Healthy Green Shake

Marcia and I knew that one of the creative aspects of our blog would be recipes and baking. We have a friend who makes beautiful cakes and cupcakes. We wanted her to do our first recipe post, and we envisioned that you would drool over her lavish, decadent desserts. But somebody actually asked me to share a recipe, and I think that I'm proud that our first recipe post will be for something incredibly healthy--my morning green shake. You might not drool over it, but it will start your day off right.

You can add just about anything to a healthy shake, but some things definitely taste better than others.
I start with about 10 ounces of almond milk. I use the 30 calorie milk. If you have a sweet tooth, you could use the 90 calorie vanilla-flavored almond milk. I think it tastes like melted vanilla ice cream. I also have multiple cups and make several shakes at a  time.

I add something green first. I like cut kale when I can find it (and it's plentiful at the farmer's market right now). Spinach also works.

You want to add a big handful of your greens.

Now you can layer ingredients. I do a handful of carrots followed by a handful of spinach if I haven't used it already. You'll have to push your layers down so everything will fit in your cup.

Next I add a heaping spoonful of ground flaxseed. I buy Bob's Red Mill brand at Target or Trader Joe's.

Then I add 1/4 cup of pumpkin if I have it, followed by as many frozen blueberries as I can fit in my mixing cup.

I place lids on all of the cups and store them in the fridge until I'm ready to mix one up--saves me time when mornings are busy. Once these ingredients are mixed together, I add half a banana (for sweetness) and mix again. This shake gives me one serving of "dairy" with the almond milk, three half to full servings of vegetables (kale, spinach, and carrots), and three half to full servings of fruit (pumpkin, banana, and blueberries). I enjoy one every morning. Give it a try!
--Melissa

Disney Autograph Books

We recently went to Disney World. One of the most special things about the DW experience is meeting all of the characters. And of course, you must get their autographs. We saw many young children who were carrying around the official DW autograph books that really aren't very special. They are plastic-y and kind of cheap looking. My daughter and I planned ahead and made our own autograph book using scrapbook paper (including thick cardboard paper for the cover) and rings from a chipboard journal set (which cost $2 at Michael's). The benefit of making your own book, aside from the cuteness of it, is that you can add as many pages as you want and remove them if they don't get used.

All of the princesses loved our autograph book, especially since my daughter had chosen special paper for each princess. When we returned from our trip, we added pictures and dollar spot scrapbook embellishments. I know that it is something that she will always treasure.

My daughter's friends are visiting Disney World soon, so we made them special autograph books too.

This time we just used the cardboard covers that come with the chipboard journals. I cut paper to size and glued it on with spray adhesive (but I think I'll use Mod Podge next time). I used contrasting papers for the girl's book. She really likes zebra print, so we used that on the inside covers of her book. She also loves purple.

Both kids loved the fact that their books are personalized, and I added a tag or ribbon on the top ring to easily identify which way is up. Sometimes, books get all turned around in the excitement of meeting a character, and when your hands are full of Sharpies and books and drinks and bags and all of the other stuff you need for Disney World, you need a few identifiers to find the right way! That being said, somehow Mickey Mouse still managed to sign my daughter's book upside down...

I also added a pocket on the inside cover for the kids to store their passes and other small DW mementos. This is just scrapbook paper attached to the cover with double sided tape on the two sides and bottom. We added a little bling to the purple book.

For our boy's book, we selected scrapbook papers in fun, bright colors. We folded the paper over and used spray adhesive to glue it together, so each sheet is double sided. Some scrapbook papers are kind of thin, and you don't want Sharpie marker bleeding through. We used a corner rounder so that the pages match the cover. If you've never used a corner rounder, it just makes everything look better.

For the girl's book, we used a small scrapbook paper pad from Michael's. We liked the scalloped edges, and they were the perfect size for the chipboard journal. These papers are also nice and thick, so marker will not bleed through them.

Some of you might be thinking, "Why not use plain paper? Aren't all these colors going to take away from the autographs?" But plain paper is so...plain. And the characters at Disney see enough plain white books day in and day out. They all enjoyed looking at my daughter's colorful book, and Sharpie marker shows up on fun papers just as well as it does on plain paper. When the kids return from Disney World, we'll add fun embellishments and stickers to their books too. I'm hoping they love their books as much as my daughter loves hers!
--Melissa

A Girl Scout Camping Tradition

Our end-of-the-year Daisy Scout awards ceremony was a garden party, held at a local college with one of the most beautiful gardens in our area. This party was also the culmination of our Daisy Flower Garden Journey. The girls received quite a few patches that they could place in the little gift bags that my daughter and I made. They also received a special memento from our camping trip.

We wanted to start a Girl Scout camping tradition with our girls, so we collected some of the ashes from our first (and only) campfire this year. The next time we camp and build a fire, we'll sprinkle these ashes over the fire and collect the ashes of the combined campfires at the end of our campout. By the end of our scouting adventure, we'll have ashes from many campfires in our jar. I wanted each girl to have a memento of their first camping trip, something more than patches and pictures, so I gave each of them a special jar of their very own campfire ashes.

I looked for special bottles or jars at three craft stores, but I couldn't find anything that would work. I decided to use baby food jars. I spray painted the tops pink (our scouts really like pink) and printed out special labels from Shabby Princess (they match the image on the gift bags). Marcia and I both love the papers and embellishments that you can download for free from Shabby Princess. I used simple jute twine to tie the labels to the jars. This project was so simple, and the girls and moms loved it!

I also used a Shabby Princess download to make our garden party program. The girls liked this keepsake too. The larger jar of ashes was also on display for the girls to see. We'll keep adding labels to commemorate each campfire. 

It's starting to feel like summer!

--Melissa

These bags are sew much fun to make!

Honestly, I have trouble cutting and sewing a straight line. So if I can sew it, so can you. Some people thought these little gift bags looked really complicated to make. They're not. It takes about 10 minutes to sew a bag from start to finish. And my daughter and I have so much fun designing them! We recently showed you how we print a computer image onto the cloth that we use to make our bags. Now we'll show you how we add ruffle trim and sew our bags together.

I learned from experience that it's best to sew down about 1/2 to an inch from the top of your bag on both sides (where your string or ribbon will go through). Otherwise, your fabric will start to fray and get messy when you cinch your bag closed.

Then cut your ribbon or string to the length that you want (about 6 to 8 inches longer than the top of your unsewn bag). You can use Fray Check on the ends of your ribbon to keep it from unraveling, but I just hold the ends near a candle flame. The heat will melt the fibers together and keep them from unraveling. Place the ribbon at the top of your bag.

Fold over the top of your bag so that you enclose the ribbon and sew straight across (back stitch at the beginning and end). Don't sew over your ribbon--you won't be able to cinch your bag closed.

It will look like this, with the unfinished edge and seam on what will become the inside of your bag...

Now we're going to add the ruffle trim. I've used ribbons for this in the past, but for this project, I used jelly roll fabric that I cut in half length-wise. Since jelly roll fabric measures 4 inches across, my ruffle strips are 2 inches wide. Your cutting does not have to be perfect--my fabric strip is skinnier in some places, and that adds to its charm. Cut your fabric length so that it fits across your entire unsewn bag. I used pinking shears for all of my ruffle cuts (so that my fabric doesn't fray or unravel).

You're ready to make your ruffle now. I learned how to do this through trial and error years ago before blogs about this type of thing really existed. I'm sure there are great tutorials out there, but this method works for me. First, set your stitch length to 4 (mine is normally at a 1 or 2). Then start sewing down the middle of your fabric strip.  Do not back stitch when you start sewing. Wait until you reach the end of the strip.

Because you didn't back stitch, you will be able to pull your thread and ruffle your fabric, like this...

You'll have to pull the fabric and the thread until you get your ruffle just the way you want it. Sometimes the thread does break, but I'm usually able to save my ruffle, which will now be half the length of your bag. Place it on the front-to-be of your bag and sew it on. I like to run my stitch down the center of the ruffle if the ruffle is smaller. For larger ruffles, you can run your ruffling stitch a little off center and then sew the ruffle a little off center to the other side. You get a neat double stitch look that looks completely centered!

You are almost done. Simply fold your cloth over so that the inside-to-be of your bag is showing and stitch all three sides. Don't stitch through your ribbon or string. You've already sewn the edges of the holes that your ribbon goes through, so they will look nice and won't start fraying no matter how many times the bag is cinched.

Because I can't cut or sew a straight line, I like to neaten up the edges with pinking shears before I turn the bag out.

Done! This might sound complicated (and you will make some mistakes--I make lots of them), but once you get the hang of it, it is sew easy and sew fun to make your own bags. My daughter thinks that word play is sew funny! Happy sewing.--Melissa

Printing on Fabric--The First Step to Making Special Gift Bags

 My daughter and I enjoy making small gift bags. We recently designed some for her Daisy Scout garden party.

While some may choose to buy pre-made muslin bags, we like sewing our own because we can print images directly onto the fabric with an ink jet printer--so much better than using iron on transfer paper. Printing on fabric is easy. First, I print a template on 8.5 by 11 inch cardstock. We got our image from Shabby Princess.  

Then I cut fabric to the size I like (but it has to be smaller than the cardstock) and tape it to the paper on all four sides. I used an off white curtain panel that I got on sale for these bags.

Next I feed the cardstock into my ink jet printer. On my printer, the fabric faces down--do a test with plain paper to see how you need to place your paper and fabric. The image comes out right side up.

I cut more fabric rectangles and printed out more images, changing the name each time so that each Daisy Scout had her own special bag. I reused the cardstock, making sure to tape down the cloth on all four sides.

We'll show you how to add the trim and sew the bags soon.

--Melissa

Happy Mother's Day to First Time Mom

I couldn't leave my daughter out on this past Mother's Day. On approximately September 7th, she and her husband will welcome our first grandchild into the world. Knowing how much she loves jewelry, I gave her a necklace that combines that love with some important events in her life.

Since they were married on a beach in Mexico, the charms all represent items found on the beach, such as a starfish and a sand dollar.  After the baby is born, could be early September or late August, I plan to give her an appropriate birthstone which can be attached.


I bought the necklace from a coworker who sells the Lenny & Eva Collection. All the pieces in this collection can be mixed and matched, just like clothing, giving you many different looks with just a few items. Take a look at her blog if you'd like more information.

Jewelry is a creative way to express who you are. I had so much fun selecting this piece for my daughter.

A Gift That Will Touch Your Heart

When you give someone a gift, you want to make them happy, really happy. I received a Mother's Day gift that made me so happy I cried. I have three daughters, all in their 20's, who really know how to make their mom overjoyed. Look at what they made me...

(Click on the picture if you'd like to see a bigger image.)

My co-worker told me that this is called a "Young Me, Now Me" because it shows how my girls have grown up and changed. Notice that they've posed in the same way as their younger selves. I especially love the hard-to-see photo in the right corner of all three girls together. First of all, they're wearing Christmas sweatshirts that I made for them with fabric and puffy paint. That will bring back some memories for some of you! Secondly, it shows my oldest daughter's sneaky side--she's flashing rabbit ears behind her sisters' heads in both pictures. I also love the fact that you can see her baby bump. I can't wait to be a grandmother. I know that Mother's Day next year will be even more special.

If you are looking for a gift that will really touch someone's heart, find your favorite old pictures and frame out a "Young Me, Now Me"--the lucky recipient will love it!