HO HO HO Tutorial

So my Christmas project this year is a fun HO HO HO Christmas decoration.



Here are some pictures of the process in case you want to make it for yourself...it's a lot of fun and pretty easy.

Step 1: Layout your holiday fabric folded in half (preferably right sides together). Make the letter patterns out of wax paper or other flexible material. Pin patterns onto fabric and cut out letters.



Step 2: Take off letter patterns and pin letters together again, right sides together.



Step 3: Sew letters together. For the "H", sew all of the way around the outside border, except leave an opening on one side of the short part in the middle of the "H". You can also sew all the way around the border of the "H" and then cut an opening in one side of the "H" after you have flipped it. Then just make sure that is in the back when it's done. For the "O" sew all of the way around the inner "O" and the outer "O". When doing this, start and stop at the top of the "O" on the inner and the outer "O leaving a very small space in between your starting and stopping backstitching. This is because you are going to cut all the way through the "O" at the top where you have left your VERY small opening so that the "O" becomes a tube.



Step 4: Flip both letters right side out so that they are ready to stuff with stuffing. Fill each letter with stuffing so that it is like a pillow.



Step 5: Hand stitch the holes closed and then hand stitch the tops of the "H" and the "O" to a ribbon. Do three "HO"s in a row so that it says "HO HO HO" like in my picture at the top of this post.


Here is another fabric combination I did for the HO, HO, HO's:


Also, here are some measurement notes:

-1 yard each of three different prints of fabrics will make 4 HO, HO, HO's.
-1 1/2 yards each of three different prints of fabrics will make 7 HO, HO, HO's.
-1 bag of stuffing should fill about 4 HO, HO, HO's.

All Things Apple

So a couple of weeks ago we were up to our elbows in apples. We were basically "swimming" in them...

We made lots of apple sauce...

...and apple pie filling...

...and apple chips...

...and apple fruit leather in the dehydrator...

...also (not pictured here) we made apple butter (like apple jam) and it is awesome...

We had a lot of fun, but were very ready to be done by the end of the week. Now we just get to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Let me know if you want any of these recipes or if you have any apple canning questions...we got a lot of canning experience this week and Lara and I are becoming pros.

Smoothie Central!!

So, we've gone a little smoothie crazy in our house...I make a big one about every other day or so and my girls love it!



I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but it's a great way to get kids to get their servings of fruit...and their vegetables servings. Here's what I usually include in my smoothies:

-2 bananas
-1-2 unpeeled carrot
-a handful of spinach or a half cup of spinach puree (warning: makes the smoothie a weird color, for example, the smoothie pictured below does not have spinach in it)
-whatever fruit I have on hand (like pineapple, apricots, peaches, pears, etc.) or...
-some of my frozen fruit mix from the freezer
-a Nature Valley granola bar
-yogurt
-fruit juice or sometimes milk or water, but usually...
-oranges or orange juice (especially recommended for smoothies with spinach in them)



I fill up their straw cups and away they go! My girls love them, they can't get enough of them. And it makes me so happy because with each gulp and swallow, I'm thinking about all of the wonderfully healthy things going into their bodies...and with no struggle or convincing. The granola bar makes it more filling and the carrots and spinach provide lots of awesome nutrients. Another tip I've heard is putting flax seed into the smoothie as well, which provides Omega 3 (more for mom than the kids).



So, drink up and enjoy!