The June Violet

Moving...

2011-04-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

I am abandoning this blog and combining all of my crafting/designing endeavors with my family blog at a new address:

www.dconawhim.blogspot.com

Valentine Scratch Cards

2011-02-13T18:19:00.001-08:00

We had a lot of fun making the Valentine scratch cards that I saw here. They are really easy to make and we're already scheming about lots of other non-Valentine uses for scratch cards.

Testing America's Test Kitchen

2011-01-20T07:06:00.000-08:00

There is something about January that makes me want to eat chocolate chip cookies nonstop. Last January I tried several recipe variations and posted the results.

I love watching America's Test Kitchen. The other night they were testing chocolate chip cookie recipes. I decided to try out their recipe and it was delicious. I love hearing the explanations of why ingredients and methods do what they do. And I love that my cookies turned out exactly like the ones they made on the show. They still flattened out quite a bit, but that's the sacrifice you make for butter. Their winning recipe and method took a little extra time. They browned their butter (always a good thing) and then waited 10 minutes to really let the sugars dissolve. They turned out just slightly crispy on the edges and extra chewy on the inside. I also used their recommended chocolate chip, Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips.

(These photos were taken right out of the oven. They flattened a little more.)

Go here to see the full recipe with explanations.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar (5 1/4 ounces) (see note)
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (see note)
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large (18- by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
2. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.
3. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.
4. Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons (or use #24 cookie scoop). Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet. (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but will require 3 batches.)
5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving.

Going Gray

2011-01-15T17:52:00.000-08:00

We decided to redecorate the nursery in preparation for the birth of our first boy a few months ago. It had been yellow and green since our first daughter was born five years ago and we were ready for a change. We are really happy with the gray wall color we ended up with and now I'm wanting it in my living room.

I really wanted to do gray and orange and wasn't sure how it was going to come together, but I'm happy with the result.

I bought an extra set of orange curtains and my mom made a crib skirt out of one panel (the other one makes an excellent table cloth). The fabulous vinyl wall art is from blik. We used blik for the girls' room as well.

The pictures don't quite do the colors justice, but you get the idea.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Screen Printing: Coasters

2010-12-21T13:44:00.000-08:00

For our Christmas gifts to neighbors this year, I wanted to screen print something. I'm always looking for an excuse to produce something in mass quantities so I can make good use of a screen. I came up with four Christmas designs for the screen and decided to print them on coasters. I also found little bags to print on and then put the coasters in the bag and attached them to a bottle of sparkling cider. I made tags that had the same designs on them.

There is something so satisfying about removing the screen and seeing the printed result.

Matchbox Garland Advent

2010-12-19T18:29:00.000-08:00

My second advent creation this year was a re-creation of a matchbox advent I saw on Etsy. Instead of covering the matchboxes with scrapbook paper and wrapping paper, I used vintage Christmas images and added numbers in Photoshop. Then I used mod podge to attach them. The front of the matchboxes has the numbers and each day you turn one over and they slowly spell out "Merry Christmas!"

After a trial garland with buttons that turned out to be too small and making one as a gift and one for myself, I ended up sewing 75 buttons. I'm done sewing buttons for a while.

The kids love pulling out candy each day.

Muffin Tin Advent

2010-12-16T09:36:00.000-08:00

If you've ever been to my house at Christmas time, you would know that I'm a little obsessed with advent calendars. As a kid, we did a lot of different things to count down the days to Christmas...advent calendar, burned down candles each night, paper chain with daily activities, etc. and I always loved the excitement that built throughout the month. Perhaps that inspired my love of advents.

I have an ever growing list of advent calendars that I have seen on different design blogs that I want to create. In November I made two different advents. Here is my version of the mini muffin tin advent.

I used vintage images and backgrounds to create the round magnets that cover up the holes. I created everything in Photoshop and then printed them on magnet paper.

Hiding inside each hole is a bottle cap magnet with a number:

I always like visual reminders of the countdown so each day you remove a number and place it on the outside:

Then bake some mini muffins!

I made one for each of my siblings. Now I just need to make one for myself...

Pumpkin!

2010-11-07T16:11:00.000-08:00

I have been trying out new recipes involving pumpkin to celebrate Fall. Here are a few favorites:

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies:

(Recipe found at MarthaStewart.com)

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies:

These were so good eaten warm right out of the oven. And equally good the next day. Perfect mix of pumpkin and chocolate.
(Recipe found at MarthaStewart.com)

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting:

(These were soooo yummy. Especially good warm with a cup of cocoa.)

Pumpkin Cinnammon Rolls
(recipe found on GoodLife Eats)

Ingredients:

Roll Dough:
1/4 cup warm water (not hot, about 110 degrees)
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/3 cup warm milk
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup pumpkin puree, either fresh or canned
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 cups (approximately) All-Purpose Flour
1 1 /4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Filling:
1 stick butter
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon each of allspice and ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves

Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese
1 stick (4 ounces) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
2-3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir yeast into water to soften. Let rest for 5 minutes before stirring. Add milk, eggs, pumpkin, butter, 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom to yeast mixture. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes.

Gradually add remaining flour (all purpose), a little at a time, until you have a dough stiff enough to knead. Start with about 1 1/2 cups and increase if necessary. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead, adding flour as necessary, until you have a smooth, elastic dough.

Put dough into an oiled bowl. Turn once to coat entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Combine the white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in a small bowl, set aside. Transfer the risen dough to a lightly greased work surface, and pat or roll it into a 16" x 12" rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough and then sprinkle with the sugar mixture.

Roll the dough into a log the long way; it'll stretch to about 20" long as you roll. Using a very sharp knife, slice the log into 15 slices. In order to cut down on drag, it helps to rinse the blade in hot water, and wipe it off, between slices. Place slices in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan (or in two 8 or 9 inch round cake or pie pans). Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 375°F oven. Bake the rolls till they're brown around the edges and beginning to turn golden brown across the center, about 20-30 minutes.

While rolls bake, prepare the cream cheese frosting. Add the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and lemon juice to a small food processor. Blend until smooth and combined. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, blending in between, until well mixed and desired consistency is reached. (I used 2 cups powdered sugar)

Frost warm rolls with the cream cheese frosting and serve immediately.

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal:

These were quick to make and an unbelievably delicious way to start the day. Pumpkin pie has a little whipped cream on top, so why not this oatmeal?

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
(Recipe found at GoodLife Eats)

1 cup old fashioned oats, not quick cook
1 Tbs whole flax seeds, optional
2 1/2 Tbs brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp butter, softened
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup milk

Topping:

1/4 cup pecans, chopped
2 tsp butter, softened
1 Tbs brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 4 individual sized ramekins. Set aside.

Combine the oats through salt in a medium sized bowl. Stir well. In a separate bowl, combine the vanilla, butter, pumpkin, and milk. Whisk thoroughly. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the oats. Stir until combined.

Divide mixture evenly between 4 individual sized ramekins. Place ramekins on a baking sheet (this makes it easier to move in and out of the oven.). Bake at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the topping: chopped pecans, butter, and brown sugar. After the oatmeal has baked for 10 minutes, remove and divide topping mixture evenly between the ramekins. Bake and additional 7 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before serving. Top with a splash of milk and raisins, if desired.

Peach Pie

2010-08-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

We inherited a huge box of delicious fresh peaches. The first order of business was making this deliciously amazing peach pie. Even after making a pie and devouring a dozen peaches, we're still left with a lot. Peach freezer jam and peach cobbler are up next.

Before being thrown into the oven:

Peach Pie with Almond-Pecan Streusel

Pastry crust for 1 (9-inch) single-crust pie
5 cups peeled, sliced peaches (5 or 6 large peaches)
1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons cornstarch
Dash of ground nutmeg
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup finley chopped pecans

1/2 cup finely chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 425.

Line a 9-inch pie plate with the pie crust.

In a large bowl, combine sliced peaches, sugar, cornstarch and nutmeg.

Allow to stand 15 minutes.

Lightly brush uncooked pie shell with a thin layer of egg white to moisture-proof the pie crust.

Stir lemon juice and almond extract into peach mixture; spoon mixture into pie shell.

Mix brown sugar with flour.

Cut in butter until crumbly.

Stir in nuts.

Sprinkle mixture over peaches

Bake for 15 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 400 and bake 35 minutes more.

To prevent overbrowning of rim of crust, cover edges with strips of foil. Makes 8 servings.

Teacher Gift

2010-06-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

As part of a gift to my daughter's preschool teachers, we made these personalized soap labels. They were very easy and fast. The original idea I saw used a silhouette of the child and had their name on it. Instead, I had my daughter draw pictures. I printed the labels, had her draw something on each one, and then had it photocopied onto transparency paper. We cut them out and slipped them inside the soap bottles. The transparency paper just kind of sticks to the inside. I suppose you could also make clear labels to stick on the outside, but the transparency photocopy only cost $1. We did soap and hand sanitizer.

You can find a free template and instructions for this project here.

Strawberries!!

2010-06-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we went to Homestead Farm in Maryland for some strawberry picking. The strawberries were SO delicious and we unintentionally picked over 10 pounds. It turns out that our family has no problem using up 10 pounds of strawberries in a few days.

First up, 24 jars of delicious strawberry jam:

We needed something yummy to try it out on, so I made my favorite biscuits:

Then it was time for strawberry desserts. This was my first attempt at making a tart. I don't know why it took me so long to get a tart pan:

My friend Sarah introduced me to this delicious and quite easy strawberry tart recipe. I used an 11 inch tart pan and the recipe called for a 9 inch, but I think it turned out okay.

Strawberry Tart

Crust:
1 1/4 cups flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Filling:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 to 2 lbs strawberries, hulled and halved
1/4 cup red currant jelly

Crust: Preheat oven to 350*. In a food processor, blend flour, butter, sugar, and salt until moist crumbs form. Transfer dough to a 9” round tart pan with a removable bottom. With floured fingers, press dough evenly into pan and up sides. Dip a dry-measuring cup in flour, and use it to press dough firmly into bottom and against sides of pan. Freeze crust until firm, 10-15 minutes. Using a fork, prick crust all over. Bake until golden, 20-25 min, pressing down gently once or twice with a spoon during baking if crust puffs up. Cool completely in pan. (Note: The crust really hardens up after cooling, so be sure to not overbake. It will get really hard. It tastes like a shortbread cookie crust.)

Filling: In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth; spread mixture evenly in bottom of baked crust (still in tart pan). Starting from outside edge, arrange strawberry halves, stemmed side down, in tight concentric circles on cream cheese (alternate cut strawberry side with each circle). In a small saucepan, heat jelly on med-low until liquefied. Gently brush strawberries with jelly; let set at least 20 minutes. Chill in pan at least 1 hour (and up to 6 hours); remove from pan just before serving.

And finally, Strawberry Brown Butter Bars. YUM! The recipe was originally made with cherries, but strawberries were so delicious. You can find the recipe here.

Blueberries and Lemon

2010-05-31T15:34:00.001-07:00

I'm sure the few people that actually look at this blog lost interest long ago. Spring came and I abandoned a lot of crafting and baking and blog updating for adventures outside. But here is an attempt at returning.

I made some desserts for a baby shower a few weeks ago that turned out really yummy.

I saw these cobblers baked in jars at Not Martha and thought they would be really fun to try. I pretty much followed her directions, but I couldn't find the wide mouth jars. Mine were the same size, just skinnier and taller and they seemed to work just fine. I made my own labels to fit in with a girl baby shower.

Here they are right out of the oven. They smelled so good:

There is something really cute and satisfying about individual little jars of desserts:

(They are extra good with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream dropped inside when you're ready to eat.)

The directions for making the cobbler in jars can be found here.

(Next up...I'm going to make cupcakes in a jar.)

I thought not everyone would like blueberries so I also made some lemon cupcakes. I was really happy with this recipe that I found through Stephmodo. The combination of the cupcake and the frosting was perfect. Definitely try this recipe if you like lemon. I didn't attempt the candied lemon peel, but maybe next time. A simple raspberry on top did the trick.

Spring is Here!

2010-03-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

It's not quite spring, but close enough. Spring in D.C. is one of my favorite things. A few of our favorite activities are coming up.

The Smithsonian Kite Festival is happening on Saturday, March 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Washington Monument. The atmosphere here is always so carefree and fun...how can you not be happy while flying a kite? There is an actual competition, but many people just show up to fly their own kites for fun. Click here for more information.

And of course, the Cherry Blossom Festival. For a complete list of all of the events, click here. Last year, we really enjoyed attending the fireworks at the end of the festival. This year, they are at the beginning of the festival on Saturday, April 3 at the Southwest Waterfront. We watched them from Hains Point and there were hardly any people there. It's a great display.

Another great place to see blossoms is the National Arboretum.

Printing with handmade stamps

2010-03-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

A little while back, I got a wonderful surprise in the mail from a fabulously crafty friend of mine. It was this book:

I love trying out various printing methods and this book has some fantastic ideas. I recently attempted some handmade rubber stamps. I'm having fun experimenting with the whole process and I'm excited to try some other printing projects soon. I have a plan to screen print a new duvet cover for our bed, although I'm a bit intimidated by the prospects of printing on something so large.

Here are the results of my attempts with the rubber stamps. I carved two different stamps and printed a few bags and some stationery:

Valentine Cupcake Pops

2010-02-15T16:17:00.000-08:00

Okay. This will be the last Valentine-related post. Due to our snow week, Valentine's Day festivities have really been extended. School parties aren't even being held until this week. So we spent the end of our snow week making Valentines for Amelia's teachers.

We already had supplies laying around that were left over from our Christmas cake pops, and luckily Valentine's Day uses red and white too. We added a little pink and some heart sprinkles. We looked around the house for something to put them in and found these flower pots, which inspired our flower card and message.

Molten Chocolate Cake

2010-02-14T17:54:00.000-08:00

I wanted a chocolate dessert for Valentine's Day but wanted to keep it really simple. I went with these delicious molten chocolate cakes which are very easy to make. Love that chocolate center.

Bittersweet Molten Chocolate Cakes
from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

12 teaspoons plus 5 tablespoons sugar
8 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Preparation

Generously butter eight 3/4-cup soufflé dishes or custard cups. Sprinkle inside of each dish with 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar. (I used cooking spray and cocoa powder and it worked wonderfully. The cakes didn't stick at all.)

Stir chocolate and butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Using electric mixer, beat eggs, egg yolks, and remaining 5 tablespoons sugar in large bowl until thick and pale yellow, about 8 minutes. Fold 1/3 of warm chocolate mixture into egg mixture, then fold in remaining chocolate. Fold in flour. Divide batter among soufflé dishes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic; chill. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place soufflé dishes on baking sheet. Bake cakes uncovered until edges are puffed and slightly cracked but center 1 inch of each moves slightly when dishes are shaken gently, about 13 minutes.

Invert cakes onto a serving dish or eat right out of the soufflé dish. If desired, serve with ice cream.

I heart you.

2010-02-12T18:06:00.001-08:00

My Favorite Sugar Cookies

2 c. flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp milk
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp almond extract

Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar; add dry ingredients, and mix until incorporated. With mixer running, add egg, milk, vanilla, and almond extract; mix until incorporated.

Transfer dough to a work surface. Shape into a disc, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut into desired shapes, and transfer to prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch in between. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes; do not allow to brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

Valentines: Part 2

2010-02-10T05:44:00.000-08:00

We're on Day 6 of being snowed in. Yesterday we finished up our cards.

There is a free printable card to use with the heart crayons at The Long Thread which you can download here. But we wanted to do our own thing and Amelia wanted to use a colorful peacock so I made this card:

I thought it would be fun to include a picture that the kids could color with their new crayon so I used Photoshop to remove all the color from the peacock and included a black and white version on the back of the card.

Then we attached the hearts to the front using foam dots:

Instead of using envelopes, I found some clear bags and we packaged them up:

Inspired by some fun owl pencils found at the dollar section in Target, we also made some owl cards for friends:

You can find a template for the owls, along with many others, at Family Fun.

Valentines: Part 1 (Heart-shaped crayons)

2010-02-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

We had fun making heart-shaped crayons to use for Valentines for Amelia's class. This was a good project to work on with her since she was able to help peel off the paper and break up the crayons.

Step 1: Gather your old crayons and peel off the paper. Break them up into small pieces.

Step 2: Lightly grease a heart-shaped pan and fill each cup with crayon pieces in any color combination you like.

Step 3: Bake at 250 until melted, about 8 to 10 minutes. (You might want to put a baking sheet underneath to catch any possible drips.)

Step 4: Once they have cooled, pop them out and check out the fun colors!

I also tried cutting up the crayons with a knife to get even smaller pieces and put lots of different colors together. The results were very fun.

Next up: Attaching the crayons to cards...

Snow Day Foods

2010-02-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

We had another snowy weekend. It put me in the mood for making and eating soup and warm bread. I decided to try making some artisan bread and my mom's white chicken chili.

I have tried a few different white chicken chili recipes but I really like my mom's recipe the best. Actually, it's not really her recipe. She found it on the internet but she won the church chili cook-off with it so I'm just going to refer to it as hers from now on. (Seems like the white chicken chili recipes are always winning these days.)

It just has the right flavor and the right amount of spice.

White Chicken Chili

16 oz or so of canned white beans 
1 large onion, chopped 
1 stick unsalted butter 
1/4 c all-purpose flour 
3/4 c chicken broth 
2 cups half and half 
1 tsp Tabasco
 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
 2 tsp ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 4-oz can whole mild green chilies, drained and chopped 
3 boneless, skinless chiken breasts
 1 1/2 c grated Monterey Jack  (my mom uses Pepper Jack)
1/2 c sour cream

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat a large skillet over moderately high heat and put in some butter and oil. Meanwhile coat your chicken with salt and pepper and maybe some chili powder. Throw them in the skillet and resist the urge to turn them over. Leave them for five minutes, or until nicely browned, then flip them. Leave it there until browned and then flip them every few minutes until they are done (which you can tell by poking a knife into the thickest part and seeing if it's white instead of pink).
2. Remove the chicken from the pan. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it with your fingers and set aside.
3. While waiting for chicken to cool, cook the onion in the same pan with 2 Tbs of butter until softened.
4. In a heavy pot, large enough to hold all the ingredients, melt remaining 6 Tbs of butter over moderately low heat and whisk in flour. Cook the roux, whisking constantly, for three minutes. Stir in the onion and gradually add the broth and half and half, whisking the whole time. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or until thickened. (It will be nicely and obviously thick.) Stir in Tabasco, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper (adjust quantities for your own liking). Add beans, chilies, chicken and cheese, and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. Add sour cream. May be served immediately -- although it tastes awesome the next day.

Artisan Bread

The artisan bread recipe came from this website. The idea is to make a big batch of dough and then you can store it in your fridge for 2 weeks and just pull out a chunk whenever you want to make a loaf. You shape it, leave it on the counter for about an hour, and then bake it for 30 minutes. The key is to bake the bread with a pan of steaming water underneath which gives the bread its nice crusty outside and soft inside.

Here are the loaves I've baked so far. I think I can get at least 2 more loaves out of the batch over the next week.

Betty Crocker was right.

2010-01-31T17:13:00.000-08:00

I spent the weekend experimenting with chocolate chip cookie recipes. Whenever I use real butter, which the experts always say to use, my cookies flatten out. So I decided to try a recipe with butter, and then the same recipe using margarine and see what happened. People are always claiming to have found the perfect recipe, like this one at allrecipes.com. (Now, the perfect recipe really depends on your own personal tastes. I happen to like my chocolate chip cookies soft and chewy.)

Over 3,000 people have rated this particular recipe, each with a different opinion. And over 400 photos have been uploaded, each looking VERY different. Clearly, not everyone is doing the same thing. It's impossible to know what works best when the comments are so varied: eggs MUST be at room temperature, bake at 335 not 325, refrigerate for 24 hours, refrigerate exactly 36 hours, don't add any extra flour, be sure to add extra flour, bake at 375, melt butter, don't melt butter, add less sugar, etc.

I have to say, the batch I made using butter spread a lot more than the batch with margarine. Note the difference:

The butter batch. Tasty, but too flat.

The margarine batch, with one butter cookie for comparison. Getting better...

But I still wasn't pleased with the results. Then I realized that I needed to return to the classics: Betty Crocker and shortening. Shortening got a bad reputation with that whole trans fat thing, but they now make it without the trans fat. Now I'm no food scientist (although my dad is) but I would say that butter, margarine, and shortening are all bad for us in some way and should all be used in moderation (hopefully consuming 6 warm cookies from the oven is moderation?) and I'm never setting out to be healthy when baking.

So I broke out my old Betty Crocker cookie recipe. When I was a kid, I made chocolate chip cookies ALL the time. And I used this Betty Crocker recipe which calls for half shortening and half butter (I used margarine...we never had such extravagances as butter when I was a kid). My cookies always turned out perfectly. (Except the time when I was 8 or 9 and made them by myself for the first time and used salt in place of sugar.) Why I have been trying other recipes over the years I'm not sure.

Perfection:

Round, soft, and chewy.

And delicious.

Don't forget the milk.

So here it is. My perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe (altered slightly from Betty Crocker). However, there is a good chance that this won't be YOUR perfect recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Betty Crocker, my changes are in red)

• 2/3 cup shortening (I used butter flavored Crisco)
• 2/3 cup butter or margarine (I used butter)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla (I double the vanilla)
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (12 ounce) package chocolate chips

Directions:
 Cream shortening, butter, and sugars in large mixing bowl; blend in eggs and vanilla.
Combine dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Mix until well blended.
Stir in chocolate chips. (And no need to refrigerate this dough...because really, who wants to wait for that anyway?)
Drop by rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets. (I like parchment paper.)
Bake at 375° for 7-10 minutes until golden brown. (I bake at 350°)

Note: For a softer, rounder cookie add 1/2 cup flour. (Definitely add the extra flour...makes a rounder cookie, but doesn't make it too cakey.)

I usually half the recipe and it makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Homemade Pendants

2010-01-02T06:26:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, Ben gave me some wooden tile pendants that he got on Etsy and I have loved them. I finally decided to try and make some as gifts for Christmas this year. You can order all the supplies you need on Etsy (I did some glass and some with scrabble tiles) or you can get some things at the craft store. There are already a lot of tutorials online for making these...you can find one here.

I made little personalized tins to hold each set of pendants:

Nativity Costumes

2009-12-23T19:25:00.001-08:00

Ben comes from a large family and they always draw names each Christmas for gift-giving. This year we needed a gift for his brother's family and I saw this fun idea at Design Mom to make a set of nativity costumes that they could use for acting out the nativity on Christmas Eve.

We had so much fun as a family putting these costumes together. We started at the thrift store and found clothes and fabric that would work and searched through all the crazy trinkets to find gold, frankincense, and myrrh. I bought more fabric at a fabric store and made a few costumes (my mom made the angel costume when she was here for Thanksgiving). We made a variety of sizes so hopefully they will last through the years.

All packaged up and ready to go:

Amelia had fun modeling the costumes:

Matchbox Advent Calendar

2009-12-10T14:48:00.000-08:00

I could not stop myself from making this adorable little matchbox advent I saw here. It takes about 30 minutes to make and all you need are matchboxes and some wrapping paper or scrapbook paper. I stamped the numbers with a date stamp (the kind you get at an office supply store). Use a hot glue gun to glue the rows of boxes together, then wrap each row in paper and glue them on top of each other. Add a fun little "tree topper" and hide a surprise in each box.

Andes Mints are the perfect size to hide in each little box.

Our D.C. Christmas favorites

2009-12-09T13:51:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of a few of the things we love to do at Christmas time in the area. For a HUGE list of things to do, go to www.washingtonpost.com/holidayguide.

Creche exhibit at the Washington National Cathedral
(Display of nativity scenes from around the world...open during regular visiting hours through Jan. 6)

Festival of Lights at the Washington DC LDS Temple
(Nightly performances as well as a live nativity and a large display of nativities from around the world.)

Holiday Magic at the National Botanic Gardens
(The train display this year is fantastic! Open late on Tuesdays and Thursdays with musical performances.)

Downtown Holiday Market (8th and F Streets)
(Nice handmade gifts for sale...don't miss the hot donuts!)

National Harbor (click here for a full list of activities)
(Very festive with Christmas trees, music, holiday market on the weekends, ICE show)

National Christmas Tree
(see the National tree as well as the smaller State trees, musical performances nightly, Santa's workshop)

Christmas at Mount Vernon

Zoo Lights at the National Zoo

Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens in Montgomery County
(A large walk-through light display with really fun garden-themed lights...also a train display in the greenhouse)

Thanksgiving Recipes

2009-12-09T09:53:00.001-08:00

A few of our recipes from Thanksgiving this year. Enjoy! (The carrot souffle would be a great addition to any dinner.)

Pumpkin Cupcakes

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 can (15 oz.) solid-packed pumpkin (about 1 3/4 cups if you're making your own puree)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick of butter, cubed and cold
8 oz. cream cheese*
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon spice mix (see below)

Spice Mix

1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cardamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Line three 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake wrappers.

To make the cupcakes, in a bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition. Add the flour mixture in three additions, stirring with a large wooden spoon until just combined.

Fill the muffin tins about 2/3 full. Bake until the cupcakes for 20 minutes. Transfer the tins to a wire rack and let cool for ten minutes; then remove the cupcakes from the tins and let cool completely.

To make the frosting, cream the butter until fluffy, but still cold. Add the cream cheese in small chunks. When completely combined (no lumps of either butter or cream cheese), add the powdered sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the vanilla and then 1 teaspoon of the spice mix before blending one last time.

Sprinkle a little spice mix over each cupcake.

* make sure you use Philadelphia Original!

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 c. light brown sugar, packed
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs
3/4 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c. pecans, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottom and sides of a 9x13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat 1 stick room-temp butter, brown sugar, flour,and salt until coarse crumbs form. Pour mixture into prepared pan; press firmly into bottom. Bake until lightly browned, 25-30 minutes. Let cool, 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in same large bowl, mix eggs, corn syrup, granulated sugar, and 2 Tbsp melted butter until well combined. Add chocolate chips and pecans; spread over crust.

Bake until set, 25-30 minutes. Cool completely in pan before lifting out (use foil to lift). Cut into 32 bars. I like to keep mine in the fridge.

Carrot Souffle
from Stephmodo.com

1 3/4 lbs. carrots, peeled and chopped
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla
2 tB. all purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter
confectioners sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large pot of boiling water, cook the carrots until very tender. Drain, and transfer to a large mixing bowl. While the carrots are warm, use an electric mixer to beat with sugar, baking powder and vanilla extract until smooth. Mix in the flour, eggs, and butter. Transfer to a 2 quart baking dish. Bake one hour in the preheated oven, or until top is golden brown. Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Note: If you want to use individual ramekins instead of one dish, adjust the cooking time to about 30-35 minutes depending on your oven. Keep an eye on them to avoid over-cooking them. I read online that one person liked to puree the carrots with the butter, sugar and vanilla and then add in the baking powder with the eggs and flour. Apparently the souffle rises better.

Alexandria Parade of Lights

2009-12-02T06:10:00.000-08:00

Holiday Boat Parade Schedule:

Saturday, December 5, 2009

4:00 to 6:00 p.m. - Festivities on the docks at the Alexandria Waterfront (music and entertainment)
4:15 p.m. - Santa arrives by boat - pictures with Santa for Kids and Canines
5:00 p.m. - Parade starts at the Washington Channel, Water St. off of Maine Avenue, Washington, DC
6:00 - 7:00 p.m. - Parade at Alexandria Waterfront

Complete list of Alexandria City activities on December 5:

Ornament Decorating Workshop for Families
Be inspired by the colors and patterns of pottery excavated in Alexandria and make a memorable holiday keepsake! The Alexandria Archaeology Museum (105 N. Union St., #327) will host a free ornament decorating workshop from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Participants can decorate and take home dough ornaments which are shaped like artifacts from the museum’s own collection. For additional information, please call the Alexandria Archaeology Museum at 703.838.4399 or visit www.alexandriaarchaeology.org .

Thirty-Ninth Annual Scottish Christmas Walk Parade
The City of Alexandria invites the public to attend the Annual Scottish Christmas Walk Parade at 11 a.m. in historic Old Town. The centerpiece of the Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend, the parade celebrates the City's Scottish heritage, featuring more than 100 Scottish clans, bagpipe and drum bands, living history reenactment groups, dog clubs, and a special appearance by Santa Claus. The St. Andrew's Society of Washington, D.C. partners with The Campagna Center and the City of Alexandria to sponsor the annual parade. The Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend is one of the largest fundraising activities for The Campagna Center; all proceeds from the Weekend support the Campagna Center’s programs, which help children in Alexandria arrive at school ready to learn and ensuring they are academically successful at each grade level. To learn more about the parade and the Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend, call 703.549.0111 or visit www.scottishchristmaswalk.com .

Holiday Concert in Old Town Alexandria
Enjoy the music of the season in Old Town Alexandria at a holiday concert at Market Square, 301 King St. At 2 p.m., the Family Choir of Beth El Hebrew Congregation will perform Hanukah favorites. For more information, call the City’s Special Events hotline at 703.883.4686.

Potomac River Parade
From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., Alexandria's harbor will sparkle when 50 brightly lit powerboats and sailboats fully decked out in lights and holiday décor take part in the 10th annual Burke & Herbert Holiday Boat Parade of Lights. Santa Claus will arrive by fireboat to kick off the evening festivities at 4 p.m. at the Alexandria Marina, 1 Cameron St. Kids and dogs will be able to sit on Santa's lap and get their picture taken for free. The Braddock Brass Quintet and the Bells of Mount Vernon, a hand bell choir from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will headline the live music entertainment.

Cubes. Again.

2009-11-25T12:03:00.000-08:00

I can't get enough of these cube shelves in my house. They are a great way to organize and utilize a lot of wall space. A few years ago, we ditched our dresser and got the largest IKEA cube shelves and then modified them...you can see the results here.

I needed more storage and our living room had an empty space, so we tried out the cube shelves again. We made our own drawers again but this time we did a mix of paint on some and fabric on some. (Recognize the fabric from this project?)

It spices up the living room just a bit.

The before:

After:

Christmas at National Harbor

2009-11-23T12:24:00.000-08:00

There are lots of Christmas activities at National Harbor this year:

Tree Lighting and Fireworks
November 27 at 5:00 p.m.

Holiday Market
(weekends November 28 to December 20)

Water-skiing Santa!
December 24

Click here to see a complete list of activities.

Terra Cotta Warriors are here!

2009-11-19T08:50:00.000-08:00

The National Geographic Museum is the final stop on the U.S. tour of Terra Cotta Warriors.

Nearly 2,000 years ago, thousands of life-size clay figures were buried in massive underground pits to accompany China's first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, into the afterlife. Their discovery outside the city of Xi'an in 1974 is one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century. Terra Cotta Warriors is a self-guided exhibition and will take approximately an hour to view.

Dates: November 19, 2009 to March 31, 2010
Daily: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesdays: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Closed December 25, 2009

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

*200 free day-of tickets will be available for the 6:00 p.m. exhibition viewing every Wednesday. Tickets will be distributed at 5:30 p.m. with a limit of two tickets per person.

Christmas Advent Wreath

2009-11-18T10:53:00.000-08:00

I LOVE decorating for Christmas and I LOVE advent calendars of any sort.

I saw a smaller version of this wreath (12 days of Christmas) advertised at Michaels...they were doing a free demonstration on how to make it. I saw the picture of their version, which just used scrapbooking paper to cover the wreath and the little tins, and came up with my own version. I really wanted the inside of the tins to be visible so when the candy was eaten, it was more of a visual reminder of the countdown. I was really happy with the results. I was set on having red and white mint M&Ms, but quickly discovered that there are far more red and green than white. I had to buy 7 bags just to get enough white! The tins are stuck on with velcro so you can remove each tin to get the candy out each day. I found some little wreaths that I liked and cut those up and glued them all around. After starting with the basic wreath and tins, you can customize this wreath any way you like. Click here to see the instructions for the Michaels version.

Materials (I found everything at Michaels):

18-inch Wood Wreath Ring
Spray Paint (color of choice...this is for the wood wreath)
Favor Tins (these are in the wedding section...a pack of 30 is $20...use a coupon)
Velcro Squares (2 packages)
Garland of your choice
Number Stickers of choice (this was the most expensive thing because you will need 3 packages to have enough of the number 1 and 2...scrapbooking supplies are ridiculously expensive!)
Wire (to hang the wreath)

Tools:

Wire Cutters
Glue Gun & Glue Sticks

Instructions:

Spray wreath with paint and let dry.
Arrange the tins around the wreath and attach with the velcro squares.
Cut garland pieces to fit between each tin and glue with hot glue gun. Embellish how you like.
String wire through one of the pre-made holes in the wreath. This will be the top.
Apply the numbers to the tops of the tins and fill with candy.

Puzzle Blocks: Maurice Sendak style

2009-10-16T16:41:00.000-07:00

In honor of the movie release of Where the Wild Things Are, I made some puzzle blocks using Maurice Sendak illustrations.

Materials:

wooden blocks in any size and quantity (I used nine 2 inch blocks found at Michaels)
Mod Podge
foam brush
6 different photos matching the size of all of your blocks put together (in my case, 6 x 6 in.)
X-acto knife, ruler, cutting surface

Directions:

Cut one of the photos up to match the size of your blocks.
Using the foam brush, spread Mod Podge on the back of the photo pieces and attach them to each block.
After they have dried, rotate each block and repeat with the next five photos.
Put a coat of Mod Podge over the entire surface of each block (do one side at a time) to seal the photos and protect the surface.

Lazy Days Skirt

2009-10-01T16:35:00.000-07:00

I found this fabric on clearance several months ago and thought it would make a cute skirt for the girls. I finally decided it was time to cross this project off of my list. So a few nights ago, I sat down and made one for Amelia, one for Elsa, and had enough fabric left to make one for a friend. I decided to go with the "lazy days skirt" which is super easy to make.

You can find the instructions here.

Fall Festivals

2009-10-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

Happy October! There are Fall Festivals everywhere. Check one out.

(Click on the name for more information.)

In Virginia:

Cox Farms Fall Festival
Centreville, VA
This festival is HUGE...plan to spend several hours. There are a lot of slides that are fun for the whole family. There are also rope swings, farm animals (including an interactive "goat village"), a great hayride, a silly corn maze, free apples and cider, a special area for children under 5, straw tunnels, and other activities. Admission includes a small pumpkin.

If possible, go during the week to avoid the weekend crowds. Afternoons seem to be the least busy.

Burke Nursery's Fall Festival
Burke, VA
Daily activities include slides, hay rides, farm animals, pumpkin fort, rope swing, and pirate and western-themed activities. Small pumpkin is included with admission.

Old Mine Ranch
Dumfries, Virginia
Through the month of October, enjoy pumpkin picking, hayrides, slides, petting farm, moonbounce and more. Open everyday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Spookfest every night except Sunday 7-9 p.m.

Hollin Farms Orchard
Delaplane, Virginia
One of the largest pumpkin patches in Northern Virginia. Pick a pumpkin, see farm animals and baby calves, take a pony ride, enjoy live music, hiking, and more. Open Wednesday through Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October.

Heather Hill Gardens
Fairfax Station, VA
The Fall Festival includes pumpkins, a pumpkin fort, climbing ropes and swings for children.

Stribling Orchard
Markham, VA
Pick apples and choose pumpkins at this family farm which is more than 200 years old. Visitors can picnic at mountaintop tables and view farm animals.

Marker-Miller Orchards
Winchester, VA
Pick-you-own apples and pumpkins. There's an apple harvest festival Oct 10-11, and a pumpkin festival.

Virginia Farm Market
Winchester, VA
Pumpkinland features a pumpkin-lined path with red wagons and a pumpkin-filled wagon designed as a photo backdrop.

Great Country Farms
Bluemont, VA
This 200-acre farm offers hayrides to a pick-your-own pumpkin patch. Activities include pedal carts, a giant corn box and a 2,800-square-foot pumpkin jumpin' pillow for outdoor bouncing, five mazes, a twin 60-foot slide and a mountain made of tractor tires.

Pumpkinville
Leesburg, VA
The festival includes hay mazes, hill slides, a moon bounce and pumpkin fort. Pumpkins are available for picking. On weekends, children can fly down a 200-foot zip line and ride camels.

Ticonderoga Farms
Chantilly, VA
The Pumpkin Festival at this 1,000-acre, fifth-generation family farm features hayrides, a pumpkin patch, hillside slides, tetherball, face painting, a candy corn hut, a small petting zoo and refreshments.

In Maryland:

Butler's Orchard
Germantown, Maryland
Annual Pumpkin Festival is held weekends throughout October, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pick a pumpkin; take a hayride; explore a hay maze; and enjoy crafts, food, and family activities.

Homestead Farm
Poolesville, Maryland
Harvest festival is held weekends through October from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Take a hayride, pick your own apples or pumpkins, find your way through the hay maze.

Larriland Farms
Woodbine, Maryland
Annual Pumpkin Festival is held weekends throughout October. Pick a pumpkin; take a hayride; and explore a hay maze and more.

Jump Rope Jump Off!

2009-09-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

Experience the National Children's Museum’s second annual Jump Off! at National Harbor this Saturday, October 3.

The Museum will present an afternoon of free, outdoor exhibition performances by four nationally renowned Double Dutch jump rope teams along with other family friendly activities.

The event is FREE and will last from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Click here for more information.

Photobooth blocks

2009-09-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

Pretty much anything that involves a photobooth is going to be a good project.

To make these photobooth blocks, scan in your photobooth strip and then adjust each picture so it will fit on your block. I used 2 in x 3 in linoleum blocks, found at an art store. Print and cut out your photos, and then apply Mod Podge to the back with a foam brush and stick them on the blocks. Spread a thin, even coat of Mod Podge over the top and sides to seal the photo.

Stack 'em any way you please.

You could do this with pretty much any photo and any size blocks. A fun change from the regular old picture frame.

Next up: Puzzle blocks

Announcing...

2009-09-23T14:48:00.003-07:00

...another website!

I've developed a website for locals...all about things to do in the D.C. area. It's currently in a blog format, but will eventually be a more user-friendly website. I'm still compiling my lists and creating links but I'm hoping to keep it updated with things that are happening each week.

Check it out.

www.dcinsideandout.com

National Book Festival

2009-09-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

The 2009 National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, will be held this Saturday, September 26, on the National Mall between 7th and 14th streets from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The festival is free!

For more information, click here.

Scores of authors, illustrators and poets will be making presentations on the National Mall throughout the day in Children, Teens & Children, Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers, History & Biography, and Poetry & Prose pavilions.

Explore the world of learning in the PBS KIDS Raising Readers pavilion. See “Elmo” and his Sesame Street friends in a live stage show; sing-along with PBS KIDS’ SteveSongs or join us for story time.

Take your picture with the cast of Super Why, “Martha” from Martha Speaks, “Leona” or “Cleo” from Between the Lions, “Duck” from WordWorld or other PBS KIDS favorites like “Curious George” and “Clifford the Big Red Dog.”

Pumpkin goodness.

2009-09-22T19:36:00.001-07:00

In honor of the first day of Fall (and my mom's birthday!) we made pumpkin cookies today. Hooray for Fall!

Chocolate-Glazed Pumpkin Cookies

Makes 3 1/2 dozen.

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin puree
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin-pie spice, and salt; set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat until smooth. With mixer on low speed, alternately add flour mixture in two parts and pumpkin puree in one, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined (do not overmix).
3. Drop dough by heaping tablespoons onto two baking sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and edges are golden, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating sheets once during baking. Immediately transfer cookies to wire racks, and cool completely.
4. When cookies have cooled, set them (still on rack) over a baking sheet or waxed paper. Place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water; stir until almost melted. Remove from heat; stir until completely melted. Pour chocolate into a resealable plastic bag. Snip off a corner with scissors or a knife to make an 1/8-inch hole; pipe chocolate over cookies. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm, about 20 minutes.

PARKS

2009-09-16T23:00:00.000-07:00

Click on the name to link to the park's website for more information.

River Farm Garden
7931 East Boulevard Dr., Alexandria VA 22308
(As you travel South on the GW Parkway, you will take a left after you pass under the stone bridge. There is a big sign telling you when to turn. After you turn left, take another left and the entrance is on the right.)
This is the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society. It is a BEAUTIFUL garden area on the Potomac River with a children's garden that has a maze and small play houses. There are also shovels for digging and lots of places for kids to explore. There are picnic tables and admission is free!

Ben Brenman Park
4800 Brenman Park Drive, Alexandria
(Near Duke St. and S. Pickett)
There is an enclosed playground and a small lake with fountains. There are usually lots of turtles and fish in the water.

Lee District Rec Center
6601 Telegraph Rd

Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site
4301 W Braddock Rd
Follow the road back a little and the playground is on the hill below the parking lot.

Windmill Hill Park
501 S Union St
Alexandria (South end of Old Town right by the river, there is plenty of street parking)
The playground here is enclosed and has a lower level for bigger kids and an upper level for smaller kids with a nice sand box. There is also a fun rope climb for bigger kids. This park offers a lot of shade and there is also a large field. There is another park across the street with a nice walkway along the river and a pier out on the water where you can feed the ducks if they're around.

Huntley Meadows Park
3701 Lockheed Blvd
Nestled in Fairfax County's Hybla Valley, Huntley Meadows Park is a rich, natural island in the suburban sea of Northern Virginia. Its 1,425 acres harbor majestic forests, wildflower-speckled meadows and vast wetlands bursting with life. Some of the best wildlife watching in the Washington metropolitan area is enjoyed here. From the ½ mile wetland boardwalk trail and observation tower, people have excellent views of beavers, frogs, dragonflies and herons. Huntley Meadows is well known as a prime birding spot, with over 200 species identified in the park.

Beach Park
201 Rucker Place
Alexandria (near Del Ray area and not far from King Street metro off of Russell)
There is some nice playground equipment here and a sand box.

Clemyjontri Park
6317 Georgetown Pike
McLean
This park has a phenomenal, huge playground where children of all abilities can play side-by-side. There is also a carousel that operates seasonally.

Fairlington Park
Shirlington
Fun park with a great sand box.
Take 395 North and get off at the King St. exit East. Take King St. to Quaker Lane and turn left. Take Quaker Lane to 33rd street (it will be on the left hand side). Turn left onto 33rd St. Once in Fairlington, take a left at the stop sign and then a quick right into the park.

Burke Lake Park
7315 Ox Road
Fairfax Station, VA
This park has a campground, a few playgrounds, a lake with a nice trail, a carousel, and a train. There is also a disc golf course, as well as mini golf.

Beverley Park
620 N. Overlook Dr., Alexandria
This park is in a beautiful neighborhood and the park itself is down in a pit. It's pretty sunny during the day, but there is some great playground equipment, including a fire truck to climb around on and a sand box with toys. The best part is a huge cement pad that the kids can ride their bikes on...there are tons of ride-on toys and those "Flintstone" buggies just left there for everyone to use.

Lake Accotink
7500 Accotink Park Rd
Springfield
Facilities and activities vary with the season and include canoe, rowboat and pedal boat rentals, fishing, tour-boat rides, boat launch, bait and tackle sales, 9-green double holed miniature golf course, antique carousel, snack bar, pavilion shelters (reservations encouraged), picnic areas with grills, restrooms, playground, a 3.75-mile hiking/biking trail and 2 open play fields.

Oxon Hill Farm
Oxon Hill Farm operates as an actual working farm, representative of the early 20th century. There are lots of different animals and the location is beautiful. Admission is free.

Frying Pan Farm Park
2709 West Ox Road
Herndon, Virginia
A great farm with lots of animals to see. There is a 20 minute hayride for a small fee.

Hidden Pond Nature Center
8511 Greeley Boulevard
Springfield
There are indoor exhibits, a nature trail, a pond, playground, and picnic shelter.

Hidden Oaks Nature Center
7701 Royce Street
Annandale

Old Maryland Farm
301 Watkins Park Drive
Upper Marlboro, MD
The agricultural exhibits, livestock, and display gardens provide a farming experience to visitors. There is also a carousel and train ride.

Fort Hunt Park
Located 6 miles south of Old Town on the George Washington Memorial Parkway
There is a small playground and a lot of picnic areas. Neat park with lots of history.

CHURCHES and CEMETERIES

2009-09-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (beautiful church and grounds)
Rock Creek Cemetery (park-like setting has many notable mausoleums and tombstones)
National Cathedral (great view from top)
Franciscan Monastery (with its arched walkways, 15 miniature outdoor chapels and well-kept garden, the monastery offers a meditative oasis in the city)
Congressional Cemetery

GARDENS

2009-09-16T19:48:00.000-07:00

Enid Haupt Garden, behind the Smithsonian castle (BEAUTIFUL during cherry blossom time...escape the crowds of the Tidal Basin and picnic here)
U.S. National Arboretum (free, beautiful grounds, Bonsai Museum, nice place to bike)
National Botanic Gardens (wonderful Christmas displays with trains)
River Farm Garden Park (close, free, rarely crowded, beautiful)
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
Dumbarton Oaks (located in Georgetown; museum and gardens are open to the public)

NATURE/OUTDOORS

2009-09-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

Rock Creek Park
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park (C&O Canal Trail)
Bladensburg Waterfront Park (free pontoon boat tours on the Anacostia River)
National Wildlife Visitors Center
Turkey Run Park (located off the GW Parkway, picnic areas and lots of hiking trails)
Prince William Forest Park (hiking/camping/cabins)
Great Falls State Park
Patapsco Valley State Park (near Baltimore)
Sandy Point State Park (beach on the Chesapeake Bay)
Kayaking on the Potomac (enjoy a unique view of the monuments; rent kayaks in Georgetown)
Roosevelt Island (Theodore Roosevelt monument and nice walking trail)
Biking the GW parkway (18 miles from Mount Vernon to Roosevelt Island)
Scott’s Run Nature Preserve in McLean, Virginia
Pohick Bay (cabin camping, water park, disc golf, boat rentals)
National Colonial Farm in Piscataway Park (Accokeek)

ROAD TRIPS

2009-09-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

Annapolis
Longwood Gardens (located in Pennsylvania, about 110 miles away; these gardens are AMAZING and worth the drive...open year round...GO!)
Harper’s Ferry
Virginia Beach
Richmond
Monticello
Williamsburg/Jamestown
Hershey, PA
Lancaster, PA
Philadelphia
Baltimore: Aquarium, Port Discovery Children’s Museum, Fort McHenry, Baltimore Museum of Art
Chincoteague Island/Assateague Island National Seashore
Shenandoah National Park/ Luray Caverns

RESTAURANTS

2009-09-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

Click here to see the Washington Post's lists of the best places to eat in several categories. (Best Burgers, Best Cheap Eats, Best Sushi, etc.)

Eamons for the best fish and chips around (Corner of Columbus and King in Old Town)

Restaurant Eve
110 S Pitt St in Old Town

Fontaine Caffe and Creperie
119 South Royal Street in Old Town

The Dairy Godmother
(authentic frozen custard...check the website for daily flavors)
2310 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria (in the Del Ray neighborhood)

Ben’s Chili Bowl
1213 U Street NW

Gadsby’s Tavern (“Fine Dining Since 1770”)
138 N. Royal St in Old Town

Comet Ping Pong
(Play ping pong while you wait for delicious pizza; also a unique venue for local artists and musicians)
5037 Connecticut Ave NW

MUSEUMS

2009-09-13T04:20:00.000-07:00

Smithsonian Museums: Explore the world's largest museum complex
Click here to go to the Smithsonian website to see current exhibits and find out about everything from photography classes to lectures.

Some of our favorites:

Natural History Museum
American History Museum
Air and Space Museum (also check out the Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport)
National Gallery of Art (“Jazz in the Garden” during the summer)
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
National Museum of the American Indian (excellent cafeteria–we like the Indian Fry Bread with Mexican hot chocolate in the winter)
Sewall-Belmont House and Museum (Headquarters of the historic National Woman’s Party)
National Postal Museum
U.S. Navy Museum
National Geographic Museum (Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit coming in November)
National Building Museum (fun play area for kids, neat building, traveling exhibits are always interesting)
College Park Aviation Museum

MONUMENTS/HISTORIC SITES

2009-09-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

Monuments on the National Mall
Teddy Roosevelt Island
Mount Vernon (check out the Candlelight Tour at Christmas time, and many other annual events)
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Pope Leighey House/Woodlawn Plantation
Netherlands Carillon/Iwo Jima
Manassas National Battlefield Park
Fort Washington

THE ARTS

2009-09-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

Fords Theater (newly renovated...check website for schedule of plays)
Kennedy Center (free concerts every evening; open late...nice views from terrace)
Wolf Trap (great outdoor performance venue; check the schedule for performances...cheaper lawn seating is usually available)
Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA (This former prison is now much like the Torpedo Factory: you can talk to local artists and watch them work.)
Torpedo Factory (watch local artists work)

FUN AND GAMES

2009-09-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

H Street Country Club (fun D.C.-themed indoor mini golf; good food; go early to avoid the “bar crowd”)
Comet Ping Pong (play some ping pong while you wait for delicious pizza)
Woodys Mini Golf:Perils of the Lost Jungle (rated “Top 5 Mini Golf Courses in America” by Newsweek; this course is awesome!)
Reston Zoo (encourages animal interaction; wagon ride to see animals included with admission)
National Zoo
Water Parks (Great Waves, Pirate’s Cove at Pohick Bay, The Water Mine, Downpour)
Gravelly Point (watch planes take-off and land at Reagan; also a nice place to walk along the parkway trail or have a picnic)
National Harbor (nice place to walk around, new location for The Awakening statue, Children’s Museum coming in the future)
University of Maryland Observatory in College Park, MD (observatory hosts free open houses twice a month during which visitors can listen to a half-hour lecture and then peer through telescopes that the staff has trained on extraterrestrial objects)
Goddard Space Flight Center

IN D.C.

2009-09-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

Eastern Market
Union Station
Library of Congress (22 reading rooms and access to 650 miles of bookshelves)
Biking around the monuments at night (I love seeing the monuments at night and the best way to get around and see all of them is on bike.)
Fords Theater (newly renovated...check website for schedule of plays)
Kennedy Center (free concerts every evening; open late...nice views from terrace)

OLD TOWN

2009-09-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

Torpedo Factory (watch local artists work)
Boat rides on Potomac
Fontaine Caffe and Creperie (yummy crepes...nice brunch spot)
Wilson Bridge (start in Old Town and walk across the bridge to the Maryland side...nice views)
Masonic Memorial (wonderful view at the top)
Narrow house (check out the narrowest house in the country, on Queen St., only 7 feet wide)
Good restaurants and shops

SEASONAL EVENTS

2009-09-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

National Book Festival (on the mall in September)
Shenandoah Hot Air Balloon Festival
National Cherry Blossom Festival
Smithsonian Kite Festival (on the mall in the spring)
Smithsonian Folklife Festival (on the mall in the summer)
County and State Fairs
Capitol Fourth Concert (go to the rehearsal the night before)
Kennedy Center Open House and Opera in the Outfield
Flower Mart at the National Cathedral

FALL FESTIVALS

In Virginia:

Cox Farms Fall Festival
Centreville, VA
This festival is HUGE...plan to spend several hours. There are a lot of slides that are fun for the whole family. There are also rope swings, farm animals (including an interactive "goat village"), a great hayride, a silly corn maze, free apples and cider, a special area for children under 5, straw tunnels, and other activities. Admission includes a small pumpkin.

If possible, go during the week to avoid the weekend crowds. Afternoons seem to be the least busy.

Burke Nursery's Fall Festival
Burke, VA
Daily activities include slides, hay rides, farm animals, pumpkin fort, rope swing, and pirate and western-themed activities. Small pumpkin is included with admission.

Old Mine Ranch
Dumfries, Virginia
Through the month of October, enjoy pumpkin picking, hayrides, slides, petting farm, moonbounce and more. Open everyday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Spookfest every night except Sunday 7-9 p.m.

Hollins Farms Orchard
Delaplane, Virginia
One of the largest pumpkin patches in Northern Virginia. Pick a pumpkin, see farm animals and baby calves, take a pony ride, enjoy live music, hiking, and more. Open Wednesday through Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October.

Heather Hill Gardens
Fairfax Station, VA
The Fall Festival includes pumpkins, a pumpkin fort, climbing ropes and swings for children.

Stribling Orchard
Markham, VA
Pick apples and choose pumpkins at this family farm which is more than 200 years old. Visitors can picnic at mountaintop tables and view farm animals.

Marker-Miller Orchards
Winchester, VA
Pick-you-own apples and pumpkins. There's an apple harvest festival Oct 10-11, and a pumpkin festival.

Virginia Farm Market
Winchester, VA
Pumpkinland features a pumpkin-lined path with red wagons and a pumpkin-filled wagon designed as a photo backdrop.

Great Country Farms
Bluemont, VA
This 200-acre farm offers hayrides to a pick-your-own pumpkin patch. Activities include pedal carts, a giant corn box and a 2,800-square-foot pumpkin jumpin' pillow for outdoor bouncing, five mazes, a twin 60-foot slide and a mountain made of tractor tires.

Pumpkinville
Leesburg, VA
The festival includes hay mazes, hill slides, a moon bounce and pumpkin fort. Pumpkins are available for picking. On weekends, children can fly down a 200-foot zip line and ride camels.

Ticonderoga Farms
Chantilly, VA
The Pumpkin Festival at this 1,000-acre, fifth-generation family farm features hayrides, a pumpkin patch, hillside slides, tetherball, face painting, a candy corn hut, a small petting zoo and refreshments.

In Maryland:

Butler's Orchard
Germantown, Maryland
Annual Pumpkin Festival is held weekends throughout October, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pick a pumpkin; take a hayride; explore a hay maze; and enjoy crafts, food, and family activities.

Homestead Farm
Poolesville, Maryland
Harvest festival is held weekends through October from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Take a hayride, pick your own apples or pumpkins, find your way through the hay maze.

Larriland Farms
Woodbine, Maryland
Annual Pumpkin Festival is held weekends throughout October. Pick a pumpkin; take a hayride; and explore a hay maze and more.

Sunprint Kit

2009-09-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

When my friend Kristilyn came to visit awhile ago, she brought us a Sunprint Kit to try out. I had never used one of these and it was pretty cool. Amelia had fun finding leaves and sticks and other things to put on the paper. After you arrange some items on the light-sensitive paper, you leave it in the sun for a few minutes and ta-da! You have a lovely piece of art.

Poladroid

2009-07-30T16:24:00.000-07:00

I lamented the loss of Polaroid awhile back on this post. But I've been having fun playing around with some software that will turn your digital photos into polaroid-looking photos. Although not the same as the real thing, the results are still fun.

Click here to get the software.

The Market Skirt

2009-07-28T04:31:00.000-07:00

There is another fabulous tutorial up at Made for these adorable skirts.

(Photo from Made)

I want to make one today. But this week is already taken over with packing and cleaning and preparing for a trip out West. The sewing machine is definitely coming out when I return.

Handmade Gifts

2009-07-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

I recently made a few more One Hour Bags as seen at Ric-Rac to give as gifts. These are very simple to make. I usually spend most of my time trying to decide what fabric to use. You can find the tutorial here.

Another Black Apple doll for a friend who loves to bake:

You can find the tutorial for the doll here.

Blueberry-Cornmeal Pancakes with Orange Maple Butter

2009-07-15T08:11:00.001-07:00

We made these pancakes for dinner the other night and they were fabulous. The Orange Maple Butter is a must.

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes
Martha Stewart Living

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups fresh blueberries

1. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, 2 tablespoons sugar, the baking powder, salt and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, milk, butter and egg. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined (mixture will be lumpy). (I doubled the recipe and had to add more flour because mine was quite runny.)

2. Preheat oven to 200 degrees (for keeping pancakes warm). Heat a griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Toss blueberries with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Brush griddle with melted butter. Spoon batter onto griddle 1/3 cup at a time. Sprinkle with sugared blueberries, about 2 tablespoons per pancake. Cook until edges are set, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip, and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter and blueberries, adding more butter to griddle and keeping prepared pancakes warm on a baking sheet in the oven. Serve with orange maple butter and pure maple syrup.

Orange Maple Butter
Martha Stewart Living

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

Using a rubber spatula, combine ingredients in a small bowl. Orange maple butter can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week. (Mixing with a rubber spatula did not work for me...I had to mix it with the electric mixer to get the liquids to mix in. Also, I left out the grated orange zest and salt and it was still delicious.)

The Shirt Dress

2009-07-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

When my mom was in town I had to pick a sewing project to work on. I saw this cute dress idea over at Made and had to experiment with it.

My mom did most of the work on this one and I observed.

Before:

After:

The next day I tried making one myself, under the supervision of my mom.

Before:

After:

We followed most of the directions on the tutorial, but altered the neck and sleeves. We used elastic thread instead of making an elastic casing. It seemed much easier and I like the look. Ben was not ready to part with any of his dress shirts, so I had fun combing through the racks at the thrift store picking out some patterns I liked. I have another shirt that is waiting to be cut up. I have some ideas about changing up the buttons or possibly adding a contrasting fabric along the bottom...

Fancy!

2009-07-07T18:38:00.000-07:00

I think I would enjoy being a party planner. Except for that whole part about meeting the demands of other people. So I'll just stick with planning my own parties for now.

I went a little crazy preparing for Amelia's 4th birthday. She decided on a Fancy Nancy party quite awhile ago and I immediately started scheming. We settled on a "butterfly garden party" theme, based on the book "Bonjour, Butterfly." Even though we were rained out and my backyard decorations had to be abandoned, the party was a huge success. I had fun planning it with Amelia and all the girls had fun being Fancy.

The Invitation

I found some Fancy Nancy images online and then used Photoshop to manipulate the word Nancy and change it to Amelia so the invitation would resemble the book cover.

The Decorations

This party definitely called for the Martha Stewart pom-poms. Instructions can be found here. These are very easy and cheap to make. It calls for 20x30 tissue paper, which I had a hard time finding. I found some really cute colors and patterns at Target that were pretty close to those dimensions and they worked well. I stacked them 10 thick.

I scored some paper lanterns at the dollar store that happened to be butterfly-themed. We strung those up across the backyard.

We ordered some 3D cardboard butterflies from Oriental Trading and Amelia and I had fun one night decorating them.

The Activities

All the girls decorated butterfly wings to wear. I found some great poster board at Michaels that was purple on one side and blue on the other. I cut out a butterfly shape on each piece and then punched out two holes in the top center and 2 in the bottom center and strung elastic string through them so they could be worn like a backpack.

They also decorated little bags to use for a butterfly hunt and then they each made a wooden butterfly necklace (from a kit found at Michaels).

The Food

PB&J sandwiches and ham & cheese sandwiches and our favorite fancy French lemonade from Trader Joes.

Lemon scones, shaped as butterflies of course.

Fruit kabobs.

The Cake

In addition to cake and cupcakes, I couldn't resist making more cupcake pops.

I "drew" butterfly wings on wax paper using melted chocolate and then after they had hardened, I put them on the cupcakes. And nothing says fancy like paper doilies! Go here for instructions on making the chocolate butterflies. I used candy melts instead of semi-sweet chocolate.

My first attempt at a four-layer cake. I took the easy way out and decorated it with fake flowers and butterflies from Michaels.

The Favors

Each of the girls got to take home a potted flower. I spray painted small terracotta pots with silver glitter paint and then found some butterfly ribbon to put around the top.

First attempt at Cupcake Pops!

2009-06-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to attempt these cupcake pops since I saw them here about a year ago. I needed to bring a treat to Amelia's last day of school since they were celebrating summer birthdays and I decided it was time to try these little cuties.

They turned out better than I expected for a first try and were so delicious. I just assumed it was all about the cuteness factor and not so much the taste. But these things are scrumptious. Amelia had fun dipping them in the chocolate coating and then putting the sprinkles on. It was a LONG process, but I'm excited to try them again.

Mmmmm.

Cantilevers. And why I love my small house.

2009-04-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

On Friday I surprised Ben with an afternoon date to tour Frank Lloyd Wright's Pope-Leighey House which is not too far from us. We have wanted to visit it for a long time and it just never happened. I was particularly excited to see this house because it is the same size as our house. This was an example of Wright's innovative designs to create a modestly-sized and affordable single-family home in 1939. Every space in the house was designed beautifully with a specific purpose in mind and although it is small, it felt big inside. Part of that was due to Wright's use of only four materials (wood, brick, glass, and concrete).

Houses have become so large. I think about the houses that my parents grew up in. They were not big. And even with 4 or 5 children, they managed to survive in them. Today, you need an extra bedroom just for your Costco membership. Lately, I have really been embracing my small house. I love that it takes me little time to straighten. I love that I don't have to travel far to return all the clean laundry to its proper place. I love that it prevents me from accumulating too much stuff. I love trying to organize a small space and I have actually gotten my home to the point where I have extra storage space. It is just right for our little family. Wright was against basements and attics and garages and felt that everything you use on a daily basis could be easily stored somewhere in your house. I really like the idea of living more simply.

The other great thing about the Pope-Leighey house, as with all of Wright's houses, is the way it is made to blend in with its surroundings and bring the outside right into the home. You hardly notice when you've transitioned from the outside to the inside. One of my favorite Wright features are his corner windows and doors. They are seriously stunning. There was some beautiful (and versatile) furniture inside as well. We left the tour and Ben immediately had all sorts of ideas for tearing out walls in our house to open up the space.

Notice the raised herb garden right outside the kitchen window. Perfect.

This photo shows one of the corner doors opening up onto the patio. Why don't they build more houses with corner windows and doors? They are amazing.

(This was the only photo I managed to sneak inside, because photography was not permitted in the house.)

This was a corner window in one of the bedrooms.

The Magic of Screen Printing

2009-03-06T14:25:00.000-08:00

My interest in graphic design started when I was in high school. My school actually offered graphic arts classes where we primarily did screen printing. It was the most fascinating process. This was more like a shop class with lots of huge equipment. There was only one computer with some very basic clip art and one scanner, which was like a new toy for everyone. I came out of that class with some fabulous band t-shirts, Charlie Brown pillowcases, and countless numbers of notepads. Ben recently bought me a screen printing kit and it has been fun to get back to my "roots" and experiment a little at home.

I designed a logo for a band I'm loving lately (Great Lake Swimmers) and we used the photo emulsion method to transfer the design to the screen. We were pretty happy with the results. I'm still completely amazed by the process.

I recently discovered another home method for screen printing which is not as easy, but cheaper. I LOVE using things for purposes other than what they were originally intended. I made my own screen using an embroidery hoop and sheer curtain material. This process involves painting the negative space of your image with glue. I was completely surprised that this actually worked. I printed a bunch of cards and then a little apron for Amelia.

These are the two different screens.

I still like to do the freezer paper stencils, although they are only good for one print and you are limited by your ability to cut with an x-acto knife.

My latest stenciled onesie...it was originally going to be just an umbrella, but it seemed rather lonely.

Sew fabulous!

2009-02-17T14:22:00.000-08:00

My mom made the most beautiful dresses for the girls. Awhile ago I bought a dress pattern and some fabric to make Amelia a dress. I finally pulled out the pattern and panicked and did what I usually do...I handed it over to my mom. She did an amazing job and even got fancy and used her serger. She also managed to squeeze out a dress for Elsa with the left over fabric.

Thanks mom!

(Amelia was not happy that I made her go outside for a photo shoot)

Inaugural Crafting...

2009-01-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

I decided I would use the Monday and Tuesday holidays to attempt some projects I have wanted to do for awhile. A little while ago, Etsy posted a "top 100 tutorials of the year" list from another craft blog, which had compiled the list from several other craft blogs, and I just decided to pick a few projects from the list and get to work.

The 1-hour bag from Ric Rac. This took me much longer than 1 hour for my first attempt, but it was pretty simple.

The Black Apple doll by Emily Martin. Emily Martin is one of the top sellers on Etsy, and rightly so. I have some of her prints hanging in Amelia's room and they are beautiful. She demonstrated how to make these dolls on Martha Stewart awhile ago so the video makes it very easy to follow along. My cousin Brooke made some of these incredible dolls and when Amelia saw them on her blog, she became obsessed with them and really wanted to make one that matched her bedroom. She refers to them as hair dolls because she is fascinated by the felt hair. She had fun helping me stuff the arms and legs. They are so fun to accessorize that I think we might have to make some more.

Amelia named this one Sally and she enjoys a lovely perch on her shelf.

The Matyroshka doll tooth fairy pillow. This was super easy to make. It's a fun little pillow with a front pocket to store your lost tooth. Bring it to bed with you and hopefully the tooth fairy will leave a lovely surprise for you in the pocket!

The crayon roll. This is super simple and perfect for any extra felt you have laying around.

I made this felt book for Amelia for Christmas. It keeps her entertained for a long time so I cut out more pieces for it during the Lost premiere last night, including the entire alphabet. Not so easy to cut small letters out of felt.

And finally, I must showcase my mom's delicious creation! My mom made these cupcakes over Christmas after I purchased the pattern, hoping to learn to crochet. I never got around to learning...maybe next time. It is obvious that I get my love of creating things by hand from my mom and my Grandmas.

Sew crazy.

2008-11-08T14:15:00.000-08:00

Sewing machines come with a certain intimidation factor. I have to admit that for nearly a year, I sewed everything with purple thread because I was afraid to change the bobbin or thread my machine, fearing that it would never work again if I touched anything. In the past, my sewing machine would only come out of the closet when my mom was in town. So during her latest visit a few weeks ago, I was prepared with a few patterns and lots of material. I had an apron pattern that had been sitting on the shelf for months, staring me down with its pretentious "anyone can make this" attitude. I knew I could attempt it with the assistance of my mom. She gave me lots of tips and explained the basics of following a pattern. After she left, I was an expert at threading my machine, winding a bobbin, changing a bobbin, and now realize that it's actually quite easy. Of course, I am also an expert at picking out incorrect stitches.

It's reversible!

A friend gave me an easy skirt pattern and I tackled this project by myself and discovered that sewing can even be a little rewarding, and addictive. I've made 5 skirts so far, which is good since Amelia refuses to wear pants. She models a few...

When I break out my sewing machine and crafting supplies, I go crazy. Partly because I have nowhere to set up shop permanently so the dining room turns into a crazy mess and I want to get as much done while everything is out. So in addition to the sewing, I experimented with some custom freezer paper stencils. My brother and his wife made us fantastic shirts last year using this method and I wanted to try it out for myself. I went a little crazy with this as well, attempting to spruce up any fabric in sight.

The result:

I couldn't resist combining the two...I stenciled some plain fabric and then made a skirt with it.

Hoopla.

2008-10-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

My most recent project has been creating wall hangings using embroidery hoops, fabric scraps, and my sewing machine. I stole the idea from someone else and played around with it. After I made a few wall hangings, I decided to experiment a bit more. I have a tendency to turn various items into clocks and the hoops were no exception.

It's no longer hip to be square...

2008-09-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

...at least according to Polaroid, who has officially ceased all instant film production. Digital killed the Polaroid star, and one of my old hobbies, which I suppose was pretty much dead already.

Here is my Polaroid lament.

If past habits are any indicator, it wouldn't be surprising to know that in addition to my many other collections, I also had a pretty large collection of old Polaroid cameras. When I left college, I decided it was time to downsize my moving box collection so I gave most of the cameras to my old photography teacher, but I did keep my 1971 Polaroid 450 that I used to do emulsion transfers (see photo below). I also kept a 1965 Swinger, mostly because it was in amazing condition and came in a fabulous case.

There is endless fun to be had with Polaroids and endless experimenting to be done with various types of film and transfer methods. Polaroid is the "Honest Abe" of photography. (Too much?) No dark room manipulation. No Photoshop filters. Just unique textures and colors capturing a real moment. It is instant analog gratification. The imperfections of the cameras and the film make the end result all the better. Who doesn't love staring at that empty little square, just waiting for the image to slowly appear before your eyes.

Let's face it. Most of our digital photos sit on our hard drives or in our memory cards and will never see the light of day (or the ink of a printer). The Polaroid gives you this permanent record of a moment that otherwise may have been deleted because someone made a funny face.

All that being said, I just used my digital camera to take a picture of the Polaroid cameras. So yeah. Here are the ancient relics, along with some emulsion transfers I did long ago (some of you will recognize the locations).

Green Cake

2008-06-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

Amelia requested a frog cake for her 3rd birthday. My hand was a little sore from squeezing frosting by the end, but she was pleased with the results. I used one round cake for the body, 2 cupcakes for the eyes, and cut the legs out of a rectangular cake. Then covered it all with loads of green frosting.

The room reveal.

2008-06-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

I spent most of my pregnancy working on a new room for Amelia. It was really fun to create a room completely from scratch and it was the last room in our house that I hadn't really done anything with. The inspiration for the room came from this great cabinet we found at a flea market in Arlington. It's an Eastern European liquor cabinet from the 1940's. We refinished it and then used the curved lines of this piece to create other furniture for the room.

Before:

After:

After patiently searching Craigslist, I found this great dresser from the 1950s that only required a little bit of touch-up.

I found this great couch for the "reading corner" and then painted it purple. I was so excited when I found these old pillow cases in our attic that were green and purple. They didn't quite cover the couch, so I added in some extra purple fabric and made a slip cover for the couch. My mom ingeniously figured out how to fit it perfectly to the couch.

I designed a toddler bed and Ben did an amazing job building it. After a little trial and error, he pulled it off and it is one sturdy bed. Since he handled the building of a bed quite well, we designed a book case for the room that matched the bed and he built that too. (Notice the fabulous wall art courtesy of Emily Martin at the Black Apple.)

I made a toddler bed size duvet and my mom sewed a great duvet cover for it. She also made a pillow and a pillow case for the bed.

Amelia loves her little coloring station. The pots hold all of her crayons and art supplies.

MY-KEA

2008-01-18T13:53:00.000-08:00

I love cubes. I love cube systems. I can't get enough of them in my house. So we decided to ditch our broken dresser for something more functional. Enter the cube system. But it needed to be unique and classy. So we went to IKEA (the functional part) and purchased yet another unassembled piece of furniture and modified it to make it our own. It was a difficult process at times but after several trips to Lowes, we made it work. We're quite pleased with our collaborative effort. Next project: turning our old armoire into an entry way storage bench...

Create design blog. Check.

2008-01-18T13:11:00.000-08:00

I could spend hours (and have) browsing the world of design and craft blogs. It is so fun to get ideas for new projects and find so many tutorials and recommendations. Ben has been telling me for awhile that I need to stop spending all of my time looking at other design blogs and create my own. So here it is. It will be nice to have a place to keep track of all my projects, share my findings with others, and link to other fun ideas I find.

The June Violet

Moving...

Valentine Scratch Cards

Testing America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

Instructions

Going Gray

Screen Printing: Coasters

Matchbox Garland Advent

Muffin Tin Advent

Pumpkin!

Directions:

Peach Pie

Teacher Gift

Strawberries!!

Blueberries and Lemon

Spring is Here!

Printing with handmade stamps

Valentine Cupcake Pops

Molten Chocolate Cake

I heart you.

Valentines: Part 2

Valentines: Part 1 (Heart-shaped crayons)

Snow Day Foods

Betty Crocker was right.

Top 100 Tutorials

Homemade Pendants

Nativity Costumes

Matchbox Advent Calendar

Our D.C. Christmas favorites

Thanksgiving Recipes

Alexandria Parade of Lights

Holiday Boat Parade Schedule:

Cubes. Again.

Christmas at National Harbor

Terra Cotta Warriors are here!

Christmas Advent Wreath

Puzzle Blocks: Maurice Sendak style

Lazy Days Skirt

Fall Festivals

Jump Rope Jump Off!

Photobooth blocks

Announcing...

National Book Festival

Pumpkin goodness.

PARKS

CHURCHES and CEMETERIES

GARDENS

NATURE/OUTDOORS

ROAD TRIPS

RESTAURANTS

MUSEUMS

MONUMENTS/HISTORIC SITES

THE ARTS

FUN AND GAMES

IN D.C.

OLD TOWN

SEASONAL EVENTS

Sunprint Kit

Poladroid

The Market Skirt

Handmade Gifts

Blueberry-Cornmeal Pancakes with Orange Maple Butter

The Shirt Dress

Fancy!

First attempt at Cupcake Pops!

Cantilevers. And why I love my small house.

The Magic of Screen Printing

Sew fabulous!

Inaugural Crafting...

Sew crazy.

Hoopla.

It's no longer hip to be square...

Green Cake

The room reveal.

MY-KEA

Create design blog. Check.