Sharing Saturday 16-45

Wow, it is already November!! This fall is flying by. It is time for Sharing Saturday!! This is a link party to share all of your child-oriented crafts, crafts made for kids, activities and lessons as well as your parenting and/or teaching posts. On Sunday night we also host Crafty Weekends for all your crafts (done by any age), patterns, and craft product reviews! It is the perfect place to share your creative side!! And for all of your cultural posts come share them at the monthly Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop. 

Thank you to everyone who shared with us last week! I always love seeing what everyone has been up to and your creative ideas!! Our features are just a sampling of them so if you haven't checked them all out, you should! This week we have two groups of features: Pumpkin Recipes and Lessons & Party Features.

Muffins, Muffins--Using up bananas and pumpkin

Today we had some overripe bananas and some canned pumpkin my mother sent home with me. We decided to make two kinds of muffins. This would be perfect for anyone having a party or a bake sale. We also used a large carrot and a large zucchini grated up.

Banana Muffins & Pumpkin Muffins
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup almond meal (if making for bake sale may want to use flour instead due to allergies)
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup flax seed meal
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
dashes of ground cloves
2 eggs
1/2 - 1 cup of canned pumpkin
2-3 overripe bananas mashed or pureed
1 large carrot & 1 large zucchini pureed together
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 3/4 cups milk (I use non-fat)
1 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
1/2 - 1 cup sliced almonds or chopped nuts (optional)

To make both at once, you will need four mixing bowls. In the two largest ones add half of each of the dry ingredients (1 c flour, 1/4 c almond meal, 1/2 c oatmeal, 1/2 c flax seed meal, 2 t baking powder, 1 t cinnamon, 1/2 t nutmeg, dash or two of ground cloves) and mix. Set both bowls aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In next two bowls beat an egg in each. Then add the pumpkin to one and the banana to the other. Add half of the carrot-zucchini mixture to each bowl and 1 Tablespoon of oil and 1/2 cup of applesauce to each. I found the pumpkin was a bit dry and needed 1 cup of milk and the banana only needed 3/4 cup of milk. Mix this all together. Then add each bowl to one of the dry ingredient bowls and mix. You can mix in the almonds or nuts if you are using them.

Spray 24 muffin cups with cooking spray (paper liners often stick since there is not much oil in these recipes, so if you want liners use foil ones). Scoop each batter into 12 of them. We made 12 of each.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes and let cool. Enjoy!!

Sharing Saturday 14-43

Thank you to everyone who shared with us last week and to everyone who shared the love by visiting posts that others shared. As a result we have a most clicked! From In the Playroom, Sensory Play with Chocolate Cloud Dough.

Last week we had many Halloween themed posts (I will be featuring some skeleton posts on Sunday). There were also Frozen themed posts, spiders, math and lessons and so much more. If you have not had the chance to check them all out, you should! Today I am featuring some pumpkin themed posts and a few favorites of mine.

Halloween Children's Book and Needle Felted Characters

21 Days left until Halloween

Last night I made Hazel four characters from Erica Silverman's book, Big Pumpkin. When we had this book out of the library we read it at least three times a day. It is a Halloween story with a witch, ghost, vampire, bat and mummy, but is not scary at all. The overall story is the witch plants a pumpkin seed so she can make pumpkin pie for Halloween. Her pumpkin grows and grows, and when she goes to pick it hours away from Halloween it is too big for her to pick. Each of the other characters come along and try and only the little bat comes up with the idea that works (working together). Then they all enjoy her pumpkin pie at her Halloween party.

I told Hazel that the Pumpkin Fairy must have left them. I'm not sure if she believes me or not, but she has been a bit afraid of fairies due to the toy fairy story, so I want her to see some good in fairies as well. To make the ghost, I started with a small bit of white roving and folded it up small. Then I needled it into a ball. Next I took pieces of roving and draped them over the ball. I needled them into the ball and shaped the ghost how I wanted it. I tried to turn the ends out so it could stand on its own. Then I took small pieces of black to be eyes and a mouth.

For the witch, I made a ball out of biege roving and then shaped a piece of it for her nose. I added green hair--needling it on. For the hat I spiraled the black for the bottom and made it as flat as I could then I used a styrafoam cone to help get the shape of the top, but in the end it was too big so I folded it over and needled it flatter until I was happy. Then I attached the two pieces and attached the hat to the head (with the needle of course). Then I made arms by folder a long piece of black over and needling it into the shape I wanted. Then I used the cone to help with the body. Attaching long pieces at the top and draping it over the cone. I attached the arms to the head and the body to the arms. Once all attached I made adjustments until I was happy. Again I tried to stiffen the bottom outward to make her stand. She is a bit tall to stand on the roving, but can a bit.

I did the bat in a similar fashion making a small ball out of black and the wings were similar to the arms but flatter.

For the vampire, I used white for the face. Then I used black and red for the eyes and mouth. I tried to add fangs, but they blended in with his face a bit. Then I did the arms and body similar to how I did the witch.

I haven't figured out a way to do the mummy yet, which is why she didn't get one. Still thinking about it.

Today I'm hoping to plant some fall bulbs and the lavender plant I bought at the farmer's market this weekend. I'm hoping to get Hazel out digging in the dirt with me. She hasn't been as afraid to get dirty as she use to be. Have a great day!!

Sharing Saturday #42

Ok, I am apologizing for not visiting everyone who shared last week. I have been a bit crazy this week. Our church is having a huge Pumpkin Patch with Holiday Craft Fair tomorrow and I'm in charge of the craft fair and somehow have picked up some of the other things for the rest of it as well. Feeling a bit stressed today. Then on top of it my parents decided to come for a visit for a long weekend, so I'm trying to get ready for tomorrow and entertain. So I promise I will visit them all, but for now I will focus on getting ready for and through tomorrow. I still urge you to go check out all the great ideas shared. Here is the most clicked last week. To check it out please click on the picture!

Since I have the Pumpkin Patch on my mind, I thought it was only appropriate to share pumpkin ideas (ok and one candy corn idea since I loved it!).

1) From Mama Smiles: Jack O' Lantern Chains
2) From Life on Lakeshore Drive: Pumpkin and Pine Cone Fireplace Garland
3) From Learning Ideas - Grades K-8: Jack O' Lantern Clocks
4) From The Usual Mayhem: Folk Art Pumpkins
5) From We-Made-That: Jack O' Lantern Pancakes
6) From One Creative Mama: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pancakes--Gluten Free
7) From Hey Mommy, Chocolate Milk: Pumpkin Traditions
8) From The Messy Roost: Candy Corn Wreath

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog.

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From Your Hostess: Autumn Nature Walks and Crafts with Nature Treasures

 

Now for This Week's Party   

A Few Simple Guidelines:
1)  Please follow both hosts via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).  

Hosts are Crafty Moms Share and Mama Mia's Heart2Heart. A reminder: Mia is taking a blogging break. Hopefully she will be back soon to host again!!

2)  Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc.  Remember to link to your actual post.

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Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share and Mama Mia's Heart2Heart permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest. 

All right everyone...This is a PARTY!! Have Fun!!

Sharing Saturday 14-34

Thank you to everyone who shared with us last week and a special thank you to everyone who took the time to visit what others shared! We did not have a most clicked, so I picked three categories of features. With schools starting up across the country, Back to School seemed appropriate (though I'm still in denial and can stay this way for another week and a half even if her new school uniforms arrived today), Lessons, and finally Pumpkin Bread (I guess fall is really coming soon with several pumpkin bread recipes shared).

Back to School

1) From Juggling Act Mama: Back To School Teacher Gift

2) From Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes: Back To School Book and Poem

3) From Krafts and Kiddos: First Day of School Printables

4) From There's Just One Mommy: Back To School "I Spy" Craft

5) From Stella123: Kid Activity: DIY Back To School Pencil Sharpeners

6) From Sunshine and Hurricanes: Why I'm Not Excited School Is Starting

Lessons

1) From Munchkin and Bean: Colonial Small World {Safari Ltd. Review}

2) From Wugs and Dooey: Exploring Patterns, Colour and Symmetry with Tiles

3) From Five Painted Lane: Make a Treasure Map

4) From My Catch A Star Classroom: Introducing Children to Herbs

Pumpkin Breads

1) From Yesterfood: Pumpkin Bread (with nuts)

2) From Life with Garnish: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog. 

Featured Button Code:

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From Your Hostess: This week I am sharing our posts for the week as well as three pictures from our week that I will not be posting about. Those pictures were seeing Rapunzel and Olaf at our local McDonald's and seeing a life size model of a humpback whale which we even got to go inside! For posts we shared making doll panties from newborn onesies (this goes with a post from last week about using the onesies for t-shirts for the dolls), the start of our exploration of Japan with some beautiful books from Tuttle Publishing, a review of Hello, Bali a great kids yoga book, our change from shed to clubhouse with some old party decorations and a few other things and DIY canopy for a bed to make a princess bed.

Now for This Week's Party 


A Few Simple Guidelines:
1)  Please follow Crafty Moms Share via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).  

2)  Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc.  Remember to link to your actual post. 

3) Post the Sharing Saturday button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.

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4) I would love it if you would follow me on Facebook,  Google+, and Pinterest 

5) If you do not have a blog, but want to share an idea you can leave it in the comments or e-mail it to me with a picture (if possible).

 

 Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest.

Sharing Saturday 15-44

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! It was another great week of sharing!  Remember the features are just a sampling of the things shared so if you did not get a chance to check them all out, go back and be inspired! This week's features' themes are Pumpkins, Thanksgiving & Diwali, and Educational & Fun. Also a side note  I host another link party on Saturday night for crafts for any age person called Crafty Weekends. If you are sharing a craft (especially a non-child craft) this is the best place to do it with some fun features from the previous week!! Our third party will be tomorrow night. Stop by to share your crafts, patterns, reviews of craft books, etc.

Sharing Saturday 15-40

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! The ideas shared last week were amazing!! I had trouble limiting the number of features.  Remember the features are just a sampling of the things shared so if you did not get a chance to check them all out, go back and be inspired! This week's features are Glowing Features, Pumpkins & Hispanic Heritage, Fall, and a few of my favorites.

Saturday Baking and Crafts for Kids

Cookie Plate for the new neighbors

Autumn Maple Cutout Cookies

So today, we have started baking some maple cookies. I searched the internet for some good autumn recipes. We have new neighbors and we thought we would bake something to bring over to meet them. We made the dough for Autumn Maple Cutout Cookies from My Recipes this morning. The dough ended up being very dry and hard to work with. I left in the refrigerator for several hours, so I do not know if this is why. They are tasty, but not my favorite.

 

Fall Crafts Capturing the Beauty of Autumn Leaves

 

Last week I shared some autumn crafts including leaf embroidery. I promised another fall craft if it worked and it mostly did. So today I am sharing how to make a leaf bowl. Now I saw photographs all over the place like this one for inspiration. I went outside and picked some beautiful fall leaves. Then I wiped them and let them dry for a few hours. I gathered a plastic cup, a balloon, a paintbrush, and my ModPodge. When I was ready I blew up the balloon and put it in the plastic cup. The cup works as a stand so you do not have to hold the balloon in place. Put the knotted side down into the cup. Then I spread some ModPodge on my first leaf and stuck it on to the balloon. I then spread more ModPodge on the other side of the leaf to get it really stuck. I continued doing this trying to overlap the leaves.

Paper Flowers and Pumpkin Blueberry Pancakes

Monday morning Hazel and I made a few paper flowers to decorate our kitchen table. We made some of the handprint Easter lilies you see everywhere lately, but I first saw at Family Fun and some daffodils that I made up.

The lilies are very easy. You trace and cut out a handprint on white paper or cardstock. (We used construction paper.) Curl the fingers around a pencil. Then curve the hand around a green straw and tape it together. Fold half of a yellow pipe cleaner in half and bend the ends and stick into the straw. Then add a double leaf with a hole punched through it.

The daffodils are fairly easy as well. Design a three petal shape and cute two out of yellow paper (or white if you want white daffodils) and punch holes in the center of them. Then cut a strip about 2-3 inches wide and use scallop edged scissors if you have them or fringe it. If you want to add color to the strip you can. (We used Hazel dot markers just to give the edge a bit of color.) Put the sets of petals through a green pipe cleaner and bend the end so they stay on. Make sure they are open and not completely overlapping (you can use a little glue to keep them this way). Glue the strip into a ring and then glue in the center of the petals.

I then stuck them in a vase with a little bit of blue crumpled paper/Easter grass. They look beautiful with our Easter egg table cloth.

This morning we made pancakes. Hazel has been asking to make pancakes for a few days. We finally had the time this morning. She wanted to make pumpkin pancakes. I pulled out my old standby cookbook. It was a birthday present from a friend at my sixth birthday. Needless to say it is well used.

I of course modified the recipe.

Pumpkin Blueberry Pancakes  

2PointsPlus Value Per Pancake (Weight Watcher PointsPlus) 

Makes: 10-12 pancakes

Ingredients

	1 cup(s) whole wheat flour
	2 tsp baking powder
	1 tsp ground cinnamon
	1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
	1 cup(s) canned pumpkin
	1 cup(s) fat-free skim milk
	1 Tbsp olive oil
	1 large egg(s)
	1 cup(s) unsweetened frozen (or fresh) blueberries

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
Mix pumpkin, milk, oil, and egg in a different bowl. Then add to dry ingredients and mix well. Then stir in blueberries.

Heat pan and spray with a cooking spray. When warm enough, spoon small amounts of the batter onto pan. When first side has had time to cook flip with spatula. Cook all the way through and remove and serve. Repeat until batter is gone.

This is where I link up...

DIY Box Creations -- a Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

Disclosure: I was sent this book to review free of charge from Quarto Books USA. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful week and is ready for Halloween. We finally had our It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown party today. Here are some pictures from our set up. We had a table set for crafts and Bingo. The girls played smash the pumpkins at our balloon pumpkin patch as well as Bingo and relay races. Then there was a popcorn bar to have some popcorn while watching the DVD of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. They had a blast and it was such an easy party to set up and clean up. I gave each girl a brown lunch bag a little more than half filled with popcorn with butter on it.

The Three Little Guinea Pigs -- A Fun and Creative Twist on a Classic Tale

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Now in my house we love fairy tales. We have done so much with them from our Fairy Tales in Different Cultures Series to crafts and more about different ones including The Three Little Pigs. We have "built" and crafted the pigs' houses several times. We used to also play a game of Three Little Pigs in bed in the morning when I needed some more rest and Hazel was up. We would put the covers over our heads, and I would voice the Big Bad Wolf and pretend one of the cats was the wolf. Hazel would say "Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin." We would basically tell the story under the covers. We would be in giggles by the end though. Today I get to share a new twist on The Three Little Pigs. The book is called The Three Little Guinea Pigs by Erica S. Perl and illustrated by Amy Young. The book is recommended for ages 4 to 8. Plus we have a craft round-up to go with this book!

Halloween

Congratulations to Andrea F. for winning the ebook of Christmas Crafts for Kids and a belated congratulations to Brenda W. for winning The ABC's of Australian Animals yoga book!

I have never really liked the scary parts of Halloween. I don't like where Halloween has gone and how over the top it is. I do remember loving dressing up and trick-or-treating as a child, so I wanted Hazel to have that experience without all the drama and commercialism. For her first Halloween I was excited to dress her up and take her to some family and friends' houses. Now of course she is excited to dress up and go trick-or-treating. I have made her costumes except for the first year where I found an adorable one at a consignment shop.

I chose the duck and lion costumes. She wanted to be the dish and spoon with me since she use to take my hand and tell me to run so we could be the dish and spoon from Hey Diddle, Diddle. Last year she wanted to be Rapunzel and this year she wants to be Cinderella. I finally finished her dress. I still need to put the elastics in her lower sleeves/gloves, but I need her here to measure her arms to do that. Here is the dress.

I bought her a Cinderella wig to go with the costume. I will add a picture to this post once she is dressed up for trick-or-treating. 

She picked the darker blue for her gown instead of the Disney light blue. I should add she has two light blue dress up dresses to be Cinderella, but will not leave either one for any length of time since the cheap fabrics bother her skin. This is why I make so many of her costumes. 

Now Hazel is easily scared so Halloween is not a time we pull out the scary and gory decorations. We tend to focus on pumpkins, though we do have a large spider and web on our staircase this year and some friendly ghosts in our front entrance. I have struggled with explaining Halloween to Hazel and why so many people like to dress up scary. Last year I used the Mexican Day of the Dead to help explain it. Today I found a wonderful way to do it and to bring the religious meaning back to the holiday. Over at Catholic Icing there is a wonderful post on Explaining Halloween to Catholic Kids. I would say not being Catholic, that it could be used for any Christian children.

Then there is the issue of the candy. We try to limit Hazel's sugar input (and should really limit ours more). We have used the story of the Pumpkin Fairy to help with this. I shared our version of the story here.

This year we spent some time making the egg carton pumpkins that you have seen around on-line including some at Sharing Saturday. We took our candy corn rice krispie treats a step further and made them apple and pumpkin shape (we used cookie cutters). We decorated them this time with M&M's and Steve helped Hazel with the decorating.

The final thing I would like to share with you is a wonderful book. Now the note to parents says it is not a Halloween book, but it is about a jack-o'-lantern. The book is The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs. I bought a copy of this book for my church and then found a used copy at the used book store and picked one up for ourselves. The church used it for Hazel's class earlier this month and one of the crafts they made was a simple one. They took orange jack-o'-lantern goody bags and stuffed them and then added a special leaf on the tie.

The book goes through a farmer planting a pumpkin patch and then when harvest time comes choosing one special large pumpkin to carve a smiling face and leaving it on his porch for all to see. Throughout the book, there are Bible quotes to go with the story. It is really a nice book to take some of the scary away from Halloween and make you like jack-o'-lanterns more.

So that is a bit about our Halloween. How do you celebrate? We are really excited that this year it appears there will not be a Halloween storm so Steve will be home with us!