I found this fabulous recipe over at Nourishing Bites for Healthy Fudge Bites.
These were a huge hit with the kids (mine and our friends).
I love that there is no cooking involved. Just our handy dandy food processor.
This is the recipe I used:
1/2 cup coconut oil (softened but not hot)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup nut butter (I used crunchy organic peanut butter)
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
They were super easy and quick to make. I pulsed the ingredients in the food processor and then scooped the mixture into a lined mini cupcake tin. Put it in the fridge until we were ready to eat.
All the kids came in and devoured these. I love that there is no processed sugar in them or artificial ingredients.
So glad to add this to our snack choices.
Hoping your weekend is sweet!
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The other day, a friend of mine asked if I wanted some of her Mother-in-law’s notions that she was purging.
Like she even had to ask!
I am dreaming of different uses for each of these. There is everything from buttons to ric rac trims to a bias tape maker.
The best part is the graphics (and the prices~ note: trim was 13 cents once upon a time ago). I love how even a package of needles was a work of art.
I am truly grateful for this bundle of vintage goodness.
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Summer FLEECE???!!
Oh yes.
When you live out here in the Pacific Northwest, luck favors the prepared. And to be prepared, you always must layer. Start with a t-shirt, and build from there. As the day progresses, the weather stands a good chance of getting warmer. That is when you shed layers.
So even in the Summer, this rule stands. We start out usually very chilly and sometimes stay that way. Fleece is an essential part of wardrobes here.
Even when it is quite warm out, many beaches here are super breezy and you’ll find you need something to keep you warm.
All that to say… I whipped up a lovely little Summer Fleece for Falafel using an existing sweater to trace a pattern from. Would you like to know how I did it??
Here is a little insight into the way my mind works:
I start with something of similar material that fits her.
I take a piece of paper (or usually I just do this on the new fabric itself) and mark a dot at where the collar starts and another where the sleeve connects to the shoulder. Then I connect the dots to make the shoulder. Do this on both sides (I add seam allowances in by eyeballing it a little bigger).
It will look something like this. *Note: I am using marker so you can see it, but normally I use pencil so I can sketch it to the desired shape. I am more of a sketcher.
Connect the dots to form the neck hole. I use the highest neckline because you can go back and trim the front later. It’s always easier to subtract than add.
I then make a point under the arm, and one at the bottom of the shirt and connect these dots. Do this for both sides.
I lift up the sleeve and connect the dots to form the armholes. I try to follow the curve that is there.
You should have something that looks like this. I then fold it in half and match up the shoulder points and armhole points. I will mention here that I suppose you could just do this from the beginning and only trace one side, but I told you this is how my mind works, and I have found that I get a more accurate pattern this way.
I cut it out.
I will also mention that stretchy fabrics like fleece are super forgiving. This doesn’t have to be perfect (at least in my world). Remember, you can always make it smaller. Very difficult to make bigger.
Anyhow, I do the same for the sleeves making sure to trace the shape of the hole you have for the top of the sleeve.
Cut this out. Line up one side on the fold of the fabric before cutting your pieces out. This is only half of one sleeve.
Pin onto fleece, cut, and assemble the way you like to assemble shirts! Don’t forget to trim the collar in the front after it is together. You can finish the collar and hem any way you want…or not. Fleece won’t fray!
I hope that made sense. Thanks for taking a trip into my mind and how I do things. Really this shirt only took me 30 minutes to make. It took longer to photograph all the steps!
Be sure to look for this shirt again soon. It’s not quite done…but that is for another day.
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::Wordless{ish} Wednesday is where I post a picture(s) without words. Feel free to link up your own post without words in the comments so I can check out your image too!::
Stepped outside into Charlotte’s Web.
These little baby spiders are so much fun to watch. They huddle together in a cluster, and when you blow on them, gently, they scatter. They eventually come back together. This has been great entertainment for a few days.
What is outside your door?
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Project Run and Play has a sister site now for sewing adult clothing (Woohoo!), called Project Sewn.
The first sew along challenge is to sew something black and white for yourself.
I whipped up a very practical skirt. The reason it is practical is the ginormous pockets. I call it the
“Mama hold this” Summer Skirt.
I did some free-form messy stitching to represent how our Summers usually go. Both free-form AND messy.
I sewed on some floppy poppy flowers with buttons in the middles, and my youngest asked if they were eyeballs.
These are my favorite part! Pockets deep enough to hold all the things I usually need or get handed while out and about. A cell phone, wallet, keys, sunscreen, sticks, rocks, sunglasses, misc. toys, and probably a small snack.
Perfect.
I think I may have to make a few more so I can make these skirts my official summertime-outing uniform.
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Falafel was invited to a friend’s “spa” party which included 8 little girls getting their nails painted and hair braided. For the Birthday girl, I made a something to go with the whole pampering/relaxing theme…
A pillowcase.
Not just any pillowcase, though. It is one filled with small details that make it special.
I chose this sparkly pink rose fabric for the body, and a swirly green and copper fabric for the end for this girly girl.
To these I added some pink piping.
I also enclosed all raw edges with French seams. This, to me, is one of those small things you can do to make it look a bit more professional to ensure it will last a bit longer.
I hope our friend likes this sweet pillowcase and feels the love that was put into it.
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You know when you find a book that just makes everyone in your family giggle??
This week we are reading such a book.
Stuck
By Oliver Jeffers
We have a read a few books by Oliver Jeffers, but this one, by far, is the funniest to our family.
A simple story about a boy that gets his kite stuck in a tree.
I am not even going to tell you any more than it is a brilliant picture book that will, at the very least, make you smile.
What are YOU reading this week?
There is an amazing phenomenon that happens every year in the Pacific Northwest. When the weather starts to warm, as it has done lately, and the flowers start to open up and show their colors, people too start to open up and show their colors.
It is a fantastic show that begins with half asleep people coming outside more and more. They squint at the sun and start to inhale deeply, breathing the perfume of the sun (and I think some may even shake off some of the mold that tends to grow in the winter months).
It must be quite the blinding spectacle since we are all so very translucent (speaking of my family in particular). We actually reflect the sun. You may get a sunburn if you stand too close to us.
My eyes are wide open now, and I am taking in the incredible show that nature puts on.
Every year reaffirms our choice to live here.
This is when I take many photographs to document the incredible beauty to store up for those winter months ,which are still beautiful in their own way, but definitely could use a burst of visual warmth.
What is Spring like for you?
I have seen these adorable shorts for kids over at Elegance & Elephants.
I really wanted to try to replicate them for my teen. She desperately needs shorts for the upcoming anticipated Summer weather. I suppose my KCW sewing isn’t done after all. ha!
Here is my first draft. I will call these a wearable muslin, or even an experiment. I just wanted to see if I could do it without the pattern.
As you can see, her legs need to see some sun soon. Yikes!
It turns out, I can! There are a few changes I will make to the next pair, though. I will shorten them (I do tend to err on the “too big” side of things). I will make the pockets much deeper. I was also thinking that these would look pretty cute with some piping down the front seams. Hmmm.
And maybe more of a bubble shape to the sides.
She was making this face the whole time. I think it may have been because of the concentration required to do a photo shoot in 5 minutes flat so that we can eat dinner and run off to make it in time to Fiddle lessons after a full day of school. Just guessing.
They are a good start. I am glad she has a silly pair for now to knock around in while it is 60 degrees.
I am still in my fleece.
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I just thought I would rhyme for you today in the title.
I did see Iron Man 3 with my gal pal, Lisa of Blozulflog, though. I haven’t laughed that hard in quite some time. That lady can make me guffaw like no one else.
Consequently, we had a blast! Here’s the video to prove it.
Gah. I don’t know why we thought it was a good idea to make a video at 10:00 at night coming home on a boat after watching a 2.5 hour movie, but…there you go. Take with a grain of salt. And also, for some reason, my voice sounded 3 octaves lower than it normally is??!!
OK…moving on.
The movie was fantastic. You will not be bored. They did it again with the same brilliance the other Marvel movies were made with. I highly recommend seeing Iron Man 1 and 2 plus The Avengers before seeing this one to get the full picture.
A great story, executed well.
We saw it in 3D, but I think it would be even more enjoyable in 2D. Trying to get those glasses positioned right over my bifocals (that is for another post) was difficult. For the photo, I took my glasses off, but I look absolutely crazy. She said to open my eyes (after taking several where my eyes looked closed), so I took that as “bug out“! Plus, I really can’t see anything.
Anyhow, here is a clip for you to enjoy. You remember the game “Barrel of Monkeys“?
Thanks, Lisa, for joining me on another Superhero adventure. This one was fantastic!
