Hedgehog Hill

WannaMakeSumtingCool? Photo Album on a Kilt Pin

2009-07-07T11:09:00.027-05:00

Got cute kids to show off and need a sparkly eye catching way to do it? Maybe you need to make this:

I got this craft idea from a great book called Crafty Mama Makes 49 Fast, Fabulous, Foolproof Projects pg. 223. This is my interpretation and showing all the steps.
First, your supplies:
Some small photos: any small photos will do, aim for faces about half an inch wide. I took some pics, shrunk them in photoshop and then sent the order to walgreens for printing. Wallets and mini wallet photos work well too, so will any crayon or pencil drawings.
Small charm sized photo frames: I found mine at the dreaded HobbsterLobbster, but most good art or craft stores will carry them.
Beads: Any kind you like. Special glass ones saved from broken antiques, alphabet beads for names w/pics, metal beads for balance. Visit a bead store and really find some you like, you don't need very many beads for this project and they should be small so you can splurge and get some you'll be proud to show off. Let you imagination run crazy!
Kiltpins: buy a pack of at least 3, after you make the first one, you'll want to make some of these for friends or family.
Headpins: get some that end with a pin head and some that end with a loop.
Jumprings: get a couple of sizes, figure 8 connectors will work as well.
Tools: a 3-in-1 jewelers pliers (with the rounded tips) will work fine, but a full kit would have some very small needle-nosed pliers, a flush cutter, and a pair of jewelers pliers (round tips).
Something to seal in the photos: Anything that will become transparent when dry will work well. The frames may come with some small clear plastic disks for this purpose, but these seem to gather dirt and eventually get lost, taking the photo with them. I like Liquitex Glazing medium, but plain clear nailpolish will work fine.

Making your photo charms:

The charms come in 3 pieces (usually). A frame, a small white backing piece, and a clear plastic piece. When you have your photos ready, use one of the small backing disks to trace a circle around the face of your subject.

Cut out the photo, insert it into the frame. Add all the pictures to all your frames now.

Now very carefully, dip a paintbrush into the glazing medium/clear nail polish/sealant of your choice and drop a big glob on the middle of the picture inside the frame. Carefully spread it around so that it covers the entire picture and fills up the frame a little bit. The stuff will be cloudy, but after a few hours that will change.

Add another smaller glob if you need to. Later after this coating is dry, you can add more coats for protection. A few thin coats is much better than one very thick one.

Useful stuff, pricey but lots of applications.

Creating the beaded danglers:

Now for the fun! You should have several nice little "cameos", a kilt pin, some loose beads, headpins, and some idea of what you'd like to do. Here is how to make the little hanging bits that add personality to your personalities in the frames.

Add your beads to a headpin with a loop.

Bend the headpin wire around the round pliers, leaving a little room between the beads and the pliers. We will need to wrap the wire around this area to finish the loop.

Using your fingers, wind the end around the wire between the loop and the beads.

Holding the loop with your pliers, use the cutters to nip off the extra wire as close as your can to the wound part. If you have a 3-in-one tool, you can hold the charm with your fingers while you cut, just be extremely careful.

TA DA! Finished your dangler!

Headpins are handled the same way, just go back to step one and you'll end up with a very similar lovely thing.

Attaching with Jumprings:
First off, if you need really securely attached charms. No judgement on your personal habits, just saying. . . Anyway, they make wonderful double rings that are made and work very similarly to tiny keychain rings. These take a bit more patience, but could be worth your time. Also, there are figure 8 connectors that can be more secure. Look around the shop where your buy your supplies, ask for help. Learning is growing.
Here is how to attach with a simple jumpring.

Open the jumpring by twisting it sideways, not by pulling it apart.

Add your charm, place the charm and the ring onto the pin and then twist the ring closed again. I usually overlap my ends, but there are lots of schools of thought on this. IF you can make your rings ends meet again with no light shining through, then by all means, work your magic. Its easier to attach the charms to the dangles before attaching the dangles to the pin.

Now you should have a well-attached, handmade, sparkly charm.

Check that the ring is on well before going on to the next dangler or charm. The charms could be attached with rings, or added to the danglers during the loop making shown a few steps back.

As you practice these techniques you'll soon find shortcuts and new creative ways to highlight your beads and your talent. These simple charms will make nice necklaces, dangle-y bracelets, keychains, or just about anything that you'd like to add your favorite beads too.

GOOD LUCK!

WannaMakeSumtingCool? Magnetic Chalkboard Calendar

2009-06-24T22:12:00.011-05:00

Busy? Kids keep getting dropped off at the wrong activities? Then this may be a good little weekend project. It combines the flexibility of a magnet board with the style and simplicity of a chalkboard. Here's what you need (basically):

a large magnetic bulletin board I found one at Walmart for about $7. Size does matter, get one as large as you dare. You'll want lots of room to write.

Chalkboard paint This is available at Home Depot or even most craft stores. I bought the rustoleum brand because it seemed the most durable. You will need a few coats and probably a little extra for other projects you think of while working on this one
Paint pens Get whatever color you'd like your grid and numbers/letters to be.

Something to make a frame out of I just used some old molding I had (painted yellow in the pic). Then used some 1/2" square dowels to keep the board in the frame (painted red).

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Magnets To use for your dates/months. You could just write these in with different colors of chalk if you wanted to, or draw the days in with the paint pens. I used some old wooden decorator elements and then glued them to blank magnets. The numbers and letters were done with stampers and paint pens.

How to start:
1. Paint your board, it should take 3 or 4 good coats to get a thick coating that will stand up to use. Follow the directions on the can for drying times. If you've bought a metal board with a dry erase coating, you may need to wipe it with mineral spirits or use some fine grit sandpaper to roughen the surface so that the chalkboard paint will adhere better.

2. While the board is drying, start building your frame. Use a miter box and saw, the inner dimension of your molding frame should match the outer dimension of your board. Measure twice, cut once! A few good staples on each corner from a staple gun will be enough to hold together. Try to square your frame up as much as possible, the board will help with this. I left the molding open to the front, glued in the board, then glued in the square dowels to hold the board inside the frame. Paint the frame and set it aside when you are happy with it.

3. After the paint on the board has dried, mark out your grid. You will need 6 rows(5 weeks and room for the month name) and 7 columns(days of the week). FIRST, measure how much of the board will be covered by your frame or dowels and mark this off. Now measure the board that will be inside the frame. Divide those measurements by 6 or 7 , and that should tell you how far apart to make your guide marks. You can do this as a portrait view or landscape, whichever you prefer. Use a yardstick and a pencil and draw out your grid completely. Make sure the spacing looks even and that you are happy with it.

4. Using the paint pen, trace the grid lines. Use the yardstick or a quilting ruler. Go slowly so the lines will be nice and dark and even. Let one direction dry before drawing the other direction. After the paint pen grid is good and dry, cover the entire board with chalk lines, then erase. This is an important part of "seasoning" the chalkboard.

5. Work on your date/month magnets. These can be simple or elaborate, but they do seem to give this board its personality. Put some real thought into how well you can fit this into your decor. You can make magnets for kids names, or chores, or icons for birthdays, holidays. Make your days or months in spanish or sign language symbols. You are the designer and this is where your personality can really shine.

6. Glue the board into the frame. I used tacky glue for this, choose a durable glue that has worked well in the past. I wouldn't use hot glue because it will probably cool before you can get everything stuck well. Make sure there is enough of a "lip" on the frame for the chalk to rest.

7. Once the board is dried in the frame, you can add hangers and a wire to the back. I usually use soda can tabs, nailed into the frame and a wire strung between them.

If you stuck with it, you should now have a gridded board, glued to frame, ready to hang on the wall. STOP, add your magnets and your notes now. It's just easier now than after its on the wall.

This system works well because it can be hung in a central location where all family members can see what is planned for the day and week. Things can be easily added and cancellations can be erased.

Good luck!

WannaMakeSumtingCool? Nuts and Bolts Chess

2009-04-29T13:05:00.018-05:00

This project should result is an easy, fun, and durable chess set with pieces that can be easily replaced. This one is for use on our outdoor chess table and was made specifically for my 8 yr old boy.

To make things easy, I will give you my shopping list. When you get to the hardware dept. you will find a huge array of pieces. Let your creativity run wild. This is just what I used to produce this set and when you get to the store you may find other things you like better, and be prepared to spend some time finding and fitting things. The assembly stage will be much quicker than the gathering of materials. I based my set off 1/4 in. coarse thread pieces of hardware.

At least 32 1/2"-13 coarse thread hex nuts
At least 32 1/4" cap nuts
4 - 1/4"-20 3" round head machine screws
4 - 1/4" 3" eye bolts
4 - 1/4" hooks (clothesline hooks work well, these will have to be cut with bolt cutters to size)
4 - 1/4"-20 1 1/2" round head machine screws
16 - 1/4" 1" course thread hex bolts
4 - #12 finishing washers
4 - smaller flat washers
2 - wider flat washers
box of 100 coarse thread 1/4" hex nuts
8 - 5/16" lock washer, ext. tooth
4 - 1/4"-20 coarse thread wing nut
Good epoxy, use the two ingredient kind that dries fairly quickly. You should only need one package of this.
Spray paint

First step:
Insert a cap nut into a 1/2" hex nut. Turn the nut over so you can see the round part of the cap nut and apply a small amount of epoxy.

A note about Epoxy: It is nasty nasty stuff, smells bad, toxic as heck, not for use by any child, no matter how competant. Use it outside, away from any pets or where small children can get at it. Mix your epoxy very well or it will not set up hard enough.

Mix up a little bit of epoxy at first, it will become hard to work with quickly. Do all cap nuts and 1/2" hex nuts this way. These are the bases for your pieces and will keep them from toppling over while you play. Be neat with your epoxy and don't use to much or your pieces will not stand up straight.
ALLOW THE EPOXY 24 HOURS TO SET UP BEFORE YOU SCREW THE PIECES INTO THE BASES.

Second step:
Creating pawns. Pawns are made from a 1" hex bolt and a few nuts. The exact number is up to you. I used 1 nut per bolt. Do this for 16 bolts.

Third step:
Creating Rooks or Castles. Take a 1 1/2" machine screw, add a finishing washer. If you want it to look like mine, put the washer on upside down. Add a nut, skip some space, add 3 more nuts. Do this for 4 bolts.

Fourth step:
Creating knights. Knights could be just about anything. I really liked the idea of the hooks as horse heads, but feel free to use whatever you prefer. I bought clotheline hooks and then used a bolt cutter to make them slightly taller than my rooks and shorter than my bishops. For easier threading of nuts, before you cut the bolt place a nut all the way up the bolt. Then cut, then use a wrench to remove the nut. This will repair the bolt threads after the cutting. Once I cut the hooks, I added a wing nut and a hex nut. Do this for four hooks.

Fifth step:
Creating bishops. I used eye bolts for my bishops because they reminded me of bishops croziers, but you could use any bolt that had a sort of imaginative head on it. Bishops are powerful pieces so they can get a little more "arty" than rooks and knights. I used a 3" eye bolt and even though my royal pieces were 3", this gave the bishops a better proportion than using shorter bolts. Put a hex nut on, then a lock washer, then another hex nut. Do this for four eye bolts.

Sixth step:
Creating the royals. I used 3" round head machine screws because I wanted to be able to screw pieces all the way to the top. You should have 4 of these type screws. For kings I added a smaller flat washer, wider washer, smaller washer, then a hex nut. Skip some space, add 2 more nuts, skip space, add 2 more nuts. You should make 2 king this way.
Queens call for more panache. To your machine screw add 1 upside down finishing washer, one lock washer, and one wing nut. Skip some space, add a nut, skip more space add a nut and so on. You should have 2 queens.

Seventh step:
After you assembled your pieces and waited a good 24 hours for your epoxy to harden, you can begin screwing all the pieces into the cap nuts glued into the 1/2" nuts that form the bases. You may have to adjust some of your hex nuts to get the right look. In the end you should have 32 pieces that stand up fairly well to hard use, outdoor play, and offer adequate representation of a finer chess set.

Eighth step:
Decoration. I just spray painted mine with rustoleum according to what my son suggested. But the options are really limited by your imagination. Craft stores sell all types of paints that can give your set any look you wish, aged, precious metals,
pearlescent, and if you don't like that set, make another!

Collections: Getting it Together

2009-04-29T12:19:00.004-05:00

Antiques Roadshow has helped convince us that we may all be sitting on goldmines. Truth is that most collections are pretty useless, or at least not as valuable as space and comfort. I think one of the reasons that people hold onto so much stinkin' stuff is that they believe it has a value. Its "paid its way" into their houses, so to speak. Most cluttered houses have a stack of things somewhere which are all of the same relative type. If you ask the owner, they will say it is their collection. Not that I am anti-collection, it's just that calling something a collection seems to become an easy excuse for accumulation. These are my questions everytime I find a bunch of stuff that I've been moving from home to home over the years. It has helped me let go of so much garbage:

-What is your plan for these items? Sell later? Pass down? Will I be unduly burdening someone else with this stuff?

-Can I display this in my home? Are these nice to look at? Do they tell a story?

-Do I still need or want to use these things? China, books, and toys fall into this category.

_Is this organized? Do I know what I have? Can I view and enjoy these things without much hassle, do I enjoy looking at these things often?

-If this is an investment item, what could I really get for it? Look it up on ebay, see what its going for and then subtract shipping, listing fees. Most items, even very old things are totally worthless.

-If this stuff was given to me, is it something I really love, or am I hanging onto it because of attachment to the person who gave it. Maybe instead of keeping the entire collection of pinecone animals, I keep my favorite.

-How long am I legitimately prepared to keep this? Will it go to the nursing home with me?

The above pic is my fiesta collection. It started as a wedding present from my husband, and has grown over the years. I can display it, I can use it, it does have some monetary value, and I can pass it down (if any of my kids are interested, that is). So it meets my criteria for a collection to be kept. We are keeping a collection of family quilts that do see some use during the year, my husband has a small coin collection that he rarely pulls out but he does keep it organized and it does have value.

All things have a weight, emotional and physical. I have thrown away a tshirt collection that was packed up in boxes, sold a living dead dolls collection which couldn't be displayed or played with by my children, given away an entire bookshelf of books, donated a collection of bluebird items, amish hex signs, copper jello molds, and a tea set to my local thrift shop. I don't miss any of it and I'm glad to know someone else is probably enjoying it where I was just storing it.

The Clutter Effect: Getting it Together

2009-01-28T21:34:00.006-06:00

I think most people want the same thing from our homes, good light, harmonious colors, convenient access to tools and entertainment, a clean area to eat and prepare food, and a relaxing, quiet place to sleep. So why are most homes miles away from this?

My 2 cents follows: We go shop, out of boredom. We buy things we may not use enough to justify a place in the house. We cannot throw it away because that would admit that we'd wasted our time and money. And in some bigger way, it refutes our entire consumerist culture. In the end, its just easier to keep it around then sort through and dispose of it. Clutter wastes money by making it unclear what I really have or need, it wastes my time by placing itself between me and my chores and hobbies.

Clutter situations that are stressful:

-Guilt about not living in a healthy safe home.

-Unfinished projects piling up, begging for free time.

-Its hard to clean up around all the clutter so visitors aren't invited in or around because the mess is embarrassing.

-Trying to work around clutter makes every job more time consuming and difficult.

-Emotional attachment to things that deprive us of a peaceful and relaxing home.

So once I get all this cleaning done, I'm hoping for a more organized, spacious and zen-like space. The journey continues!

Stuffed Animals: Getting it Together

2009-01-24T20:20:00.004-06:00

My kids are like possession vegans, they can't throw away anything with a face. Dolls and stuffed animals outnumber humans 1000 to 1. They had run over onto my daughters closet floor, and my son has an animal bin the size of a subcompact car. So being the mean mom I am, I decided we needed to make a change.

Problem:

-Saved every toy every given, from happy meal freebie to teddy bear bestowed on day of birth.

-Animals are dusty, neglected, no one plays with them out of fear of disturbing the precisely stacked pile.

-Kids can no longer properly clean because animals take up most of the closet space and are beginning to gather junk in corners.

-Too sentimental about inanimate objects, this is the big lesson in giving up things you don't use that clutter your space.

Solution:

-We took every animal out of the bins and looked them over, any that were free or meaningless were automatically out.

-Then we decided on a fair amount to dispose of. We decided on getting rid of a quarter of the animals and dolls that were left.

-Kids got to keep 3 animals for every one they put in the "away" pile.

This worked like a charm with fewer than expected tears, the kids discovered old friends and began to play with their animals again and they were able to clean them up when they were through playing.

If you decide to do an animal clean-out, call your local police department. Ours appreciates donations of stuffed animals in good condition. They take them along on domestic violence calls where children are involved.

Clothes: Getting it Together

2009-01-19T22:50:00.003-06:00

Clothes are mostly clutter. They really are! How often do I wear that? When am I actually going to fit into that? Why am I hanging onto that? Clothes are such an impulse item for me, and they do stack up, take money, take space, take energy to deal with.

The Problem:
-Closet is full, wardrobe is full, there are 2 boxes of clothes in the bottom of the closet that I haven't unpacked from our move 3 years ago. Drawers are full too.

-Redundant clothing, 8 pairs of black leggings. These are a workout staple, but I keep buying because I don't know how many I have or what condition they are in.

-Emotional connections to clothes, I bought this there, or wore this when. . .

-Wearing the same sets of sloppy ts and "easy" clothes when I have nicer stuff buried somewhere.

Solution:

-Separate bottoms from tops. Bottoms in my half of the closet. Tops in the wardrobe. This really allows me to keep track of what I have, what color it is, and what season its meant for.

-Get rid of all "free" clothing. I threw out all the t-shirts I've gotten at various bike rides and events, and all clothing given to me that I don't wear.

-If I can't wear it at my current size, I am throwing it out. No more skinny clothes, if I get down to a size 8, I'll treat myself with new duds.

-Throw out most of the painted, stained clothing that I wear while doing housework. I'll keep 2 shirts and 2 pants. If I work more days between wash days than that, I'll just wear them dirty.

-Make a shopping list for clothes, no more perusing the clearance aisle for fun.

-Throw out all the drawer clutter, unsexy undies, unmatched socks, uncomfortable pajamas, they gotta go.

-If it doesn't look good on me, its going away. Nothing old, worn out, and if it has some sort of emotional connection it is automatically suspicious. A closet is not a scrapbook.

My clean out went really well, I got rid of tons of stuff. I didn't take it to the goodwill because I heard that about 80% of the clothes they receive are actually unsellable and they just have to throw them out. Instead they went in the rag bag in the garage so hubby and I can use them for messy jobs and throw them out.

My closet and wardrobe are so clean now. . . my first reaction was that I needed more clothes. There was no way this was enough, but its FINE! A wardrobe full of tops is enough for anyone. I've got a new rule: one in, one out. Whatever new I buy, something from the existing collection goes.

Small change but a huge time saving each day, plus money will be saved if I'm not buying things I can't really use.

Storage Containers: Getting it together

2009-01-13T22:14:00.004-06:00

Martha would gag and die at my house. I have kids, a baby and a dog, the dirty house triple threat. So this blog is not my manifesto for higher housekeeping, it's just some simple ways I've found to make things easier and carve out a little inner peace.

The problem:
-Trying to put away the leftover spaghetti was making me old before my time.

-Couldn't find lids to fit. Bowls were stained, melted, pitiful.

-Disposables mixed up with nice lock-n-locks, mixed up with really nice stuff my aunt bought at Sharper Image, I didn't know what all I had.

-I was unnecessarily hanging onto a bunch of tupperware items that I NEVER USED. You know the story, they were expensive, they seemed so useful, the onion keeper, the pickle keeper, lunchmeat keeper. Great ideas except that onions go fine into ziplocs, pickles come in jars, and lunchmeat becomes mystery meat if you take it out of its wrapper.

Solution:
-Take every damn thing out of the cabinet.

-Keep only good quality stuff, freebies that came with other stuff in it can probably go away now.

-If it doesn't have a lid, it doesn't deserve to stay. Find some way to store the lids separately from the bowls. It does make life easier.

-Disposables that stack together are better than those that don't.

-Keep no more items then you would conceivably use in a week. Remember that you will do dishes and just so much will fit in the fridge anyway.

-If you haven't used that thing (hello tupperware) since you bought it, let it go. Craigslist it if you have to, but get it out of there. It's wasting your space and tying you down with guilt. The next time you go to one of those parties, offer to buy a piece FOR your hostess, she's obviously into the stuff, right?

-Put things you use most often towards the front, bigger (but still useful) things towards the back. I don't believe in cutting your storage supply to the bone, I mean, I may only use that cake carrier once a year, but when I need it, I need it.

-Recycle. 99% of these don't have to see a landfill.

GOOD LUCK! Here are some before and after shots:

Getting my act together

2009-01-12T22:12:00.003-06:00

For the next few posts I am going to be going through my home and cleaning specific clutter points. Nothing fancy, just a systematic organization of places where things have gotten out of hand. We've usually moved by this point so I think maybe I've just missed a good cull or two, but no excuses. Stuff must leave or I will go totally barking, snot-slinging crazy. Tune in.

Closet Toy Mom

2008-10-06T09:30:00.005-05:00

Wow, that title came out quite a bit racier than I expected. But whats on my mind today is indeed embarrassing and rarely discussed. I really love going to toys r us as much as my kids do. Its true, for a long time I have been the one secretly assembling the legos, and playing video games (I am the nazi ace on Blazing Angels, sorry I had to lie to you, Son), a few years back it was redressing and rearranging barbies ("maybe they did it on their own, Dear?" sorry, Pook, that was a lie too) Oh the shame, and I really don't have any intention of stopping. At this point it would probably be psychologically dangerous anyway.

I've got a new fave. They are called Funkeys. Originally I bought the starter set because it was on sale and one kid or the other had been wanting it. So like a fool, I plugged it in, and got it installed before kids arrived home from school. SO FUN! A few hours pass and things were starting to freeze up and stop working in the game, so I called customer support and sat on hold for 20 minutes. I can tell you that at this point I knew I was hooked on Funkeys and it would probably be a dramatic scene if they couldn't fix my malfunctioning setup. But luckily, the support person on the other line seemed to have heard this before and promised to rush me a new copy of the install. Praises be! And as we were talking she intimated to me that she actually played the Funkeys more than her kids did. In fact, her household was a lot like mine. It was such a comfort to hear this, I thought about how brave she must have been to admit that to a total stranger, I had been the beneficent of true customer support. Then I was instantly envious of what could only be her huge Funkey collection, probably full of employee exclusives, probably lots of cool online Funkey worlds that only insiders get to see.

Stupid lady. . . . stupid Funkeys. . .

hmmmm. . that was bad, probably should start gardening or scrapbooking or doing some normal mom hobbies, devoting my free time to things I don't really care about so I can neglect them and feel guilty about not completing them.

Nah, too late to grow up now. VIVA LA FUNKEYS!

Dumpster Dollhouse

2008-10-02T13:58:00.004-05:00

This has to be the coolest thing I've ever pulled out of the trash. When I was taking my son to school this morning I passed a house that was being gutted and this was on the curb with lots of other stuff. I asked if the family still wanted it, they said no. It had been damaged and they didn't want to fix it.

As best I can tell, it just needs a new turret, a few pieces replaced and some paint work. It still has all its windows and doors. They've done some really cool brickwork along the bottom. Someone put some real time into this house and I'm glad to give it a new life. If anyone out there has any info on the brand or name of this house, I'd appreciate it. As we fix it, I will post pics.

Laptop Lunches: The Silverware Dilemma

2008-09-30T22:00:00.005-05:00

Hello everyone in lunchland,

We survived IKE and the kids went back to school so the lunch routine is in full swing again. Here is a link to my IKE pics:

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=52043&l=ccf96&id=715117465

(Just in case you weren't sick of the 24/7 coverage on CNN) We didn't have it bad and I'm happy to say things are just about back to normal around here.

Now back to lunch, sadly, we've lost some of our original laptop lunchbox silverware. Apparently no one threw any away or lost any, it just evaporated. I checked on the laptop lunchbox site to buy some more, and unfortunately they were sold out. So I headed off to target to buy some disposable stuff to tide us over. As a lot of you laptop lunchers know, regular silverware is too long to fit into the utensil slot on your lunchbox. I was really not happy with the disposable option either but the kids needed to eat their yogurt and straws just seemed wrong.

While I was at the store, I found Zoopals plastic ware. It fits in the utensil space of the lunchboxes, costs about $5 for a set of 12, and its kinda cute.

The set consists of knives, forks, and spoons molded into animal shapes. It seems to survive the silverware basket in the dishwasher OK, and the kids haven't lost one piece yet. But if they do, who cares? Much less drama than losing the good laptop lunchbox set.

By all means, buy the good stuff if you can. But if you stuck without your true laptop lunch silverware, or if you just have kids who seem to lose and forget their nice silverware, this is a very livable option. Its also recyclable after its useful life is over.

Now I bet your wondering what's for lunch around here.

Bologna and laughing cow on kaiser rolls

Butterscotch pudding with chocolate animal crackers

Tangerine and carrots

Half a chex mix bar and some Halloween candy

and yes, those are zoopal spoon and fork in the boxes.

Chow for now!

Back in the saddle again

2008-08-08T16:03:00.003-05:00

OK, where the hell have I been? I mean seriously. I looked at my blog page and realized I've not posted in 6 months?!? Too much real life getting in the way. So here's a rundown:

Kids finished school with no mishaps, fine grades, etc.

Recitals went well.

Summer drug along and then of course we had another child.

She's a little sweetie, but she's both nocturnal and marsupial at this point so not much gets accomplished in a day.

Today was my first day back with old friends and functions. Everyone met baby and cooed appropriately. I was supposed to bring brownies to the party today, but I sat down to feed and burned them. Oh well, life continues.

I promise this will not turn into a whiny blog that only deals with sore nipples and the obsession that seems to grip new mothers - is the child developing normally?- This will continue to contain the same nonsense and helpful lunch hints that it always has.

My oldest daughter is off to sail for a weekend, so me and son are home doing whatever. Maybe we'll build some legos, maybe we'll go to the beach. We could make a picnic and take some legos to the beach. . . nah. Maybe we'll just stay home and catch up on those thank you notes.

I almost wish people wouldn't give us baby gifts, just so I don't have to write a thank you note, or at least feel the guilt of not writing a thank you note. I know what's right, I know what proper etiquette is, and yes I do get pissed when people just email to say "hey thanks". So I'm off to hallmark to find appropriate overpriced cards, think of sincere sounding praise for the 10th set of baby towels and wash cloths I've recieved, and then attach a stamp so it can travel across town to someone I see on a near-daily basis. OK, that sounded whiny. Sorry, I'll do better next time.

THANKS so much for reading my blog. I can't tell you what a nice surprise it was to watch my feedburner counter go up by 1. Little (insert baby name) will enjoy hearing from you, so please stop by when you can. Love, hoppers and family

Laptop Lunches: Tips on packing

2008-02-13T14:06:00.006-06:00

I broke down and bought 2 more laptop lunchboxes. It was just too much of a hassle to clean each container each night for the next day. And they weren't really getting a proper run through the dishwasher often enough. So we sprung for a set in black and red and a set in pink and fuschia. Forget about keeping the small containers straight. That plan went out the window the first day. I just try not to put too many pink and purple containers into my sons lunch. Speaking of, on the first day of the new black/pink sets, I got them mixed up. Yep, my son came home to tell me that he had to tell all his friends it was his sisters lunch box (lest they think he'd developed an affinity for pink, perish the thought)

In an earlier post, I had mentioned that laptop lunches take a little more thought and probably effort than a typical baggie lunch. I will share a few of my ideas and hopefully anyone who is thinking of trying this can find a little help.

First off, no matter what the laptop lunch people say, a regular sized sandwich will not fit in the large container. Or at least no sandwich bread I've tried will allow this. So an easy option is to use cookie cutters to make the sandwiches smaller and cuter. You should be able to minimize waste by strategically placing the ingredients between the bread. A second, more creative option, is to use alternative breads. I made 6 "mini" ham and cheese sandwiches out of one long french roll a few days ago. Wraps cut into 1" pieces make fun "whirls". Crackers, tortillas, and cheese balls can be added for a variety in sizes and colors.

DO: Try out fun shapes. Pieces of fruit, cheese, meat, bread can all withstand cutting with an average metal cookie cutter. This also makes the most of room while making things look yummy.

DO: Place "messy" sandwiches (like the chicken salad above) into cupcake cups to keep things neat on the way to school

DO: Make a few jellos on Monday night, with some fruit, to use during the week (see pic on the right, strawberry lychee jello under press n seal)

DO: Make sure there is a good combination of savory and sweet items. I think kids eat more if the tastes contrast slightly.

DO: Make sure kiddos are getting lots of calcium if they are not having milk with lunch. Hard cheeses, yogurt, even pudding are good bets even for picky kids.

DO: Buy carrots already cut into matchsticks or "mini" carrots. Buy an apple slicer. You can even get celery already cut into sticks. Small grape tomatos are easy to add, and require no prep besides washing. This will make your packing much quicker and provide interesting veg for lunches.

DO: Fill all your containers and then add them to the big box. This will save you counter space while working and help you keep track of who's getting what, i.e. son likes tomatos, so blue container gets tomato, daughter likes cheese, sandwiches in pink container have cheese.

DO: Use lemon juice or Fruit Fresh (found with the canning supplies in most grocery stores) on apples, pears, avocados, etc. Browned fruit may taste the same, but often kids will shy away from it.

DON'T: Waste food if you don't have too. This goes back to the creativity idea. Above I cut strawberries into star shapes, the extra pieces were stirred into the plain yogurt for flavor. Leftover chicken mcnuggets taste fine cold the next day. Extra rice from dinner? Add sugar, milk and cinnamon and have a "rice pudding" dessert ready for lunches.

DON'T: Pack canned fruit in a container without a lid or some press n seal. No matter if its been drained and thoroughly dried, this stuff just liquifies during the day and will ruin everything else in the box.

DON'T: Assume lunch is OK if no one says anything negative. I regularly ask the kids what worked and what didn't. I get some surprising answers like, "Instead of PBJ can we just have ants on a log next time?" I don't want anyone to drive themselves crazy trying to please their kids, but its probably better to pack what they'll eat rather than what's just easy.

DON'T: Worry if something gets left/lost/thrown away at school. If you call the laptop lunch company, they can provide you with replacement containers quite reasonably from extra stock.

Happy packing!

Of Feline Bondage

2008-02-08T13:49:00.000-06:00

We are on day 4 of the cat's quarantine and while I've never really liked cats and never cared for this one especially, I found myself feeling a bit sorry for him this afternoon. I went upstairs to his cell (also known as the upstairs bath) and gave him some food. I thought I'd close off the outer part of the bath so he could roam a little farther but he stopped in the doorway and wouldn't come out. It makes me wonder what he's done for 4 days in a 6x6' room. I guess he just eats and fills the litterbox up. He's as calm as a Buddhist monk so I don't think he's experiencing any feline stress. I talked to him for a little bit and fed him, and he even rubbed my leg. Which he doesn't do. . . I think it could be Stockholm syndrome.

Did I break a mirror or walk under a ladder or something?

2008-02-05T19:05:00.000-06:00

Things just got a bit stranger at Hedgehog Hill today. At 8 am my nieghbor on the other side (not the crazy kids/dog poop people) came to the door to tell us that our cat had snuck into their house last night and bitten his wife on the hand. She was going to have to get antibiotics and animal control had to get involved since it was an animal bite. My thought "I guess this was the wrong week to stop sniffin glue"

This is the nasty old outdoor cat that adopted us two houses ago and has hung around with little to no care and irregular feedings, but on paper he is our cat. My neighbor and the animal control lady needed his shot record. His what? I'm sorry, you must have us mistaken for responsible owners. So the original verdict was that our cats head would need to be cut off and sent to A and M for diagnosis. This has mellowed to an in-house quarantine for 10 days. So we have Mr. Grimmy locked in an upstairs bathroom for the next week and a half, checking him for frothing of the mouth or other Cujoesque behaviour.

Oh that, and the plumber came back today and found that we had a water leak in the pipe in the mudroom. He had fixed an upstairs toilet last week thinking that was the problem, it wasn't. So now we have no sheetrock in the mud room, and new PVC pipe overhead. We were lucky here, they found a junction. For a while this morning it looked like all the galvanized pipe in our house was going to have to be removed and replaced. Oh joy, the kids just love peeing in the yard. So hopefully the plumbing drama is over, the kitchen faucet has now ceased working for some reason, but that minor and I wanted a new one anyway. Time to count some blessings before I start shopping for accelerant and plausible arson scenarios.

Good Offenses Make the Best Neighbors

2008-02-03T13:32:00.000-06:00

Here's an interesting little tale of revenge for everyone. We had a sleepover here on Friday, 2 other adults stayed with about 15 kids.

I have these neighbors, not the ones with the eternal brick mailbox problem, but the ones next door with the kids that run wild, and the rotten wood everywhere, no lawn and a lake when it rains. And they often leave for the evening and let their children go nuts. After several boughts of ringing the doorbell and running away, we thought he was done for the night.

The next morning, my friend went out to her van to discover it had been shaving creamed. Completely unprovoked, other than the fact that we had a house full of girls and the neighbor kid wanted some attention I guess. So upon discovering this, I tried to knock on the door and tell the kid to clean it off. All three grown women, my husband and my son are all outside helping my friend clean her van, we're all taking turns knocking in the door. The kid is apparently inside, not willing to face the music. So then I had a flash of genius. I picked up one of the dog turds that their cocker spaniel leaves on my sidewalk just about daily (why shit on a sidewalk? What sort of dog is this?) and I deposited it on their front porch. Just nice way of saying, I know what you did, thanks, here's a present for you.

Well, the mother of the family stomps over today and demands to know why 3 adult women would put poop on a doorstep. I proceeded to tell her that there was more to the story. She didn't seem to believe that her kid could do such a thing. And after much arrogant preaching about how immature and unmannerly the poop-on-the-doorstep was, she finally went home. About 5 minutes later, the kid comes to apologize. I told him he needed to stop with the mischief before it got worse, and that he wasn't going to get away with doing stuff (READ: I'm older and smarter than you, and I have pranks you can't even imagine)

Green Lunches: Son reviews Laptop Lunchbox

2008-02-01T09:06:00.001-06:00

One thing that I've learned about our new laptop lunches is that normal lunch food doesn't always fit. Oh, I shouldn't say that, it fits, just not like your used to. Here is my first grader sons fave lunch:
hot dog
grapes and carrot shreds
pudding with "honey bees"
and cheddar bunnies

He ate all of this food, complaining only that the grapes were sour. This is really great considering that he complains about everything constantly. His review follows:

"You make good lunches Mom, I figured out how to open the lid but it took a little while."

"The silverware was good, I used the spoon for pudding and the fork for grapes"

"The hotdog was kinda frozen. I ate it anyway, but I don't like them frozen."

So, I am thinking that the cold pack must chill the food a little too well. I'm not sure how to combat this, as the pudding really needs the ice pack, but I agree with the frozen hot dog comment. YUCK.

The Nalgene bottles arrived and work really well. The only prob is that without a "lunch kit" that contains everything, the kids are using the water bottle throughout the day and then leaving it at school. I'm sure my daughter has several amoeba cultures thriving in her locker by now. So to remedy this, I went to Bass Pro Shop (yes, this is Texas in case you were wondering) and bought some small mesh drawstring bags. These were about $4 and so far so good. They are really easy to clean as well.

So what is my synopsis of the whole laptop lunch kit thing? Well, I have to say I really like this design as long as you are willing to make accomodations for it being really different from the usual way of making kids lunches. And you will need to rethink your present lunch kits or else buy the whole kit from the laptop lunch website. Its a great product for kids, I think it allows them more choices for lunch and they seem to like the way its presented. Here's my only warning, parents:
You will have to get a little more creative with what you pack. I handful of chips, a sandwich and a fruit roll up looks pretty sad in those snazzy lunchboxes. I have found two websites extremely helpful:

Bento Corner - This mom lives in Japan and makes really unbelievable lunches. I can't really strive to this level of cuteness or creativity, but its a good starting point.

Lunch in a Box - This is a long-running bento blog with great practical hints for fitting things together and acheiving some really appealing lunches.

A few of these hints go a long way to making the food look good, and you learn that you can really fit a lot more into a compartment than you might think. Good luck with your lunch endeavours!

Green Lunches: Daughter reviews the laptop lunchbox

2008-01-25T17:37:00.000-06:00

Today was the debut of the laptop lunchbox for my middle-schooler. Here's what I packed:
Little Smokies
quesadilla shaped like a duck and egg
apples and grapes
veggie crisps
yogurt with granola

I know its not exactly the health food suggested by the laptop lunchbox book, but I was a little worried about doing too much too soon.

Her comments about the lunchbox follow:

"I liked how no food got mixed up or smushed together, it all stayed neat. Nothing was crammed into the lunch box."

"The real silverware was really good, not the plastic kind that breaks apart."

"I didn't have to make sure I didn't throw away something important. I didn't have to sort the trash. I could just bring it home."

Her only negative comment was:

"I wish it had a strap on it so I could carry it more easily."

So I guess my new quest is to find some sort of bag that can be washed to carry the laptop lunchbox, the bento sleeve, and a nalgene bottle of water to the lunchroom in style. Wasn't this supposed to make everything easier?

Stay tuned, the 6 year old reviews on Monday.

Green Lunches: The Boxes Arrive

2008-01-24T16:55:00.000-06:00

After a lot of looking and searching for some better alternative to bags and bottles, I found only one real competitor. The laptop lunchbox was an easy winner for convenience, size and materials. I also ordered some small flip top nalgene bottles to help end our use of the disposable unflouridated type.

After looking though their website, I discovered that I didn't have to purchase the whole $40 setup at once. Instead I bought 2 kits that contained only the laptop lunchboxes themselves, not the whole carrying case/water bottle setup which almost halved the price. I also purchased the "bento sleeves" and its a good turn that I did, read on.

I'd like to give some first impression pros and cons:

Pros:
These are tough! The materials seem like they could hold up to years of abuse. Really much better than I was expecting.

Bright colors, the kiddos will like this.

Made in America, so now worrying about recalls for lead, PCBs, etcs.

Nice book that came along with the sets, most ideas are good. Some of the recipes seem a little hard to swallow for kids.

Well designed as far as usefulness. The boxes seem large enough for a good lunch and some options for packaging and rearranging. The special silverware will come in handy, I know the kids don't really like eating everything with their hands.

Cons:
EXPENSIOSO! For even this "bargain" set up, it was $70. That's more than I spend in a year on baggies, lunch kits, ziploc containers, etc. The only real reason for doing this is for ecology and streamlining.

The lids. I'm a little worried about my first grader just giving up on opening the lids, mostly the smallest container. But if he gets mad and chucks it across the room, it will take the beating and then some.

These DO NOT fit in your standard sized lunch bag as suggested on the website. Of our four bags, only one will fit the laptop lunch and even then it won't fasten. Good thing I bought the sleeves.

WARNING: USE OF LAPTOP LUNCHBOXES COULD RENDER YOUR POKEBALL OBSOLETE!

So I guess its a "Pro" that we can get rid of the old lunch bags as the kids would often spill things inside. The bags would stink. The kids would complain. Mom would go crazy trying to get the smells out.

My daughter will be the guinea pig, she is taking her lunch tomorrow. My son declares that tomorrow is goulash day at school and he believes it to be the finest dish ever conceived.

Attempting Green Lunches

2008-01-17T09:03:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted, only because lifes been busy but not particularly interesting. I promised myself I woundn't post junk. So what's on my mind that needs a good posting? How about ecologically friendly lunches.

I'll explain: My two children take their lunches each day. It usually consists of about 5 or 6 things, most of which I pack in plastic baggies (keep proper separation and freshness) and then throw in a plastic (disposable) bottle of water. Well, I guess I hadn't noticed how much plastic our little lunch routine was consuming until I realized yesterday that I had gone through 5 (!!!) of those mondo packs of baggies so far and we're only half way through the year. I've actually switched to a cheaper brand because we use so many.

So my new quest is to find alternatives to baggies and bottled water and disposable spoons and napkins and such. I've looked at several sites, here is a good one for nalgene bottles, good, but pricey and really a kid only needs about 8 to 10 oz of water during lunch. There is also something called a laptop lunch, there is even a community of people on flickr who post pics of their lunches. But once again, these are about $40 a piece, and considering 2 kids and 2 boxes a piece (since one will always be in the washer) that comes to $160. My evil side says "That's a lot of baggies".

There are also bags and containers you can order that are made of corn. They cost about 10x what regular baggies cost and must be special ordered in large quantities. they are single use and will biodegrade or can be recycled, but really I'm so bent about the corn=gasoline/food=fuel thing that I can't entertain the thought of buying anything that is derived from corn right now. But that's a post for later.

My kids already have reusuable lunch boxes, but I am tempted by these stylish Swiss lunch boxes by a company called Sigg. Most of their stuff is aluminum and looks like it could survive the blitz.

I actually grew up using one of the first eco-friendly lunch boxes. Here's a pic:

I recieved this about 27 years ago, I took it to kindergarten and everyday after that til 3rd grade when I rebeled and insisted on a garfield lunchbox or I'd do without lunch and starve myself to death. This lunch kit was not a cool item, it had come from a tupperware party, it had no cartoons on it, and it was orange. But it was baggie-less, and indestructable and has stood the test of time. Tupperware still makes a nice lunch kit.

Its a shame that to be responsible lunch-wise is so expensive. Is ecology going to stay an elitest hobby? I hoped not, so I had to get creative. What were low cost options for reusable durable lunch containers that would keep things clean, fresh and appetizing enough to eat after 4 or 5 hours in a backpack.

My first idea was to use what I had, those ziploc containers:

The smaller ones were too big to fit into the kids regular lunchboxes, but they did fit nicely into the largest ziploc box. But honestly, this thing would not see the light of day at school. Its not cool, it looks sad. Like you lost your regular lunch kit and mom is punishing you with this crap.

There's some indian "tiffin" boxes for sale online. They are quite reasonable and they look sharp:

Their circumference is small though, it'd be a job getting a sandwich to fit in one. They are supposedly water tight, so maybe apples in one, sandwich in another, crackers share space with yogurt in the third? I don't know. There's also a problem with where to put the new ecologically responsible nalgene bottle and resusable silverware. I'm sure it works great if mom sends dal and pappadams.

The coolest lunch kits in the world have to be bento boxes from japan. They come in a million different shapes and each character is cuter than the next. They are colorful and have the anime thing going for them.

While my daughter would love this option, its been my experience that these are just large enough to hold a half cup of rice, one shrimp, and a hello kitty breath mint.

Have you noticed something about the options above? They are mostly from overseas. That bugs me. It seems like our culture embraced the baggies-n-bottled-water approach while other places were already concerned with waste, quietly reusing and recycling and not trying to be cool about it. Why can't American moms find these eco options in target? for $20 or less? I think most parents would chose the reusuable option if it was easy, practical, and wouldn't dip into the college fund. My search continues. I'll keep posting with new ideas and innovative concepts. Happy lunch, everyone!

Today Is My Birthday and some Blasphemy

2007-12-14T18:08:00.001-06:00

Today I am 32 and I'm doing fine, thanks. I received an email from a relative that said "a birthday wish" (click here). I was so happy. Then I clicked and it said something like "you are cordially invited to a birthday party for Jesus Christ, Dec. 25, etc. . . " I didn't even finish reading it, I just snarled and closed the email.

Then I felt bad that I had put my piddly b-day before Jesus' in my mind . . . and then I got over it. One good thing about your 30s is that you don't tend to dwell on things as long or take things as seriously as you did a few years back.
Jesus probably understands. Jesus was probably bummed that his birthday always fell so close to Hanukkah. . . . his parents probably just gave him a leftover b-day present wrapped in Hanukkah paper. I can hear the Blessed Virgin, "Hey Joe, don't throw those half-melted candles away, we can save 'em for Jesus' birthday cake."

Fedupwitdis: Lazy Neighbors Incomplete Mailbox

2007-11-29T10:47:00.000-06:00

This is the eyesore that has greeted Clovernook residents for half a year now. Supposedly its a mailbox. . .or will be. First, they stacked up bricks, then took them down. Then a few months later, they attempted to mortar them. Apparently they ran short of mortar. Then they covered it with black plastic. Looks a lot better, don't you think?

And this is how its looked for about the last 3 months. They seem woefully short of bricks and ambition and I am just tired of seeing this pile of shit each time I walk down the street or drive home. We live on a cul de sac so there is no escape. Granted they both work full time jobs, but hello, weekends? hire an illegal with bricklaying skills? SOMETHING! Do anything. Pick up the unused bricks and take them back inside, remove the plastic, just do something so the rest of us have some proof that this is not permanently affecting our house values.

Dollhaus: All Dressed Up and No Where to Live

2007-10-16T19:27:00.000-05:00

The dolls got their outfits today. Most of their clothes are glued together using a tube of stuff called "unique stitch: Sewing in a Tube". Let me advise anyone who is thinking of dressing their dolls in custom outfits. BUY THAT STUFF!! It will save you tons of aggravation and fiddly stitches that don't quite look to scale.

The most challenging part must have been trying to keep all the seams tucked under while the unique stitch dried. Inga's wimple was a bit of a challenge. I finally had to admit defeat with the linen fabric and use thin cotton jersey. While this is not period, I have no doubt that medieval women would have used cotton jersey if they'dve had the choice. Also, I commend all religious sisters out there, I don't know how you get your wimple on without a huge amount of tacky glue. Hans' hair is made of Liquitex Matte Super Heavy Gel and some brown acrylic paint. The most fun was their accessories, Inga's rosary is just some seed beads, her purse is a scrap of leather folded and glued. Hans' knife was a pewter charm on clearance at Hobby Lobby. His purse is some black leather and some embroidery floss.

In the pic, they are standing on the foundation of their house. Tomorrow me and Hubby are off to the dollhouse store for some flooring. Then hopefully the house can begin to take form.

Dollhaus: Wide Plank Oak Floor and Social Climbing

2007-10-13T18:43:00.000-05:00

Since I didn't get to the dollhouse store, I decided to work on the upstairs flooring. Now how did I do this? Well, first I used a wood burning pen to trace the "planks" and add nails, then I stained the floor with strong black tea. It gave the appropriate color. I finished up with a matte acrylic glaze sheerly for protection.

It seems like I am less and less able to find stuff for the house. This floor is a good example. There is no such animal as wide planked oak floors for dollhouses, but a medieval cottage would have certainly had them. I have also noticed that thatched roof cottages do not have smooth ceilings. Instead they have poles laid over a log frame. Another custom job.

On the bright side, I am very happy with this wood burning pen I bought. I have high hopes for decorated furniture since this style calls for lots of wood. Another lucky bit, I saw my old Medieval European History professor taking a stroll in my neighborhood. That means he must live close by and I shall plan an ambush. He was a nice and talkative guy, hopefully he'll have some pointers, particularly on clothing for Hans and Inga. . . I've found very little info on dress older than about 15th cent.

I've also come to the conclusion that Hans and Inga must come up a bit in the world. A peasant cottage seems to dull and dreary to really continue with. By all accounts, peasants would have slept on a cot on the floor and been lucky to have a table or bench to eat at. I was imagining something a bit more of a challenge as far as decor and style. So Hans has shed his agrarian roots for a position within a guild. . .doing something. . I haven't decided what yet. Inga eagerly awaits the prospect of a better wardrobe and the chance to avoid rickets.