Make This (and give it away): Breakfast in a Box

Here's a little tutorial I actually put together last year--but I really did not even get these made and sent out until after the holidays (yes, I admit I am sort of notorious for belated gift-giving--I like to tell myself it is a positive thing because it is a nice surprise to get a little something unexpected after the initial glut of gift-giving) so I ended up saving this project for you for this year.    As you may have noticed by the number of breakfast-y recipes I share around here, I love breakfast.  Especially weekend breakfasts when I have time to make a little something especially warm and tasty.  I think weekend breakfasts are like a celebration of the start of the day and all the possibilities that lay before you.  I also think it is one of the most comforting meals and is as close to being love in your tummy as anything else you can eat.  So, I put this together as a way to share the love with family and friends.  

Last year was actually the second time I made this as a gift--the first was several years ago for our friends, and then last year we gave this to some of our family members.  It is a box of nourishing, home-prepared and cooked ingredients that help to fill you up for the day ahead--like a hearty vanilla almond granola, an oatmeal pancake mix, and another mix for a whole-grain Irish Brown Bread (first discovered and fell in love with while I was living in Galway, Ireland many years ago).   This is food that feels good to eat after all the sweets and excess of the holidays.

A friend we gave this to a few years ago told me that she really appreciated the fact that we included the recipes--she described it as us not only giving them fish, but teaching them how to fish.   That made me smile.  And she and her family still make the granola for themselves to this day.

I also love that this is very customizable as a gift.  The first year we hand-delivered this to friends in the city, so we also included a frozen log of ground homemade breakfast sausage, as well as a bottle of real maple syrup produced locally.  I think we also actually baked the Irish Brown Bread and gave loaves as a opposed to a mix.  Last year though, we included a jar or two of our homemade jam canned earlier in the summer.  But you could include a bag of your favorite coffee or tea blend, tuck in a jar of marmalade (which is delicious with the Irish brown bread, by the way), a block of some European style butter...put your thinking caps on and make it representative of the kinds of breakfasts you and your family love.

As for this tutorial, included are all the instructions on how to prepare the foods and package them, printable templates for the labels and other packaging, copies of the recipes, and links to some sources for the jars, lined food bags, etc.  This is a great holiday gift project for "assembly-line" giving--meaning, you make multiples of the same thing to give.  I often take this approach to gift-giving with our friends and family.  To me, it is an easier way to give a little something handmade from your home without the chaos of making too many different things.  

Here is the link to the downloadable tutorial and templates:

DOWNLOAD BREAKFAST IN A BOX TUTORIAL

Happy holiday gift-giving.

In My Shop: Counting Bean Bags and Recycled Crayons

 There are a few sets of counting bean bags plus some bags of recycled crayons in various guises in my shop .  Find the bean bags here and the crayons here.  What are you waiting for?  Go.  Quickly, before they are all gone forever and ever. 

(...and I hope you are having a lovely thanksgiving weekend too...)

More Sharing: A Few Lovely Gifts for the Kiddies

Need a few ideas for some lovely little gifts for the kiddies?  I got some.  Fiona's Poppy Doll just makes me happy to look at it and I really cannot wait to make one myself (how can you not love a doll with a Mia Farrow haircut?).  And those wooden peg dolls from Kirsty are so colorful and sweet I could eat them--but then there wouldn't have anyone to live in Patrica's paper houses (which also come with little bed templates to put the dolls to bed in!).  I love the easy-to-assemble tent kits for simple and quick gift-giving.   And, if it all gets out of control over here and I find all of my crafting dreams of grandeur thwarted by holiday madness, I will, at a minimum, make the Chewy plushie in some brown cotton velveteen and tuck it in bed next to Beeper for a Christmas morning surprise.  

Clockwise from top left, here are the project makers and links: Poppy Doll from Hop Skip Jump; Kokeshi dolls from Ginger and George; Little Mini Doll Houses from A Little Hut; Art Tote from  H is for Handmade; Memory Game from Wild Olive; Fort Kit from Saltwater Kids; Stacking Wooden Rainbow from Shape of a Spoon; and the Chewbacca Plushie from Craftzine.

Hope you can all find some time to make some handmade happiness for the kiddies in your life.  Now, go get to work and make something because there is only a month until C-Day.

Lucky Day Give-Away Winners of Kids Crafternoon Beading & Felting

Hi there.  Are you feeling lucky today?  Well, if you are Mamafox (comment #9), or Bridget (comment #18), you should because you are the winners!  Mamafox, the Beading book is coming your way, and for Bridget we have the fabulous Felting book.  Please email me with your mailing addresses and I will get these off in the mail to you lickety-split (fortunately, my timeline for mailing things tends to be more prompt than my timeline for announcing winners on my blog...which really does not make sense because I love to blog, but I hate going to the post office...).  As for the rest of you, better luck next time; and if at first you don't succeed, try, try again, and que sera sera, etc.

In My Shop: Stuff For Babies--and a Story about Sleepy Bears

I have a fresh out-of-the-oven batch of Babies on a Stick.  No, they do not contain actual babies--just rattles--so if you work for child protective services you can relax already.  You can buy one for yourself here.

  I also cooked up a few Chow Bebe bibs which are made with 100% recycled towels on the backsides.  You can buy those right here.  

I whipped up a side of Sleepy Bears  too.  These are one of my favorite newer designs--made from organic all cotton fleece it has a lovely dreamy feel perfect for snuggling.  I happen to especially love this design because it was inspired by a plushie I had as a child--actually, it belonged to my older brother first and then it became part of my plushie menagerie later on.  We always called him Sleeper.

  Last year I unearthed him in my childhood toy chest and was just charmed by his sweetness (and look how threadbare he is--those are patches of love).  His fur is a little curly and very soft--which inspired me to start with that organic cotton fleece when I began to cook up some of my own Sleeper designs.  It took several iterations before I finally settled on the design you see here.   While they are different, they are both simple, sweet and perfectly sized for cuddling by a child.  I can only hope my Sleepy Bears will be as cherished as Sleeper was by my brother and me.  (by the way, Sleeper has since reverted to living with my big brother, where he sleeps next to his bed--or so my brother's wife reports...just goes to show that love for a plushie can be eternal)

You can get your own Sleepy Bear here.

Kids Crafternoon Blog Party and a Lucky Day Give-Away

Here I am, stop number 6 on the Kids' Crafternoon Blog Party--think of it as being a bit like a pub crawl, only with blogs instead of pubs, and kids crafts instead of shots of whiskey.  Yes, Kathreen is at it again--putting together more fantastic books of kiddo-friendly crafts--this time centered on beads and felt.

For this portion of the party, I decided to let Beeper and his friend, Ivan, take over--meaning I had them take a look at the books and pick a project to make for their own personal crafternoon.  They quickly decided upon the Robot Softie by Bianca Brownlow--which was a relief to me since they are 7 & 8-years-old respectively and it appeared to be a simple first sewing project.

Like any good little robot designer, I had them each start off by making a sketch of their robot and any special features they may have--like a yoyo that doubles as a weapon (always handy when bored and faced with a spot of trouble) that Ivan's robot sports , or the cell phone that Beeper's robot keeps handy in his chest cavity (I would assume for quick calls to his mom as needed).

Next, we cut out the felt pieces then I put them to work on the sewing machine--this was their very first time driving the sewing machine and they were naturals.  That is Ivan's mom (Hi Chellie!) there overseeing Beeper's work like a good sweat shop supervisor.

Next, I gave them a chop stick and had them stuff all those narrow little robot limbs--and again, they were pros.  Okay, maybe they got a little impatient with it after the second leg, and I jumped in to make quicker work of it--but still, for having the attention-spans of a tse fly, they were softie-making rock stars.

Et voila!  Their finished robot creations.  The best part was how very proud they each were of their work--Ivan declared he would be sleeping with his tonight.  And then they each took their robots along with them as dates to the Children's Opera performance we went to later.  

But, I suppose you might like to know more the types of projects you might find in these books--so, let me share a few of my own favorites...

From the Beading book: Woodland Beaded Cards by Sharon Baldwin; Lego Jewels by Nicole Vaughan; Push Button Canvas also by Nicole Vaughan; and Freckles Photo Frame by Lisa Tilse.

Oh, and look, its one of my projects from the book--a little bejeweled skull and crossbones tote.  Swanky, eh?

And from the felting book: Stitched Jewels by Cassi Griffin; Zombie Critter Charms by Lisa Tilse; Upcycled Sherpa Hay by Lisa Siebert; and Designer Wallet by Claire Dollan.

Oh, here's my project in the felting book--some simple felt cards.

You can read about the first round of Kids Crafternoon books here, and if you want to continue on with the pub crawl--I mean, blog party--you can party on at any of these swell blogs:

Monica Solorio-Snow from The Happy Zombie 20-Nov

Cate Holst from Go Make Me 21-Nov

Shannon Cook from Luvinthemommyhood 22-Nov

Jennifer Casa from JCHandmade 23-Nov

Kate from Picklebums 24-Nov

Steph Morgan from Modern Parents Messy Kids 25-Nov

Kara Fleck from Simple Kids 26-Nov

Li’l Magoolie 27-Nov

Jackie Boucher from Oh Dee Doh 28-Nov

Bianca from Sadie and Lance 29-Nov

Tricia Hogbin from Little Eco Footprints 30-Nov

Lisa Siebert guest posting at Poppytalk 1-Dec

And, if you would like to get your hands on a copy of either of these books--well, I just so happen to have a copy of each to give-away to two of you.  So please go ahead and leave a comment here telling me which book appeals to you most and whatever else you might want to share.  But you should do that by the end of the day on November 20th and I will try to come back promptly on Monday. to announce the winners (but please keep in mind my track record here--so, no promises)

And just in case you were wondering, the Robot Stuffies spin exceedingly well on the floor--clearly they are gifted break dancers.

You can read more about the Kids' Crafternoon Felting and Beading books over at Whip Up, and buy your own copies of the books here.   And don't forget to leave a comment if you want to be in the running for the book give-away.

Studies in Positivity: Studio Mela

Yeah, I've posted about Studio Mela here before but I've been having a crappy couple of days and when I came across her Etsy shop again tonight--well, for me, it was just what I needed to see.  So, I thought I would share some of Shelli's brand of optimism and positivity with you.  Because who knows?  Maybe you could use some of it too.  

You can find all the Studio Mela prints above--and then some--here.