Crapty Paper Fortune Cookie Advent Calendar

Can you believe that tomorrow is the first of December!  Aiyah!  How quickly the time flies.

I love advent calendars.  I don't know why, but there's something immensely satisfying about moving a little figure from one day to the next.

We own one small felt snowman advent calendar, but I wanted to try making my own out of crap.  (Why?  Why not!  I love crapting.  There's just something immensely satisfying about transforming garbage and recyclables into something beautiful.)

I've always loved eating fortune cookies. (They're the best part about eating Chinese food!) So, I made my advent calendar look like paper fortune cookies.  Unlike their doughy counterparts, these fortune cookies don't contain traditional cookie wisdom.  Instead, each holds a Christmas-y activity that our family can do together or a way that we can serve others. Each cookie also holds a bible verse.

Hopefully these paper treats will help put us in the right frame of mind this holiday season.

Want to make your own paper fortune cookie advent calendar? Read on!

Materials:
- paper grocery bags (<--crap!)
- scissors
- cup
- pen
- computer paper
- glue stick
- gold paint
- paintbrush
- string
- tape
- Bible Advent verses

Directions:
1)  Trace and cut out 24 circles.

 2)  Write down fun Christmas-y activities or different ways you can serve others onto the circle's backs.

 3)  Make your fortune cookies!  Fold your circle in half, making sure your writing is on the inside.

 4)  While still holding your half circle, use your other hand crease the circle like so.  (Thumb and middle finger on the edge while your pointer finger gently applies pressure and creases the paper.)

 5)  Keep applying pressure until you have your fortune cookie shaped.

 6)  To keep the paper in this shape, you'll now need to let go of the paper and dab glue onto center crease. (Or you can use one of those glue dots... but I'm cheap so I just used my glue stick.)

 7)  Now, refold your fortune cookie.  Apply a bit of pressure to where the glue is to make sure both fortune cookie "arms" (no idea what  they're called) stick together.  Insert a bobby pin inside the "arms" so that they remain sticking together until the glue dries.

 8)  Repeat the process to create the rest of your fortune cookies.

9)  Come back 24 hours later.  (Or earlier if you wish.  I just waited to make sure the glue was dried.)  Paint half of the fortune cookie gold.  While waiting for the paint to dry, write out your bible verses and corresponding numbers on thin slips of paper.

9)  Once your paint dries, tape the slips of paper into the fortune cookies.

10)  I wasn't sure how to string the cookies up, so I created small loops out of leftover paper and taped them to the inside of the fortune cookies.) String up your cookies and enjoy!

Give Thanks Poem (Illustrated)

So I took the plunge and tried creating illustrations to go with my "Give Thanks" poem.  Instead of taking the traditional paper and pen route that I used for my Tulip Time Book, this time I tried my hand at digital art.

Poem Book


Special thanks to hubby for helping me to figure out how to convert my .blah blah files to another set of .blah blah files so that I could ultimately compress them into .what-the-heck-is-happening-my-computer-is-freezing-again files.   (As you can tell, I'm quite computer savvy... ehhh... not really.)

Dancing again

Someone's dancing again....


PB247837 from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.

Hubby turns a sweater into a hat

Last winter hubby bought me a beautiful mustard yellow sweater.  I loved it so much.  Even though it was slightly too big for me, I kept it because I loved the color.

Fast forward one year later and I still had not worn it.  I tried pairing it with different things, but the fit was always slightly off.  Instead of giving the sweater away, hubby and I cut the sweater up and upcycled it into a hat.

We measured the circumference of my head, and then divided that number by 2 (a).  Then, we measured the distance from the top of my head to my ears (b*).  Using those two measurements we chalked out the outline of a hat (the width being "a" and the height being "b").  After some quick pinning, hubby sewed everything up and voila, I had a new mustard colored hat.

(Embarrassing fact: What? Is Leslie wearing a hat?  Yes, it is a strange sight.  I typically don't wear hats because my ginormous head is so large that it never fits any of the hats in the store.)

(*Side note:  I think the next time I would have made the hat a bit taller.  It just reaches my ears, so it would have been nice to have a bit more room up there.)

And since we had a bit of extra material hubby quickly whipped up another hat for a slightly smaller noggin.

Yup.  Because sometimes Baby Chuck and I like getting all matchy matchy like that.

(By the way-  Thank you all for voting for my crapty reindeer head!  I was one of the top 6 and moved onto the final round of the competition.  So, if  you have another spare moment, would you please vote for my reindeer head at the Totally Green Contest? Thanks so much for your support!)

Cakesgiving

Are you more of a sweet or savory person?

I've always been a savory type of gal.  I like eating sweets occasionally, but I always have room in my tummy for salty snacks.

(By the way, sorry hubby for devouring that bag of chips the other day.)

Anyway, back to this post.  This Thanksgiving (which shall hereafter be called "Cakesgiving"), everything changed.  Our aunt (yah, the same one that made Chuck's Hungry Caterpillar cake) fully embraced our new dietary restrictions and made a gluten-free triple layer carrot-cheesecake-carrot cake.

Oh.
My.
Goodness.

One bite and I felt myself leaving my body and floating away to sugar heaven.

Carrot cake?  Ooh yeah, it was delicious and moist.
Cheesecake center?  Um, yes please.  It's was creamy with just a bit of tang.
And that cream cheese frosting?  To.  Die.  For.

(Just thinking about that cake now makes my toes curl.)

I never got a chance to get the recipe.  Rats.  But fortunately, I did take tons of photos of her making it.  (This was me "helping" out with Thanksgiving preparations.)  So, dear reader, I present to you some delicious cake photos.

(Warning- If you're on a diet or thinking about going on a diet, please avert your eyes.  Read another post.  Take a walk.  Eat a rice cake.  Just turn away and don't look at the photos.)
  

Ooh, mix it!

Yeah, crack those eggs...

Ooh, sugar...

Softened cream cheese... yuuuuuuuum....

Take a whiff.  Can you smell it?  Yup, that's warm carrot cake fresh from the oven...

I'm totally drooling.  Oh baby, whisk that icing!

Oh. My.  Goodness.   My pulse just quickened...

Ack.  My toes are curling. 

If only they I had taste-o-vision.  Then I could reach in and take one more delicious bite. 

It was really the best cake I've ever had.
Ever.
Ever ever.


Phew.

I don't know about you, but it's time for me to cool myself off with a nice cold glass of milk.

Happy (yummy) Monday!

Crapty Cat Wreath

Our aunt loves cats.  

And I like making wreaths out of crap.

So it was a natural fit for me to whip up this cat wreath for her.  

Materials:
- cereal boxes  (<--crap)
- scissors
- craft paint
- paint brush
- glue/tape/some sort of adhesive
- thin Sharpie marker
- pencil

Directions:
This was super easy to make, so I'll just show some photos from my crapty night.

Happy crapting (and black Friday)!

Happy Thanksgiving

A couple of days ago hubby and I finally opened up our Thankfulness Jar.  The slips of paper point out that we were thankful for three things in life:

(1)  Friends and family

(2)  Sleep

(3)  Heat and food

Hmmm...

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with friends, family, good food, and long turkey-induced naps. I'll be stuffing my face and snapping lots of photos to upload next week.  To keep the Thanksgiving spirit rolling, here are some photos from our Toddler Time Thanksgiving party.  Once again the teachers were super sweet and threw a great bash for the kids.

 Happy Thanksgiving!

Countdown to Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is tomorrow!  Eeek.  I know you're probably busy with plans and preparations.  But, on the off chance that you have some free moments to spare (or children to entertain), here are some last minute Thanksgiving themed crafts and recipes:

(1)  You could make a turkey paper plate hat

(2)  Or, whip up a batch of cranberry mochi cakes  (I'm making some later tonight to bring to a party.)

(3) You could record the things you're thankful for

(4)  Or, cut up an egg carton and put together this wreath to welcome guests

And, if you have even more moments to spare, would you mind voting for my reindeer head craft (number 4) in the Totally Green Crafts contest?  Their polls will be open until Sunday.

Hope your Thanksgiving Day preparations aren't too hectic!

Boogie down

Sometimes when he's eating, Baby Chuck busts out a move or two.

It's really cute.

But you can't blink or else you'll miss it!

PB147413.AVI from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.

PB187610.AVI from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.

A small favor

Hi everyone,

I had a small favor to ask.  Remember that cardboard reindeer head that I made awhile ago?

Well, I submitted my reindeer head to the Totally Green Crafts Contest.  I just found out that I'm one of the top twelve finalists.  Whoa!  I'm pretty excited and honored because there are so many awesome crapty projects in the running.

If you have a moment of  time, would you mind voting for my crapt?  (It's number 4. Reindeer Head)  You can click here to vote.  Polls will be open until  8pm Sunday November 25th.  Thanks so much for your support.

Friends

Here are some photos from this past weekend.  I had a lovely weekend hanging out and catching up with some college friends.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend too!

Crapty Fridays- DIY cardboard roll kaleidoscope

Last night I finally succeeded in crapting a cardboard roll kaleidoscope.  Yes!

Please excuse me while I do a happy dance.










My crapting dreams finally came true.  This was actually my fifth attempt at making a kaleidoscope. Yup, I tried four previous iterations and failed miserably.  So here's a big virtual thank you to Genuine Mudpie for her beautifully detailed and photographed set of directions.

Thank you!

Turkey Paper plate hat

Turkey Paper Plate Hat

This Friday, Baby Chuck (wait, should I call him Toddler Chuck since he's now older than one? Hmm...)

Back to what I was saying... this Friday our local library is holding a special Thanksgiving party for the babies and toddlers.  Last month they put together such a nice Halloween party, so we're really looking forward to seeing what surprises are in store.

I wanted to help contribute to the festivities.  After finding this great paper plate hat tutorial from Alphamom, I made a whole flock of turkey paper plate hats for the kids.

Note:  This was like the only good photo that we got of Baby Chuck wearing the hat.  It's a miracle that he sat still and din't rip it off.

Cranberry Mochi cake

Last month's mochi flavor was pumpkin.  This month I'm channeling the Thanksgiving spirit and made cranberry mochi cake.

What?  Are those sounds of disbelief I hear?  Hubby shared your similar fears, but after trying my first batch he ate his words (and nearly a fifth of my mochi cake!) I can't blame him.  The cake was chewy, sweet, and tangy.

(Note:  I'm a recipe copy-cat.  The mochi recipe is from the amazing Tiny Urban Kitchen.  I just swapped out red bean paste for cranberry sauce.)

Ingredients:
1 pound of sweet glutinous mochiko rice flour
3 eggs
1/3 C vegetable oil
2 C of water
1 1/4 C of sugar
1 14oz can of cranberry sauce (whole berry)

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease your pan well because the cake is super sticky.  I used a jelly roll pan, so my cake was pretty thin.
- Mix the first four ingredients together well.
- Mix in the whole can of cranberry sauce.
- Bake for approximately  45 minutes (or until the edges are slightly brown).
- Let cake cool.  Guard it from hungry husbands.

Enjoy!

Walking around New York

Tired of being carried and pushed around in the stroller, this little guy wanted to experience the streets of New York on his own two feet.

PB107309 from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.


PB107313.AVI from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.


PB107318 from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.


PB107338 from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.

New York

This past weekend hubby surprised us with a trip into Manhattan. 

There's nothing quite like fall in the city.