bedtime tales

New Branches

2011-11-03T08:36:00.000-07:00

Talk about a construction zone...

We recently took a big axe and cut out a chunk of our creative production process. We are semi-retiring this blog- off to bigger and better things. Becca is branching out with her new "Becca Marie Designs" blog and shops. CK is excited to pursue more photography with a new project and possible business called Opal Dream Photography (and yes, she is dragging Becca along for the ride).

So please come visit us at these new places. Both of us are right in the middle of moves. Becca is taking her family across the country and we have holidays coming up.

We may post back here from time to time when we find something appropriate but overall we won't keep it regularly updated.

We have had a fantastic time with Made by Bedtime Tales blog and we are so grateful to everyone who has been here, commented and encouraged us through our experience ;)

Thank you all!

-CK & Becca

A free "Green" downloadable puppet stage pattern

Under the Sea

The Proclamation ABC's Free Download

If They Could Talk Series

Handmade for Haiti

Baby Duschshunds

Please be patient with us!

2011-10-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

Or blog is currently in the middle of a construction zone.

We don't know how it got there, it just up and jumped into the middle of a muddy pit between a ninja and a robotic flying bunny.

Please be patient while we get it sorted out :)

In the meantime, here is a coupon to go eat that treat that is in your cupboard that you keep telling yourself is for later....

go ahead, it will make you happy.

Popsicle Sweater

2011-09-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

I showed this little pillow that I made to my mom on video chat

and she thought I'd gone off and gained time to knit a pillow with seven different colors in it.

haha. ha.

No, truth is, this pillow used to be a sweater. And yes, it was a pretty little sweater.

I debated for a week or two trying to decide if I really wanted to be a clothes murderer.

But then if I didn't go ahead and make the jump, I'd never be a pillow creator.

This is what she used to look like.

Yes, adorable. It was a hand-me-down. But to tell you the truth, my daughter was given quite a few hand-me-down sweaters this year. And this one was a little... boxy. Can you tell I'm trying to justify myself here? But that wasn't what really made me feel like it was okay to chop her all up, she didn't even have a stain.

It was the little pieces of yarn all broken and fraying on the shoulders. This seemed to vindicate things in my head.

Here's what I did:

I cut out a square right from the bodice of the piece. I made sure to be cutting out of the front and back so that I had two squares.

This middle step there isn't a drawing for, but I basically cut two muslin squares the same size. I then sewed the two squares of sweater together wrong sides facing out, with the muslin sandwiching them. I made sure to not sew it completely shut, but to leave a hole so that I could turn it right side out (is that how you say it?) This makes a nice pillow like the sketch below, with muslin lining the insides.

I then filled it with stuffing and sewed up the gap with another piece of yarn.

I made a tiny one too with the one of the sleeves.

I think it would be nice to be decorate a whole child's room around these colors. They're beautiful. And to be honest, I think this thing is going to get a lot more use with it's second life than it did the first.

-Becca

A Family Proclamation Celebration

2011-09-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

My friend, Jocelyn, is holding a very special blogging celebration over at We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ. Bloggers from all over have come together to celebrate and explore the Family Proclamation each on a personal basis. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading inspirational posts on the family all week long.

Check out some of these posts; Forgiveness for Past Abuse, by my friend, Jackie Sarager. We are at War by Middle-Aged Mormon Man. From a Young Age by my sister, Becca!

And I have a few new letter worksheets I've added to our Proclamation ABC's download.

Note that the worksheet for letter "Nn" is copied from a painting my sister did in college (with her permission, of course).

This painting was displayed at a art show on the family in the lobby of the General Conference Center. Pretty cool, huh?

Here are a couple more of the worksheets included in the free download.

Its taken me a long time to draw all of these but I've had fun doing it and I am super grateful for Jocelyn for coming up with the way to organize the Proclamation sentences for the ABC's.

As you can probably tell, Becca and I are pretty enthusiastic about our faith around here. But we love it and we mean it and we really enjoy sharing our faith with our friend and children.

Thanks again, Jocelyn!

-CK

Kale Rolls

2011-09-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

These are some of my favorite rolls! They're healthy, delicious and you can have them with every meal. And, with a cup of kale mixed inside, you can be happy to know that you children will get some vitamins, calcium and iron with every bite.

Ingredients

3 cups hot water

4 TB yeast

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup green pureed kale (boiled and blended)

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup honey

3 tsp salt

3 eggs

6 cups of whole wheat flour

4-6 cups white bread flour

honey butter: 1/2 c honey and 1/2 cup butter

Preheat oven at 375 degrees.

Mix the yeast into a big bowl with the hot water. Add the oil, sugar and 1/3 cup honey and let the mixture stand for 15 minutes.

Next comes the eggs, salt and kale. I like to make a big batch of cooked kale (from CSA) and keep it stored in the fridge and freezer so I can slip it into lots of different recipes.

Side-note for kale puree: The kale is pretty easy to prepare. Just cut off the big stems and clean the kale leaves. Put it into a pot to boil. Once it is cooked and soft, you can pour the kale (with some of the nutrient-rich water) into a blender and puree it.

*This makes a great healthy add-in for scrambled "green eggs and ham."

Because of the kale, your mixture will look a little green but you really don't notice it very much in the finished product.

Next, start to add your flour. I like to throw in all the whole wheat at one time. Then slowly add the white flour in, one cup at a time until the dough gets thick and sticky.

((I should really add this recipe to a St Patrick's Day Link-up Party ;))

Sprinkle flour onto the counter top and roll the dough out in a big ball. You might need to add more flour so that it is easy to kneed.

Technically you probably don't have kneed the dough but I think it is fun and it really mixes in all the flour. Kneed the dough and continue to add white flour until it is less sticky and easy to work with in your hands. But don't put so much flour in that your dough gets too dry. You should find a happy medium of white flour between 4-6 cups.

Roll the dough out with a rolling pin.

Keep going until your dough is about 1/4- 1/2 inch thick.

Now for the honey-butter.

Put the honey and butter into a microwave-safe container and nuke it for 15-30 seconds so it is melted.

Stir up the honey-butter and poor it onto your flattened dough. Spread the honey-butter out with your fingers or a wooden spoon. You might not use all of the honey butter- you want just enough honey-butter to make a thin spread on top of the dough.

However, I recommend that you DO NOT skip this step. The roll dough has very little sugar which makes it healthy, but they are pretty bland without the honey-butter on top.

The next part is really fun and it comes from a trick I learned from an Aunt.

Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into long triangles, just like...

THIS!

The kids love that part.

Roll each triangle like a small sleeping bag, starting at the fat end and ending with the tip.

Place rolls on a greased pan.

Let them stand for 10 minutes and then bake them at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Mmmmmmm! Warm rolls are the best!

Watch out. They are addictive!

This is a recipe I've experimented with for years. This is my favorite variation I created.

There are all sorts of ways to switch up the recipe. You can substitute coconut flour/almond flour/ground flax seed, etc for 1-2 cups of the regular flour.

These rolls have a pink tinge because I used pureed, cooked beets instead of kale!

I usually make 2-3 batches of these rolls at one time so I can freeze and defrost them at a later date. They work great for a quick snack at the park or even fancy dinner dates.They are great with jam!

Chances are that if you are a friend and have come over to my house for snack or lunch time, I've probably served you these rolls.

Happy baking ;)

-CK

Temple Softie Pattern Giveaway

2011-09-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

Like the new Temple Softie Becca made? Would you like to make your own?

Becca is giving away a pattern and you can win it here. Just comment on the post!

-CK

Love to See the Temple Softie - Pattern

2011-09-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

Hey friends!

I have some exciting news to share with you today. We haven't had anything listed in the Bedtime Tales etsy shop for a while, and this is a very sad thing. But sometimes life makes strange twists and turns, and we just have to step back and breath for a bit.

One of the top requests I've had since opening this shop was for my Temple Softie. And it breaks my heart to say it, but I just can't make many more of these custom orders. I feel like I have limited crafting time in baby/mommy-world and there are so many other projects that must take precedence.

But never fear!

I have a plan to dispel the grief from this news. I've made a pattern for a Love to See the Temple Softie, and now you can make your own!

It's the perfect softie for quiet time, church, or a long car ride. It features an LDS temple on the front, with a bride and groom who fit snugly into a pocket on the back.

It's been altered a little from the original, but I chose to make these changes so that it would be easier and cost less to make.

And although I think I will miss the bride's lace dress (Which would be super easy to make! Just sew lace right across her waistline and tuck the edges under when sewing her front body form to the back.) I thought this new couple looked pretty spiffy themselves.

The pattern will be listed in the shop for $2.00.

I'll admit that this is the first time I will be selling one of my patterns online. If you come across a problem while ordering, please email me at madebybedtimetales(at)gmail(dot)com, and I will be delighted to work it out with you. I hope there are many more of my patterns that will join this one in the coming months!

And one last thing, if you are a frequent reader of this blog: thank you.

We appreciate every one of you who join us for a minute of your day. You have no idea how much it means to us.

-Becka

Friendship

2011-09-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

And bracelets.

My little sister and I got together and made some more bracelets.

There is something so chic and fun about these.

And they are sooo simple to learn!

By typing 'how to make friendship bracelet' into google you can find scores of tutorials for these lovelies.

But here are a few:

friendship bracelets . net

artists helping children

a video

My sister was interested in learning and sort of got carried away...

From time to time I sell these girls in my shop.

You'll find this mustard yellow one there right now.

And that's a wrap!

-Becka

50 Books for Haiti- Our goal reached!

2011-09-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

Hi blogging friends,

I just wanted to let everyone know that earlier this week I sent off 50 handmade books to Abundant Ground for the Croix des Bouquets orphanage!

A big thank you to everyone who participated in the project!-

Including a local girl's camp that finished it all off!

The week before the girl's camp, a different service project fell through for them. The camp leaders contacted me and asked me if the Haiti project might work well as a last minute substitute.

(Tatiana, the girl's camp leader)

We scrambled about to get printing prices at local stores and we rounded up scissors and sewing machines for groups of 30+ girls. We got the service underway and I am so excited about the results.

The girls did great cutting, gluing and sewing.

For many of the girls, it was their first time learning how to use a sewing machine. But we had a couple of expert seamstress help out and everything turned out great.

I was so grateful to see the girls put in so much effort!

And I am so grateful for the outcome!

The girl's were so willing and they were all so fun to be with.

Such a beautiful spirit was there.

Again, I feel like the Lord had a hand in this project, making everything work out.

I will share any follow-up report I get from Stephanie Victor.

Again, thank you to everyone who contributed to the service project!

I had so much fun doing the drive, I'd totally do it again!

-CK

New-found hobby: Paper Cutting

2011-08-29T13:28:00.000-07:00

My daughter asked if she could use some scissors, so I handed her a scrap piece of paper and some little pink safety scissors. After a few frustrating attempts to cut the paper (she is just two and a half), so asked me to join her in her craft.

I was was given a paper and some scissors and a look that said, "Please momma, for some reason if you sit here and cut in front of me it will almost make me feel as if I were doing it myself."

Okay fine.

Now I just want to say, I've tried drawing mice and rabbits before and I didn't get anything like this. I have to admit I was surprised by how much this medium differs from pencil or paint. Minds work differently if you stretch them in a way you haven't before. I didn't draw these out before hand, my mind worked it's way through the scissors.

Today's assignment: Alter your craft. Try something simple but new. Find out you thoroughly enjoy sitting with your child and cutting out forrest animals with safety scissors and copy paper.

-Becka

This is not a time waster

2011-08-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

That being said,

this is a time waster.

"What is it?", you may ask.

It's House Plans.com

It is a glorious place where you go and you dream. You dream of what it will be like to maybe one day, one distant day, move away from your one-bedroom apartment and reside in a building you call your own. Either that or look up the most extravagant house you can, just because it's cool. Look!

This place has five bedrooms, and over six bathrooms! They even have a courtyard for their four garages!

Yikes!

And yet it gives off that Jane Austen feel that you so much love. So you forgive them for being absurdly wealthy and invite yourself over for a month-long visit to have herbal tea and nutella (on a spoon).

Or this one!

That's a real life photograph folks, someone actually lives here!

And then it's fun to look at the tiniest abodes. To dream of how fulfilling a simple cottage could make you feel.

Searching on this website is free if you do not include the time you spend house-gazing. I actually call it a date night when the kids are in bed and my man and I can search up dream homes for when we finally get settled. There is nothing wrong with getting a 10-year head start on ideas. That way when we are finally house-shopping we will know exactly what we want when we see it.

Something along the lines of this!*

-Becka

* I may or may not be completely joking. I mean, I would never live anywhere where palm trees would grow.

VROOM VROOM Birthday Party

2011-08-17T23:36:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to experiment with little cupcake flags for some time now.

These were pretty simple and they made sense to post around the "runway".

A "blue" Lightening McQueen was his request.

This party took place quite awhile ago but I am now, just getting to posting the pictures.

Happy Birthday my four year old ;)

We made "car crowns" and held a race in the back yard. It was the perfect activity for a four year-old.

Thanks to all the friends who joined us that day ;)

It's been so great getting to know everyone in this area,

-CK

live. love. craft.

2011-08-11T00:54:00.000-07:00

Half of the above pictures come from Made by Bedtime Tales and half of them come from Alyssa's new blog, live. love. craft.

Can you guess which ones go to which blog?

Our blog has a lot in common with the Alyssa's at funkymonkeyinthemiddle.blogspot.com and we're very excited to be a new sponsor there.

I love her clean look and easy-to-follow tutorials. She's got tons of great, consistently brilliant ideas.

Thank you, Alyssa, for the chance to spread a little blog love ;)

-CK

Wreck

2011-08-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

My friends, I just wanted to use up my tiny bit of space on the vast internets to get a little preachy here.

I am about to talk about helmet safety.

First I'll tell you the story that sparked this post:

A few weeks ago I was in need of dropping a package off at the post office. I decided I'd just bike there since it is literally up my street. Up, as in up the hill on the same street I am on.

As I was heading out the door my husband reminded me to wear my helmet. I like to think that I would have done this anyway without his reminder. Sadly, I was one of those kids who thought wearing helmets was for weirdos. (Which just doesn't make sense, I know.)

Anyways, I biked my booty up to the post office, sent my package, and got back on my bike to head back down. At about this time my husband and children at home were sitting down to lunch. As they blessed the food my husband tells me they said a special prayer for mommy out on her bike.

Fast forward two minutes later:

I am speeding down the hill on my bike singing a song at the top of my lungs. Something about being on a fast bike makes you feel like you can get away with anything, like shower-opera-singing out in public.

Now you know those scenes in movies where the main character is happily skipping on their way and there is joyful music in the background, then they start smiling at some good-looking guy/girl and all of a sudden they walk into a door or a wall and the music instantly stops?

That was me.

I am happily speeding down the hill, and I squeeze my brakes as I approached the bottom.

I realize I am squeezing the wrong break (ie. front instead of back).

Music-opera-singing stops as I feel my bike stop moving forward while I continue on my way down the hill.

I see my hands out in front of me.

I see cement.

I see sky.

And then I see the road and cars driving sideways as I bounce on my head and shoulder and skid to a halt.

My husband has told me a few times in the last month or two how he considers my helmet the best investment my family has ever made.

I'd like you to look up at this picture here of my helmet. Under the Giro symbol and the 'G' is where my helmet skidded the cement ground. Yeah I know, you can hardly tell.

But if this had been my super-hero-invincible head (seeing as I so often don't see how fragile my own body is), I can tell you that I would have had a lot of blood covering that spot, a small chunk of lost hair, maybe a bit of skull showing and a concussion among other things.

As it was, I walked away with a headache and a couple of scars on my shoulder and knees.

I can't tell you how blessed I feel that something like this happened to me.

I say this because there was a great lesson learned and not at the expense of one of my children.

I also say it is a blessing because so many things went right where they could have gone wrong.

I wore a helmet. I chose not to see how fast I could go (which occasionally happens), but instead to see how loud I could sing. I flew into the sidewalk and not the street. I was okay and able to bike home. This was right before our trip home to see family across the country and I didn't end up in the hospital.

And my husband and children prayed for me and their prayers were answered.

Thank goodness.

Wear your helmet.

-Becka

More Painted Wooden Spoons

2011-08-03T07:53:00.000-07:00

A while ago I posted about some painted wooden spoon puppets I made for my daughter. They were an instant hit not only with her, but also my little boy as well.

I decided to paint up a few more for the Painted Spoon Family, and included one solely for my son.

Can you guess which one is his?

Lizzy knew this one wouldn't belong to her from the get-go. It seems to help in the sharing process if there is at least one that she doesn't have to feel complete ownership of.

And my boy loves this guy.

I simply bought a packet of wooden spoons from the dollar store, and painted them with non-toxic acrylics. If I had had more time I would have gone over the faces with a non-toxic varnish or something, but I think they turned out fine the easy way out.

If any of you try this I'd love to see the results. There aren't a whole ton of painted wooden spoons that come up with a google search. I think animals would be fun, like maybe a lion or a bear?

-Becky

Pre-deployment Daddy Dates

2011-08-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

Generally, I think that deployment is pretty rough on the family.

Everyone misses Daddy and Daddy misses the family.

But there is one good thing about the sobering situation of a dooming deployment...

One-on-one Daddy Dates!

My husband takes the time to spend special one-on-one time with each kid.

And even arranges time to take Mom to a few special locations...

*sigh*

I love to hike...

And its been a long time since I got to romp around in the mountains just me and my Love...

And thank you, husband, for the wonderful times.

The great thing about Daddy Dates is that you don't really need a special excuse (ie deployment) to make special time for the family.

Do it. Go spend some special time with a Loved One ;)

-CK

Have you heard?

2011-07-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

This is a post I've been excited to write for a long time!

Many of you know that I have a few shops set up on Etsy. Currently I am selling solely jewelry, but hopefully soon my Bedtime Tales shop will be up and running with new and exciting items. Etsy has been a wonderful website for me to work with, but I can see how the commitment and fear of how official it is might deter someone from trying to share what they make. That is why I'd like to introduce a new website to you. One that I've experimented with and I have to say,

it's awesome.

People, meet whoopdwhoop.

Whoopdwhoop, meet people.

(link to site)

This new(ish) website is a place to 'sell' handmade items, and 'buy' handmade items, without really using money. I've 'sold' three items and 'purchased' one now, and the only dollars I have actually spent went to shipping, because hey, isn't free.

In their own words,

It is "the currency free creative marketplace".

Whoopdwhoop uses points. Points are called 'whoops'. So every time you post a handmade item, or sell a handmade item, or purchase an item, or give feedback, whoops are exchanged.

So far I've sold the following three items:

A brooch (two whoops).

A pair of Ocean Spray earrings (two whoops).

And a hair clip (two whoops).

I have a few more hair clips on there, but they haven't been claimed yet!

The worth of an item is self assigned. One whoop is low cost, five whoops is high cost.

The following is what I have bought. It was two whoops, and so professionally made!

An adorable circus themed crayon rollup.

I love it to death. Mostly because it is gender neutral, and provides hours of distraction for my two-year-old who removes and replaces the crayons over and over again.

I wanted to share the news about whoopdwhoop because it is so easy to navigate and post items. It is ideal for those who want to share what they have created without the pressure of up-keeping a shop. You make what you want, however many you want, you buy what you want. And it is so easy!

I also wanted to share this website with you because it gets better with every new person who participates. The more items to share, the more to choose from!

Once I had built up a few points, it was so exciting to be able to scroll through the pages at my leisure and choose what I wanted to spend my whoops on. Whoops build up fast, and they are fun to spend because it's not real money.

So go grab those beautiful handmade cards you were working on, or that little cross-stitched bookmark!

Check it out! You have nothing to lose :)

-Becka

The mess...

2011-07-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

This post is kind of in response to Nicole's Let's Talk discussion from yesterday.

So often we are able to make our lives and projects look so beautiful and glorified on the great big and bright blogging screen.

But, in reality... I've got dishes to do just like any one.

We just got home from a two week visiting-family vacation

{it was wonderful, btw}

And the unpacking/reorganizing/feed-the-kids-cereal mode settled in quite quickly.

Oh, and of course, I had to top it all off with a reupholstery project as well:

This is my sister's foot after walking around on my floor.

gross.

I think I stepped in yogurt just after taking this picture...

Love to all...

I'm busy cleaning.

-CK

Her 90th Birthday!

2011-07-07T07:37:00.000-07:00

My friend, Marjorie, turned ninety last week.

Wow.

And she is still as spunky as ever.

My daughter and I wanted to make a gift for Marjorie for her special birthday. This is what we came up with:

We strung large fresh-water pearls on strong elastic. I figured a stretchy bracelet would be much easier for her to put on than a tiny clasp. We accented it with a rose colored cut bead.

This was our inspiration.

Do you remember when I mentioned my first piece of jewelry with real pearls? This was a gift from one of my best friends for my bridal shower.

I love it.

So simple, so lovely.

~~~

And the first dream bracelet available in the shop!

They were first mentioned here.

This one wraps an average wrist about 4 or 5 times.

More to come!

-Becka

Modista Modesta Sewing Group

2011-06-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

Wow. Wow. Wow.

I am completely floored by the amazing work Sonia Barton and her church sewing group has accomplished.

After printing the full color pages at Staples using some saved, rewards coupons,

this group got together and produced 15 Handmade-for-Haiti books in 2 hours!!!

I am so grateful that I met Sonia through a SITS tribe group online.

She runs a fantastic blog called Modista Modesta where she features the many craft designs and sewing projects she works on as she currently goes to fashion school.

I am so grateful that she and her sister took the initiative to plan and organize this sewing group.

15 books in one night. Fantastic!

We need 50 books to provide one for each of the children ages 2-6 living in the Croix des Bouquets orphanage in Haiti.

I have another group volunteering through my local community center to cut glue more pages and cardboard together next week.

This will help us produce even more books and I am so excited!!

Please check out our new page devoted to the Handmade-for-Haiti project.

Like I say on this new page, I truly feel like this project has been divinely inspired and every time I feel a little distracted or discouraged by it, the Lord sends some help or prompts me along through the encouragement of others.

Thank you all for your support and help!!!

-CK

Oh the durability!

2011-06-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

Wooden spoons.

Painted.

Talk about fun new crib-side puppet shows!

I need to find me some more before my husband starts questioning where all the spoons went.

Do they sell these wooden spoons in packs at the dollar store? How about little ones? I think this couple needs some kids running around :)

-Becka

Friendship Bracelets

2011-06-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Meet Darling, our little sister.

Picture courtesy of Andrea Cerveny Photography (Thanks Andrea!)

Darling's birthday is July 5th. A fitting day for her to be born.

What do you think Darling would be wanting for her birthday?

I took a wild guess and made one of these:

It is a single bracelet, a friendship wrap.

I'd like to call them Dream Bracelets.

I'm thinking about entering some into my shop. Contact me (Becka) if you would like to order a personalized one. As long as it isn't too long of a word, I can also personalize the tags.

I'll admit, I was happy with the colors she chose.

love,

Becka

Cookie Tips

2011-06-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

The secret to the fluff or the crunch!

Ohhhhh, just looking at this photo makes my mouth water.

I love cookies. Especially if they include some type of melted chocolate.

I love how even a few days later the chocolate is still soft.

I had a friend once who said that she always thought that chocolate chip cookies had too many chocolate chips in them.

What?

The whole point of a chocolate chip cookie is to have chocolate chips and just enough dough to hold them all together.

Well, I thought I'd share a few things I've learned this year while making batch after batch of cookies:

You can control how flat and crunchy your cookie is or how fluffy and puffy it turns out.

Butter and sugar melt, and when they melt they can crisp up. So if your cookies always seem to turn out a little too crispy and flat it is because there is just a little too much butter and sugar in there.

If you want fluffier more cake-like cookies, omit just small portions of the sugar and butter (this can turn out sightly healthier... sort of... in a perfect world where you aren't going to eat the whole batch anyways).

I wish I had example photos of how altering the measurements just slightly can make such a huge difference. I personally like fluffier softer cookies, so if my recipe calls for a stick of butter, I omit a tablespoon of it. Also, if my recipe calls for a cup of sugar, I omit maybe an eighth of it (maybe more). Really, your cookies are going to be full of sugar and butter anyways, so it's not bad to hold back.

Likewise, if you really do like crunchy cookies, be generous with the butter and sugar. More tips can be found on allrecipes.com for making the perfect cookie.

For the above cookies, I used the following recipe. The changes I made were holding back on the butter, the white sugar, and the brown sugar. I also used whole wheat flour instead of white, but that is a personal preference. I don't think you could taste the difference in the flours, and I know they turned out slightly healthier this way.

The recipe.

Oh! And I added three cups of chocolate chips instead of two. Man were they good.

Hope you have a great day!

-Becka

Babins - The Language of Love

2011-06-17T02:49:00.000-07:00

Ever since I started following Maria Babin's blog, I have been so inspired to speak Spanish with my son. I grew up in South America for the majority of my childhood so I remember a lot of simple phrases that are very familiar to children. Every time we sit down for a meal, I try to teach the kids a few new vocabulary words (ie. "shoes," "clothes," "fruit," "juego," etc.) I have had a lot of fun re-learning many Spanish phrases and my kids really enjoy it as well. It's pretty cute to hear them jabber away with new sounds they learn.

Maria and her husband recently made a video that is just beautiful- showing a little about their life style in France, and their experiences of teaching their children to be tri-lingual. She also conveys a deep love for life, family and faith that I think is truly inspirational ;)

You can click here for a few of the tips she offers in teaching children new languages. Great tips and great insight into the process. I am truly grateful for Maria for prompting me to retain some Spanish and pass it on to my kids a little ;)

-CK

Felt Dolls

2011-06-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

Oh shoot.

I didn't get a photo of how I made the board.

This is the first thought that came to my head when I pulled up these photos. Sorry, I'll just describe it instead.

One day my guilt was nagging on me. My daughter was bored. I wonder why? Why, in this one room apartment, is she not finding an endless array of things to keep her occupied? Why is she not content to sit and stare at the pictures in a book for hours on end?

hmmmm.

So I shifted through the box of ideas in my mind and came up with this one.

It's not new.

It's not original.

Take a small sized masonite board. I have seen these made of cardboard, but that just won't last.

Cut out a piece of felt that will drape around the board and hang over a few inches on each side.

Hot glue the edges down. Pull the felt tight as you go. Glue it down nice and tight.

Ta da! A felt board!

For the 'paper' dolls,

Draw a little body design on paper. Practice how you want the faces to look.

Cut the little bodies out of the felt and draw on the faces and panties.

And now the fun part!

Use the same paper pattern to design your own outfits for the dolls.

Become a hairdresser.

Design accessories.

And presto! Fun for ages 2+

I'm just trying to figure out ways to keep them out of my one year old's mouth :)

-Becka

Merry Christmas Honeybear!

2011-06-09T13:35:00.000-07:00

Haha! I think if I actually called my husband Honeybear I'd get the stinkeye. I've never really been able to use nicknames. I am great at coming up with them. I can answer to them. But calling someone else by something that is not their name? Even if I try really hard and think it would be so cute and really want to, I just can't do it.

But that's off the subject.

Remember this?

That was a while ago. It's when I was just learning to embroider. And I'm still learning, little by little. It just so happens that I created the following piece for my husband... for Christmas.

And I finished it yesterday.

Yup, six months later, I was finally able to deliver to him his Christmas present.

And you know what the best part is? His birthday is next week!

If I weren't so nice, I'd just have wrapped it and saved it until then.

Unfortunately he is a really good gift giver. If I pulled something like that, I would willingly pin on the badge of 'Dweebiest Wife of the Year'.

The picture this piece portrays is the grand dream of a young couple in love.

Yup, a farm.

Actually, we don't want to run a farm for a living, but we want to raise our children on some land where there are gardens and animals to take care of. Somewhere where we share responsibility. Somewhere that we all learn together. A place that we can grow vegetables, and fruits, and flowers. Where we can learn to be slightly self reliant.

We want to be somewhere that we can help our children learn to play and work and learn together. A place where we are all kept busy and have no time for the degenerating forces of our world.

Please don't be mistaken. Our kids are going to a public school. They will have friends. And we will definitely watch movies.

But one of my biggest fears as a parent is that my children will not learn how to work, that they will sit and stare at a TV or computer screen all day, soaking in all of the horrid media and expectations for oneself that are flowing from them.

And the scripture is there because it means so much to me. It was my grandmother's favorite scripture. There is actually more to it, but I could only fit in this part.

It means that even if our fun dreams of living in the country and having enough money to own land don't come true,

everything will be all right.

As long as we are trying.

-Becka

This post has been linked up!

A beautiful collection of crafts at:

What I live for

2011-06-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

The next couple of days I hope to share with you the thing that keeps me going. I'm sharing it because it is what I live for, and what makes me happy. The above picture is of my husband and our two children. This is my family. We are young and we are few, but we will grow.

We are eternally bound together.

The article I wanted to share with you today is titled, "Defending The Family in a Troubled World", and it is written by Elder Bruce D. Porter.

I read this article this morning and it reminded me of what my goals are, and why when I am straying from those goals (ie. becoming selfish with my time and activities) I grow less and less happy. And likewise, when I am giving and sacrificing myself and my time over and over again to my children, it actually makes me happy, the fog clears, and I can breath.

This article is what I hope to remember early tomorrow morning when I want so badly to sleep in but know that I should get up, get showered, and get the family going.

with love,

Becka

Handmade for Haiti

2011-06-07T04:04:00.000-07:00

The books are finished and ready for print!

I am so, so, so excited! I'd like to give a BIG round of applause and thank you to Stephanie Victor from Abundant Ground for helping me to write the books, translate the books and make suggestions for each illustration!

Her knowledge and understanding of the Haitian culture, language and children has been invaluable throughout the course of designing these handmade books!

A group of us from church got together Thursday night and put some books together!

It is pretty easy to follow Katie's Toddler Memory Book tutorial on how to cut out the pages, put them in individual plastic covers and sew them together.

The books turned out great and I am so happy with the colors and pictures!

They are stiff, sturdy and easy to clean!

Thank you everyone who came to put them together! I think the books turned out great!

We want to make and collect 50 books for the Croix des Bouquets orphanage in Haiti. Please let me know if anyone out there is interested in printing and assembling a book! They are super easy and cheap to make! If you have already emailed me in regards to this project, I will contact you soon with the PDF of all the illustrations ;)

Thanks all!

-CK

PS how do you like our new layout???

oops!

2011-06-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

Hey friends, we're trying out a new background and working out some kinks,

Hope to be back in a jiffy!

Pearls

2011-05-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

I just wanted to stop and take a second to profess my love for pearls.

My goodness,

I love them.

I remember always wanting pearls as a little girl.

The first ones I owned came on a beautiful bracelet my friend gifted to me at my bridal shower.

And then my mother bought me a pearl necklace for my wedding day.

But now, I know how to make my own pieces with pearls!

They add the perfect touch to whatever look you're going for.

Jeans? Yes please! A nice blouse and pearls will complete the outfit.

Summer dress! Yes!

And on a date, ooooooooo. Can you imagine?

Some of the greatest joys of designing jewelry is seeing it actually being worn by someone!

I love each of these pieces, and you'll find them at my shop!

nonsense & whimsy

Also, come check out the nonsense & whimsy facebook page, there are periodic coupons codes and all of the new pieces are found there :)

Have a lovely Sunday!

Ta ta!

-Becka

Artichoke Pasta Bowl

2011-05-27T07:56:00.000-07:00

Ever prepared and cooked an artichoke before? This new recipe published over at Cook, Clean, Craft shows detailed images of how to steam your artichoke. And how to make a yummy pasta to go inside!

Narelle is featuring Me, Me, Me posts the whole month of May. This specialty is something I make for "Me"!

Artichoke Pasta Bowl here.

piggies

2011-05-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

A while ago my family took a trip to a local farm. I'm so grateful for the folks who keep it all nice and clean and visitor friendly. They don't charge you anything to walk around and visit with the animals. And the little general store on the side sells candy sticks and toy animals for really cheap.

It was a great day.

Hello Mr. Cow.

Hiya, Mr. Turkey. Sorry about news.

And hello there Monsieur.

Madam.

I'm digging the inner beauty.

And...

sheep can't jump can they?

Can they?

Oh, okay good. He just wanted to stand up and intimidate me for a while.

And now, how about those piggies?

Hey there momma, I'd just like to tell you,

"I am thankful for all you do."

And I think nursing one child is tough. Look at that little guy on the right!

hehe.

And that little bum poking out on the left there.

Man, if I didn't know any better, I'd be jealous. But who knows? Maybe these guys are destined to be pets?

Yeah, I'll console my little heart by imagining great things for this litter.

-Becka

Beets Divine

2011-05-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

Alright, I'll be honest. Ever since I joined CSA, I have been completely stumped about what to do with my fresh beets. I tried them in a few different recipes (including beet soup and beet-beans) but I just couldn't get them right.

For the most part, I considered them to taste just like dirt. A few times I pawned them off on a some unsuspecting friends but a few more times I "accidently" just let them go bad in my fridge.

I feel a little guilty about it, too.

But, finally, I made a dish that I love! I tried it again last night and it turned out just divine!

So here is the recipe. It's real simple. You only need 3 ingredients:

1/2 lb of diced chicken

4-5 medium sized fresh beets, tops included

Olive oil
Salt to taste

The beets take about an hour to cook in the oven, so you should start preparing the beets at least an hour before dinner time. Preheat the oven to 350.

First wash them and get all the big chunks of dirt off.

I like to peel my beets, so they don't seem hairy ;)

Make sure you rest them on something that won't get stained.

My paper towel turned pink instantly.

You can cook them first and peel off the skins later,

but I think peeling them first is less messy.

After they are peeled, chop off the tops and tips of each beet.

Set your beets in a glass dish (or in tin foil) and coat them with olive oil so they'll roast up nicely.

Here is an image of how you can fold beets up into tin foil: here.

I sprinkled the beets with salt and put them in the oven at 350 for about 1 hour or until I could slip a knife in easily. They should be soft like baked potatoes.

Whle the beets are roasting, I cut up the green tops:

I stored them in the fridge until my beets were done roasting.

Right before the beets are ready to come out of the oven, you can stir-fry some meet in some more olive oil.

1/2lb of meat is plenty for me and I cooked it until it was light brown.

Then I added the beet tops and more olive oil so that they were completely coated in the oil.

It looks like there is a lot green beet tops, but they cook down quite a bit. They take a good ten minutes to saute, stirring constantly. You want them nice and soft before you serve them.

After the beets were completely roasted, I cut them up in the glass dish.

The roasting helps dampen the earthy flavor and bring out the sweetness in the beets.

I tossed the red beet chunks in with the greens and chicken and salted the dish to taste. It was sooooooo good!

I just love the flavor of the chicken with the beets and it made a perfect side dish to compliment my pasta-in-artichoke bowl.

I am so happy I have a beet dish that I love now!

No more will I be letting those beets go bad in the fridge!

-CK

Farewell Card; Free Printable

2011-05-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

I needed a going-away card this weekend. I needed something generic, something subtle and sweet and something I could write a personal note inside of. I googled "farewell card" looking for a printable but I didn't find anything.

...

so I made one.

And you are more than welcome to have a copy.

Just print it on cardstock, cut on the solid, gray line and fold on the dotted.

"farewell",

Have you seen these?

2011-05-11T16:13:00.000-07:00

(link on amazon)

I remember the first time I saw these guys. I was sitting in the huge foyer in my high school at lunch time. Someone from the second floor began blowing bubbles. They were small and they were many. One of them floated on down by my group of friends as we sat on the floor. My red headed and be-freckled friend reached out her hand,

"Aw, a little bubble!"

And it landed on her hand.

And it stayed.

And then she pinched it with her fingers and it didn't just disappear, it popped into a tiny piece of plasticky stuff.

"Uhhhh.... ew?"

Turns out they aren't ew. They are actually really neat. These bubbles are catchable. They are plastic (as far as I can tell). You blow them and there is a brief moment where you can still see the rainbow in their reflection, and then they sort of dry and become catchable. You can hold a whole bunch at once.

They last a long time, and you can blow and blow and blow and they just keep coming.

The photo and link from above is to where you can purchase them on Amazon, but I've seen them at the dollar store for ... a dollar.

And when you are done you can pick up the residuey pieces (they stick together), and rub them between your fingers, throw them away.

I thought this would be a lovely prank for the college folk. When unsuspecting victim is away from their home, break in and blow a vile of these babies. As long as you leave them be, there should be foot tall bubble ocean when they return home.

"That's right!

This'll teach you for egging my car!

I'm filling your house with bubbles!

So bite me!"

My daughter loves them.

I love them.

My daughter actually gets confused when regular bubbles pop ;)

-Becka

Not fair.

2011-05-07T18:26:00.000-07:00

This is me and Mr. Junkfood. Although we may look like enemies, we actually hang out a lot.

Unfortunately.

I've come up with a solution. It's called the "Clean Teeth and Hydrated Plan for Staying Healthy". Basically, I find it a nuisance to go and brush my teeth random times throughout the day. After meals is enough. Also, I have a horrible relationship with glasses of water. I know I should drink them, but it's just plain not fun. So my solution to junk food:

Every time I eat something I probably shouldn't, I have to drink a glass of water and brush my teeth.

(ya right that's gonna happen...)

I figure these punishments will give me good clean teeth (if I don't overbrush them, which is another incentive to not eat what I shouldn't), and help me get the water I should be drinking every day.

Ta Da! Problem solved!

Or is it?

How on earth am I supposed to resist another when the first informs me that I make everything lovely?

"Aww! Thanks!

Now what does the next one say?"

-Becka

Spring Green

2011-05-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

I came across this amazing light green cut and polished bead and I couldn't help but buying a few strands.

(This last picture doesn't do the beads justice. They are so pretty in person.)

And here are a few other pieces that show off the season!

Everything above can be found over at the shop nonsense & whimsy.

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Spring!

-Becka

Broccoli Soup in a Bread Bowl and the best, darn Peanut-Butter cookies you've ever had!

2011-04-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

Ever since Mommie Cooks was featured on SITS I can not help returning to this site multiple times!!! She makes fabulous family-friendly recipes that are just to-die for (next up on my to-make-list is that yummy looking salmon burger)!

She posted this Irish Soda bread recipe for St. Patrick's day but I have made it multiple times as a side dish for dinner since then.

I like to use whole wheat flour and some green vegetable puree (ie cooked kale) as a substitute for the butter.

The bread is really dense but it is great for making bread bowls:

I doubled the recipe in order to make two bread bowls. One for my husband and one for me.

I cut a small circle around the "x" in the top of the bread loaf and scooped out the middle for the bread bowl.

I served the kids soup and "bread-chunks" (the soft bread that I scooped out of middle of the loafs).

I like to use a weight-watcher's recipe for my broccoli soup.

Basically I cook some broccoli (sometimes carrots/cauliflower/potatoes/onions as well)

in chicken broth with a few other choice spices.

When the broccoli is soft and cooked through, I add a big chunk of velveeta cheese to melt and make the soup creamy.

{Email me if you want the exact measurements for the soup (madebybedtimetales@gmail.com)}

And here's the final product!:

Mmmmmmmm!

My husband was away for another Navy training. Part way through the training we got to send the guys a treat via a jeep out into the desert.

I chose to make THESE fabulous Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies.

These things received 698 five stars on allrecipes.comand I'll tell you why:

They ARE GOOD!

As one comment on the recipe suggests, it is important not to over-cook the dough.

I set the timer for 10 minutes and took them out of the oven RIGHT at the beep.

This is an important tip if you want your cookies to be soft and chewey.

Another tip I'd like to suggest is to dip these babies in chocolate!

Jen at Rook no.17 is always talking about wilton chocolate melts so I picked some up at Michaels last time I was running errands.

It was my first time using them, but they were very easy to use! I just popped them in the microwave and stirred 'em up.

The cookies turned out great!

Super soft and creamy and peanut buttery ;)

And here is my 3 year-old son's rendition of the words "Brown Sugar"

Can you see the words?

I love it when he helps me in the kitchen

(most of the time...) ;)

-CK

A Jungle Safari

2011-04-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to paint a jungle scene on the wall...

But we live in a rented home and the owners requested that we keep all our walls the

same

plain

cream

color

everywhere.

So I've brainstormed a few ways to keep my walls clean,

yet colorful ;)

With help from the kids...

I present our newest mural!

(Our last mural can be found here ;)

This is an elephant (see his trunk?)

and a turtle,

and a giraffe.

We have some really great

Wildlife Fact-File Books that helped us get some proportions correct (sort of ;).
{Found those at a garage sale- score!}

Since my husband is away with the military {again}, I took the opportunity to spend a few nights painting after the kids were in bed.

During the day, the kids did a great job painting the grass and flowers.

And I learned a lot about painting murals

like how to pace myself...

{so I didn't get sick of it before it was finished}

Or how to thin the paint for a certain desired effect.

And now I feel more prepared for the day when I can paint on the walls of our own house.

And finally...

Ta-da!

(Can you find my son's elephant or turtle?)

This was all I had left of my brown crayon after finishing all those spots on the giraffe:

Makes for a great reading corner, I think.

Here's my son's baby gorilla. It's kind of hard to spot since it isn't any larger than my finger:

And here's the beginnings of our jungle-explorer-kits we plan to use for our next adventure ;)

Overall, I am really happy with the mural, but I am sure I'll get sick of it after a couple months and wanna switch it up again ;)

Do YOU guys have any murals or paintings on your walls????

Wanna share?

Happy exploring,

-CK

This post has been linked up! Check Jenn out! She hosts a GREAT link-up party!

FREE Mother's Day Pendants Available

2011-04-25T11:48:00.000-07:00

We have two giveaways going on this week, each giving you the opportunity to win your own free Mother's Day Pendant.

We also have FREE shipping at the shop all week long, in preparation for Mother's Day.

Just use the coupon code: MOTHER

at check out before April 29th when you purchase a gift at Nonsense and Whimsy.

Here are the giveaways:

One is happening at Mom to Bed by 8

And we are also participating as a sponsor at Budget Savvy Diva's Big Giveaway Bash this week on facebook, here.

Happy Giveaway week, people!

-CK

Happy Easter... or, as they say in Romania, Paste Fericit!!!!

2011-04-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

It was egg dying time at our house this week.

We had some great friends come over and help us color eggs.

When I lived in Romania, I learned this nifty little game,

where your family/friends each choose a hard-boiled egg and then bonk them up against another's.

You say, "Christ is risen!" or "Hristos a inviat!" as you tap your eggs, attempting to crack the shell of your contender.

The winner of the mini duel is the one holding the one unscathed egg.

{my egg lost here}

My son always seems to have the strongest egg! He won every duel last year too!

Wikipedia has this to say about the tradition: "In Romania, visitors strike red eggs against one held by the head of the household and exchange the greetings "Christ is risen!" and "He is risen indeed!" The person who keeps an unbroken egg is said to enjoy the longest life.^[3]"

I love the tradition and I think it is a good way to make breakfast fun before we eat our eggs Easter morning.

I have really enjoyed learning about Easter and teaching my children about the symbolism of eggs, new life and re-birth this season.

I wish you all a Happy Easter! This video gives us such a wonderful opportunity to teach our children about Christ!

I love this message and I know that He Lives!

His Resurrection makes it possible for all of us to have life eternal,

and to be reunited with family and friends beyond death.

Wishing you all a peaceful Sunday!

-CK

Feature Friday: A Mother's Shoulder Bag and Activity Banner

2011-04-22T00:41:00.000-07:00

I received TWO high quality products last week, via giveaway prizes.

Neither of the etsy shop owners who sent me these items asked me to showcase these items on my blog- but I am going to do it anyway because I was SO impressed by the quality of each item!

First up is this gorgeous brown and green paisley tote from Sonia y Monica

The bag itself, and the accompanying nursing cover is hemmed with fine, even stitching, throughout.

The nursing cover comes with a high quality strap and buckle to give you easy access around your neck as you nurse.

Here, my friend models the bag for me at the park. The bag was definitely a highly coveted item among the Moms at our play date ;)

Here is the bag in all her glory, note the hand crafted button and flower pin.

It has 4 pockets, two on the outside and 2 on the inside; perfect for a cell phone, bottle, keys or wallet

The bag is rather deep and it fit everything I needed for the day including, bottle, blanket, nursing cover, diapers, wallet, keys, phone, snacks and sippy cup.

I received the nursing bag and cover via Crafty Mommy Diva. Thank you so much gals!

Our second showcase item comes from Reusable Activity Banners; Celebrate the seasons of Life.

The first thing I noted as I pulled this banner out of the cardboard tube was the thick, high quality vinyl from which the banner is made of.

I am sure that this banner will be a great Easter treasure for years to come.

I also immediately noted the sweet dowel and ribbon it hung from.

This product definitely got my kids excited about reading scripture before bedtime.

Each night since we opened the treasure, we cut out a new adhesive vinyl Easter egg, peeled off the back paper and stuck it to the banner. Then we read the Bible scripture that is written on the egg, learning more about the last days of Christ's life.

I think the product has definitely been a useful tool in helping me explain the connection of Christ's death and resurrection to the symbolism we have in spring with new birth, bunnies, eggs and Easter.

The eggs are a great way to engage the children in reading the scriptures.

Though Easter is almost over, I definitely recommend considering one of the other great posters at Activity Banners!

How about the "Balloon Mom" poster, the Missionary Welcome Home Banner or this fabulous Teacher Appreciation Banner

I received this product as a giveaway prize via beinglds.org during Jocelyn's We Talk of Christ celebration this Easter.

Thanks again for the fabulous products, ladies!!!

-CK

Digital Scrapbooking; Mothers Day

2011-04-18T23:37:00.000-07:00

These images all come from a book I designed for mother's day last year.

For another inspirational digital scrapbook, check out this gift for a friend here.

This book turned out really great.

Each 8'x8' page can be printed from your own ink-jet or at your local Walmart.

And, each page fits neatly into an 8'x8' scrapbook.

I just downloaded the embellishments from here and assembled the pages in Pages for Mac.

This book might inspire you to make something simple for your own Mother's day gift?

All of these digital scrapbooking embellishments and papers come from

http://www.shabbyprincess.com/downloads.asp

FOR FREE!

And, did you see this fabulous Mother's Day gift option?

{shameless plug}

What gifts have you given to your Mom in the past?

What special gifts/memories do you share with your Mom?

-CK

I made frosting the other day...

2011-04-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: I'm usually not this negative, I promise! I was just having a bad day...

For several days last week whenever I asked my daughter what she would like to eat (meal time or snack time), she would say, "cake". Well, obviously I didn't just drop what I was doing and make cake for her... well okay, maybe after the fourth day, I thought, "cupcakes would be fun for Easter!" So yeah, I may have dropped what I was doing to succumb to the will of my two year old. But I can hardly blame myself if ever I have a good reason to bake up this recipe.

So I baked up a batch of chocolaty goodness, and then I figured I had better decorate them bunny-style, seeing as this was all in support of the Easter holiday. In the past I have always whipped up some cream cheese frosting since that is my husband's favorite, but cream cheese frosting is a yellowish off-white color, and I hate trying to get pretty pinks and blues out of it. I needed a white frosting recipe, so I looked in my beloved cookbook, and....

was completely hoodwinked into trying a horrible horrible white frosting recipe, that just didn't work. I'll be honest, I can't link up the recipe here because I just have too many mean things to say about it. I've never been the understander of how to make nice frostings, but I will say this: That 'seven minute frosting' had me standing with the beaters for over a half hour trying to get it to thicken up...

Yeah I had no idea what I was doing.

Needless to say, it did not thicken up.

I had to used it anyway though, and so instead of decorating bunny-style (which I had been so excited to do!), I simply had to slather it on the top of the cupcakes. And then it dried. And then the cupcakes had helmets so hard they could have survived a nuclear bomb without hiding in a bunker.

Anyways, we still ate them. Parts of them. The parts that were edible. To sum it up, this is basically how it played out:

-Becka

Have you ever had a recipe flop?

Saddle Shoes and Floral Pants

2011-04-14T20:50:00.000-07:00

Back in the day, my sister and I had stellar taste in fashion!

Look! These fabulous shoes are STILL in style ;) !!!

We had SO much pizzaz, that we decided to make a magazine about our latest trends in style:

We called it The Modern Zoo

{or something like that}

We dressed our youngest sister up in a flower-girl dress and curled her hair in tight ringlets for a mock model shoot.

We printed and distributed our "magazine" {hot off the (computer) press} to every person in the house hold... and every friend and neighbor in our apartment building.

Today... almost 15 years later, I sometimes I think that this blog is just an extension of our childhood musings to produce and publish.

My sister and I live across the country from one another but this blog keeps us close. It constantly gives us opportunity to expand our goals and share our talent in new ways.
It gives us the opportunity to connect with readers around the world and the opportunity to work on something together.

Today, in honor of our SITS feature,

We'd like to post a free download for our readers.

A while back, Becka posted a fully illustrated story online, using some of her hand-made toys for characters.
(illustrations originally posted here),

Today's PDF contains a copy of the front/back cover, inside leafs and 6 fully illustrated pages of the story for you to print at home.

By following Katie's easy Toddler Memory Book tutorial here (featured on her blog, Notes From a Very Red Kitchen) you can assemble your very own hand-made toddler book.

I love these toddler books and I think Katie is ingenious for designing them (she has given us permission to link up her tutorial to this project today). Because of the light-weight cardboard hidden within the binding and the plastic sheet protectors that envelope each page, these books are perfect for little kids. They are stiff, durable and easy-to-wipe clean if you ever get any food or drink on them.

We will be also be using Katie's Toddler Memory Book tutorial to assemble our handmade Books for Haiti; a project we are teaming up with Abundant Ground for to donate books to children of the Croix des Bouquets orphange, ages 2-6 years old.

So, if you are visiting here for the first time,
you can probably guess that this blog fits neatly into the SITS dubbed "Creative Living" tribe niche.

Our featured posts today include:

Yarn Doll Hair Tutorial: Becka explains her original design for sewing on doll hair.
Cupcake Playhouse: Becka comes up with an innovative way to give her daughter her own space in their single-bedroom student apartment.
A "Green" Puppet Stage: A free download for you and your kids to make a puppet stage out of an up-cycled kleenex box.

What's that, you say?
You're not really the "crafty" blogging type?

Well, SITStah, don't worry, don't fret. We write about other things too. You can check us out at Whimsy and Wisdom and here are a few other post options:

CSA: CK's obsession with organic Community Supported Agriculture.

Stove Top Nightmare: Becka's humorous confrontation with her favorite kitchen appliance.
Her First Face: CK's personal experience with home birth.
Historic Jamestown Settlement: Becka's photographs the beautiful historic town.

Ok, I guess that is enough bragging and linking-up for now...

I just want to say that I have had an incredible journey with SITS over the last year, meeting new women from all over the world each day. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about a whole spectrum of topics. SITS is a genuinely supportive group and that is why I love it!

It reminds me of my own sisterly relationship with Becka.

So, here's to Sisters!
The biological siblings and also the blogging bffs ;)

Cheers!

-CK

a little peek from the shop...

2011-04-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

Hey ya everyone! nonsense & whimsy is now on facebook! You can find the latest news about giveaways and fun insights here. You'll find a few fun pictures there too, like these:

Handmade for Haiti Project

2011-04-13T23:50:00.000-07:00

The illustrations for our Haiti books are coming along great!

We are working closely with StephanieVictor, president of Abundant Ground Foundation,

to make sure these illustrations are culturally sensitive.

{These dolls come from a similar project headed up by Sarah at Dolly Donations}

We want the illustrations to install a sense of hope

and a positive outlook for the future.

Once the illustrations are all complete and our storyboard/text flows nicely together,

we will print the illustrations and assemble them into sturdy books

using, Katie's Toddler Memory Book tutorial, here.

The books will then be sent off to find new homes for the fifty children of the Croix des Bouquets orphange, ages 2-6 years old.

If you are interested in sewing a book together (each book takes about an hour to cut-out and sew together in the plastic sleeves), just leave a comment here or email me at madebybedtimetales [at] gmail [dot] com

We'd love to have the help!

-CK

Boxes to Japan

2011-04-11T09:03:00.000-07:00

Our box is off to Japan.

If you'd like to send a box, you can find out more here.

They're at it again

2011-04-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

Remember these girls?

Well recently they hit me up for cute little cottages. They wanted to be neighbors and play house. I don't know how to make little cottages, so we settled for cardboard houses instead.

I got the idea from this month's Family Fun magazine. Who knew that hot glue could do so much?

Oh hot glue gun, where have you been all these years?

When it was assembled, I let my daughter, Lizzy, help me paint and decorate it.

This is doll house # 1:

- two floors, plus attic,

- carpeting

- pin cushion rocking chair

- cheerios in bowl on counter

- and that is not a table, it's a counter as well. I was informed of this by my two year old.

Doll House # 2:

- one floor plus attic

- blue egg carton couch

- side table with lamp

- cookies and juice on table with awesome scrolly puffy-seated chair (who's your decorator?)

- and, of coarse, she knits

Turns out the girls were so excited about their new homes they decided to invite all of their friends over for a party.

Look, even Tucker, Wilby, and Lulu came! (the kids on the couch)

It was great fun coming up with this with my daughter. She plays with it quite a bit. And I figure the durability will match her attention span.

Good day to you!

-Becka

Tags for your mail

2011-04-08T11:10:00.000-07:00

After posting about these hand-decorative packages, Marie asked about a printable for the address tags.

I finally got a chance to make some, and though they are not exactly the same, these tags do have a little Made by Bedtime Tales touch ;)

{click to enlarge and print}

I think a couple of these tags would look great on the front of a package for Japan!

Remember my post from yesterday?

Please consider sending a box (just one!) to the children and people of Ishinomaki.

I can just imagine what it would be like if a tsunami hit our coast and my family and I were forced to flee. We would definitely be grateful for a package of basic sanitizing products and a small handmade token to cheer us up.

You can find more about this project from Nicole at The Sleepy Time Gal blog here.

-CK

A box for Japan

2011-04-07T00:15:00.000-07:00

One box.

After reading this post, my kids and I scavenged around the house to look for the listed items.

Hand sanitizer, wet wipes, toilet paper, hygiene products, lotion...

A couple pair of shoes the kids recently grew out of, a handmade copy of a Bedtime's orignal and a personalized note;

all of these things came from around the house.

Everything fit neatly in a box and then we scavenged up some coins for shipping costs, just as Nicole suggested.

My kids know about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan because after it happened, I discussed emergency preparedness with them. I showed them where our 72 hour kit is and explained to them that we would take it with us in case of an tsunami warning.

The children are young but they can understand that sometimes we have friends around the world who need our help.

Photo taken from the MSN Photo Blog

After the tsunami, a group of children in Ishinomaki were left at school with no parents to claim them. Many of the children need shoes, hair ties, socks or something small that brings a smile. A group of elderly are staying at a Buddhist temple there and are also in need of a few essentials.

Donations to the Red Cross and other organizations are necessary for Japan right now but with this plan we can also offer a small, personal gift.

Nicole posted this idea yesterday, and already, we've got almost 100 boxes going to Japan!

Please consider sending a box as well!

Head on over to Nicole's and see how you can assemble one box for Japan.

Cheers,

Handmade Books for Haiti update

2011-04-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

The illustrations for our handmade Haiti books are coming along great! We only have a few more illustrations to complete before we can make our first hand-sewn, plastic bound book.

I am really excited about this project and it has now been officially announced on the Abundant Ground Organization website here.

The main themes behind the illustrations have to do with education, study, hope and happiness.

Our soccer scene morphed from an image of dolls playing on the field to one of more realistic figures kicking a ball around.

This illustration reads, "I love to run and play"

Once the illustrations are all complete, we can print them out and assemble/sew them together in a similar way as these books are done on Notes from a Very Red Kitchen by Katie.

I'm so excited to send these finished books to Haiti! Our first batch of books will be donated to the children in Croix des Bouquets for children in the orphanage, ages 2-6.

I really hope there are a few craft junkies out there who might want to help make a book or two as the books are pretty easy to print out and sew together. We need to get 50 books together for our first batch.

Let me know if any of you might be interested in making a book and I'll update you as we come along.

-CK

WE'VE GOT A NEW BLOG!

2011-04-04T23:45:00.000-07:00

After writing this post, Becka and I realized that we wanted a place where we could branch out and connect with blog readers through more varied topics than what is found here at Bedtime Tales.

We also needed a new hub or home port that could provide links for all the projects we've got going online.

So, drum role please.... we made a new blog! We will continue Made by Bedtime Tales with full energy but keep it reserved for craft/creative-living blog posts. Whimsy and Wisdom will be a blog for everything else we feel like posting online.

Please come check us out at our new place! We'd love to have you read along on the ride ;)

-CK

If you are wondering

2011-04-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend CK and I will be watching broadcasts of the Worldwide General Conference that our church holds every six months. If you're interested, you can find more out about it here.

love you all!

-Becka

April Fools Re-cap

2011-04-02T11:42:00.000-07:00

I rarely play April fool's tricks.

But after reading about this idea here

(originally found in the book Hello Cupcake-

thank you Karen Tack and Alan Richardson!)

I couldn't resist playing this trick on my kids ;)

I started with some whole wheat muffins

But topped them off with candy

so we could have a "healthy" dinner

of carrots and peas,

potatoes with butter and gravy,

and spaghetti and meat balls ;)

Mmmm!

The kids found it... interesting! ;)

Happy April Fools!

-CK

Fish Delish; Food Friday

2011-04-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, an experimental meal turns out great.

(I take a lot of pictures of my food but, unfortunately, a lot of my meals turn out yucky so their opportunity at stardom never reaches the blog.)

For this meal,

I chopped up some cilantro,

some fresh green onions from CSA (of course)

added about 2 Tbs of Italian dressing and some minced garlic,

threw in my favorite spices (salt, pepper, oregano, parsley and other italian herbs to taste),

poured in about 1/4 cup of melted butter,

mixed it all together and...

spread my concoction upon some fresh red snapper.

I baked the fish for 20 minutes, flipping them over half way through,

And served this over spanish rice.

It tasted delicious.

Thank goodness for my husband's sake ;)

-CK

The Family Proclamation ABC's!

2011-03-31T09:03:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to present a little project I have been working on with Jocelyn at "We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ." I have used this project in working with my kids to help them better understand the Family Proclamation, a document put out by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You can find this project along with my guest post and testimony about our relationship with God here.

Thank you Jocelyn for inspiring me to write my testimony down!

I am also keeping this scribd file available on "our faith" page so please feel free to download it and share it with your kids!

-CK

White Jewelry

2011-03-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

Remember this post?

Sorry to leave you hanging for so long, but this has been a really important project for me, and I've been trying to approach it correctly.

To answer some questions: yes, I design and make jewelry, and yes I've decided to start selling what I make. The following is a little of what you'd find in my shop.

A lot of my jewelry is white, but I thought I'd post this one, specifically, to enter into DIY 504 Main "White" Party!

Here are some white eggs in a sterling silver mother's nest ;)

So that's my shop; A little bit of this, and a lot of that, mostly.

I love baby bracelets. The idea of what I make dangling on a little baby's wrist really is such a fun thought. I try to imagine a new mother wrapping a tiny piece of jewelry around her baby's wrist and then stepping back to have pictures taken of her little angel. I think we all can relate.

So yeah, there you have it.

It's what I've been up to of late, and it is bringing me so much joy.

If you are interested in seeing the shop, you can find it here:

nonsenseandwhimsy.etsy.com

-Becka

oh darn

2011-03-25T06:15:00.000-07:00

And I was so excited...

Second Baby Quilt

2011-03-23T07:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of posts, I don't know how anyone can juggle all of life and still be able to post as much as they wish they could. We do the best we can.

This is my second baby quilt. You can find the first one here. I am still learning.

Man these things take me forever to crank out. These two quilts were taken directly from my fabric stash. The next two I make (which I will be posting in a while) will be made from fabric I pick and buy specifically for two beautiful babies. I am excited for you to see the fabric they will be made from!

But for being a jumble of what I have already, I though this quilt was pretty sweet. It is high loft, and super cozy.

And yes, the quilt is tied. I love hand-stitched quilts, but lets face it, that just isn't gonna happen for me. My life would break.

But that's okay, I love tied quilts too.

And I was wondering if any of you had any quilts you would like to share? If you leave a comment with a link to them I'd love to see them. Thanks!

-Becka

Food Friday: Sweet-Potato French Toast

2011-03-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

I like to keep some orange puree

and green puree in the fridge at all times.

That way I can slip some veggies into whatever meal we'll be having for dinner (or in this case, breakfast).

This breakfast (which my kids L-O-V-E) uses some sweet potato puree.

You add 1/2 c. of sweet potato puree

to 4 eggs and mix them up.

Next dip your whole wheat bread in...

and fry the bread in some hot olive oil.

Flip it and let it cook till it is light brown on both sides.

I dab my finished toast on paper towels so the french toast doesn't seem greasy.

Serve this with 100% maple syrup and you don't have to worry about your kids getting too much processed sugar!

My kids absolutely love this breakfast and I feel good about serving sweet potatoes and whole grains first thing in the morning ;)

-CK

A message from Grandma...

2011-03-17T10:13:00.001-07:00

Grandma is so good at custom drawings...

;)

Thanks Mom, love you

-CK

Wordless Wednesday; Self Portrait-Giggle Blue

2011-03-15T21:18:00.001-07:00

{click to enlarge}

-CK

Decorate a package

2011-03-10T11:16:00.000-08:00

My sister, Becka, gave me this great idea

to sew a manila envelope right into some scrap paper.

This makes it possible for me to reuse some envelopes

and make a package special.

Oh, and what is this inside?

Green and Black's Organic?

YUM!

-CK

PS my nails never look that good in real life... I just happen to have fake nails on because of a big once-a-year work function my husband and I attended last week.

Wordless Wednesday: Lego Store in NY

2011-03-08T21:49:00.000-08:00

(Who you photographing?)

-Becka

Travel Tuesdays: Uganda

2011-03-08T01:38:00.000-08:00

My sister and I grew up moving around, mostly outside of the US. In college I did two internships abroad. Our parents continue to live in South America today and as my sister and I pursue this blogging gig, I find myself continually wanting to reconnect with my past and those experiences that have molded me into who I am now. That is why I'd like to initiate "Travel Tuesdays" to give us an excuse to reminisce about our traveling pasts once a week.

First off, I'd like to feature some pictures from Kampala, Uganda. While living there as an intern, I can not tell you how many times I bought some grilled corn, a bag of fresh nuts or pumpkin seeds from an outdoor vendor.

This woman here is selling mangos on her head; a very common sight in the city:

And here is the outdoor market for veggies and clothes

(I got some of my favorite fashion statements at some of these outdoor markets- for real!):

And I'd just like to point out the mangos and tomatoes in this illustration...

(a scene from our developing Haiti book)

The mangoes, tomatoes, bananas... everything in this scene came into my mind because of my past ;)

And take a look at this picture:

Don't you remember wanting to be just like Mommy and helping her out in everything she did?

I thought this scene was just precious!

Have a post about somewhere you've traveled?

Leave the url in the comments and I'll check it out!

-CK

You're # 1!

2011-03-06T21:42:00.000-08:00

A while back for family night I thought it would be fun if we celebrated each other and gave out awards.

Dad got the award for "Most-Hard-Working-Good-Looking"

Lizzy got the award for "Most Presumptuous"

Momma (me myself and I) was awarded with.... "Not-able-to-recognize-that-a-'1'-is-backwards-until-the-next-day-when-my-husband-realizes-I-actually-didn't-do-this-on-purpose-and-had-to-kindly-let-me-know"?

"Uh, honey?"

"Yeah?"

"You do know that those '1's you are writing there on that paper are backward right?"

...

"... wait... but this is how I made those awards for last night...."

"Yeah... I thought you were just trying to be funny..."

awkward silence....

Anyways, I thought it was a cute idea still.

Pretty easy to make. Just cut them out and sew them together.

And if you have older kids they can help come up with the award titles.

Some fun ones you might like to use:

"Most-tired"

"Has-Completely-Run-Out-Of-Ideas-For-Dinner"

and of course,

"If-you-try-to-eat-an-entire-half-of-a-seven-layer-dip, you-might-just-get-sick"

-Becka

A Drawstring Bag

2011-03-05T08:20:00.000-08:00

I recently had the necessity of finding a drawstring bag tutorial. I searched CraftGossip and settled on this one. Mostly because I happened to have an extra raggy t-shirt around and about five minutes tops to get this done.

Here is my final product:

And oh! What's this?

Why hello!

These are small knitted finger-puppets!

My parents are living in Chile right now. When my mother visited recently she brought some treasures for the kiddos.

She said they sell these for a dollar or so each!

My word!

Have you ever knitted? I've tried... it takes forever!

So yeah, these little guys are awesome.

And no longer homeless.

-Becka

hello

2011-02-27T12:08:00.000-08:00

How's life for ya?

I just thought I'd ask.

I've started trying something new. Something to do with the above picture; I've started making jewelry.

Okay, well, it only sort of has to do with the above picture. I would never dream of making jewelry out of these plastic beads... not that they aren't beautiful. They just belong to someone else.

Someone very short and stubby.

Someone who learned at a very young age how to ~~over~~use the word "mine".

Which brings me to the question,

"Where did she learn to use that word?"

It's a total conundrum for me because you would think that a child who hangs out all day with her momma would catch on to words that her mother actually uses.

Do I walk around pointing at things and saying, "mine"?

Some serious self evaluation will have to take place after I finish this post.

No, I would never dream of using your beads, little girl.

You use yours.

I'll use mine.

-Becca