Cloth napkins and TJ's photos

A long time ago (about a year) we started using cloth napkins.  I had been gifted an interesting non-tear fabric that worked quite well for us, however it is also quite water resistant.  I do believe it was old nighty material and isn't the greatest for wiping hands at the table.  These are now moving to the diaper area for wipes or we may use them for our noses (must be sure not to mix them up).

TJ and I started another project together.  We selected some material scraps that were large enough for our napkins (I measured a cocktail napkin at about 10 inches).  I decided to make them double sided for ease of sewing and durability. Our fabrics are flannel/old receiving blankets and cotton scraps from other projects.

To make these napkins:

Cut out two pieces of fabric about 10.5inches square

With right sides together sew around the square leaving a small opening

Turn right side out

Machine or hand stitch the opening closed

Top stitch about 5/8inch in from the edge

While I was working TJ decided to use the camera.  I am curious about his angles and what he sees.

His shirt

Community Garden Plot

My older sister, the boys and I are working together on a community garden plot!  The church up the street from us has over two dozen garden plots that are being prepared for gardeners around the community.

Today was a work day to set up the new garden plots and add dirt to top up the older ones from last year. The boys and I headed over to meet some new people and lend a hand.

I was so proud of them as they dug in the dirt for almost 1.5 hour.  TJ had his own big shovel and helped to smooth out the mounds in several plots. After a while with a sand shovel MJ took my big shovel to help out too!

We'll be visiting again to rake our plot and plan out the garden.  Stay tuned as we watch our little garden grown.

Jello play dough

We made some jello play dough using a recipe from playdoughrecipe.com  We used raspberry and it turned out to be quite vibrant!

Jello Playdough Recipe 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of salt
• 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1 cup of warm water
• Three ounces of jello – any flavor you wish

Directions:

• Combine ingredients.
• Cook over medium heat until it thickens.
• Knead until cool enough to touch.
• Enjoy your jellodough!

The boys used different nature objects to make prints before the traditional plastic toys came out.  Their concentration was incredible.  TJ was so exciting with all the prints his objects were making.

I'm linked up to:

Crafty Moms Share

Happy Earth Day

 I have gone through my blog to gather up all our recycled/upcycled and Earth friendly projects for inspiration.

We don't have any specific plans for Earth Day this year so please leave me a comment if you have any suggestions.

Recycled Art Wrapping Paper
Free Crafty Fun
Melted Crayon Art
Bird Feeders
Playing with recycling
Fabric Roads
Earth Day Flowers
Nature Treasure Hunt
Nature Table
Nature Crafts
Nature Wreaths

For all of our Upcycled projects just click here.  I also realized that almost all of my sewing pojects are upcycled materials.  I think I may need to spend some time relabelling older posts to make sure they are in the right categories.

Cloth diaper tips

If you are using or thinking about cloth diapers here are some things I have learned along the way.

Make sure you as a parent like and feel comfortable using the diapers you have chosen.  You'll be changing them often.  For us I use cloth but my husband uses disposables since he can't figure them out.

Shake out the extra poop.  It help with the clean up

Get a diaper pail that works for you.  There are many systems.  We use a very simple pail with a lid that can lock on.

Every so often do an extra rinse with vinegar it will help to cut bacteria.  Baking soda added to the wash is also helpful.

Use soap designed for diapers.  We started with Claudia's Choice for all our laundry.  Now we make our own and it has been fine so far.

Air dry diapers.  Sun dry if possible.

Give baby's bum lots of air time too.

Make cloth wipes.  Since you are washing the diapers anyways it makes sense.  You can simple cut up an old shirt or receiving blanket or use designated wash cloths.  We diaper in the washroom so the sink is close by, but you could keep a spray bottle handy to wet the wipes.

Happy diapering!

My stylish diaper boy

Our cloth diaper decision

When I was first pregnant I was totally grossed out by the idea of cloth diapers.  I mean who wants to store poopey diapers in their house and then run them through the wash?!  However once I met a few people who used cloth diapers I began to think again.  TJ suffered through many terrible diaper rashes and was extremely sensitive to comercial whipes.  When he was very young I began to make our own disposable wipes.

Our Kushies diapers

I had looked into a diaper sercive.  These can be an excellent option if you are interested there may be a few in your area.  For me it wasn't a cost effective solution since disposables on sale are cheeper still.

When I came around to the idea I was all excited but TJ was now into training pants.  We chose to go with Kushies because we live near the outlet and factory so I got a good deal.  They are also readily available at Walmart for a good price.  It only made sense because he wasn't having too many accidents so why keep throwing out rraining pants.  He also trained faster because he could feel when he was went and felt like a big boy in undies.

MJ looking so stylish

When MJ was born I started with Kushies again but was really wanting something else.  I tried making my own and using a store bought outer wrap but it was quite bunchy for us.  Not the wrap just my own homade liners.  I would have loved some of the fancy brands out there but the cost was way out of our budget.  Finally I discivered Cozy kids.  They are just like the expensive kind but not sold so commercially so the price was right for me.  THere are many brands that are like this so I suggest you look for something in your area.  We love our cloth diapers and I don't regret the decidion at all.

Cloth diapers can:
Reduces waste
Save money
Healthier for baby's bum

Come learn more about cloth diapers over at The Great Cloth Diaper Change and the Diaper Week Blog Hop and The Eco Chic.

Arrowroot cookies and a coconut

Arrowroot Cookies - from Company's Coming

1/4cup Butter

1/2 Sugar

1 Egg

1/2tsp Vanilla

1cup flour

1/2cup Arrowroot Flour

1/2 tsp Baking powder

1/4tsp Salt

Cream together butter and sugar.  Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir remaining ingredients together and add. Mix well. Roll 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface. Cut into shapes and place on greased sheet. Bake 350degrees until golden, about 8-10min.  These do not spread. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

MJ measuring while TJ licks up the extras

MJ measuring

TJ mixing

 We also bought a coconut from the store to try out a new food for fun.  TJ was so excited that we were going to hammer it open.  He was all excited to use the coconut in muffins, which we did today.

Trying to get into the coconut

MJ checking us out

TJ hammering with his play hammer

Fresh coconut

Coconut bowl and cookies

What will we be baking next?