Pre Feast Crafts for Kids

Hi everybody, it's Heather from The Beating Hearth and it's my turn over here at Inspiration Cafe.

This round, all the members of Inspiration Cafe are talking about what inspires them.  This has been so much fun to read for me and hopefully for you as well.  My inspiration comes from a couple of places really. 

My family is my primary inspiration.  I love to create a happy, warm and loving home for every member of my family.  What does that mean?  I am making quilts to keep them toasty, crocheting life-like dolls for my husband to take to work....ummmm...and cooking tasty food for us to eat together.

My second inspiration is selfish.  I am motivated to keep myself sane.  I do this by crafting and sewing.  I have found the saying "If Mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy" to be very true.  So, I get to have fun playing with fabric, express my creativity, make pretty things and take some time for myself....which refreshes me and gives me the strength to continue on when things get sticky.

Today, I have two projects for kids to do during the Thanksgiving pre-feast wait.

The wait for Thanksgiving dinner can be so painful for kids.  They are starving because you only gave them a tiny lunch in preparation for the feast to come.  They're antsy because so much is going on...Grandma is running around making sure the gravy doesn't burn and that her rolls are rising like they should...and the kids don't have anything to do...except for watch the parade on TV...and if there isn't candy being thrown (I don't know about your kids), but mine are not interested in a parade.

So, here's a fun tradition you can start with your own family as we are starting with mine.  Making Christmas decorations before the feast begins.  The children in my family are young, so there is nothing too advanced here, but they're sparkly and kids love sparkly.  This is while things are still cooking and dinner is still a ways away.

Buy some felt.  Whatever color you like.  Fold a piece in half and cut out the first initial of each of the children who will be making an ornament.  You want to make the lines of the letters fairly thick so you can get a nice layer of sequins on.  I just free-hand cut my letters, but you could draw them on the felt first to make sure you like what you've got.  This is something you will probably want to do in advance unless your kids are capable of cutting these out on their own.  It only takes a minute.

You want to have two pieces exactly the same because you are going to glue the two pieces together to give your ornament some stability.

Use craft glue.

Have them put a dab of glue on the back of a sequin and put it on the felt letter and continue on until it is completely covered.

Using some glittery thread and large needle, make a loop so they can be hung from the tree.  Put somewhere they can dry.  Feast.  Take home special Christmas ornaments.

Now, once you've got dinner almost ready, and you want to round up the kids to get them close, here's the next project...

If this is your table setting, notice the canning jar in the corner.  You are going to make one of these for each of the kids in your family.  To make things really fancy, you can also make your own cloth napkins

You will need a pint size canning jar for each child.  You will need 16 crayons per each jar.  You will need construction paper as well.

Cut several pieces of construction paper in half length-wise.  I put 4 pieces of paper per jar.

Write a note for each of your children letting them know all the reasons you are thankful for them.  This is a nice thing to read during your Thanksgiving meal.

Put 16 crayons on the perimeter of each jar.  Roll up the 4 pieces of construction paper.  Take your list and roll it up and place it in the middle of the construction paper.

Tie a piece of burlap and a bit of gold ribbon around each jar...you know...to make it festive.

Put these next to the place serving of each child and a few minutes before the feast begins, have them draw pictures of what they are thankful for.  If they are old enough, they can write what they are thankful for as well.

My Oldest....

...is thankful for the turkey.

My Youngest said she is thankful for me.  Aaawww...so she drew a sunflower.

Thanks for reading!

Linked up Here:

 High Heels and Grills
clean and scentsible
Semi Homemade Mom
DIY Crafty Projects
Ginger Snap Crafts
Someday Crafts
adorned from above
Southern Lovely



Heather

Feature Friday - The Better Half

Inspiration Cafe is so excited to have our first Feature Friday post!

Today we would like to welcome the lovely Jocie from The Better Half . 

Jocie is here to spread the word about her fantastic blog, so please join us in making her feel right at home...

 

If you've never heard of us, The Better Half is a new sister site to One Project Closer (OPC). OPC has been around almost 5 years now and is for the hard-core home improvement lovers. Our men of OPC shadow contractors and teach you how to do-it-yourself like the pros.

While we are the sister site, don't worry, we're not sister wives. lol! Kim and I (Jocie) are the wives of Fred and Ethan (respectively) and we run The Better Half, dedicated to the finer things, like DIY home decor, crafts, and sometimes kid-friendly stuff too. 

I write a lot of the crafty, decor posts, while Kim focuses on gardening and constantly updating our coupon info (like this AJ Madison Coupons page). We also host a link party every Friday where we give away FREE ad space and sometimes even gift cards! 

Here's me and the fam - my hubby, Ethan and our two beautiful, amazing, crazy girls, Izzie and Lucy! Btw, we're from Baltimore - GO RAVENS!

I obviously LOVE crafts and have since I was young! Blogging has been a fun outlet for me to be creative and also contribute to the family business. One of my favorite projects has been a collaboration with my hubby to build this custom spice rack for our kitchen. Afterwards, I up-cycled a yard sale chalkboard and wooden letters to coordinate with the spice rack.

I also tend to do a lot of projects with my two daughters, Izzie and Lucy. Check out these super cute leaf bowls made from oven baked clay. The girls collected leaves, pressed them into the clay, and then we cooked them in a stone bowl. Once cool the girls painted them, and I sprayed them with a light coat of gold spray paint! 

While these are my favorite projects to date, my most popular post is a tutorial on making fabric flowers. Some may call me a bit obsessed because I put flowers everywhere...chalkboards, pillows, lampshades, headbands...the list goes on!

My hubby, Ethan also works full-time on OPC, and while he spends most of his time following contractors and writing project guides, he has made some pretty amazing, but simple wood working projects. Most recently, he made this beautiful cribbage board! 

For more fun projects and crafts, visit me at The Better Half! You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Hope to see you soon!

Thank you Jocie, for sharing your awesome blog with all of us. Love those projects and definitely excited to see more.

Inspiration Series - Beautiful Butterfly Necklace

Hi Everyone,

If you haven't met me before, I'm Natalie and I blog over at NorthShore Days.

 I live on the beautiful North Shore in Auckland, New Zealand and I am so honored to be part of this great collaboration called Inspiration Cafe! I hope you will pop over and visit my blog when you can.

Here at the Cafe we have been chatting about "What Inspires" us...this week is my turn...

I guess there are a number of things that inspire me... I'm a "giver" always have been and always will be... I love it when I see happiness and joy on the faces of those that receive. People inspire me....

My family inspires me....I try to surround myself with happiness and positivity....that too, inspires me... to be happy and positive and to pass it onto others.

My passion is crafting and especially jewelry making.... I love to share my ideas and tutorials with everyone...

I am most inspired by nature and I try to incorporate it into my simple designs as often as I can.

So today I want to share a very easy statement necklace tutorial with you all.

 I can't tell you how much fun I had creating this necklace... its so simple to make and so rewarding to see the finished results.

What you will need for 1 necklace:

A Pendant, Long Headpins, Beads, Chain, Jump Rings and a Clasp

 A pair of long nosed pliers and a pair of round nosed jewelry pliers.

If you don't have jewelry pliers, then just use the long nose pliers, your links won't be as rounded but that's okay!

How to Make the Necklace: 

(following the step by step photos)

1. Choose the beads you are going to use and lay them out.

2. Make sure you have enough headpins for the number of beads you will use.

3. Thread a bead onto a long headpin.

4. Bend the headpin at a 90 degree angle, on both sides.

5. Using the round nosed jewelry pliers bend the headpin back around to form a loop.

6. Repeat for the other side. Then make up all the beads and headpins

7. Attach the beads together by gently opening a loop and slipping onto the loop of the next bead. Alternating with pieces of chain cut to the length you like. There is no rhyme or reason to the design so have fun...

8. I attached my Pendant onto a jump ring, linking two beads.

9. Measure the beaded part of the necklace to ensure both sides are even. I like to make necklaces to measure 55cm (21.5 inches).

Attach chain to make up the required length and add the clasp.

10. Enjoy your new necklace

So pretty right? 

I have to admit I'm quite enamoured with it....

  

The necklace turned out so well that I just had to make another one, in beautiful Autumn colors

  

 I've actually ordered more of these pendants, just because I love them so much....

 I hope you are inspired to try your hand at one of these super simple necklaces...

Take care,have a fab week and thank you for stopping by the Cafe.

See you again very soon.

xxx

 

Linking Up to Some or All of these Fabulous Parties

and:

Inspiration Series ~ Spanakopita Crescent Rolls

Welcome to Inspiration Cafe!  It's Mary from Sweet Little Bluebird!  I'm so excited to be here today to share with all of you what INSPIRES me! 

Answering the question, 'what inspires me,' was a lot easier to answer than I thought it was going to be - it's in the title of my blog, "Sharing a Little Happiness."   What I love most about blogging is sharing.  I love to share recipes, tips, ideas...you name it!  I love to create recipes in my kitchen, using my husband, our two girls and their friends as taste testers.   If they love what I made, I can't wait to share it with everyone!  I LOVE that my blog has turned into a recipe box and source of tips and ideas for my family. This summer, my little one and I went to Alaska for three weeks, leaving my teen daughter and husband home to fend for themselves.  I had no idea, but just about everyday, my husband went to my blog to find a recipe to make - he made crock-pot recipes, naan pizzas, he refilled our foaming liquid soap dispenser from a past post.   He even made chocolate chip cookies using the photo tutorial as a guide, making a perfect batch! That is pretty awesome! Things like this are what inspire me to keep going, sharing, creating.  I also love that people actually like my stuff. WHO KNEW?!  

I had no idea where I was going when I started blogging last December and no idea what lies ahead.   What I do know is I'm really enjoying this adventure and I'm inspired every single day to share.

So on with my share for today's Inspiration Cafe!  

It should be known, I'm a Greek girl with a little bit of Irish.  I think food and feeding people is in my DNA.  My Papouli (that's Greek for Grandpa) owned a restaurant.  I also had a few relatives that owned a Coney Island Restaurant.  Even my grandpa on my Irish side owned a restaurant for a short time.  So when I say it's in my DNA, I come from a long line of foodies.  So today it would only be fitting to share a Greek inspired recipe...Don't worry, I'm sure I'll share an Irish dish one day too, to represent the other side of my family.  

Today's recipe is Spanakopita Crescent Rolls!  

I'm cheating using crescent rolls, but these are so good, super easy...
so let's cheat, shall we!  Just don't tell my Greek family!

Spanakopita Crescent Rolls Recipe

Printable Recipe

Ingredients
1 container of Crescent Rolls (8 count)
10 oz. frozen chopped Spinach (defrosted and *drain all excess liquid from spinach)
4 oz. Crumbled Feta
3 Green Onions Chopped
1 Large Clove of Garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Dry Dill Weed
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F. 
In a medium size bowl, add feta and dill, set aside.  In a medium size sauce pan, heat olive oil on medium-high heat, add garlic and green onions - saute for 3-5 minutes.  Add defrosted/drained spinach to pan and mix the garlic, onions and spinach together. Once blended well, pour on top of the feta and dill.  Next add the lemon juice and mix everything together.   Place triangle crescent rolls on clean surface and add one heaping scoop (I use a medium size Pampered Chef Scooper) of spinach mixture to each crescent roll, fold and pinch openings closed.  See photos below.  Place rolls on an ungreased cookie sheet, place on middle rack of oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until rolls are golden brown.  Remove and serve warm.  Enjoy!

*Be sure to drain as much of the liquid out of the spinach before adding.  You can use a colander, pressing the spinach with your hands or spoon.

What Inspires You?!

........................................................................................................

Sharing this Recipe at these great parties:

(Click here for the list of parties where we link)

Just Add Wine

Inspiration Cafe would like to offer a very warm welcome to Talya.  Talya blogs over at Grace Grits and Gardening where she tells amazing stories from her life with humor, and grace, and she even throws in some delicious looking recipes for good measure! 

Meet Talya ~

Usually when thinking of food and wine, most people are only worried about which wine pairs best with a particular meal. But if you follow a few simple guidelines, cooking with wine can enhance your dish.



Great Whites!



The number one rule is…. If it's not good enough to drink, it's not good enough for your recipe. In an attempt to be frugal, don't pour the dregs of a leftover rancid wine into your delicious dish. If the wine has turned to cough syrup while you were on a girls’ weekend, why would it taste any better in your bordelaise sauce? The entire recipe will be sour. It's best to open a new fresh bottle. You didn't chop and dice and sauté for an hour to pour in a bitter or flat vino.



Just Say No.



There is a section in the grocery store that sells vinegar and spices and "cooking wine". Do not use this "cooking wine". This is best for little old church ladies who pretend not to drink but sip a thimble full now and again while cooking meatloaf for supper. This concoction is full of salt and once the alcohol cooks off, your chicken piccata will be salty like the sea.

While simmering, most of the alcohol will evaporate and your dish will be flavored with the wine. If you’re like me and don't know that much about wine, the back wine label usually includes a description of the underlying wine tones such as apples, pears, vanilla, smoky, chocolaty, fruity, etc. It’s not just about the alcohol - every bottle tastes differently. Climate, growing season, and type of grape all affect the flavor of the wine and ultimately your food.

Chardonnays work well for deglazing and making sauces. With a somewhat buttery flavor, they enhance a buttery sauce. Sweet wines with hints of fruit work well roasting chicken or turkey or for dessert sauces. Bolder reds enhance meat dishes such as pot roast, chili or spaghetti.



This is one of my favorite go-to wines

for roasting poultry. It is relatively inexpensive

and has a screw top - bonus!!



My favorite roasted chicken recipe...

Roasted Chicken with White Wine and Rosemary

1 Whole Chicken

Olive Oil

White Wine

Sea Salt

Pepper

Small Orange

Lemon

Small Potato

Small Yellow Onion

Rosemary

Garlic

Wash and pat dry the chicken. Place in a roasting pan, breast side up. Fill the cavity of the chicken with slices of orange, lemon, chunks of potato and onion, rosemary stems and whole garlic cloves. Don't be shy - stick your hand up in there and stuff it full of these goodies. Rub the bird with olive oil, salt and pepper. Be generous with the salt and pepper. Pour a cup of wine in the pan and over the chicken. Cover tightly with foil and roast at 350 for about an hour depending on bird size. Periodically baste with the wine. Uncover and roast an additional 20 minutes or so at 425 for extra brown crisp skin. Discard the fruit and veggies in the cavity. That was just for flavor.

 

Deglaze the drippings with more white wine for a delicious sauce.

This recipe works great with your Thanksgiving turkey too!

Thanks Talya!

Inspiration Cafe Is Undergoing a Makeover!!

Hello! 

Yep, you read that right...

We are opening up a BRAND NEW and IMPROVED CAFE

...and we can't wait to have all of you come visit! 

We've got our GRAND OPENING coming SOON!!!

*A huge shout out to the talented Jana at Little Web Writing Hood!

Definitely worth a visit for stylish custom graphic design needs.

(blog packages, etsy shops, facebook headers, etc.)

Follow IC on Facebook to get all of our updates!

So this week we're sharing our Contributors' favorite posts from the past, while we get things all finished up at the New Inspiration Cafe. 

Finally, here's a peak at some of our personal favorites.  Just click each photo to be taken to the actual post.  Enjoy browsing...hey, feel free to spend some time checking out each of our Contributors and see what else we've been up to!

Don't forget to leave a comment saying you stopped by.

We're gearing up for Inspiration Cafe to be a much more open and interactive place, and we want to get to know each and every one of you. 

Have a wonderful week!  ;) 

Thanks for the visit and please, come back again!

The Ladies at Inspiration Cafe 

IC's New Location is Opening Soon

   

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