Read Me Inspired {The Very Fairy Princess}... The Fairy Garden

And as promised, here is more about our Fairy Garden from our "The Very Fairy Princess" day.

There are tons of inspirations out there for creating a fairy garden.  I originally got the idea from HGTV's Family Gardening Club (it was their July project).  Then I came across The Magic Onion who apparently hosts a Fairy Garden Competition with tons of fun ideas.  I recommend both if you want to create your own.

Garden #1
Here's how we tackled it.  After a little shopping trip and some quick "shopping" around the house and yard, we surveyed our materials and came up with somewhat of a plan (or at least as much of a plan as a 4-year-old can have).

We then filled our bowl with soil and planted our fern "tree" and our little "bush".

And then we just played until we had what we wanted... a beach, water, a little walking path...

flowers along the picket fence...

birds "hiding" in our tree...

and even some butterflies flitting about.

Garden #2
And this leads us to garden #2.  After finishing the above, Little Princess realized that there was no place for the fairies to eat.  So, we found an empty pod in the shed, found some herbs that needed to be planted anyways (leftover from a summer preschool gardening program she was in), and began a "dining garden."

This really became fun.  We glued rocks into chairs and tables and even glued beads into shell "bowls".

After we added shell "planters," the only thing missing was a bridge to connect the two gardens.  Popsicle sticks and floral wire remedied that problem, and the garden was ready for its Open House.  (Actually, Little Princess has decided that we are still missing a house and a bed, but Mommy said that will have to wait for another day.)

Enter Tinker Bell, stage right...
First, Tinker Bell has to scope things out.  She starts down by the beach, and after playing in the water, is ready to explore.

I think I'll rest for a moment.

Where does this bridge lead?

What a perfect spot for a snack.

(You might notice that at this point Tinker Bell apparently got tired of her wings ;) )

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Recap from the Year: Theme Days

When I first came across Katherine Marie's Theme Weeks, I absolutely fell in love.  What a great idea for children.  I began trying my own humble attempts, often tied to books because I love children's literature.  Even though I'll be on hiatus from blogging, here are some of the theme days floating around in my head that I still want to do with my kids...

• Corduroy Bear - Think buttons... button memory game, button crafts, edible buttons, preschool-level sewing
• Pinkalicious - This one will probably become a tea party with some of my daughters friends, with those famous pink cupcakes of course
• Very Fairy Princess - Edible fairy wands, building fairy villages in the backyard, pancakes with fairy dust, and dressing up like fairy princesses for the day
• The Little Engine that Could - trains, trains, and more trains

And here are the recaps of the ones I did:


THEME OF THE DAY: MADELINE
This was by far my favorite theme day.  I love this classic story.

Book: Madeline, many from the series
Activity:
- Making our own Madeline hat from a paper plate and bowl
- Making French Flags from Red, White, and Blue candies
- "RED", "BLUE" and "YELLOW" spelling cards
- Madeline Coloring Pages
Food:
- A Croque en bouche of donut holes and blueberries (complete with Madeline on top)
- A French Flag Lunch
- Lemon Creme Madeline Hat Cookies
Read More...

 
THEME OF THE DAY:  FISH

Book:  Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale by Marcus Pfister

Activity:  Playing at the Beach (we were on vacation)

Food:

- Goldfish for snacks (parmesan and honey since Mommy doesn't like the original)

- Fish in Water, aka Blue Jello with Honey Goldfish

- Grilled Cheese "Fish" with Blueberry "Bubbles"- Kites

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THEME OF THE DAY:  PLANES

Book:  Pedro by Disney
Activity:
- Learning about the Wright Brothers (we were at Kitty Hawk at the time)
- Painting "Plane" Toast
- Flying Gliders on the Beach
Food:  Snack of Plane Toast and Cheese Clouds
Read More...


THEME OF THE DAY:  SNOW WHITE
This was really our celebration of Halloween.  The kids were Snow White and Dopey.

Book:  The classic Snow White fairy tale, though the Disney version, not Grimm Brothers (the kids aren't ready for the real version yet)
Activities:  Snow White and Dopey Costumes
Food:  An apple themed dinner, including apples, apple sausage, baked apples, and "apple" cupcakes
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THEME OF THE DAY:  KITES

Inspiration:  Mary Poppin's "Let's Go Fly a Kite" Song

Activities: 

- Making a Paper Kite

- Flying Kites on the Beach

- Dancing along the Beach singing "Let's Go Fly a Kite"

Read More...

THEME OF THE DAY:  CANDY CORN
This theme was to celebrate National Candy Corn Day (October 30th).

- "Candy Corn" Pancakes
- "Candy Corn" Breakfast Parfaits (yogurt and bananas)
- "Candy Corn" Cheese platter
- "Candy Corn" Pudding Parfait
Read More...


THEME OF THE DAY:  WATERMELON

- Fun with Cookie Cutters

- Jello Watermelon

- Watermelon Cocktails

THEME OF THE DAY:  STRAWBERRIES

- Felt Strawberries
- Strawberry Barrettes
- Strawberry Jam
- Rosemary and Strawberry Shortbread Cookies (not pictured)

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Mirror Mirror on the Wall...

"Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?"

How do you have a Snow White day?  Start with a Snow White, twirling in her skirt.

Then add a dwarf...

And complete the picture with an apple or two... though not poisoned in this case.

Interested in your own?  The Snow White costume is "minimal-sew"... a no-sew tutu skirt made of yellow tulle, white tulle, and yellow satin ribbon, a blue leotard with decorative ribbon lightly stitched on the front, and a red ribbon for the hair.

Dopey's costume was even easier... a green shirt, several sizes too large (5T for my 12 month boy), with big yellow buttons and hat sewn from thick purple felt.  Add a little jute string for a belt and the picture is complete.

And the Snow White story couldn't be complete without the apple of course.  Otherwise there would be no need for the kiss.  So how about apple place cards for lunch and then sweet "apple" cupcakes for dessert.  A sweet ending for a sweet fairytale.

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Theme of the Day: Candy Corn... just a little late

After entirely too long, and entirely too many service calls, it looks like we may once again have Internet.  And that means I can share some very-belated Halloween posts.  But on the chance that you still have candy corn lying around, or perhaps in withdrawal over the lack of candy corn, here's to a little sweet fun...

Perhaps some "candy corn" pancakes...

 or just tri-colored ones when making the triangles gets too exhausting

Maybe a Breakfast parfait of yogurt (dyed yellow and orange) and banana slices

And we can't let breakfast have all the fun.  What about cheesy "candy corn" made with a sharp New Zealand cheddar, a Wisconsin cheddar, and a Wisconsin Monterrey Jack.

And for a little kitchen education... how about learning what red and yellow make



And to top off the day, a sweet little treat of pudding and whipped cream.

I'm suddenly a fan of orange and yellow.

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Jello "Watermelons"

Now you know that we couldn't do our watermelon celebration without jello watermelon.  There are a number of bloggers who have created these (often with mini chocolate chips for seeds).  Here are the lessons I learned in doing this:

• Lime juice wreaks havoc on your fingers, particularly your cuticles.  You may want to wear gloves to save your hands from looking like mine.
• I chose to use black cherry jello because I prefer the flavor.  Of course, I forgot that since you need to do the jello jiggler recipe that it makes for a really dark color.  In my case, I'd do it again because I like the flavor.  However, if you want a more realistic watermelon color, go for a lighter red jello.
• Set the lime peel in muffin cups to hold it level for the jello.  This works really well.
• I just the lime into wedges.  However, my husband had the idea that next time I should cut it horizontally into more of a slice.
• Let me know if you determine a good knife for creating a clean cut.  I tried serrated knives, a chef's knife, and even a bread knife.  All resulted in slight texture in the cut.

This is a great project to do with the kids.  My daughter loved mixing the jello.  She and my next door neighbor were fascinated during the process and couldn't wait for the jello to harden (the neighbor had to come back the next day).  Then again, they also sat at the table and ate the lime pulp as I was scraping out the peel.  I acknowledge that probably isn't normal.

Let me know how your creations turn out.

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Watermelon... for the adults

Just as in my life, this blog often revolves around children.  But every once in a while, there is a moment dedicated to the adults.  This is one of those moments... children sleeping snugly in their beds, relaxing with my husband, cocktail in hand.

This watermelon cocktail recipe has been floating around the blogs, having first come from Sunset Magazine.  However, here's my variation... a little higher juice to cocktail ratio.

WATERMELON COCKTAIL RECIPE
Blend chunks of watermelon in a food processor.  Strain.  Rub a lemon wedge along the rim of a martini glass and dip the rim in sugar. Combine 6 tablespoons watermelon juice, 2 tablespoons brandy, 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier. Stir. Garnish with watermelon.


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Watermelon Love

Summer lovin'... or at least watermelon love.  We are capturing the last vestiges of summer.  So this pas weekend was our watermelon weekend.  The easiest project was a little watermelon cutting.  My daughter loves using cookie cutters, and she loves watermelon, so why not combine the two.  The result...

more watermelon love...

some watermelon experiencing an identity crisis...

maybe a little clover action...

just a little summer fun

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