Sewing for Cherubs

Priceless

Dress, found on sale rack: $65
Hairstyle: $9.98 (curling iron purchased at Target on the day of the dance)
Mega-Pack of toilet paper: $8 (also purchased at Target on the day of the dance)

Forgetting to clean up the clutter on the stairs before posing for photos: Priceless.

(Oh well, thank goodness for photo cropping. I hope you had a fun weekend too!)

Make These From Scratch

I admit it. I don't make all of our food from scratch. I buy all of our bread, because the proper use of yeast mystifies me. I do know how to make a delicious spaghetti sauce, but on a busy weeknight I am much more likely to open a jar. And sometimes a can of cream soup is just the thing to mix into an easy casserole.

 

Brownies, though.... that's a different story. I would never dream of making brownies from a mix. Those are always, 100% of the time, from scratch. Is it because I am a food snob? Is it because I am a talented baker? Well, no. If you've never tried making brownies from scratch, allow me to let you in on a little secret: It is EASY. I use the one-bowl brownie recipe from inside the chocolate box, and have done it that way for years. Quite literally, if you can measure a few ingredients, dump them in a bowl, and mix them up, you can make brownies from scratch. And they really do taste so much better than the ones made from a mix.

Just don't tell my family. They think it requires a lot of work... and I like it that way.

Sewing Lesson

Well, I finally decided that The Princess (age 8) is old enough to learn to sew on a REAL sewing machine. Last year we bought her a "child's" sewing machine, and I'm not going to mention the brand, but it just does. not. work. well. at. all. It is impossible to thread and then it doesn't like to stay that way, so you end up spending more time threading it than actually sewing.

But The Princess really wanted to learn to sew, and she kept asking me to help her with it. Not wanting to face that uncooperative little machine, I urged her to stick to hand-sewing until she was "ready" to get a starter machine.

But The Princess did not really find this a satisfactory answer. And finally, I had to admit that it really wasn't. I mean, she sees me machine-sewing a lot, and it is only reasonable for her to want to try it for herself.

So, this morning I gathered up my courage and found her some safety eyewear, and we had our first lesson using my precious Bernina. After several nice straight rows of stitching (all by herself!), we both still have all of our fingers, so I'm calling it a huge success. Now, the serger... she's going to have a wait a few more years before I let her touch that.

Cooking and Giving Thanks

I experienced a first this year as I hosted Thanksgiving Dinner at my house. It was a good opportunity for me to practice my (somewhat limited) culinary skills. I used to enjoy cooking, but my picky little eaters have beaten it out of me.  But as I set about preparing the lemon herb rub for the turkey, I reflected on how fortunate my family is this year.

In the midst of this economic crisis, we are able to buy the groceries we need, we can pay for the electricity to power the oven, and we can gather at our kitchen table to enjoy a feast with the people who mean the most to us.

So what if my picky kids' plates had to be supplemented with goldfish crackers? 
 

Swirls of Fabric Heaven

I have to show you my new love. It's anything swirl-dyed by my good friend Pam of The Indigo Onion. What she can do with dyes and fabric is simply amazing. Just look at this box of goodies I got in the mail last weekend:

See what I mean? Heaven has come to earth in fabric form.

Oh yeah, I guess you probably want to see what I can turn this into, right? Well, here are some past examples of things I have made using Pam's gorgeous fabrics:

 

And here is my most recent foray into swirl-sewing. I love this swirl so much - it reminds me of the sky at the end of autumn and the beginning of winter - that I used up every little scrap I could squeeze out of one precious cut and came up with this special newborn set which is currently for sale at Universal Mama:

I can't wait to dive into more of these swirls! Thanks for looking.
 
 

Sweet as Cupcakes

Got a couple new oh-so-girly items to show you. Both of these are currently available in my shop at Universal Mama (scroll down the page to The Cherub's Closet LLC). While you are there be sure to check out all the amazing items the talented vendors at UM have created for Cyber Monday!

For a sweet newborn baby:

And a hoodie for the toddler in your house:

 

Thanks for looking!

When He Grows Up

Overheard at our house this weekend:

Radar (to Superman): "Eat your lunch, don't you want to be a strong man when you grow up?"

Superman (excitedly): "I want to be a GOLDFISH when I grow up!"

Advent Something?

Radar is very excited about the upcoming holiday season and all of the traditions that come along with it. Today he had a hard time remembering the words "advent calendar". So he made up his own name for it: "The Chocolate Countdown."

Come to think of it, I kind of like his name better.

I need to give him more credit.

This conversation happened around the kitchen table at snacktime today.

The Princess: "Superman, what is missing from this pattern: circle, blank, circle, square."

Me: "Princess, Superman is only three and he is not old enough to do patterns yet, don't frustrate him."

Superman: "Square!"

A Little Brown-Nosing Never Hurt Anyone

Overheard while I was cooking dinner tonight and Radar was amusing himself with a Math game on his Leapster:

"The company that made this Leapster is really smart. Maybe even as smart as Mommy."