Cooking and Crafting Creations!

While it feels like this summer has flown by, and was chock full of events, we were home for enough time to create a few crafts and some tasty treats!

I attempted to use up the remainder of the fillo dough, that Emily had left over from the baclava she made for Avia.  I rolled up some Nutella, and baked it.  While it was pretty good hot, once it cooled it was crunchy and dry. = /

Kristy gifted me several containers of eggs, so I made some devilled eggs, which were enjoyed by everyone!

When we had some sleepovers, I didn't want to break up the fun, so the kids had a grazing tray for whenever they got hungry.

Juliet made a colorful paper airplane from scraps!

My skirt kept getting holes where the repair thread would pull on the original material.  So, I quilted on some large pieces of cotton underneath, and, so far, new holes have stayed away!

Grace loved having Aunt Janet here, and made her a scrapbook page to take home.

Billy bought me 3lbs of adorable beeswax at the farmer's market, so that I could repair my wax covers.  Turns out, I didn't need much, and barely used any to refresh them.  

So, I thought I'd try my hand at making some from scratch!  The plaid covers worked really well.

I think the Baylor material must have some sort of synthetic material in it, because despite several applications of wax, to the point where it was pooling on the parchment paper, it never felt 'sticky' when I folded it against itself.  I told my mom that she could get rid of them if they didn't work properly. 

While Billy and I were in Poland, Grace walked with my mom each morning and collected shells from the river to create a very elaborate frame to give to Enisi!

For one of our trips to the Cornishes' I made a banana pudding.  The single night of settling was perfect to make the cookies all mushy!

My mom had left some whipping cream at our house, and since I don't use it in my coffee any longer, I made my own whipped topping!  

Sam's club changed their pancake mix bag size, so now one bag no longer fits completely into my container.  So, I spent yesterday morning cooking up the remaining mix into pancakes to freeze!  We have pancakes for days and days.  And this morning, only the twins ate some. So, 4 down, a couple hundred to go!

This feels like a sparse crafting post, but it was squeezed into a bustling summer.

later days

edit 8-21-25: added content

Crafts

When planning Grace and Juliet's party, I decided I wanted sleeping bags for their invitations.  So, I set out to find the least work, while also being inexpensive, option was.  I found a cute quilted hot pad at a thrift shop, but it was $1.50!  That's a little pricy for invitations, but we were at the start of rummage sale season, so I kept looking.  

At the Kalamazoo sale, I found some quilted placemats, but by the time I trimmed off the ruffles, it was too small, and the edges were unfinished, creating more work and not really the look I wanted. So, I kept looking.

At a rummage sale later in the season, they had a six pack of hot pads, which were exactly what I wanted!

I got them all sewn up and ready to go.  Now, we just had to wait for Kennedy's cast to come off so that we could schedule the party!

We organized a date in June, and the twins gave out their invitations a week or so ago!

They came out sooo cute, I can't wait for a house full of girls helping us celebrate our favorite 10 year olds!

On my sewing day, I also trimmed down a sheet so that Grace and Juliet could have a 'magic' curtain for their talent show, and repaired a pair of quality gloves with a few blemishes.

With the leftover fabric from the magic curtain, Grace and Juliet made a dress! = )  Grace was modelling it.

Alice's backpack had several holes in the bottom and back and sides, so I used some fabric on the inside to give it more life.  Sadly, just a few short weeks after repairing her bag, the other zipper broke, and I was not willing to do a zipper repair.  So, she picked one of the 'bags in waiting' we have with our school supplies, and she said goodby to this one.  

I did trim out some of the bigger pieces of fabric, so that we could use them in another project.

At one of the rummage sales, I found two cute little bags that could hang on Grace and Juliet's bunk bed.  I mentioned that they would be pretty easy to make, so Grace really wanted to make a Hello Kitty one.  After a few weeks of waiting, I finally made the time to help her make it.  She was a happy girl.

Grace was in a sewing mood, and also made this adorable kitty pillow plush. = )

One day Grace and Juliet made a mud castle, in the middle of the sidewalk.  I requested that they move it off of the sidewalk, so they moved it to the corner of the driveway.  lol.  It lasted a few days longer than I thought.

They added lots of details and embellishments.  Then they took pictures of their favorite parts.

One of our neighbors had a windchime that started to come apart.  She's been bringing down the shells for the girls for a few months now as they fall.  They've really enjoyed the shells, but this last time she told me she thinks this will be the end. = )

Grace arranged them in ascending order of height, and took the picture near the card that Avia made for her to show her.

Now that summer is here, I'm hoping for more adventures, which means there might be less time for crafting, but we'll see!

later days