Monthly Archives: January 2012

One-Hour Project: Child-Sized Blanket Roll

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Katie | 2 Comments

I have fond memories from childhood lying on the living room floor watching movies while snuggled up in my 1970s vintage Scooby Doo sleeping bag. And ever since my oldest son Jack started asking for a family movie night, I’ve been thinking about sleeping bags. Jack has a sleeping bag, but little Calvin doesn’t, so this was the perfect time to make one.

I looked online for instructions, materials, and was a little dismayed by the cost and the complexity of a true sleeping bag. Calvin doesn’t really like to get under blankets (at age 3 he is totally fine keeping himself warm in the fetal position with his stuffed animals around him), so I decided I would go super basic and make a blanket roll using supplies on hand. In a couple more years, he’ll get the deluxe model with the zipper, built-in pillow, and who knows what other accoutrements.

The blanket roll is really easy. All you need is a sewing machine, 2 pieces of fabric, quilt batting, and a ribbon or similar item to tie the blanket up. It takes an hour, tops.

First, I spread an unused IKEA twin duvet cover on the floor and cut it to be the same size as crib-sized quilt batting (45×60 inches). I used two pieces of batting to make the blanket a little softer, especially for lying on the floor.

Next, I flipped the cut fabric so the right sides were facing each other and placed the double layers of batting on top. I pinned the fabric to the batting on all sides to make sure it doesn’t move when I stitch it together with the sewing machine.

I stitched the fabric to the batting all the way around the fabric, leaving about 20 inches unattached on the bottom. Then I turned the entire thing right-side out and pinned and stitched the opening shut.

For extra support, I tied the layers together in about eight spots with some embroidery thread. Yarn also works.

To give the impression of a sleeping bag and to keep it rolled up when not in use, I stitched a piece of ribbon to one end and attached a clasp. In retrospect, if I had a long strip of velcro I would have used that instead — it would have been faster to attach and much easier for Calvin to operate. I may replace the ribbon with velcro down the road.

Calvin couldn’t be happier. The crib-size blanket is just big enough to use as a mock-sleeping bag (folded in half) or as a full blanket on a bed. When Spring arrives, we plan to make more with sturdier fabric to use at the park or the beach.

But for now, we’re all set for movie night.

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Posted in Arts & Crafts, Living with Kids

Tagged blanket roll, easy, fabric, sewing, sleeping bag

DIY Dollhouse Miniatures: Macrame Plant Hanger

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Leslie | 1 Comment

Katie and I were joking about renovating my daughter’s Ana’s dollhouse. It all started when I discovered the amazing world of DIY dollhouse miniatures. I first read a how-to blog post on Etsy for making “micro planters” and a tiny macrame plant hanger. Then, a search on Flickr and Pinterest revealed an entire subculture of people who make remarkably lifelike miniature food the size of match heads out of Fimo modeling clay and furnishings and decor for entire rooms, like my current favorite, this midcentury modern room.

Although Katie and I in our consultation with my 8-year-old daughter, Ana, have big future plans for her dollhouse renovation, over the weekend I made a few accessories to add some warmth and personality to the space. Our plans include some projects that Ana will help with, including making a cool backsplash, improving the rug under her dining room table, making refrigerator magnets, and wallpapering an accent wall.

Ana’s dollhouse is modern in style and she mostly has Plan dolls and furnishings, but has recently added in quite a lot of Playmobil furnishings and accessories as well.

Here is the before shot of the second floor bedroom and bathroom/laundry room.

So far, I’ve made three DIY dollhouse projects for the bedroom. In this post, I’ll describe the macrame plant hanger. I followed the how-to steps in the Etsy post I mentioned earlier, except that I used a water bottle top I found in our kitchen cabinet for the planter. I have never made a macrame plant hanger before, but as far as I can tell, the technique is about the same except that some steps are eliminated to account for the smaller total length (no crown knots) and the mini hanger doesn’t have beads.

Here you can see the half hitch knots that surround the jump ring at the top, and underneath the wrap knot.

Here I’m making the half-knot twist that forms the twisted hangers above the pot.

Finally, I tied alternating square knots to go around the pot and another wrap knot under the pot, with frayed ends hanging down.

And here’s the little pot with soil and plant cuttings from my patio. Ana will need to water it with a tiny eye-dropper. I think I’ll find someone to give me a spider plant cutting for this or another hanging micro planter.

I hung the macrame plant hanger from the dollhouse roof and I think it adds some nice live greenery in this upstairs bedroom.

In future posts, I’ll show how I made a mini rag rag and the handknit patchwork blanket, and some of the other ongoing renovations. If you have ideas for fun ways to improve a dollhouse DIY-style, let us know!

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Posted in Arts & Crafts, Living with Kids

Tagged dollhouse, etsy, macrame plant hanger, miniatures, playmobil, yarn

Family-Friendly Make-Ahead Brunch

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Katie | 3 Comments

You can eat breakfast, lunch or dinner anytime, but brunch is a special treat. It’s my favorite meal to cook. So to celebrate the birthdays of my two little boys (both born in January), I thought brunch would be a good choice for the family party.

With 14 adults and 5 children attending the festivities, planning and logistics were critical. People tend to gravitate toward the kitchen, and with a small space I wanted to make sure there were no traffic jams. I selected food that could be made ahead of time and be ready when the guests arrived.

First up, quiche. My mom always made quiche when we were growing up and I do the same with my children. In our house we call it pie since it’s a word the kids understand. They gobble down their spinach pie getting a hearty serving of vegetables with each bite.

For the birthday brunch I made two quiche using the same basic recipe — in one I used spinach and in the other I used broccoli. They aren’t technically quiche I guess, but they’ve got the required ingredients and they sure are tasty.

Basically I mix 4 eggs, 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup crumbled feta, 2 sliced green onions, a dash of dried herbs (basil and oregano, sometimes tarragon), salt and pepper, and a 10-oz frozen pack of the vegetable of choice (thawed and drained of moisture). I fill the crust with the mixture and bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

I cooked the spinach pie in a tart plan with a removable bottom. Here she is looking dazzling on one of my favorite serving pieces — a white fluted cake stand.

As the spinach pie baked I prepared the broccoli version. Because the baking dish is deeper, I switched things up and used six eggs instead of four and a little more milk. This made the quiche more eggy and a little fluffier. For a crust, my go-to is the one in Joy of Cooking.

I’ve got a deep love for smoked salmon so it usually shows up on my brunch table. Here, it arrived with a mix of bagels and cream cheese. This chip and dip platter made the perfect serving dish for the bagels.

A fruit salad added the required healthy element.

And finishing off the meal I made this no-fail sour cream coffee cake. With a swirl of cinnamon and sugar in the middle, a moist texture, and a crispy topping, it’s a delight. This was actually made the day before so that helped to lower my stress level the morning of the feast. I’ve included the recipe at the bottom (provided by a friend years ago) — I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Pretty much everything on the table was devoured. We ate the remaining pieces of broccoli quiche for dinner that night, and then enjoyed a quiet moment as a family singing to Calvin whose actual birthday it was that day.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Cinnamon Mixture:
1 cup sugar
2 T cinnamon

Batter:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 pint sour cream

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter to cream. Gradually add sugar and vanilla. Add salt and eggs and beat at medium speed with mixer. Sift flour with soda and add to batter mixture alternatively with sour cream. Pour half the batter into greased 13×9 pan. Sprinkle half cinnamon mixture over it. Top with remaining batter and sprinkle remaining cinnamon mixture over all. Swirl with a knife. Bake for 50-55 minutes.

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Posted in Entertaining, Food/Drink

Tagged birthday, brunch, coffe cake, family, quiche

Mason Jars and Open Shelving: Pantry Storage at a Glance

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Leslie | 9 Comments

Rebecca Underly is the owner of Del Ray Cakery, a home-based business that specializes in cake pops, decorative and wedding cakes, and other sweet treats. A mother of two young children as well, she uses her kitchen for her business and as the center of her family life.

It’s a wonder that every surface isn’t covered in thin layer of sprinkles, flour, goldfish crackers and pretzels. Some days this may be the case, but Rebecca has found a way to use dozens and dozens of mason jars to manage her baking inventory and keep life running smoothly in the snack department as well.

Behold her open pantry, a floor-to-ceiling set of neatly arranged mason jars.

In addition to her Del Ray Cakery business, Rebecca is also a recipe developer and food writer, which is why she says she has ”so many different kinds of things in those jars.”

Rebecca has a method for organizing the mason jar pantry:

She marks the purchase dates of the dry good on the tops of jars containing bulk items.
She follows a “first in, first out” motto. The newer items go in back so that the family will use up previously purchased items first. Rebecca likes that she lets nothing sit unused and forgotten.
She keeps the sweet treats, like M&Ms and cookies, on the highest shelf to keep little people from helping themselves.
The next shelf down has items she doesn’t use every day like dried beans, lentils, various grains, nuts and dried fruits.
The next two shelves down have the jars with items the family uses almost every day like crackers, more dried fruits and veggies, pasta, protein powder, whey, oatmeal, ground flours for waffles and pancakes, and rice.

“I basically love it for its visual recognition and easy access,” she says. “I always know what I have just by looking. Nothing gets lost in the deep cabinet or pantry.”

Rebecca’s go-to resources for mason jars:
Shoppers Food Warehouse
Target
Hollin Hall Variety Store
Craigslist and Freecycle

Rebecca’s floor-to-ceiling open shelving is one of the most attractive pantry storage solutions we’ve seen yet. And even if you don’t have enough room in your kitchen for a full pantry, here are a few examples of how local residents have embraced the open shelving concept.