Crosswords

Lately I've been a little obsessed with a new app on my phone...the New York Times Daily Crossword. I enjoy crossword puzzles, but I am not really fond of doing them alone. I am not clever, patient, and smart enough. Plus, I usually don't have a pencil handy.

But this app, oh my. You say "check this word" and it handily puts a big ol' X through whatever letters don't belong. So...yeah...I'm sort of a completionist, and this gives me an instant 'yay or nay', and...oh my. This is way more fun and mentally stimulating than, say, Farmville. Or so I imagine, as I don't actually play that game.

I consider myself a crossword padawan; I know some of the tricks and understand some of the language, but I am still learning and bumbling my way through. When I see a clue in the past tense, I remember my friend Steve explaining how that means the word is, too. See, I learned both an appreciation for crosswords and the interesting language of crosswords from him.

I first met Steve at church; and for a long time he was just my friend's dad. Steve and his wife ran a non-profit bookstore/coffee shop for a time, whose profits went into a local parachurch ministry that supported local churches and various outreaches, including homeless ministry. Steve really had a heart for the lost and forgotten in the city, and was quite the perfect one to run the shop. His primary directive was to love whoever came in.

Looking for a worthy 'hobby', I decided to see about volunteering at the coffee shop. I vaguely knew what it was about, and it seemed awesome, and fortunately Steve looked past all of my faults and lack of barista experience and let me in to his world. So, every Friday morning, I would arrive at opening and help him prepare fresh cookies and serve coffee to whomever happened to wander in. I was particularly blessed to see him interacting with the homeless who came in to get warm; he treated them like VIP's. One time I got to overhear a conversation in which someone accepted Jesus.

We weren't particularly busy on Friday mornings, but I tried to be as helpful as possible (and I do hope I was, despite my utter clumsy slowness making coffee and my frequent oopsies at the register), washing tables and such. In between the scattering of people in the morning and at the lunch hour, Steve and I would enjoy a cup of coffee and he'd graciously listen to my yap about my family and kids, God and politics. I eagerly listened to him on the same subjects, lapping up wisdom and enjoying his heart and his love for his wife and family.

He was at one time a pastor, and it was clear he still had that pastor's heart and mantle. God's peace and love just oozed out his pores. And in between customers and yapping, we'd do whatever crossword puzzles he hadn't yet done in the papers. Mostly he did them and I tried not to appear too stupid while I labored over an answer that was probably ridiculously obvious to him. When we were super stumped I'd look it up on my laptop. He sometimes even saved the puzzles so we could work on them. It was something I looked forward to all week.

Unfortunately, the Lord chose to take him home far too soon for everyone else's comfort. It was a sudden and unexpected accident event, and I still get teary thinking about that. I still miss our Friday morning crosswords.

So, when I labor over a clue for fifteen minutes, I think about how it would have taken him two, and chuckle a little. When I see a clue written in a tricksy crosswordsy way, I remember what Steve taught me about it. I am thankful for the gracious influence he and his wife were on my life, and blessed that he gave me a silly little gift that I enjoy today, though he is gone. And then I gleefully, frustratedly squint at 15 across and will my brain to think better. This one's for you, Steve.

How Many Angels?

This morning I needed to use the car, which meant taking Hubby to work. So I roused two little sleepyheads and we all piled groggily into the car we're borrowing, Hubby driving and me trying to wake up and not pass out as we headed into the morning's commute.

A gray, overcast day is the lot this second day of winter, and it really wasn't helping my 'can't seem to keep my eyes open' problem. I turned up the Christmas carols on the radio, hoping to rouse my tired brain and set it to the tasks of the day.

As we turned east into the morning, a beautiful song came over the radio precisely at the same moment a widening break in the clouds became visible. The cut in the clouds glowed golden, and rays of gentle sunlight reached down to the earth in clearly defined beams. My breath caught in my throat, and I pondered the significance of the song with the vision before me.

We are a mere few days from Christmas, the day we celebrate the gift of Light to the world. I thought of the angels that visited those humble shepherds that night, singing of the Savior's birth. The sparkling beams reaching to the earth reminded me of the night Heaven came to earth, and "The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world" (John 1:9). Indeed, how many angels were singing his name?

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2:8-20

I felt almost as if I was in the presence of those angels so long ago...what a beautiful early Christmas gift.

The song can be heard here, but the original version is much prettier.

How many angels were singing your name?

Image found at http://sumanandsharmila.wordpress.com/

Christmas Cookie Bake-A-Long: Day 4

Here are two recipes that are new to me, but I'm dying to try:
Molasses Sugar Cookies

Recipe and photo courtesy of allrecipes.com


1 1/2 cups shortening
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt

Melt the shortening in a large pan on the stove, and cool.
Add sugar, eggs, and molasses, beat well.
In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together and add to the pan. Mix well and chill 3 hours or overnight.
Form into walnut-size balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes.
Store in an airtight container to keep from getting overly crisp. If they do lose their softness, an easy way to restore it is to place one slice of fresh bread in the container with the cookies for a couple of hours or overnight and they will be soft again!

~*~*~

There are many traditional Christmas cookies in German cookies, but one of my favorites is definitely Pfeffernussen. I'm itching to try Martha's recipe, found at Martha Stewart's website.

Pfeffernussen
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the confectioners' sugar in a brown paper bag.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, pepper, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and baking soda. Set aside.
3. Place butter, brown sugar, and molasses in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture; beat until just combined. Pinch off dough in tablespoon amounts; roll into 1 1/4-inch balls. Arrange balls 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. (Dough can be frozen at this point, covered tightly with plastic wrap, up to 1 month.)
4. Bake until cookies are golden and firm to the touch with slight cracking, about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer sheets to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Working in batches, place cookies in paper bag; shake until well coated. Let cool completely on wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Christmas Cookies Bake-A-Long: Day 3

Monday and Tuesday are my busiest, run-around days (which is why I'm late posting today!). I was hoping to have a couple more recipes to share, but I'm still tweaking them so I will post them later today. However, to get us all started, I thought we'd work with peppermint today! What's more iconic about Christmas sweets than candy canes?

I already posted some Peppermint Snowball Cookies on day one, but I actually have another similar recipe that came from the December 2003 issue of Parents magazine. This is the recipe I am making, personally, this year:

Peppermint Snowballs
1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. quick-cooking oats
10-15 Starlight mints crushed (a heaping 1/4 cup)
red food coloring
more confectioners' sugar for rolling

Heat oven to 375-400. In large bowl, with mixer on high, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla and salt. Reduce speed to low and beat in flour (dough will be very dry). Beat in oats, mints and 12 drops of red food coloring. Shape heaping teaspoons of dough into balls, place on ungreased baking sheets 1/2" apart and bake for 10-18 minutes (I know, big gap, but it depends on the temperature and humidity and yadda yadda. In my experience, they are done with firm to the touch and lightly browned). Place confectioners' sugar in large bowl. Roll HOT cookies in confectioners' sugar. Let the cookies cool completely, then roll them in the sugar again.

Here is a similar recipe using candy canes: Candy Cane Christmas Cookies. Don't they look festive?


~*~*~

My favorite, MUST-make Christmas cookie, that we make every year and have since before I can remember as a little girl, are Candy Cane Cookies from Betty Crocker. Here is the original cookbook recipe that we follow:

Image courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel


Candy Canes
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
1/2 c. shortening (for the record, I often just use butter)
1 c. confectioners' sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. red food color
1/2 cup c. peppermint candy
1/2 c. granulated sugar

For the record, we usually also use green food coloring. When the dough is divided, we do so into thirds and do red, green and plain. Also, we always add a little peppermint extract to the dough, about 1/2-1 tsp. Proceed, either way, as follows:

Heat oven to 375. Mix thoroughly butter, shortening, confectioners' sugar, egg, and extracts/vanilla. Blend in flour and salt. Divide the dough in half (or thirds) and blend food color into one half (or third).

For each candy cane, shape 1 tsp. of dough from each half into a 4" rope (For smooth, even ropes, roll the dough back and forth on a lightly-floured board.). Place the ropes side by side and press together lightly; twist. Place on a greased baking sheet and curve the top of each twist to form the handle of the cane.

Bake about 9 minutes or until set and very light brown. Mix candy and granulated sugar; sprinkle on the hot cookies and remove from the baking sheet.

A couple of tips...it's best to actually just line the cookie sheets with something such as parchment paper, as the candy/sugar melts to the hot pan and it's a bear to clean up. Also, you want to sprinkle the sugar on the candy canes IMMEDIATELY after they come out of the oven, so have it ready. Otherwise it won't melt and stick.

~*~*~

I've never made these, but they look goooooood...
Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies



Cookies

* 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
* 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup sugar
* 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1 large egg

Filling

* 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
* 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
* 2 drops (or more) red food coloring
* 1/2 cup crushed red-and-white-striped candy canes or hard peppermint candies (about 4 ounces)

For cookies:
Whisk flour, cocoa, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Beat in egg. Add dry ingredients; beat until blended. Refrigerate dough 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop out dough by level tablespoonfuls, then roll into smooth balls. Place balls on prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Using bottom of glass or hands, flatten each ball to 2-inch round (edges will crack). Bake until cookies no longer look wet and small indentation appears when tops of cookies are lightly touched with fingers, about 11 minutes (do not overbake or cookies will become too crisp). Cool on sheet 5 minutes. Transfer chocolate cookies to racks and cool completely.

For filling:
Using electric mixer, beat powdered sugar and butter in medium bowl until well blended. Add peppermint extract and 2 drops food coloring. Beat until light pink and well blended, adding more food coloring by dropfuls if darker pink color is desired. Spread 2 generous teaspoons filling evenly over flat side of 1 cookie to edges; top with another cookie, flat side down, pressing gently to adhere. Repeat with remaining cookies and peppermint filling.

Place crushed candy canes on plate. Roll edges of cookie sandwiches in crushed candies (candies will adhere to filling). DO AHEAD Cookie sandwiches can be made ahead. Store in single layer in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 weeks.

Christmas Cookie Bake-A-Long: Day 2!

This morning we'll be working in refrigerated dough, so let's get started with the dough and come back later for the rest of it!

Cut out cookies are fun for all ages! We often plan things with special friends and family that involve making and decorating cookies. Make the dough ahead, and then plan a fun afternoon with the kids cutting out fun Christmas shapes and decorating little gingerbread men and women! Of course, gingerbread cutouts don't need to stay in the realm of children; frosted sugar cookies and gingerbread can take on elegance and sophistication with flavors, colors and designs. This is why I think gingerbread cookies are the quintessential Christmas cookie. It is all the 'flavors' of the season, and all of the versatility...the peaceful quiet elegance and the bright, joyful tinsel.

Now, I like gingersnaps, but I like my gingerbread to be soft. I searched and researched a long time before coming up with this recipe! If you are looking for a regular, crispier gingerbread dough, Martha Stewart's basic recipe for Gingerbread Cookies is a good place to start!

Once upon a time, I adapted a recipe for gingerbread cookies from a borrowing of several cookbook recipes. I think I was 12. It's pretty good, though. It's in between my favorite recipe and Martha's in terms of firmness, I'd say.

Gingerbread Cutouts
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. light molasses
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg, beaten
3 1/2 c. all purpose flour

In a 3-quart saucepan, combine sugar, molasses and spices. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring occaisionally with wooden spoon. Remove pan from heat. Stir in baking soda (mixture will foam in pan). Add butter, stir until melted. Stir in eggs and then flour, quickly.

On floured surface, knead dough until thoroughly blended. Divide in half. Wrap one half and set aside. Preheat oven to 325. With floured rolling pin, roll out each half of dough slightly less than 1/4" thick. With floured cookie cutters, cut desired shapes. Place 1" apart on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake until edges brown, about 12 minutes.

Speaking of gingerbread, does anyone have any great gingerbread ...bread or cake recipes? :) Anyways, as I said the above recipe is one I've used over the years, but not my favorite.

Before I get to that, though, I'd like to share my favorite sugar cookie recipe. It was given to my by my in-laws, and I think it came out of a cookbook but I don't know which one.

Sugar Cookies
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. margarine or butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
(opt. granulated sugar)

Mix powdered sugar, butter, egg, vanilla and almond extract. In a separate small bowl, mix together flour, soda and cream of tartar. Add this into the big bowl and mix until fully incorporated. Cover and refridgerate at least 2 hours. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Divide dough in halves; roll each half 3/16" thick on lightly floured cloth-covered board and cut out desired shapes. If not frosting, sprinkle with granulated sugar after cutting into shapes. Place on lightly-greased baking sheet, and bake until edges are light brown, about 7-8 minutes. Makes 5 dozen 2" cookies

Image courtesy of Kaboose.com


While this dough isn't refrigerated, in my family it wouldn't be Christmas without my mother's Christmas Date Tarts. My mom makes them nearly every year, and this is a special family recipe...I don't know how old it is or its origins, but it's definitely part of our extended family Christmas experience!

Christmas Tarts
3/4 c. shortening (I use butter)
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
3/4 sour milk (or buttermilk)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 c. flour (about)

Mix sugars, soda, baking powder, salt, and two cups of sifted flour together. Add shortening, eggs, milk, vanilla and remaining flour, mix well. If dough is too sticky, add more flour. Roll out (1/8-1/4") and cut round patties out of the dough. Put 1 tsp date filling in half of the patties; cover with another patty and pinch closed. Bake at 400 degrees until lightly brown, about 10 minutes, on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Date Filling:
2 c finely chopped dates
2/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. boiling water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp butter

Cook dates, sugar and water 6-8 minutes or until thick, stirring. Remove from heat; add lemon juice and butter. Cool.

And now for the gingerbread shapes recipe I promised. You'll never guess the secret ingredient! What?! Pumpkin?! How did you know?!?! :P Incidentally, I've also increased the butter by 1/4 c and substituted 1/2 cup of applesauce for the cup of pumpkin...it's delicious as well. I made this recipe up a couple of years ago, and it remains my go-to Gingerbread recipe.

Ginger cutting out cookies last year at our annual cookie making party with my sisters


Pumpkin Gingerbread People
1/2 c Butter, softened
1 c packed brown sugar (or sucanat, or some combination thereof)
cream together

add
2/3 c molasses
1 c packed pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp milk or 1/2 an 1/2

In separate bowl whisk or mix together:
About 3 1/2 c flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice

Mix flour mixture into wet mixture a little at a time, until thoroughly incorporated. Divide into two, cover, and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight. Roll out 1/4 in thick, cut out cookies, and place on cookie sheets (Can be ungreased, or lined with parchment paper). Heat oven to 350. Bake for 8-11 minutes until dough barely retains finger imprint when gently pressed with a finger tip. Cool on sheets 2 minutes, remove and allow to cool. Decorate, and store in air-tight container.

2 years ago, from a cookie-decorating party with dear friends



Check back later for some frosting and decorating ideas!

Christmas Cookie Bake-A-Long: Day 1!

It's Monday! I don't know what your Mondays are like, but mine are busy. So today is all about simple. First up, today I'll be making some Super Easy Pumpkinickerdoodles!


This is a new favorite at our house, and everyone who has tried them has loved them. In fact, the other day Ginger got an owie, and she actually asked specifically for these cookies!

Because it's the beginning of the week, and they won't keep all week and into Christmas, I'm actually not going to bake them...just make the dough up, form the balls and roll 'em in the sugar, and then freeze them. :) That way, when I need to bake them all up to send/give out cookies, they'll be ready to go without dirtying any extra pans.

For today, that's all I'll be making...just a ton of these delicious little numbers. But if you'd like more inspiration, here are some other good, easy drop cookies:



Pumpkin-Coconut Spice Drops
Another recipe I made up.

1 1/2 (3/4 C.) sticks of butter, softened
1 1/2 C. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup mashed or pureed pumpkin
1 1/2-2 C. all-purpose flour (I used somewhere between this figure, I started with 1.5 C which may be enough depending on your pumpkin etc.)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4-1/2 tsp. cloves (depending on your affinity for cloves)
2 C. rolled oats
1 1/2 C. flaked coconut (mine was sweetened)

Preheat oven to 350, lightly grease cookie sheets. With electric mixer, beat together butter, brown sugar, and vanilla for one minute. Add eggs and pumpkin, mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, whisk together all other dry ingredients except for oats and coconut. Add slowly to pumpkin mixture, while mixer is on low speed, scraping bowl frequently. Mix until completely incorporated.

Add and mix by hand the oat and coconut. Drop by heaping TBSP's onto the lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Let rest on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Peppermint Snowball Cookies
Recipe by Betty Crocker, though I have made and enjoy these.
1/4 cup finely crushed peppermint candies (12 candies)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup finely crushed peppermint candies (12 candies)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oven to 325ºF. Mix 1/4 cup crushed candies and 1/4 cup powdered sugar; reserve. Mix butter, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 cup crushed candies and the vanilla in medium bowl. Stir in flour and salt.
2. Shape dough by level measuring tablespoonfuls into balls. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until set but not brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; roll in reserved candy mixture. Cool completely on wire rack. Roll in candy mixture again.

Super Easy Pumpkinickerdoodles

Between the crafting and the crazy busyness that are my Mondays, I thought I'd share a very simple cookie of my own recipe.

It really is so simple, and so good, you'd never guess it originates with a cake mix. ;) Of course, that's not to say you can't use a homemade cake mix base or basic sugar cookie base...but then they would just be Pumpkinickerdoodles, and not SUPER EASY Pumpkinickerdoodles. And today is all about super easy. Trust me. It's Monday.

Super Easy Pumpkinickerdoodles
1 box of cake mix (preferably French Vanilla, though white or yellow work)
1 cup of pumpkin puree
1/4 cup of butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice

About 2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves

Dump cake mix into a large mixing bowl. Add in the ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Stir to combine. Add egg, butter, and pumpkin puree. Mix until moistened and incorporated. Using an electric mixer makes this easy, though you can certainly combine by hand.


In a separate, small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons into sugar mixture, and coat well, forming into a ball. Dough will be sticky, but will hold shape. Place on a greased or prepared cookie sheet (I use parchment paper). Don't flatten, just put the ball of yummy goodness on the cookie sheet as is. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-13 minutes. They should be moist but not doughy/gooey. With the color, it's hard to tell if they're very lightly brown around the edges, but if you can tell, that's a good indication of doneness. They should be slightly moist and soft, so don't overbake. I actually scrape a bit of cookie off the top of one to test. And there you have it...a delicious holiday twist on the classic snickerdoodle that is easy and fun to boot.


This is a good Christmas cookie because it's quick and easy, but it can also be made ahead and frozen. The cookies do okay frozen, but for best results freeze the dough balls after you've rolled them in the sugar mixture. I just stick them in the freezer for about half an hour, on something flat, so they firm up. Then I wrap them well and put them back into the freezer until they are needed. That way, when it comes down to baking day you have one less bowl to dirty. If company comes over for some eggnog and caroling, you can pop them in and have fresh-baked cookies at your disposal.

Craft Day: Playdough

One of the best tools in a toddler's box is that soft, non-toxic, moldable dough we call 'playdough'. If your kids are anything like mine, though, they tend to go through it pretty fast...so we make playdough fairly frequently around here. The homemade versions are the best, I think. You can control the ingredients, and they don't smell as weird as Playdoh. In fact, you can even use natural dyes like tea and vegetable juices to make playdough, so it can truly be a natural and non-toxic toy. Playdough is edible in the sense that it's made from edible ingredients and is non-toxic, but it is VERY salty, so it's not a good idea to consume quantities of it on a regular basis ;).

Playdough stimulates the senses, and the bright colors plus the tactile sensory actions that go with it can be an immeasurably pleasurable experience for a little explorer, plus a good way to build hand-eye coordination and brain connections. So I figured, why not get yet another sense involved?



Through necessity, this Christmas needs to be extra, extra frugal. We're out of playdough at the moment, so I decided to make some for a Christmas present for Ginger and some of our little friends. It's very, very cheap. It can be stored very cheaply as well...we used various and sundry small tupperwares, but ziploc bags are excellent...or old, washed yogurt cups with lids, etc. I also used some of our little glass jars. I decided to make colorful, holiday-themed scented playdough to make it extra fun :)

My Crazy Method
I used a recipe similar to this cooked one, except I added the food coloring in at the beginning:
1 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
1 c. water
1 tbsp. oil
2 tsp. cream of tartar
Food coloring by drops

Gather the supplies...


Stir the dry ingredients together. Whisk or stir in the wet. Turn the burner on medium. Stir, stir, stir.


As you stir and the playdough cooks, lumps will form. This is ok. Just keep stirring, and try to fold it a bit from the bottom so that the bottom, cooked stuff gets replaced with the gooey non-cooked stuff. Stir until a ball forms and most if not all of the goo is gone. Remove from heat immediately.


Scrape the playdough out of the pan, and put it on a sheet of wax paper. Knead it a couple of times.



To cool it quickly, I spread it thin on the wax paper and covered it with saran wrap tightly to prevent drying out. Then I distributed it into the various containers.


As I said, I also scented the playdough. I used about a tablespoon of the extracts, or more. I also gave them fun holiday names :D
Pink: Peppermint Stick Pink; peppermint extract
Orange: Christmas Morning Mandarin; dried bits of orange peel plus orange extract
Yellow: Elegant Eggnog; pumpkin spice tea, various eggnog-y spices
Green: Evergreen Emerald; fresh rosemary infused water, finely powdered rosemary
Blue: Sweetly Singing Sapphire; vanilla
Purple: Sugar Plum Visions; cherry-vanilla tea, almond extract

As you can see, instead of just plain water for some of the playdoughs I boiled the water then steeped for at least 20 minutes before draining it off. I think those scents turned out the best. Rosemary has a nice pine-ish scent, and is edible, unlike fir needles, so I went with that. ;)




For the Elegant Eggnog, I also added a bunch of gold glitter. :) After the playdoughs had cooled (I made triple recipes for each scent), I packaged them up and added labels:








All in all, this was a fun, easy, frugal craft that makes a great gift for all the toddlers on your list!

Craft Day: Tutus

Beth at The Natural Mommy is hosting another 2-day craft-o-rama! So today I will be crafting AND baking. But since that will happen later this evening, I offer the following post to whet your whistle:

What is the childhood of little girls without tutus, I ask you. :D



Now, tutus aren't just for kids. If there is a dancer in your life, they may really enjoy a homemade, from-the-heart, one-of-a-kind dance skirt. I know that I sure did...my mommy used to make them for me. The ballet school I attended had very strict rules about dress, and only the highest level of dancers got to be extra expressive and wear things like colored leotards and wrap skirts in class. So that was special :) If you need more ideas for the male or female dancer--adult or child--I highly recommend this book. If you are interesting in a wrap or ballet skirt tutorial, here are a few that look interesting to me:

Circle Skirt Tutorial

Wrap Skirt Instructions

Girly frilly fluffery tutu tutorial.

Anyhoo...for Christmas this year, I'm keeping things simple and frugal with the kids and running with some themes. Pretend play/make believe, more exactly. And the two bigger gifts have to do with ballet. One is all about "The Nutcracker", which they are enamored of at the moment, and one is all about the "Red Shoes", which is a ballet based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale. So they are each getting some tutus, crowns, wings, etc. from the ballets plus some books and a DVD of the ballet. Well..."The Red Shoes" DVD, for Sparrow because it deals with some more adult themes, is actually a movie based on fictitious ballet based on the fairytale, kind of. ;) For the books I really tried to find books that had good art, and I also tried to find ones appropriate for their ages...I got Sparrow the complete works of Hans Christian Andersen because another of her gifts involves "The Snow Queen". I chose "The Red Shoes" because of the fairytale connection, and because the movie was a favorite of mine growing up. I chose "The Nutcracker" because, as I said, they are enamored of it, and we were blessed with tickets to go this year (finally!) by one of my cousins.


One of the tutus is supposed to be representative of the Sugar Plum Fairy/Clara. I didn't follow any tutorial, but I DID document my progress. So here's what I did:

Supply List
~ Something pretty to use for a waist casing that preferably has the edges 'finished' already, such as blanket binding, ribbons, etc. Cut this 2x the length of the waist measurement.
~ At least a yard of netting...you need the width plus a length that is at least 4-6 times the measured waist length. So, for instance, if I was making a skirt that was 10 inches long, I'd need enough fabric to make 2 layers worth of length. Netting is usually 72" wide, and if the wee little waist was 20", I could get away with 1 1/3 yards of fabric...that would be 2 panels per each layer.
~ At least a yard of tulle (see above, plus, you can have as many layers of tulle as you want)
~ Roll of pre-cut tulle
~ Elastic for a waist, cut 1-3" smaller than the waist
~ Embellishments

My Crazy Method
First, I cut 2 layers of netting and panels of tulle in the desired width. How long? I didn't measure exactly but the goal was to be 4-6 times longer than the length of the waist.

I used sparkly white tulle, white netting, and a layer of lavender pre-cut and rolled tulle (found in the wedding section) to give the white a bluish depth. I didn't have tulle the correct length, so I just cut strips and layered it on top of the netting so that there were at least two layers at all times, staggering the panels so there wasn't clear 'openings' in the netting or tulle. I used the purple tulle roll underneath the netting, to keep the netting from being scratchy against little legs and snag against the tights. At this point, you would pin it together if you are smart, but I just kept layering as I sewed and it came out even, with 2-3 layers of netting on top of the tulle. Since this is gathered, I used a long stitch and didn't finish the ends.

Usually, to gather you sew two seams, going the same direction with the same side facing up to add stability but I didn't bother. I just gathered it up...


At this point, it's time to cut 2 lengths of ribbon OR the seam/quilt/blanket binding 2 times longer than the waist measurement. If you are using two lengths of ribbon, as I did in this particular case, sew them together along the top...I used a zig-zag because that seems to work better and snag less on ribbon.


Now, adjust the gathers of the tulle to the length of the ribbon/binding, plus at least an inch on each end. If you want to add any sewed-in embellishments, like knotted ribbon or different tulle colors, now is the time to arrange them. :) You can make a ribbon-tulle-ribbon sandwich and pin it if you like, and in fact if you were smart you would. But I am not, and lack patience, so I abandoned that after two pins and just fit it in as I sewed. Make sure to adjust the gathers evenly, so it isn't all bunched up in some places but flat in others.


Carefully sew all the layers together, using a wide zig-zag to catch and seal all the bits of tulle that may escape. Take care, at this point, to keep the tulle as 'flat' as possible and make sure that the underlayer especially isn't getting sewn over where it shouldn't be.


When you're done, you'll have made a casing:


Now it's time for the old 2 safety pins and elastic trick. :) I use one to do the pushing, and the other to secure the other end of the elastic. This will gather the skirt a second, and fuller, time. When the elastic is all the way through, stitch each end of the casing closed in a small square shape. I zig-zagged the very ends of the ribbon to finish the edges. Adjust the elastic gathers evenly.


Remember how you left at least an inch of gathered tulle sticking out of the ends? This is when this comes in handy. Bring the ends of the casing around and lay one on top of the other, overlapping by 1/2-1 1/2 inches. Sew a little box seam again. Now you have a circle. Sew the extra gathered fabric to the edge of the ribbon/binding casing. This prevents a 'hole' in the skirt, although really you could sew the whole thing together. But seams look tacky in tulle, I think. :)


Voila! A tutu!


Mine needed a little...'frosting'. If yours does, add away! And that is how I made one of the girls' tutus :)