Cake Pops and Reindeer Treats....

Finley got a Cake Pop Bakery last night for Chanukah!  She's been asking for one forever, and she often quotes the commercial (at least I think that is what she is doing!!) 

She tells me "Mum, you can EAT all the FUN that you make!"

She was really excited to open her first gift :)

She was though dissapointed, upon seeing the black and white Manual/Recipe book.  She said "Where are all the fancy color pictures?  This is supposed to be an Activity Kit they said!"

It's hard to explain to her that Infomercials, as amazing as they seem (I am personally addicted to them) that sometimes they....well....embellish a little ;)

Anyhow, we'll be making Cake Pops this weekend to hand out as Christmas Treats for the neighbors.  Anyone ever make any?  Any tips?  Where do I find replacement sticks?  I can't wait to try it!  I am most definitely going to be reading up on some Bakerella tutorials!

Finley also came home from school with this really neat idea they made at school.  Check out how easy and fun this would be to do with your child!  Mix glitter and oats.  Done!! :)

I thought I was all done with my Christmas shopping (I may have gone a little overboard this year.  Mr. SLD tells me it's ok since I'm still new to this.  But I think he's just hoping that I got him a lot of gifts ;)  I actually went overboard on Finley, but shhhhhh.....we don't need to tell him that ;)

Anyhow, I thought I was done with shopping, until last night I got into bed with Finley to read her bedtime books.  We started one book and she stopped me and said "Mummy is this book by Jan Brett?  I really love her books, and she is a very good artist."

Huh?  How many kindergartners know books by their author/illustrator!!??

She told me she loves some of her books she's read at school, like "The Mitten"

I guess I better go shopping and see if I can find some Jan Brett Books in this tiny town! :)  When a 5-year old asks for books by author, I figure I have to comply with the request, no?! ;)

xo,
Shari

Getting ready for the holidays....with candy :)

Finley asked if we could buy a wreath for our door the other day, because she saw one at the neighbors. I said "Pshaw! We're the crafty kind of folk, we'll make something!" and she wholeheartedly agreed! My little google search first led me to Miss Martha's site, where she made this pretty white gumdrop wreath.

But another quick google search brought us to this beautiful picture, which to a four year old is like the holy grail ;)

She was salivating at my lap so I relented and agreed to pick up all the ingredients we would need to make this gorgeous little gumdrop wreath. Full instructions on how to can be found here, on the Kiddley Blog.

Here's what we bought:

Total bill was about $7 and included a dollar store floral sponge round shape, gumdrops, ribbon and toothpicks. Please, if you are trying this at home, do not skimp on toothpicks! I bought the cheap flat toothpicks, instead of the round ones. BIG mistake! Sheesh, are they ever flimsy. Splurge the extra 50 cents for the good stuff ;)

We sat down and decided to taste the goods. :)

Mr. SLD and Finley got in there....

Immediately they were thrown back into the bowl! (see the green flashing thing?) YUCK!

Turns out, little did I realize that I bought 'Spice' flavored gumdrops. Mistake number two. These things taste terrible!! At least it saved us from eating the entire wreath! ;) But seriously, avoid these (sorry gumdrop maker, I just don't like these. Sue me (no don't, please.)


And look how easy it is to make! We found it easier to assembly line it...Mr. SLD made the little Gumdrop trees for us to use.





Anyhow, regardless of the toothpicks, or crummy gumdrops, look how PRETTY they look! Seriously pretty stuff. Like a Pretty Overload :)





Anyhow, we've finished the wreath, but now I realized I don't have a hook to hang it with! oops...so you'll have to see our finished product at another date. trust me, it's cute, including the button beadwork Finley added to the bottom. :) Here's the last photo of it that I took!




What's your favorite holiday craft? I want to try more!

xo,
Shari

So Finley's Book Party Planning is a go....

It better be, it's only 10 days away!! The awesome news? I hired a storyteller!!! She is a librarian in Riverside that comes out to the desert and is apparently a phenomenal storyteller! Yay!! She's thinking of making the book theme about water, (and maybe frogs) and I like the idea, it being so hot here, we could all use some water stories. :)

I bought these amazing looking blank board books for the little party guests as a craft activity.



I need your help though....what do you think we should do with them? Should I pre-set up collage pieces and pictures for them? Should we ask the kids (4 and under) to draw their own story? Should I write a story in them that they get to draw? Should I just plop them down in front of them and say "GO!"?? I need your help, what do you think we should do with them?

You can buy these awesome little blank board books at Romp, who also has incredible customer service by the way :)

Thanks to those of you who have been emailing me party ideas.....keep em coming! :)

xo,
shari

Planning Finley's birthday party....

I'm a little bit rusty. Finley's party was canceled last year. First she had bronchitis, and then when we tried to reschedule it she flipped out and didn't want a party. So we haven't had a birthday party since she turned 2! Wow, that's pretty crazy, considering she is turning 4 now!

Her 2nd birthday party was a smash Art themed party. I wanted to share a few pictures... I loved it!

For the invitations, I had cards printed at shutterfly.com using images of Finley painting. We had so much fun painting in the grass that day! Here is the front of the invitation:

I made them so that they seemed like an art gallery invitation. So here is the inside :)

I hung art all around the house that Finley created, and then emptied out my dining room and created this giant coloring wall. A friend converted a photo of each kid into a line drawing and each child had a bunch of stickers and crayons to draw with (and of course take home!)

Here it is in action:

An artist themed cake....on top of the tablecloth that Finley and I drew all over :) Oh, plus the painted rocks she worked on as table decor. :)

And while I don't have pictures, I made the food color-centric and each plate or bowl was one color....so pink was watermelon, green was veggies etc.....

For favors, Finley painted a frame for each child to take home, that had their very own photo inside. I also had a wooden letter of each child's first initial, tied up with some crayons for them to decorate.

Here's Finley the night before the party with all her hard work :)

Here is the happy birthday girl...



And her proud Mummy.....



It was a really fun theme and there are SO many directions you can take it. This years theme is BOOKS! Finley adores books and reading. Got any party ideas for me??

xo,
shari

Something for the kid in all of us....

Nope, not candy or toys or clothes. Though I wouldn't mind one of each in that order right now ;) But wildlife....ah, the beauty of nature and the things we can discover online!!

I recently made a boys hoodie of a hooded falcon (note the subtle match-up ;) Anyhow, what I never mentioned was I was once fortunate enough to hang with one of the most noted American Falconers (yes, there are such things!) and watch one be released, where he later caught a bird that was released just for him, and gobbled it up for a quick snack. (note my look of fear next to him ;)

It was unreal. They can swoop at about 200 miles an hour and apparently they have vision 30 times better than we humans.

Anyhow, I was recently introduced to a few web cams of falcons and owls and wanted to share them with you. Finley thinks they are adorable. I do too. Except for when they bring home some live creature and chew it up and regurgitate it to their young. But I digress and probably grossed you all out! Sorry about that, but I am giving you your fair warning. ;)

Peregrine Falcon Cam

Owl cam

Enjoy!!