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Archive for March, 2009

Cool mimiTENS

posted by cindylouh on March 10th, 2009 | Uncategorized |

I was lucky enough to receive a pair of these cool mittens. The idea is one of those "why didn't I think of that"! The mittens have an extra long cuff to keep them up and the child warm---very clever! These modern and hip mitts have the most darling embroidered designs and are really well made---using really soft and quality fabrics. Today you get a chance to win from mimiTENS!

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Anna-Maria writes...........

Introducing mimiTENS...makers of ingenious and adorable mittens for babies and toddlers.
mimiTENS have big stretchy cuffs so that they stay on. Eco-friendly fabrics are good for baby and mama-Earth. Made in Canada because it is the right thing to do. mimiTENS loves and supports local charities. When you buy our mittens and scarves, you support them to.

We would like to give a few lucky Skip To My Lou readers the chance to try out some mimiTENS. Just name one of the charities that we support and you could win a scarf and a pair of mimiTENS of your choosing (approximate retail value $60 CDN) then come back here and leave a comment on this post. HINT: the answer is on our Web site; www.mimitens.com. The contest ends Sunday, March 15th, 2009 and is open to residents of Canada and the United States.

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Feeling extra lucky? After you visit mimiTENS you can skip on over to The Secret is in the Sauce for their Spring Fling. They are giving away prizes every hour and you will also find links to giveaways all over the blogosphere!

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Felt Brown Bag Lunch Tutorial

posted by cindylouh on March 9th, 2009 | Gifts for Kids, handmade gifts, Handmade Gifts for Kids, recipes |

I don't know what it is but I love felt food.  Today on the menu is a very unhealthy sack lunch!

I have provided the instructions here in this post. You can make the shapes up as you go along or if you want to make it  really easy you can download the templates for the food for $1.75 or place my button (code in the left sidebar) on your blog and you may download the templates for free. E-mail me that you have placed the button (or already have the button)  and I will e-mail you the templates.

felt-food-sack-lunch

The Brown Paper Bag

You need two pieces of light brown felt. Cut a  square out of the bottom corner on each side.  With pinking shears trim across the top. Trim just enough to pink the top.  Sew across the bottom and along each side.

felt-sack-11Pinch the side and bottom together and sew.

felt-sack-2

Finished!

felt-sack-3

The Chip Bag and Chips

Cut two pieces of felt. Embellish the front with stripe and medallion. I meant to embroider "chips" in the white circle.  You could also write chips with a paint marker.

chips-1Place right sides together and stitch along each side. Turn right side out and then stitch across the bottom.  I used a blanket stitch along with a couple rows of stitching.

chips-1a

Cut chips out of yellow felt. Stitch together close to the edge. You can add rows of stitching to make them 'ruffled' chips if you like.

chips-2The Ho Ho

Cut 2 pieces if dark brown felt and two pieces of white felt.

Place the pieces together and sew around the outside edge, leaving an opening for turning on the short side.

ding-dong-1

Turn right side out. Top stitch around the edge on the white piece only. Don't worry about closing the openings--they will be in the center. Place the white piece on top of the dark brown (bottom edges lined up) and roll up.

ding-dong-2Slip stitch the roll closed along the outside edge.

ding-dong-3

The Sandwich

Cut two pieces of off - white fabric  and a strip of light brown felt about. You might need to attach two pieces together.

sandwich-1

Sew  the strip to one side of the white square overlapping the ends.

sandwich-2

Sew the white square to the other side leaving an opening for turning.

sandwich-3

Turn right side out. Stuff with polyester fiberfill and slip stitch opening closed.

Make ingredients for your sandwich by sewing two of each color together.  You can sew around the edge leaving an opening for turning, turn and topstitch or just sew the pieces together (this is how I made them except for the bologna which I turned).  Add details with your machine.

sandwich-4

Every sack lunch sandwich needs a baggie.

The Baggie

Using medium weight vinyl (this is really thin) fold top down  and bottom up (bottom edge lays on top of the top edge. Sew along each side.

baggie-1Pinch corners and sew across 1 inch from edge.

baggie-2Do this for all four corners.

baggie-3

Trim off corners.

baggie-4Turn right side out and slip in the sandwich.

baggie-5

Bon Appetit!

Still hungry try some doughnuts!

Creativity

posted by cindylouh on March 6th, 2009 | Uncategorized |

My niece sent me this stop motion video.  It is really amazing to see the talent and creativity!   ----inspiring! (and to think to think all I did yesterday was make Amish Friendship Bread, wait that was the day before  YIKES!)

I hope you enjoy!

Amish Friendship Bread

posted by cindylouh on March 5th, 2009 | edible gifts, handmade gifts, recipes |

Ten Days ago my friend gave me a ziploc bag filled with some batter along with an instruction sheet. She told me that I was to keep mashing the bag,  add some ingredients and then make bread. I told her if she was my true friend she would just make me the bread (just kidding)! My sweet friend told me it would be a great thing to blog about--------now I was on board. My husband and I cared for our batter everyday and yesterday was the BIG day,  I made the bread.  It was really delicious  and now I have my bags of batter ready to go to three very special friends!
amish-friendship-bread

So I began writing out the recipe and instructions and then realized this does all of you absolutely no good----you don't have a starter.  But lucky for all of you adventurous bakers a quick google search led me to many recipes for the starter. I have not tried this but they all looked the same.

Amish Friendship Bread Starter

It is very important to use plastic or wooden utensils and plastic or glass containers when making this---no metal.

Ingredients:

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110°F)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup warm milk (110°F)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl  dissolve the yeast in warm water for about 10 minutes. Stir well.

2. In a  glass or plastic container, combine 1 cup sifted flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or the flour will get lumpy when you add the milk.

3. Slowly stir in warm milk and the dissolved yeast mixture.  Cover the mixture loosely with a lid or plastic wrap. The mixture will get bubbly. Consider this Day 1 of the cycle, or the day you receive the starter. I would put this mixture in a ziploc bag so I could continue on with the recipe.

For the next 10 days use the starter according to the instructions.

Allrecipes has another Amish Friendship Bread Starter recipe with tips about freezing the starter.

Here is the recipe and instructions on how to use the starter

Amish Friendship Bread Recipe and Instructions

There are many variations to make Pumpkin Bread, Strawberry Bread, Carrot...........

If you have a favorite or tips about making this bread please leave a comment!

Cherish Bound Giveaway

posted by cindylouh on March 3rd, 2009 | Uncategorized |

Guest Giveaway from Cherish Bound. Tara Brown writes.....

I have a busy, active, chaotic family of 7. We're not called "Kingdom Chaos" for nothing. Our lives are filled with excitement, stress, joy, successes and failures...you know, the typical family drama. In our home you'll find us talking over each other as we share our day's events, school drama, sports achievements, backyard discoveries, and crazy stories of surviving work at home.

Our energetic family always has something to share, a story to tell. It's pretty much impossible to contain our excitement for life. In our fast-paced life we relish the sweet moments of story swapping. As a family, we took the Cherish Bound Story Style Profile. We soon discovered that our style was comparable to breaking news...in other words, we're "Hot Off The Press!"

As we matched up our family's story style with Cherish Bound's amazing products we soon discovered how easy and simple it was to keep track of our stories, contain our energy, and organize it so we can enjoy our stories forever.

If your family is always telling stories - or never telling them, cherish|BOUND's Story Style Profile will help you find ways to share more stories in your home and get your family talking. You can help your loved ones connect and improve communication within your home. Now more than ever, our families need strength and to feel safe. And no better way than through the power of story.

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In three easy steps you can record your family's story and make a treasured keepsake!

1. You write your own, stories, thoughts, poems, memories, etc. that you want in a book.  Cherish Bound even has tools to make it easy to write your story. They can help you organize your thoughts, photos and memorabilia and help you remember details. If you have paper photos or memorabilia they just need to be scanned and saved as an image.

2. Cherish Bound's publishing center allows you to type in your text, upload photos and create your story books.  You can pick your book size, templates, background pages, etc.  With a consultant's help, you will finalize your project exactly how you want it and them submit for publishing.

3. Cherish Bound then prints, binds and ships the finished hard or softbound books to you.  They even archive your books and store them for you free of charge.
landscape

Go ahead and see for yourself. Click here to go take cherish|BOUND's Story Style Profile. It'll just take a few minutes and you'll be able to find out what "story style" your family is. Come back here and comment telling us what style you are. One of you will win a complete Story Style Kit worth over $70! This prize is filled with amazing story products that will help everyone in your family begin sharing their stories. There's also a $29 publishing credit included to help you publish your family's stories in a beautiful book! Please leave your comment (your story style) before Sunday at midnight for a chance to win.  Sorry no International entries for this giveaway.

your STORY | your STYLE

If you'd like more information please contact Tara Brown by visiting www.findcaptureandshare.com and visit her blog at www.publishourstories.com

And Remember...
Stories are nothing more than enjoyable conversation between two or more people. When we start telling stories we connect, teach, and often heal. We relate in a way that brings power and purpose to our lives. Here at cherish|BOUND, we are the story experts, and we'll teach you how to get your family talking and creating a family tradition of simply sharing your stories.

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