Craft-a-Holic - Travel Art Desk & Fabric Eggs Tutorials

Hello, my name is Bridget and I am a craft-a-holic! Welcome to your weekly (if I'm lucky) crafty fix.

Tonight we have two super awesome tutorials for you to make and enjoy. A wonderful and inspiring travel art board/desk thingy and some adorable fabric eggs perfect for Easter or Spring-time decor.

Travel Desk -



Yet another thing I want/need to make for M. She is already such a little artist. Her love of drawing is so consuming that she asks for her colors all the time. This desk is the perfect thing for road trips or any car ride, and if you are an experienced seamstress, I'm sure you can even customize it to fit much more than art supplies.

Fabric Eggs -



This project is something so cute, yet it's not overkill. I rarely decorate the house for holidays, except for Christmas, because a lot of the deco is so cheese ball and U-G-L-Y. These sweet little eggs are eye-catching and really simple to make!

Enjoy the treats, crafters! Until next time...

Pretty Knits

My new crafty obsession is knitting. I really love it, even though I had a tough time getting the hang of it. But after a few weeks and many, many (soooo many) attempts, I have a new set of pretty spring accessories!



I used some super soft bamboo/wool mix yarn to make the bracelet and headband. The color is just lovely and totally reminded me of all the new leaves budding out on all our trees in the yard.

For anyone who knits, the patterns are very easy - like ridiculously easy. Both are done with your basic knit stitch on a US 8 needle.


To make the bracelet, cast on 4 stitches and knit/garter stitch, slipping the first as if to purl for nice edges, until it is long enough to fit around your wrist. Graft the two ends together and sew on a pretty button! Or if you are feeling extra creative, sew in some embroidery thread to make pretty decorations.



The headband is made exactly the same way, except you cast on 10 stitches instead of 4 and you make it the length of your head - not your wrist.. Graft ends together, and you are done!

Deep in the Heart of Texas

I love, love, love living in Texas. Never mind the stereotypical cowboys, rednecks, and crazy fringe conservatives, oh and Rick Perry. I just consider them annoyances to an otherwise, wonderful place to live. Especially Austin. This city is a world unto it's own. Great food, great music, and amazing scenery. It has some of the most beautiful natural landscapes I have ever seen. Aaaaaand we have Rodeos!!! Ok, I am pretty much apposed to Rodeo-type stuff (calf roping, bull riding, etc.), but there are carnival games, and the live stock shows - which is like a zoo, but for farm animals.

We took M yesterday, for the last day of the rodeo, so she could go see a cow up close. We may live in Texas, but we do live in the city; and despite the depictions of Texas being one big giant ranch, there are not cows on every corner. The big docile creatures actually scared her! Even the sheep and goats made her cling to me, and whimper! All week long, she was so excited to see cows and horses! She was running around the house yelling "MoooWah!!!" After a disastrous attempt with the animals, we enjoyed some super tasty barbecue (what ever i know it's soooo wrong to eat bbq after looking at cows!) and one of the best things to eat on a warm sprummer* day!


Snow Cones!!!

*note - Texas doesn't actually have a spring season, it usually goes from cold winter to a few weeks of rain, then hot sunny days - i.e. sprummer.

Panty Raid

I think potty training is one of the more disgusting facets of parenting. At least it has been in my experience. M is right in the middle of learning to use the potty and apparently can't decide whether she wants to use diapers, pull ups or panties. After a long day of yelling "pee pee momma!" and then pro ceding to rip the diaper off, I decided to go get her a pack of panties. My mommy heart got very sad in the store. As I was looking over the little girl panties, so cute and girly, I realized that this is another step in the direction of my baby growing up. Every time she does something that is toddler or child behavior, I have a mix of happy and sad emotions swirling around. I love watching her grow and explore the world and learn new things every day, but at the same time, I very much miss my tiny little girl that I could hold in my arms.

She was so proud of her new panties that she even showed C when he got home from work. I was sure that she would tell me next time she needed to go potty. Right before dinner, I checked and they were wet. I can't tell you how gross it is to have your hand wet from pee. After a small tantrum, we decided on panties again instead of a diaper - which Mommy mistakenly thought was the better choice.

As I got her ready for bed last night, I put on a diaper and tossed her panties (which she had peed in again) in the laundry basket, she squeaked "panny." She then stood up, wrapped her arms around my neck as tight as she could and gave me a kiss. Which makes me melt. Every time.

And this morning, just for fun and to make Mommy crazy; M decided that neither diapers OR panties would be appropriate for today. Instead, she has decided that being bar bottomed and POOPING ON THE FLOOR is a better approach. Ugh.

Craft-a-holic - Felted Book and Butterfly Wreath Tutorials

So I am a craft-a-holic. I adore crafty things. I spend my wonderful husband's hard earned money on Crafty Crack, and he lets me! I search the interweb looking for amazing tutorials to feed my need to make crafty things!!! I even (try to) earn my keep by selling my hand crafted wares.

I have a serious problem. I know this. But now, my friends, you too will become a craft-a-holic. Enjoy tonight's goodies!

Felted Egg Book -



This has to be THE ABSOLUTE COOLEST thing I have ever seen. EVER. Oh my lord, I can not wait until M is old enough to enjoy this. I have added it to the top of our crafty projects that we will do together. I'm not sure if I am patient enough to wait another 2-3 years. I may just have to make one for myself.

Lovely Upcycled Butterfly Wreath -



I absolutely adore butterflies. I have felt a spiritual connection to them and the symbolism in their transformation all my life. So naturally, I get all squishy when I see butterfly stuff, especially something this beautiful. I am gonna rifle through my old books tomorrow and get started on my own wreath!

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So goodnight, all my fellow craft junkies and enjoy! Until the next fix!

Cold Noodle Salad with Grilled Flank Steak

I adore noodles, especially the asian variety. Be it pad thai, pho, lo mein, or what ever else, I will absolutely gorge myself. So tasty. This recipe has been a work in progress for some time and after perfecting the dressing a few weeks ago, it has become one of my absolute favorite things to make (C's too!). It can also be turned into a vegan dish, just omit the beef!



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Ingredients
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Rice Noodles (amount should be based in the number of people.)
Baby spinach
Bean sprouts
Cabbage Mix
Red Onions
Flank Steak

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Rice noodles are amazing. They are super tasty, have a really nice texture and are very healthy.



Cook according to package directions (usually boil for 10 min or until done). Rice noodles are a little chewier than traditional pasta, so be careful not to over cook them, because they will get mushy.

Once they are cooked, drain and rinse with cold water. Run the cold water over them a little longer than normal. Doing this will chill them a bit - which makes this a "cold noodle" salad. Get it? Grab a big salad bowl and dump in the cold noodles.



Grab the veggies. You can use what ever veggies you like, but here's the stuff I like to use. Baby spinach, bean sprouts, cabbage mix (which is basically a mix for cole slaw that has green and red cabbage, carrots and broccoli all shredded realy fine) and thinly sliced red onions. Add how ever much or little you want into the bowl.



Now the best part. Grab a big meaty flank steak. Marinate it early in the day with a good asian flavored marinade - I use a store bought sesame ginger variety.



Grill the steak according to your preference. I usually grill med-rare, cause C is a carnivore and likes it a little bloody. Once it has cooked, let it rest for about 5 minutes.

A note on resting meat. It is a very important step when cooking steak or any other meat. Resting allows the juices to redistribute throughout and when you cut into it, you don't lose all that goodness that makes steak so yummy. So rest your meat. You will thank me.

After resting, slice the steak paper thin against the grain. This will yield a very soft and easily chewable piece. Take all that delicious juicy meat and plop it right on top of the veggies and noodles.



Now you can top it with Honey Ginger Lime dressing or any of your favorite asian sauces. After that, grab some chop sticks and dig in!

Year(s) of the Tantrum

So my sweet little girl is quickly creeping up on the dreaded "terrible two's." In less than 4 months she will be two years old and already the tantrum gauge is starting to peak. In my efforts to practice positive discipline, I have been trying to talk her down so to speak. Help her work through the outbursts and solve the root cause; instead of punishing her for bad behavior. 90% of the time it works. I can somehow manage to talk her through the problem and avoid meltdowns. Until last night...

-insert dramatic themed music here-

After a long, hot exhausting day with mommy and daddy flying kites, Miss M was beyond the sleepy point and broke down after a failed attempt to go potty. She screamed and cried and SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.

Do you know how hard it is to stifle your gut reaction to curse/yell/scream when you have been slapped? Very. Very. Hard. Even though I choked down the anger welling up in my throat, she saw it in my face and immediately started wailing (even harder).

I don't ever want to lose it. I don't want to scream and yell at her. I don't want her to cry because I have lost my voice berating her because she "misbehaved".

I know how that feels.