Photo Garland

   I made this after Christmas but you can make one anytime. This a great use of those Christmas cards you get with photographs of your friends and family. I didn't want to get rid of last year's pictures when this year's arrived in the mail. Instead of sticking them in a box, I made a garland that I could keep up all year long. You could do this with any photos or any cards. I love reusing cards as decorations. Here are pictures of the process. Easy as pie. 

I cut the photo cards and a few other pretty cards into soft cloud shapes with scissors. You'll need a hole punch and some yarn. 

I laid out the shapes on a table in the order I wanted them to hang.

String the yarn through the holes and tie a knot to keep it in place. Space them evenly apart.  This is the garland hanging on a blank spot on our bulletin board. Those sweet faces are my nieces and nephews. 

It looks nice hanging across a painting or with other photos. 

Or hung across the top of a window.

It ended up back on our bulletin board with our photos and art. 

  

Mud Kitchen

   Desmond is trying out a preschool that my friend Danielle runs out of her house called Art and Soul. She has a mud kitchen in her yard and this inspired me to make one for Desmond. There is a wonderful flea market on 9W in Ravena NY, that is a glorious junk shop with aisles and piles of THINGS. This is where I did most of my shopping, except for a couple of dollar store things. I love the idea of reusing old things and giving them new purpose. Here are some pictures I took as I put the kitchen together. I am sure it will evolve over time. I am trying to let go of the order and cleanliness that is my wish for the mud kitchen. First of all, it is not mine per say and second of all it is a MUD kitchen. 

Spidey, the family dog, checking out the kitchen. Sorry Spidey, no food here. 

We have different sized bowls with spouts to practice pouring, a pot, some muffin tins, fun utensils, a funnel, a big bowl for water, plates, cups and forks, knives and spoons. I have since added a couple of strainers, mustard and ketchup squirt bottles, some wooden spoons and a bench for sitting.

I tied a few hooks to twine and made a place to hang things on the fence.

Lookin' good!

Oh! Chalk! 

Desmond jumps right in. We fill the big yellow bowl with water and he tries out the ladle. 

He adds water to a bowl of dirt. "Watcha makin', Desmond?" 

"Bread," he says.

Happy day! Happy mud kitchen!

Irish Soda Bread

   Happy St. Patrick's Day! I got my clover garland up from last year which I still love. When Desmond gets up from his nap, we'll make a leprechaun trap! I filled his head with leprechaun images on youtube before he went to sleep....  And I want to share the very best irish soda bread recipe with you. My mom's. Although I don't know where she got it and she didn't come up with it herself. But it's easy and so delicious. Please make some, you won't regret it! This recipe makes 2 round loaves. Here it is :

4 C flour

2 t salt

1 1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t baking powder

1/3 C sugar

1 3/4 C raisins

2 T caraway seeds

1 3/4 C sour cream

2 eggs

   Sift dry ingredients in a big bowl and mix together. Add in raisins and seeds. In a separate bowl combine sour cream and eggs. Make a hole in the flour and stir in wet ingredients. Mix until moistened and a ball forms. Spilt into two round loaves. Place both on a floured baking sheet not touching. Slash cross on top with sharp knife. Bake at 350* for 45 minutes.

   I usually substitute whole wheat flour in every recipe and honey or maple syrup for sugar but I haven't tried it with this. If you do, will you let me know how it turns out?

.....Made our bread, some rainbow sugar cookies cut into clovers for our traps and set our traps outside! Tomorrow Desmond will find a pair of leprechaun shoes filled with green jelly beans in exchange for the pretty fool's gold and cookies. You can't fool a leprechaun.

My Irish Soda Bread. The raisins that fall off are the best part.

YUM

My attempt at rainbow colored, clover shaped, sugar cookies.

Spray painted tuna cans, leprechaun blankets, cookies and fool's gold.

Desmond adds colorful umbrellas, because, leprechauns love rainbows.

The cookies, comfy beds and fools gold are in place.

When Irish eyes are smiling!

Leprechaun shoes and a note for Desmond.