first dentist appointment. The kids thought these little apple smiles were hilarious and they had no problem eating every single bite. What a cute little snack! Here's how you make them:

Ingredients:

red apple, sliced thinly
peanut butter
mini marshmallows

Directions:

1. put some peanut butter on one side of your apple slice
2. layer that slice with mini marshmallows to make teeth
3. put some peanut butter on another slice of apple and place it on top of the marshmallows to make a mouth.

Here's my super cute, super great patient at the dentist:



Idea for the apple smiles from Disney Family

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fun food friday: row, row, row your boat

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Here's yet another one from the archives of the 'I'm not totally in love with them' group. I don't know why, maybe the lack of colour? I tend to like things bright and colourful and this one was simply not. I've made quite a few cute ones for the kids lately that I'm trying to get rid of a few older ones before I post the newer ones. Now that I look at it again though, it's probably not as bad as I thought and I could have posted it a long time ago. Oh well, I'm too picky. This lunch was really simple to make and probably only took a couple minutes to put together. Here's how I made this little boat lunch:

Bologna sandwich cut into a semi-circle for the bottom of the boat. Cut another piece of bologna into a triangle to use as the sail. A thin slice of cheese to attach the sail to the boat. Blueberries for the water, cucumber clouds, and fruit leather fish details. I cut the fish and clouds out of adorable bento cutters I got from All Things for Sale (link in my sidebar).

Have a great weekend everyone!

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gumball necklace

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When I saw these gumball necklaces on One Charming Party I knew I had to make them for Kirsten's birthday party. I had actually intended to make one for all the little girls at the party, but they took longer to make than I had anticipated and I kind of ran out of time. I only had time to make two, so only the birthday girl got to wear one. Now the funny part is that Kirsten has actually never eaten gum. When I put the necklace on her I told her they were beads. She questioned me and said they smelled like candy (which they did!), but I didn't answer and she didn't ask about it again. Whew, I just narrowly escaped that one. I know, I'm mean. But trust me, she had enough candy at her candyland party. I will warn you that these are quite a bit of work, but the necklace was so adorable, that it was worth every single minute. You can check out the tutorial on One Charming Party, but I'm also including one here because I changed it up a bit after reading some awesome advice from her comments. Here's how I made mine:

What you'll need:

large gumballs
ribbon
knitting needle
electric drill with clean drill bit
wooden board
bamboo skewer

Directions:

1. on your wooden board, use your knitting needle to just poke a hole in your gumball. This will be a good starting point to put your drill and makes it easier to drill.



2. using your electric drill on your wooden board, drill through the gumball where you started your hole. You'll want to use a wooden board underneath so you don't put a hole through your table!



I didn't take pictures of the rest of the steps because it was too hard to do it and take pictures at the same time! I'll try to explain it the best I can!

3. repeat the above steps for however many gumballs you want to put on your necklaces.

4. next cut a long piece of ribbon. Threading the ribbon through the gumballs is not an easy task. I used a bamboo skewer to help thread the ribbon through the hole in the gumball which I found made it a lot easier. Tie a knot after each gumball is threaded on.

5. continue threading your gumballs and tieing knots until all your gumballs are on the ribbon.

6. making sure the necklace will fit over your child's head, tie the ribbon in a bow where the gumballs begin.

And here's my birthday girl again modelling her gorgeous gumball necklace:



Like I said, totally adorable and worth every single minute it took to make it!



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lollipop tree

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These lollipop trees were a huge hit at Kirsten's birthday party. They were really easy to make and they made great table centrepieces. At the end of the party, we gave them away for our guests to bring home. I didn't need any more candy at my house! Here's how you can make one yourself:

What you'll need:

plant pot
styrofoam ball
1 bag of dum dums




Directions:

1. place your styrofoam ball on top of the plant pot

2. start sticking your dum dum lollipops into the styrofoam ball, keeping the lollipops close together. Continue sticking the lollipops in until you've filled the part of the ball that is showing outside the plant pot.





3. done! How easy was that???





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fun food friday: happy flower

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I know, the name is really lame. I couldn't think of something more clever at 5:30am. To be quite honest, I don't really love this lunch either. I actually made it for the kiddos a REALLY long time ago and I'm just posting it now. I'll make other lunches that I like better and some of the other ones keep getting pushed aside. I actually have quite a few of those that I haven't posted yet. In the end though, all that matters is that my kids think it's cute and eat their lunch, which totally happened. Here's how I made this lunch:

Sandwich cut into flower shape. Nilla wafer face decorated with food-safe marker. Sliced orange sun and sliced cheesestring around the plate. Sliced green apples with adorable tree picks. The tree picks I bought at a fabulous store called all things for sale (I have a banner on my sidebar). They have some really great bento items, they ship from the U.S., and their prices are very reasonable.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!



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