simple Analogy

November Kid's Craft Along: Acorn Petit Fours

Petit fours is a French word that means "small oven".  The good thing about these petit fours is that you don't even need an oven!  Just a microwave.  These are perfect little confections to make with the kids.

Approximate cost:  $10 (makes about 12)

Supplies:

1 box Baker's semisweet chocolate

1 frozen pound cake (thawed)

assorted sprinkles, candies, chopped nuts

Directions:

Slice pound cake into one inch slices.  Using a small acorn shaped cookie cutter, cut acorns from the middle of each slice of cake.

Line a baking sheet with wax paper.

Melt chocolate according to package directions.  Place one acorn across the tines of a fork and spoon chocolate over the top and around the sides, covering evenly.  Let excess chocolate drip off, then place on wax lined baking sheet.  Continue to cover all acorns with chocolate.  ***See suggestions below for another way to coat.

(The picture below shows the chocolate covered cakes on a wire rack.  Don't do that!  They are really hard to move to the wax paper later!)

Decorate the "cap" portion with sprinkles, candies, or chopped nuts.  Place in the refrigerator for ten minutes until chocolate is set.  (Can be stored in wax paper lined airtight container in the refrigerator for several days.)  My husband actually thought these were owls.  I guess chopped nuts for the cap would have been more convincing for ACORNS!

Suggestions:

• Use different shapes of cookie cutters for different occasions.
• This is a great activity for kids to do during your Thanksgiving/Christmas festivities.  Set up a petit four making station and let everyone make and decorate their own!

• Make a trifle with the pound cake scraps.
• For younger children, it's easier to roll the acorn shaped pound cake in the melted chocolate.  Just know that you might end up with crumbs in your chocolate.

I'd love to see your petit fours creations!  Upload pictures to the Kid's Craft Along Flickr group. 

Your Invitation Has Arrived

You are invited!

{PRESENT}ing... a gift wrap party

begins Tuesday, November 1st

This party is all about gift wrap!  The holidays are right around the corner, and I know you'll have gift giving and packaging on your mind. Each day in November we will be featuring gift wrap inspiration here on the blog.  Now, while {PRESENT}ing will get you geared up for the upcoming holiday season, the ideas won't be limited to Christmas only!  What I have lined up will be a creative springboard for any and every gift giving occasion.

Want a sneak preview of the goodness to come?

DIY gift wrap ideas

guest posts

recycled wrapping

giveaways

printables

resource guide for gift wrap supplies

Flickr pool for sharing your own gift wrap ideas

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Feel free to grab the images above and spread the word.  See you back here on Tuesday!

***This is my first time doing html code.  I did test it, but please let me know if you have any issues!  Not that I'll know for sure how to fix them, but I can try.

Falling Leaves Stamp

The leaves aren't changing or falling yet around here, so I made some of my own.  I love having erasers around the house!

Just Blew In

My parents and I met up with my sister and her family in Chicago for the weekend.  From the moment we arrived to the moment we left we were in constant motion.  My parents watched the kids so my sister and I could shop H&M.  Yes, she's a good sister!  After shopping we added a great brother-in-law, a bag of Garrett's pecan caramel corn, and a ride on the water to round out a perfect Chicago evening. 

Then we all loaded into the car for a little road trip to Indiana to see my mom graduate with her MASTERS degree!  I can't tell you how proud I was.  She has worked so hard, and has accomplished so much.  She is an inspiration to me.

Back to Chicago for some playtime with the niece and nephew and a night on Navy Pier w/fireworks - the best I have ever seen!  They were celebrating you, Mom!  Hee hee!

Sunday at Moody Church, the Magnificent Mile, a yummy lunch and even yummier cupcake for my birthday, and Garrett's again.  (When I unpacked my suitcase this morning it smelled like caramel corn.  Yum!)

It was a whirlwind weekend filled with multiple celebrations and love.

On My Coffee Table

Yep, that is a library bar code you see on the new book from Design*Sponge.  Usually it takes FOREVER for my library to get in the newest craft/design books, but not this time!  I requested it before it was even released, and I am the first one to crack this copy's pages.

I had some free time last night .  I sat on the couch reading for over an hour and didn't even get through the first section- "Sneak Peaks".  Looking at vignettes from beautiful homes is inspiring.  I found that I am very drawn to grey walls, groupings of pictures in similar colored frames (big suprise there), and long heavy dining room tables.  Can't wait to finish reading the rest of it.

If you love decorating, this book will not disappoint!

{PRESENT}ing... A Gift Wrap Party

Wondering what I've been up to?  Ever since creating the flower for wrapping my mom's present a few months ago, I've had thoughts of gift wrap dancing in my head.  I thought it would be fun to host a blog party (my first) for the purpose of sharing gift wrap inspiration with you, my readers.

Every day during the month of November we will be sharing ideas and tips for wrapping beautiful presents.  Even though the holidays are right around the corner, this party won't be "just Christmas".  Rather, we'll be featuring inspiration that can be used for any and every gift giving ocassion:  birthdays, weddings, baby showers, just because I love you, graduation, and holidays.

Several talented guests will be joining us.  There will be links to some great blogs, printable freebies, as well as wonderful shops for gift wrap supplies.  Did I mention there will be giveaways?  Also, you can begin uploading your own gift wrap ideas and creations NOW to our very own {PRESENT}ing Flickr group!  Gift wrap inspiration galore!

So, are you ready?  It all begins November 1st.  Spread the word!

Mkay

You may have noticed it's been a little quiet here on the blog lately.  Well, it's not because I haven't been doing anything lately.  Actually it's because I've been working on something really fun (I hope) for YOU!  So, be patient, and we'll talk more about that fun next week!

In the meantime, let me show you a new painting.  I did this one a few weeks ago.  One of Noah's science projects was to dissect a flower.  "Can you dissect a flower?" asked Landon who just finished a year of Biology and dissecting all kinds of critters.  You can!  We were supposed to be able to find all the parts of the flower including the ovary and ovule (inside parts).

I was kind of excited about this because I wanted to sketch and paint the cross-section of the flower.  Mkay, our flower had no ovaries - at least we couldn't find them.  So he just found all the parts he could identify, and we left it at that.  In the big scheme of things, failure to find the ovule of a flower will not greatly hamper my son's education.  But I was kind of disappointed that my plan for painting was hampered.  So instead of the cross-section, I focused on different parts of the flower. 

First up, I painted the whole flower.

Next I focused on the stigma/stamen.

Lastly, the stamen.  And that's my "Anatomy of a Lily".

Who You Gonna Call? Stash Busters!

A variation on a theme...

Initially I made Edmund's blanket with a gray and white printed ruffle stripe.  I thought that using more masculine colors for the ruffle stripe would work for a baby boy, but it just didn't look right to me.  Too... well, ruffly.  So that one is in the ready to go pile for the next baby down the line.

I found some fun boy-ish stripes in my bin already sewn together from way back when.  (finished product)  Wow that was a long time ago!  I used a small chunk of it pieced with yellow Metro Living and added the name.  Now that works for a boy.

Using up the stash feels so good!

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I didn't enter this year, but purse week voting ends today.  There are some A-MAZ-ING bags.  Stop by and VOTE for your favorite!

October Kid's Craft Along: Yarn Font

source

This project totally captured my imagination when I saw it on Bloesem Kid's!  And since these are super cheap to make, there's endless fun to be had.  Got your wrapping fingers ready?

Supplies:  pipe cleaners, yarn scraps

Approximate cost:  Just a few dollars!

Directions:  Yarn font directions can be found here.

source

Just imagine all the cool things you could do with the letters/words you make!  Hang them on the wall, mount them in a frame, give as a gift, use on the front door instead of a wreath, use as tags for presents, make the whole alphabet to play with.  The sky's the limit! 

Remember to add pictures of your fonts to the Kid's Craft Along Flickr group!