Sunshine in a Jar

Chamomile and Calendula solar infused Coconut Oil. That's what we have here.
A beautiful blend of vibrant flowers and luscious oil. It truly does look like sunshine in a jar!
 Perfect for applying to any part of the body.

Here's what you'll need:
Dried Chamomile and Calendula (I get mine from Mt. Rose Herbs)
Coconut Oil
2 clean Glass Jars

Here's how it's made:
Fill a small jar half way with coconut oil, the other half with equal parts dried Chamomile and Calendula. If your oil is melted it's easiest the put the flowers in first then pour the oil over until the jar is filled. If your oil is solid, just spoon chunks of it in with the flowers. Seal the jar with a lid.
Now, find a sunny spot outside, and let the jar sit all day and night for 1-2 weeks. everyday you should shake the jar to disperse the flowers.
At night the oil will solidify and by mid-day will liquefy again.

Obviously, this method will only work during warmer times of the year. Your coconut oil needs to heat up to take in the essence of the calendula and chamomile flowers.

Once your oil has infused for a week or two you can strain out the flowers and discard them. put your oil into a clean glass jar. When it re-solidifies it will have a golden tone and smell of coconut, chamomile and calendula.

I love using this oil on my skin, even my face. It's a lovely moisturizer, and has the added benefits that the herbal flowers have imparted into it!

Wildflowers

How to Mount your Rubber Stamps

If you'd prefer to use your hand carved rubber stamps with a wooden block attached, but aren't quite sure the best way to go about mounting them, then this is for you! 

Here's a step by step tutorial of how I mount my rubber stamps:

What you'll need:
Rubber Stamp
Wood, cut to size and sanded
Rubber Cement
A Pencil

Step 1:
Center your stamp on the wood.
Using a pencil, faintly trace around the stamp.

Step 2:
Apply a thin layer of Rubber Cement to both the back of the Rubber Stamp and the inside of your tracing on the wood. Note: Be sure that both are clean and dry before applying the adhesive.

Step 3:
Let these set for a minute or two. Then, lining up your outline with the underside of the Stamp, carefully adhere the two together.

Step 4:
Using something slightly heavy, such as extra wooden blocks or a book, weigh down the stamp to make sure the wood and stamp have a proper bond.
Let these sit for a few hours before using.

Options:
  You may want to print an image of your stamp onto the top of your block. Of coarse, this would need to be done before mounting the stamp. And, should be sealed with a spray lacquer to be sure the ink wont smudge with use and washing.
  A nice way to finish your block is with bees wax, or any other wax that you may purchase at a hardware store.
This gives the wood a nice finish, and seals it from moisture.

Now you've got a lovely Wood Mounted Stamp, ready to decorate paper, fabric, clay, or whatever you can dream up!

Fort Kit

Here's what I made for son's friend. She had a birthday last week, and I really wanted to give her a thoughtful gift, something she'd like, something a little different, something I could customize with some fun stamps. I decided a Fort Kit was it!

The first thing I did was carve a stamp of her name, then used it along with a few of my other stamps to decorate 2 cotton bags that I'd use to hold all the Fort Kit supplies.

Then I went out and found all the fun things that are needed to build a fort. This was fun and pretty easy. I went to stores like Michaels, Ross, and the Dollar Store. The even picked up a few extra items to add, just for fun, like glow sticks and a Mad Libs book.

I got this idea from Pinterest. There are literally a plethora of inspiring kits to browse through. Here's a link to check them out.

Pirate Party

At the beginning of this month I had the pleasure of hosting 16 children, along with parents at my boys' birthday party. I have two children, both born at the beginning of October (3 years apart). So, we always to joint b.day parties for them!

My oldest passing out cookies joined by his best friend

The day was filled with lots of laughter, lots of treats, and a few sword fights!

My youngest with a friend making "Pirate Food"

 It is incredible to think that something to last only hours took countless days of planning and preparation! I made a few of the elements myself, while the rest was created by other amazing craftspeople.

One of my favorite parts of the party, were the goodie bags! I block printed each one with custom made rubber stamps, which I carved myself, of coarse. Each bag was filled with Pirate themed goodies perfect for little ones. For the goodies I looked to my fellow Etsy sellers, and found an amazing array of wonderful items!

Here are a few of the items that were inside of each bag:
1. Skull and Crossbones Soap: Your Little Cupcake 
2. Ocean & Pirate Crayons: Scribble Me Mine
3. Pirate Keychains: Trendy Tz
4. Tiny Pirate Treasures: These Tiny Treasures
5. Tiny Mermaid Magic: Enchanted by Fae
And, what bag of treasure would be complete without Chocolate Coins!?

Ships & Skulls by CookieXchange

 My other favorite element of the party was putting together the table spread! I found all the cream colored table cloths and lace I could scrounge up in my mother's house (where the party was held), and layered them over the table, and hung a few Piratey elements from the mirror. I served Fruit Kabobs, Veggie Cuts and other finger foods.
The highlight of the party was, of coarse, dessert! I somehow had a lapse and forgot to photograph the cake! I think it may have had something to do with the sugar craving children surrounding it and myself!
I did, however, find a moment to show off the amazing cookies that were also a sweet treat at the party. They were created by CookieXchange, also a fellow Etsy seller, and local! She did an amazing job. Yummy and beautiful!

 The Treasure Chest that held the goodie bags was a simple wooden chest, purchased at Michael's craft supply store which I painted to look dark and distressed.

We had a fully stocked Pirate Accessory table. Complete with cardboard swords, eye patches and gold doubloons. 
I made a sword for each child. Cardboard proved to be a perfect sword making substance for a children's party. Since they would eventually bend and break instead of hurting anyone on the loosing end a sword fight.
The eye patches, beard and hat (pictured above) were made by the talented Cassidy of A Rainy Day Play

It was a fun filled day for all!

p.s The super fun nautical t-shirts  worn by my boys were created by Zen Kids

Hand Painted Yarn

Today I tried my hands at Hand Painting Yarn.

Since I've got a homeschooling little one at my side these days I decided to make it into a project for the both of us to do together.
Needless to say, we both thoroughly enjoyed the process! So fun to see the colors soak in and spread together...
He was very thoughtful with his placement and even kept himself relatively clean!

We decided to go with a Teal/Green/Tan color pallet. But, to be honest, these are the only colors I had on hand that complimented each other.
Being that this was my first time taking on dying yarn I definitely learned a few things:
Next time I will use heat: we did this outside. Wet the yarn with cold water and used color dye on the yarn. Rinsed with cold water. All cold. This was the best choice for today, since I was trying to keep it outside, and had my boy helping. Cold seemed the best choice. The draw back is that most of the dye came out during the rinsing.

Make the yarn into a hank, then lay it over whatever surface I'm not concerned about getting dye onto. I chose to wrap mine around cardboard to make it an easy surface to paint onto. In the end the cardboard got soaked and I had to unwind it all around a lawn chair (creating the hank would have saved me this step)
I'm sure there are other things I'll learn along the way. I'm definitely going to try this again!
In fact, I've even got a bit of yarn draped across my lap as I type! I'm off to paint some more yarn :-)

My Sweet Little Assistant

Latin Cabbage Saute

I created this recipe at a time when I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, and wasn't sure what to make for dinner.
It turned out to be a hit! I loved it, my husband loved it, and my kids would eat it (what they love to eat seems to change everyday) So, it became a go to meal for my family.
Whenever I want something tasty and simple to make I do this little recipe.
But, the best thing about it, for me, is it's versatility. I have served this over rice, in a taco, and as a side dish. 

And, since it is so tasty, simple and versatile I wanted to share it here!

Ingredients:
1 tbs Butter 
1 small-medium head of Cabbage (chopped)
1/2 cup chopped Cilantro
1/2 tsp Herbamare or Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder or chopped fresh Garlic
1/4 tsp Chile Powder
1/2 a Lime
Cotija Cheese (Crumbed) to taste  (this is a Mexican Cheese, found at most grocery stores, similar to feta)
Cilantro & Lime wedge to garnish

Heat a Skillet to medium heat and add Butter.
Once Butter is melted toss in the Cabbage, Cilantro, Herbamare, Garlic & Chile Powder (Make sure to add the Cabbage first since the Cilantro could burn if it's at the bottom)
Squeeze Lime over Cabbage mixture
Stir occasionally, until cabbage is soft and brown in some spots
Serve over rice, in a tortilla, or as a side dish
Garnish with Cotija & fresh Cilantro