Carnival Booth: Fear Factor

Our schools' Parent Club put on a fall carnival last weekend.

Here are some pictures of the Fear Factor booth:

 Here is the front of the booth.

Here is the back. See the pitchers? 

They were filled with gooey things for the kids to reach into.

As you can see by the painted name this side was meant to be the front, 

but it just made more sense to turn it around.

The kids had to find the snake in the "brains".

They had to find a, uh, paperclip in the maggots(okay, so that one was a stretch, but whatever. Try to find a paperclip in dry rice...it's hard!)

These are floral beads that are REALLY gross to reach your hand into.

The kids had to find these eyeballs in the floral beads and it was super tricky but so much fun! The kids really loved the gross out aspect and the parents loved it too.

Any other great gross out ideas for next year? 

I would love to hear what you think!

I am linking up with some of these fun blogs:)

Cloth Diaper Tip

I have been too busy for all the fun projects floating around in my head and I hate it! Gah! Hopefully life slows down a little soon so that I can sew something again.

Until then I will share a little tip I learned on washing cloth diapers in a front loader:

Add a wet towel (or two) to your load of diapers to trick your machine into thinking it's a heavier load and allowing more water in the wash cycle. Wow! Totally made a difference in how clean my diapers got.

Making Baby Food: Butternut Squash

I Love Fall!

 I love butternut squash fresh from our garden...so does my 1 year old:)

Step 1: Cut squash in half and lay cut side down on a baking sheet. 

Add water to the pan to keep the squash moist while it bakes and check the water level midway through baking.

Does anyone have any tips on how to get that stuff off my pan?

Eew! No matter how hard I scrub it stays the same.

 Step 2: Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until squash is soft.

 Step 3: Let it cool and then scoop out the flesh.

Be careful not to get too close to the skin(that's where all the strings are)
and put it in a food processor.

I use the Magic Bullet and it works so great for making baby food.

Step 4: Puree until smooth.

Add water or juice to get it to the consistency that you want
(Thinner for younger babies, thicker for older ones). 

Step 5: Spoon into an ice cube tray and freeze over night,
then transfer to a labeled freezer bag.

When baby is ready to eat, pull out a few cubes and defrost!

Isn't that color yummy? 

Serving idea: Heat up a few cubes and toss with some whole wheat pasta
and some shredded zucchini.

Healthy and delicious!

I am linking up with some of these lovely blog parties:)

Stripping Cloth Diapers

I had to do this for the first time recently and thought I would spread some knowledge:)

Reasons for stripping your cloth diapers:

1. Diapers are no longer absorbing like they should.

2. Diapers smell strongly of ammonia no matter what you do.

3. Baby has had a yeast infection and it won't go away.

My reason for stripping was #3. Travis had a BAD yeast infection.

I switched him to disposables so that I could put cream on his infection(you shouldn't use creams on cloth diapers...it causes them to repel liquid). The infection would clear up and I would put a clean cloth diaper on him and by the time I changed him it was back!

What?!?!? I thought cloth diapers prevented diaper rash?

They do.

Yeast infections are caused by an increase of yeast in the urine or poop, not by being wet which is what causes diaper rash.

What I learned is that bacteria from a yeast infection does not wash out of cloth diapers or wipes! Yikes!

That's why the infection kept coming back...I was just putting the bacteria right back on his little bottom.

Stripping removes the bacteria.

I stripped the cloth diapers and the infection went away and has stayed away! Yay!

How to strip cloth diapers:

1. Wash diapers like normal

2. Run a HOT wash with Dawn dish soap...5 drops for HE washers and 1/4 teaspoon for top loaders.

3. Run 2 more hot washes with NO soap of any kind.

4. If there are still suds, then run another wash.

5. Dry diapers in the sun. The sun kills bacteria and sanitizes your diapers even more. (If you can't dry them in the sun then put them in the dryer like normal)

It made such a difference that I plan to do a strip on my diapers monthly!!!

Fall Tealights

Remember these?

These are my Jack O Lantern Tealights

that I made a few weeks ago.

I still love them so much...
when I walk by and see them all glowy and adorable it makes me smile.

My dear friend Tammi made her own version!

She made Fall Tealights using baby food jars, paint, mod podge and ribbon.

The brown ones are my favorite...I love how rich the brushstrokes are.
I feel all cozy and warm just looking at them:)

Go check out her post for more pictures of these cuties!

I am going to have to scrounge up some more baby food jars
to make some of these for myself.

Love you Tammi!!!

Changing Pad Cover

I am a little embarrassed to admit that my son is over a year old
and I have never had a cover for my changing pad.

Yep, you read that right.

I have been just laying a receiving blanket over the top of the pad and then changing it out when necessary. When friends with babies came over I would pray that they didn't ask to use his changing table.

I know, I'm a freak.

The reason I never got one was because at first I couldn't find one in stock that I liked, and then after awhile I just sort of forgot...until I changed another diaper.

I found a tutorial to make my own changing pad cover on Prudent Baby and added it to my "to do before my son enters college" list.

Last night while watching TV I made my first changing pad cover!

It turned out so cute and now I want to make a few more so I have backups. 

I didn't take any pictures of the process, 

but I will take some of the next one I make and will show you.

The fabric is a snuggle flannel from Joannes and is so soft!

In the process of making the cover I ended up with four 8x8 squares of scrap fabric which I used to make two double sided cloth wipes! Yay! I love taking scraps and making something useful and awesome:)

Aren't they just adorable?

They are the perfect size to fold in half and put in my wipes warmer! 

For more information on using cloth wipes, go here.

I will show you how I made these later as well.

I am linking up to some of these linky parties!

Making baby food: Applesauce

This is the first year that our apple tree has produced much of anything...in fact, it is loaded with apples! Alot of them were ready to pick and I knew that if we didn't get to them soon they would go to waste.

I wanted to make some applesauce for Travis(and the rest of us), so we all went out to pick some apples from our own back yard!
I love having an apple tree:)

I had to distract the boy with an apple all his own.

I think he liked it;) I took a few bites and then let him go to town while the rest of us picked apples.

Brooklyn loved picking the apples and posing with them.

 Here is my handsome husband up in the tree picking all the apples that I couldn't reach. Thanks Babe!

After you pick (or buy) your apples you need to:

1. Wash them

2. Peel them

3. Core them

4. Slice them

5. Place them in a slow cooker

(Preferably while watching McDreamy and McWarVet on Hulu)

Take apple peels and cores out to your chickens or compost pile.

Set the slow cooker on low heat for 6-8 hours.

Add 1/2 cup water to start and add more later if it needs it.

Some people season later, but I like the seasonings to cook into my apples, so I add about a 1/4 cup of sugar(brown or granulated) and a heavy sprinkling of cinnamon.

After so many hours in the slow cooker I didn't even have to mash my apples! I stirred them and they fell to mush. Yummy mush.

I filled up ice cube trays with the applesauce, covered with foil and froze overnight to make baby food cubes to feed to Travis.

Here they are all ready to be put in a labeled freezer bag to be thawed out and fed to the baby.

The rest was eaten up so fast that I am now on my 3rd batch!

What have I started???

Do you have any apple recipes that freeze or can well?

I still have a ton of apples and want to use them all up!

I am linking up to some of these parties:)

Applique Tie Onesie Tutorial

For my son Travis' first birthday I decided that I was going to make him 

a onesie with a "1" on it and a new tie onesie.

Step 1: Prewash your fabric and onesie.

Step 2: Cut equal pieces of your fabric and Heat N Bond.

Note: If you want to keep your iron and ironing board clean, make sure that the Heat N Bond is slightly smaller than your fabric.

Step 3: Iron the wrong side of your fabric to the rough side of the Heat N Bond.

Step 4: Trace or freehand your applique pattern on the paper side of the Heat N Bond.

I knew that the tie was something I would make often,
so i made a cardboard template to use over and over again.

Note: If you are doing a number or letter, make sure that it is reversed so that you don't end up with a backward design. How do I know this? 
Uh, well, I am just really smart!

Step 5: Remove paper backing from Heat N Bond, place on onesie and iron to adhere.

Note: If you are a freak like me you can pull out a ruler and measure from all angles to make sure it is centered perfectly.

 Step 6: Hand or machine stitch the applique to the onesie.

I used a medium zigzag stitch on mine.
I love the way that it adds definition and texture.

Step 7: Put it on your child and enjoy the feeling of knowing that not only did you make the adorable kid, but also what he is wearing. *Sigh* Life is good!

I am linking up to these super fun blog parties:)

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday: Yay Cake!

Travis on his 1st birthday.

Yes, we did "paint" his face with frosting.

"I Spy" kindness!

Look what came in the mail!

Karen from Sew Many Ways commented on my Halloween Beanbags post and we started e-mailing back and forth. She had some amazing suggestions of activities I could do with beanbags and then she went through her own stash of I Spy fabrics and mailed them to me...Just because! Here they are:

Her blog is full of wonderful crafty inspiration, including this post about a doorway puppet theater! How cute is that? I have those finger puppets on my shopping list for my next Ikea trip.

Thank you Karen!!!

You have blessed me in more ways than you know:)

Crafting with the Stars!

I have entered my Halloween Buddies !!! 

Go check out this fun contest and enter a project of your own!!!