Wow, I have never wanted a break from crafting in all my life. I did not craft a single thing today--can you believe it? I'll be back to my old ways tomorrow, but it was nice to just read a book, drink hot cocoa, and enjoy my family after weeks of getting ready for our craft fairs. I hope Stacy did the same today! We really did have a great time, though, and we were able to clear out a few things from our craft closets and make a little extra dough for Christmas. We'll be stocking our Etsy stores this week with the leftovers, so watch for an announcement soon! There were some really cute things that didn't find a home, and our husbands do not want them in ours any longer!


Stacy and Mandy with the "goods"



Look at all this fun stuff!

Thanks to our sweet readers who stopped by the Kokanee fair yesterday. We appreciate your support so much! We also made some new friends in the vendors near our table.

Like these guys. We were so impressed with these high school students, Mike and Jake, who sell screen-printed t-shirts with earth-friendly themes. They had some cool stuff! They're still working on their Web site, but check out beleafculture.com in the near future.



We also made fast friends with Heather of Cutie Patootie Boutique.

Heather was selling darling baby and kids items--we were going crazy over all her stuff! She has incredible taste in fabric, too. Check out this adorable pillow case dress.


And this hilarious "stinks good" play dough. "Dough Doh Heads" scented play dough comes in fun flavors like Rootbeer Float, Banana Split, Freckled Lemonade, and more. (Children with Wheat Allergies should NOT use this product as it contains wheat flour.) We loved the funny "dough doh head" on her packaging. So original!


Play with your dough on this cool reversible play mat that's a smooth surface for dough on one side and a chalkboard on the other.


After spending all day with her, we felt like we were best friends. Maybe that's why she offered to give us a few items for a giveaway! Two giveaway posts in a row? Christmas must be coming. . .

Check out Heather's Web site and leave us a comment with your favorite item in her store for a chance to win these fabulous stocking stuffers (great items for girls or boys!):


*1 Groovy Grape Dough Doh Heads Scented Playdough
*1 Orange Sorbet Dough Dob Heads Scented Playdough
*1 black and white gingham reversible "Chalk and Dough on the Go" play mat

That's a $24 value! Thanks Heather! Go visit Cutie Patootie Boutique and let us know what tickles your fancy. But be sure to leave us a comment by Sunday, November 30th. Good luck!

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Santa's coming a little early to Little Birdie Secrets. We have another giveaway for you! Have you heard of this company, Klutz? They sell how-to craft and learning books for kids. I love the idea of teaching your children the joy of creating while they're still young. Most of the books come with the materials to make something. We love them! And we're giving you a chance to win a holiday prize pack of five Klutz books. Sweet!

Just leave us a comment on this post by December 12, 2008, and we'll pick a winner at random and announce their name on the 13th. Just our style--fun and EASY!

Here are a couple of the books in the prize pack that we think look so fun!


So that's it. Leave us a comment and you'll be entered to win. And don't forget about Klutz's holiday offer. Any of their books would make a great gift for the crafty little ones in your life!

P.S. Klutz has let us know that only residents of the US and Canada are eligible to win this giveaway.

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Pumpkin Cupcakes

Add the following to a large mixing bowl:

4 eggs slightly beaten

2 cups of sugar

¾ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ cup oil

1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups of flour

2 cups or 16 oz of 100% pure pumpkin

8 oz chocolate chips

Optional—1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts

Once all this is thoroughly mixed together, place in lined jumbo muffin tins. This recipe makes 12 jumbo cupcakes. Bake at 350 for 25 to 35 minutes (mine took about 30 minutes) depending on the size of your pan, etc. Check with a knife or toothpick. The cupcakes are done when you can insert a toothpick or knife and it comes out clean.

Frost with cream cheese frosting. You can also add a little bit of orange juice to the cream cheese frosting. Delicious!

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Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of the year. And I'll admit it's mostly because of the food. But also the family. I'm going to miss hanging out and eating my parent's amazing Thanksgiving feast this year. Luckily, Jessica's little family is in the same boat, so we're going to be each others' family this year. I am so thankful for good friends!

In honor of the big day, (or really any fall day), we made this simple silverware holder for a fun fall table decoration in about 15 minutes.

Leaf Silverware Holder Tutorial

What you'll need:

*Large leaf to trace
*Pencil or pen
*Piece of paper
*Felt
*Scissors
*Coordinating embroidery floss and needle

1. Trace your leaf onto a piece of paper and cut out. This is your pattern. Cut out two of your pattern from the felt.

2. Stitch veins in the leaf with the embroidery floss and needle.

3. If you're feeling ambitious (we weren't), stitch the leaves together around the edges, leaving an opening at the top for the silverware. If not, glue them together with craft glue or Liquid Stitch like we did.

4. Now make them for every holiday! Think stars or trees for Christmas, hearts for Valentine's, shamrocks for St. Patrick's, decorated eggs for Easter--you get the idea.

With all the craft fair craftiness going on, we haven't had a lot of time to come up with other Thanksgiving ideas, but here are a few fun ideas we've come across.


These candles and pumpkins are covered in lentils! I love the earthy feel. Check out DIY Network's tutorial.

These homespun pumpkins are made from rope and yarn. Martha gives you instructions to make your own.


I also liked these simple napkin ties using acorns from your yard. Martha does it again. And it's easy!

And last but not least, our crafty friend Deborah has an adorable turkey she puts out every year using a pumpkin from her garden. If you're handy with woodworking tools, these would be really easy to make. Each piece is painted and has a nail protruding from the bottom so you can simply stick it in your pumpkin. Instant turkey! I wish cooking one was that easy.

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It's craft fair time! Stacy and I have been madly sewing and crafting for two craft fairs we signed up for this week (Jessica, out of pure wisdom I'm seeing, chose to opt out of this crazy idea). It has been a little stressful, but a lot of fun, too (thanks for the babysitting help, Jess!). We had our first today--it was a small affair, but a good trial run. This Saturday we've participating in the Kokanee Holiday Bazaar in Woodinville, WA, which will be a little bigger. If you're in the area, stop by and see us! Here are the details:

5th Annual Kokanee Holiday Bazaar

As I was preparing items to sell, I kept looking for a tutorial for a bath mitt to compliment the other bath and body type items I was making. Everything I saw was crocheted--just not what I wanted. Then I found this great tutorial for an oven mitt from My Longest Year (who has other great tutorials, too!) and thought I'd try something a little crazy.

Voila! Since it's too small for the average hand, I guess I'll have to keep this one for myself. Darn! If I have a chance to make a new one, it will be sold with coordinating rice heat therapy bag (tutorial coming soon), cold pack eye mask (also coming soon), and makeup bag for an ultimate spa gift. If I would've thought about it sooner, I would have ordered a few soap slices from my friend The Soap Lady to include in the package. Her soaps are divine! Maybe I'll have to throw in a bath bomb instead. I'll post a picture if I can get it all together before the bazaar on Saturday.
One more thing: We are optimistic, but we're not naïve--we know we will probably not sell a lot of what we made. But that's good news for all our not-so-local readers. Most of what we have left will probably end up in our Etsy stores soon. I know, can you believe it? Four months and we still haven't listed a single item in either one of our stores. It's embarrassing. But we'll let you know when we finally stock the virtual shelves!

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Some kind reader nominated us for DivineCaroline's "Love! This Site" award! Cool! I've been seeing this button on all my favorite sites--I can't believe we've been added to such an amazing group of talented bloggers. Thank you, whoever you are!

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Dinnertime is always hectic at my house, as I know it is for many people. So, when my sister gave me this easy dinner recipe, I jumped on it. You can whip it up in about 15 minutes, and it only cooks for 25. You can also prepare the casserole ahead of time (say the night before) and store it in your fridge until you are ready to bake it. My boys love it, and the leftovers are also delicious!

Mexican Lasagna

In large pan, saute:
1 lb. ground beef
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin

Add:
2 cans diced green chilies
2 cans (12 oz) mexican stewed tomatoes
Simmer for 10 min.

In a 9 x13 pan, layer 6 corn tortillas, 1/2 can of refried beans, 1/2 of the meat mixture, and 1/2 bag of mexican shredded cheese. You can use just cheddar if you prefer. Repeat the layers one more time: tortillas, beans, meat mixture, and cheese. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes....and enjoy!

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These sweet treats look good enough to eat! But as I've told my three-year-old a dozen times, don't eat them! They taste like soap--yucky! Bath bombs are made up of a few simple ingredients, along with essential oil for aromatherapy and almond oil to soften the skin. They fizz when you drop them in water and create a luxurious bath experience. But these are extra sweet because we added frosting with real powdered sugar.

We made simple round bath bombs at our recent class, but each attendee got to take one of these bath bomb "cupcakes" home as a door prize. (The frosting was just too complicated to add to an already complicated class.) We made up several dozen of these "cupcakes" to sell at our upcoming craft fairs. We'll have to be sure to mark them "don't eat!" because they do look delicious.

Want to make your own? Here's the recipe, along with a tutorial to help you avoid the problems we had as we were figuring this art out. Because it is an art, not a science, you should work in small batches (i.e. don't double the recipe), and be prepared to tweak things to get them just right. All that said, they're really not that hard! I promise!

Okay, let's get started!

Bath Bomb Fizzy Recipe

What you'll need:

*2 c. baking soda
*1 c. citric acid (We found this in the bulk section at a local health food store)
*1 Tbsp. oil of your choice (We like almond oil, but grapeseed oil or even olive oil would work)
*5 drops fragrance/essential oil
*3-5 drops coloring (You can use food coloring, but it may fade quickly and even leave a ring around your bathtub. We used a special oil for bath products we found on Brambleberry.com.)
*1 tsp. Bentonite clay (optional--this just makes them harder; we found it here, too.)
*1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (optional--this makes your bombs lather up, and we also found it here.)
*Witch hazel (poured into a spray bottle)
*Paper cupcake liners
*Silicone cupcake molds

1. Prepare your molds by placing a cupcake liner inside the silicone cupcake mold. It won't fit perfectly--just shove it in.


2. Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and gently mix. Be careful not to inhale it!


3. Add fragrance to the dry mixture. Measure out the oil and place a few drops of color to it. Add it to the dry mixture. Gently mix.



4. While kneading the mixture with one hand, begin spraying the mix with the witch hazel. (We did this as a team, but one person can do it alone.) Be careful not to get the mixture too wet--the moisture will activate the citric acid and your bath bomb will be ruined. Continue to slowly spritz the mixture with witch hazel and squish it in your hands until it has the consistency of crumbly pie dough.

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Have you ever wandered around the fabric shop, looking for a very specific fabric that just didn't seem to exist? We've wished a few times we could just create our own design. Something in just the right colors, with exactly the right theme. Well, we're doing a happy dance right now because our wish has come true! We have been waiting and waiting for this awesome new site to be open to the public, and they are finally ready to take orders! Spoonflower.com is an amazing company that lets you design and order fabric of your own designs. You create the design and send a scan to them, and they turn it into fabric. You can order as little or as much as you like. And at $18.99 a yard, it's really not bad considering you get exactly what you want!

The coolest part is that the idea came from a crafty momma just like many of us--with an awesome, forward-thinking husband. This is a quote from their About Us page:

Stephen Fraser is an Internet marketing geek who used to consult for startup companies and who can't sew to save his life. One night after their three girls had gone to bed, his wife Kim interrupted his usual muttering to offer a suggestion: “You know what would be really cool? If I could print my own fabric.” Stephen agreed that did seem pretty cool.

My favorite sample I saw was a letter a woman had written to her niece and had it printed in a cute font. Then she used it as the backing to a quilt she made for her. So sweet!

They've got information and tips on how to go about creating your design on their FAQ page. You can even view others' designs to get inspiration, plus check out their Flickr pool to see what people have made with the fabric they designed. This service is truly revolutionary in the crafting world. We can't wait to try it!

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We were finally featured on Today's Creative Blog! Yes! This is how we know we've really hit the big time. Kim is hilarious and gave us a great review. And no worries, Kim, we're not mad about you borrowing our photos. Anything for you, Biscuit.

If you have no idea what blog we're talking about here, you must be new to the creative blog scene. You have got to check it out.

Welcome to all our new readers from the Three Birdies! We're so glad to have you around--hope you'll stay a while. And to all our long-time friends, thanks for all your support!

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I laughed out loud when I heard the name of this cool product: Pee-Pee Teepee. Can you guess what it's for? I didn't have this happen to me many times, but once is one time too many! These are a great product, but we decided to try making our own for a friend's baby shower.

If you haven't guessed what these are used for yet, you probably haven't had the privilege of changing a baby boy's diaper. This cone-shaped cloth product gives you a fighting chance to stay dry in the event of a little unexpected shower. Just put it over his little wee-wee as soon as you open his diaper and it goes to work. It's a must-have accessory for baby boys, and a set of four or five of them would be great as part of a baby shower gift. This cowboy-themed teepee is especially hilarious because the fabric has the words "giddy up" printed on it! (Yeah, we think we're pretty funny.)

Diaper Change Cone Tutorial

What you'll need:

*Flannel
*Scissors
*Sewing machine and coordinating thread

1. First, make a template out of paper and cut out two half circles of your flannel (or cut one big circle and then cut it in half). You could try tracing the bottom of a bowl or plate. Mine was 7 inches in diameter (7 inches across the straight part for you geometry-haters).



2. Sew the two halves right sides together, starting halfway down the straight side. Sew around the arc and then stop.



3. Turn inside out and iron flat, being sure to tuck in the unsewn opening.


4. Fold in half and sew down the straight side.



5. Turn inside out. Place on baby boy's wee-wee to prevent pee-pee sprinkler!

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