Archive for July, 2011

TOMS Owl Craft…Woot!

July 27, 2011

You all have heard of TOMS shoes by now, I’m sure. Their slogan, “With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One.” Sound familiar? Pretty cool campaign… I bought the ash pair a while back after trying on my friends TOMS and loving them. How adorable is  this pair or this pair or this pair….so, so cute!

But, today I’m not talking about the shoes,…no, no,…I’m talking about the packaging! I know, I know…I promise this is exciting. Promise! After buying my TOMS, I stuck the shoe box in my closet (I have a hard time parting with shoe boxes). But a few weeks later I surrendered to my box hoarding habit and pulled it down to put in the recycling (must. get. rid. of. clutter.).

After checking the box out, I decided to throw some of Ruby’s wooden blocks in the shoebox for storage and then was left with the cardboard shoe inserts sitting on my kitchen counter. Later in the day, my mom (who was visiting that week from the East Coast) walked by and said,…”Look at this,…THIS could be a cute little owl craft for Ruby”, while holding the insert in her hands. Right here and now I will say that ALL creativity I have comes from my mom, folks. She was right,…how incredibly cute would that little insert be as an OWL?!!

You all know I love creating sweet little crafts with Ruby so later that week I pulled out my cardboard TOMS shoe insert and Ruby and I created an OWL!

A few brown scallops across the cardboard insert for Sir Owl’s feathers…

Some glitter glue to give that owl some pizazz! WOOT!

Wings cut out of a brown paper bag (double recycling!) and glued on each side…

and a pink beak,…by Ruby’s request of course.

On the back of your TOMS owl, hot-glue a wooden skewer or popsicle stick or pencil or old leftover whatever-you-have sitting in your junk drawer to turn it into a sweet little puppet! Just make sure whatever you’re using isn’t pointy or sharp.

And there you have it, my friends! A sweet little craft to create and feel happy about…knowing your reusing and recycling!

Next up,…puppet fun with Ruby using toilet paper rolls!

Couscous Chopped Salad

July 26, 2011

A perfectly cool and healthy treat for this warm summer weather.

Couscous chopped salad,….left over couscous from the night before mixed with chopped up vine-ripened cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, grilled chicken, and a handful of feta cheese, seasoned with a bit of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

A nice light lunch on this warm sunny day.

Brownie Sundae (3 ways)

July 21, 2011

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A homemade brownie with a single scoop of vanilla icecream and chocolate syrup drizzled on top for J…

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For me, make it 2 scoops and add some salted caramel in the mix…

But for Ruby,…her special request,… a “pink” brownie.

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Some pink sprinkles were added,…such joy from one little girl for her dainty “pink” brownie.

I love little girls!

Delicious Cocoa Brownie recipe by Alton Brown. Check it out,…my opinon?? They were even better the NEXT day!

A Birdhouse for Ruby

July 18, 2011

The other day Ruby and I found a paint-your-own birdhouse at Marshall’s (my most favorite store!).

I was so excited since I’d spotted the same one at our local toy store, but was able to get this one for half the price!

Ruby painted it one day, complete with hand prints (her request) and then we went to our local pet store and found some bird seed to put inside!

Filling it up….

What a sweet little craft and activity for a sweet little girl.

Thumbsucker

July 18, 2011

20110718-115636.jpgI think we have another thumbsucker, folks!


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