We Need a Beach Day!

 

We know summer is quite some time away--we haven't even seen spring yet, but this winter has been a long, cold one.  As we watch the snow outside blowing sideways past our window, we thought that maybe we could escape with an indoor beach day.


So gather your children and some friends and set up your living room as the beach.  Pull out the towels, a chair and an umbrella.  Find some shovels and buckets and sunglasses.  You can make a  pretend beach using brown kraft paper and blue paper for the water.


Let your kids dress up in their bathing suits, sun hats and flip flops as they play in their pretend beach.

Why not find some beach themed books?  Here are a few of my favorites.

Sally Goes to the Beach by Stephen Huneck

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin




Beach Babies by Puck
 



Don't forget the music!  Some slow and easy....like reggae.

Pack a picnic to have at the beach and maybe include this fun treat!

 A couple of fun crafts to do with the kids would be to make this beach scene and this fish collage.


 


We hope you enjoy your fantasy escape.  We would love to see how yours turned out.  Why not send us a picture of your special island.  Have a great day!

Sonja & Joy

It's Official!

That's right folks -- our Etsy shop is up and running!  We've been hard at work, cutting, arranging, cricut-ing, and taking photographs over the last few weeks.  In other words, we've been getting everything prepared. We've officially listed a twelve month subscription to our scrapbooking kits, as well as some individuals, with our monthly themed craft kits on their way!

Check it out if it's up your alley, and spread the word to anyone you know who has a little one with the scrapbooking bug!

Happy crafting!

~ Sonja & Joy

Community Spotlight - The Honey Bake Shop

A couple of days ago, we headed out to a new[ish] bake shop close by, called the Honey Bake Shop. While there are a number of cute small-business bakeries in the area, we stopped in at this one because we thought, "DiscoverBees...Bees...Honey...Honey Bake Shop!" It was kitchy and cute, so we stopped in and picked up some delicious treats. 

We picked up a 'Mint Smoothie' cupcake (in essence, it was mint chocolate), a 'Red Velvet', and a 'Maple Bacon' -- complete with bacon bits on top! They were super light and fluffy, and there were plenty of other options. If you visit their website (you can find the address on the business card up top), you can see a more complete list of not only their cupcakes, but their other baked goods. The third picture is of the almond meringues, which were equally delicious. If you happen to read this blog and live in the Tri-Cities area, you ought to stop in.

Even if you don't live in the Tri-Cities, scope out your own town or city for a small bakery or treat shop, and bring the little ones (or heck, just go yourself, or make it a date night) for a snack. Of course, it isn't super difficult to make cupcakes, but sometimes you just don't want the mess of baking, and there's nothing wrong with indulging a little bit and introducing your kids to a new location. You never know -- it might end up becoming a bit of a tradition.

~ Sonja & Joy

A Belated Wednesday Book Nook

Happy spring everyone! Although it hasn't quite been springy over here yet.

Things have been pretty busy over the last week, as we've been working really hard to put together some prototypes for our upcoming Etsy shop (maybe we'll post a sneak peak in the coming week), so Book Nook is coming just a day late. We've got some good ones though, so we hope you'll forgive us!

Our picture book this week is The One & Only by Holly Hobbie, from the Toot & Puddle series. 

Ironically, we weren't going for a pig  theme -- it just happened that way! This is a really adorable little book though, and if your little one enjoys it, there are others to look into. Not to mention, if you head over to the Tood & Puddle website, there are games, videos, and printables! It doesn't get better than that, really.

The story follows Opal, who finds herself a bit frustrated when the new girl at school, Bubbles, decides to copy everything she does. It doesn't help that Bubbles gets all the credit, and everyone starts to absolutely adore her. It isn't until the girls of the class begin to rehearse their big chorus line for the end of the year party that Bubbles reveals her weakness -- she can't dance! Fortunately Opal can, and decides to be the bigger person, and helps Bubbles out. 

The only thing we wished had been included in the story, is a page or two that sums up whether or not Opal and Bubbles become friends (seeing as it's a picture book, we can assume that they did, but you never know). All in all though, this was a great little story, with a lot of excellent material to follow it up with.

Next is an old favourite, Awful End by Philip Ardagh.

This is one of those books that has a quirky, eccentric type of humour. If you or your kids liked A Series of Unfortunate Events, or if you're not quite sure they're ready for that series, this is a good one. It's a part of the Eddie Dickens Trilogy, and there is actually a second trilogy with Eddie Dickens if they really love it. 

As you can imagine, the main character is a boy named Eddie Dickens, and this first book in the trilogy follows him on some hilarious misadventures. It all starts when his parents catch "some awful disease that made them turn yellow, go a bit crinkly around the edges, and smell of old hot-water bottles". We kid you not, those words come directly from the first page of the book. Eddie is sent to live with Mad Uncle Jack, and Even Madder Aunt Maud (and her stuffed stoat) at their house, Awful End. 

This is a great book to read out loud if you like doing voices, because the characters are absolutely hilarious, and it's a bit more of an advanced read if your child is just getting into chapter books. It's divided into "Episodes" instead of chapters, as the author wrote these books in installments for his nephew in boarding school. Definitely gives it a bit of uniqueness, along with great chapter titles (ie. Episode 6 Orphanage - in which geese save Rome).

Happy reading!

~ Sonja & Joy

Make Your Own Craft Bin

This March Break, why not take a "break" (if you'll pardon the pun) from all the electronics we're hooked up to, and encourage some hands-on creativity?


Something I always had for my kids was a craft bin. It's really just that simple. We used a large Rubbermaid bin, which you can find at any old Walmart. You could always get fancy too, and find a decorated box like the one Joy uses for her yarn. You can find some on great sales at places like Marshalls or Winners, if you keep on the look out!

Here are some ideas of what you can include in your craft bin:

• glue (both liquid and glue sticks)
• glitter
• pom poms
• felt
• paint (craft acrylic, washable tempura, and little watercolour pallets are good options)
• safety scissors
• tin foil
• yarn scraps
• fabric scraps
• tissue paper
• used wrapping paper scraps
• pipe cleaners
• old greeting cards
• cotton balls
• construction paper
• stickers
• empty tissue boxes
• beads
• coloured string

The great thing about craft bins like these, is that you don't have to necessarily plan out a specific craft. They can go into the craft bin and see where their imagination takes them! Another good thing to invest in is a child sized apron -- crafting can get messy, and you don't want their nice clothes to get ruined. Sometimes you can even find them at the dollar store. No need to shell out a ton of money for something that's going to get all mucked up -- in fact, there's no need to spend a ton of money on any of these items. Just watch for sales, and use whatever is lying around the house that might otherwise end up in the trash or recycling.

Happy crafting!

~ Sonja

DIY Building Blocks

All right, we're back with another fun craft to occupy the kids (or, if you're like Joy, yourself) during March Break. It's from the book I Can Make That! by Mary Wallace. 

Drum roll please...

DIY building blocks made from stuff you probably have lying around the house!

Click on images to enlarge!

How cool is this, right? All you need is cardboard, construction paper, paper towel and toilet paper tubes, paint, scissors, and any other bits and bobs you feel like using. The sky is really the limit here. If you're looking for a craft that'll keep them occupied for more than fifteen minutes, this is definitely one to consider. Not only do they have to cut and colour the cardboard and paper, there's hours of fun to be had afterward creating all sorts of buildings and figures! This would be a good craft for babysitters to either make ahead of time, or bring to the kids' homes for something fun and different. 

Have a good one!

~ Sonja & Joy

Our Attempt at the Cookie in a Mug

Hi all,

Today we experimented with the chocolate chip cookie in a mug, which we'd come across a while ago on No. 2 Pencil. It turned out great, and we thought we'd share it with you guys (just in case you haven't come across it yourself whilst wandering the blogosphere). This would be a great little snack to make with your little ones, as it's fast, easy, and it's done in the microwave! Not to mention, the fact that it's in the mug means it minimizes crumb messes -- bonus! It's also great if you have a craving for a homemade cookie...but don't feel like going through the hassle of baking a full recipe. 

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon of butter

1 Tablespoon granulated white sugar

1 Tablespoon firmly packed dark brown sugar (we didn't use dark brown, but it still tasted delicious)

3 drops vanilla extract (well...we weren't super precise about this)

Small pinch of kosher salt (or, leave out the salt if you're using salted butter)

1 Egg yolk

Scant 1/4 Cup of all purpose flour

Chocolate chips (as much or as little as you want!)

The How-To:

1. Melt the butter -- not to boiling though!

2. Add your sugars, vanilla, and salt. Mix together.

3. Separate your egg, and add only the yolk to the mixture. Stir.

4. Add your flour, and combine again.

5. Toss in your chocolate chips, and stir them in!

6. Cook in a microwave between 40 and 60 seconds. This will depend on your microwave, so start at 40, and go from there. Don't cook for longer than a minute, as the cookie will continue to cook as it cools.

That's it folks! A great little recipe that we were super excited to stumble across. We can't wait to try out some other Desserts-in-a-Mug. They're just too cute!

~ Sonja & Joy

March Break is on its Way!

I can't believe that March Break is next week!  I want to share some ideas with you this week that you can do with your little ones while they're home.

Today I want to share with you a recipe for Kool Aid playdough.  It's colourful, smells wonderful and is easy to make.

image via chocolate on my cranium

1 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup salt

1 pkg unsweetened Kool Aid powdered drink mix

1 cup boiling water

1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil

Mix together the flour, salt and Kool Aid until well blended.

Mix in the boiling water and oil into the flour mixture.  

Mix with spoon until it's cool enough to knead.

Keep kneading until the colour is blended.

Store in a tight bag or container in the fridge.

This mixture can be kept for 2 months in the fridge.



WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOME OF YOUR CREATIONS.

EMAIL US SOME PICTURES AND WE MAY FEATURE IT HERE!

~ Sonja