MyLuckyChicken

a little of this, a little of that...

Busy, busy fall is upon us! School and soccer and snacks and lovely crisp air and open studios and sun that will still burn you and back to church and messy messy house and trying to fit it all in. 

Yesterday was crazy in a I-was-so-busy-I-didn't-get-anything-done kind of way. So today I said that we were going to go out into the world and do something productive that made us feel like the creative fun gals we used to be still are. So we went to open studios in the city. It was a beautiful day for it and I wish I took more pictures. I got a great new mug for school which I tell you all about later. I also got a sweet necklace made out of a vintage thimble.

Cute right? The teeny scissors really open and they make the thimble ding like a bell. I love it. It was hand made by Twitch and Whiskers, you should check out her blog and she's got tons more cute things over on her Etsy shop. 

Now as promised some pictures of the finished pillow I posted about earlier...

 

I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out and so may be making more pillow covers in the near future. This is a vintage needle point pattern and I used up the last of my linen stash. The back is an envelope closure, easy peasy. It took about an hour with many interruptions from little ones. 

The verse is the Lord's Prayer and I love the alternating colors of the lines, so pretty. 

I'll leave you with last week's bento snacks, Monday's didn't photograph well, I wanted to send apples and honey for Rosh Hashanah but couldn't think of anything cuter to do with the apple. And Friday's snack was actually saved for Monday because my guy was sick. Oh well, that means I'm ahead for this week right?

 

 

 

Day 6

apples and honey

 

Day 7

kiwi, little sweet cookies, and salami with havarti on ritz

 

Day 8

carrots and hummus wraps

Day 9

grapes and marshmallows, pumpkin bread with cream cheese topped with little bear cookies 

Day 10 (used on day 11)

melba toast with laughing cow cheese and tiny cookies

a little bit of bento

My oldest needs to bring a snack to school every day this year. In our house I am not normally in charge of the food, but I've been obsessively occasionally looking at bento boxes on Pintrest and so I quickly volunteered to be in charge of snacks. Mostly so that I could have a reason to buy those cute little bento accessories, oh and also to promote healthy food. sure. why not. 

So here are my fist week's worth of snacks. None of these took more than 10-15 minutes to prepare, and while they are no way near the level of HappyLittleBento or the Dubiens, I think it's a good start. 

Day 1

simple. Just bananas, grapes, and marshmallows on a skewer. 

 

Day 2

This was a little more involved, but still no more than 15 minutes. A mini blueberry muffin (homemade, but from a mix) and mouse strawberries made with almonds, marshmallows, and craisins.

 

Day 3

Again, simple but fun. Red peppers and a hummus roll on whole wheat tortilla held together with light sabers. 

 

Day 4

This one is my favorite. I got to use my super cute bento supplies. Melon with a teeny fork, and ham and cheese on melba toast. I made the teddy bear with this sandwich cutter. 

 

Day 5

Carrots, another bunch of hummus wraps, this time with these picks, and yummy Pocky Sticks.

So that's it! My first week.

Got any Bento ideas? Leave a comment!  

Sep 9, 2012

Coming soon, a Sunday sewing project involving this lovely vintage embroidery pattern and some better lit pictures.

Project for a Lazy Day

I know summer is coming to a close, but I am in denial about it. So I am posting this sweet little sail boat project that I saw on Pintrest and that I built with my little guy. Maybe you will build one too and summer can last just a little bit longer. 

What you need...

some sticks, a saw (but only if you're picky about the sticks being even once it's together), twine or any other string. You'll also need some glue and a scrap of fabric for the sail. We thought the cork would be good to help it float, but we didn't need it. 

First...

we lashed the sticks together like so...

There wasn't really any rhyme or reason to how we did it, we just kept wrapping, one side at a time, until the sticks weren't wiggly. Once the bottom is done you can use the saw to trim the ends nice and even. I don't have any pictures of that step because using a saw with a 6 year old is serious stuff. 

Then...

we attached the mast in the same way. The Gorilla Glue and scrap of muslin are in the background, at the ready!

The next step was to cut out the sail and glue it to the mast. We used Gorilla Glue because it isn't water soluble but if you don't capsize too much, Elmer's could be ok. Wait for it to dry...

and voila! A sea worthy vessel! 

That can even carry a passenger. 

 

Did you make a sail boat this summer? Leave a comment and tell us all about it!

Back to School Lunch Bags

Good for you, good for the Earth!

Just in time for back to school, I've listed some of my snack bag and sandwich wrap lunch sets over on my Etsy shop.   Each set is made from vintage, up-cycled materails and lined with muslin. They are super easy to wash, just turn inside out and pop in with your regular load. 

The snack bag has a velcro clusure to keep your treats snugly inside. It will hold everything from pretzels to Pirate Booty. I also sometimes put fruit in to keep it from getting banged up on the way to school. 

I am a teacher and I use these almost every day. My boys use them too and I've listed some more kid friendly prints as well. 

As cute as the snack bags are  my favorites are the sandwich wraps. They have a velcro tab closure to keep your sandwich safe and sound. But then...

 

they open up...

 

and you have a great placemat to eat on!

No more eating off yucky cafeteria tables! 

 

Think of all the plastic you will save and no more chemicals leaching into your food! 

Easy Peasy Vacation Knitting

I am on vacation and have been looking for simple project that I can finish in a week or so and that don't require too much thinking. 

I got my hands on this lovely Noro yarn...

It's a silk, cotton, wool, blend, a true pleasure to knit with. I really like the Noro yarns. Their earth tones are always flawless. 

In the spirit of simple no thinking knitting,

The Simple Cowl...

Forgive the ipad photo, the colors are more like the top shot, but it gives you the idea.

It's done on circular needles and so it's just knit, knit, knit, in circles until you feel like you're done. easy peasy. 

I orignally thought this would be some of my Christmas gift knitting, but I'm not sure I can part with it. The colors are really lovely and it has just enough to it to be warm, but not bulky. 

Maybe I can knit up a few more and then I can keep her! 

Details can be found here, on my ravelry page.

Boys of Summer

My life this spring has been filled with baseball. I've spent most nights sitting at fields watching games. So when I spotted the outside of a skinned baseball, I promptly popped it in my backpack thinking I bet I can make something fun out of that!

(Here is the part of the post when I think, geez I should have taken before pictures.) 

 

So on my first official day of summer vacation, I decided to finally give that sad little skin a new life as a super cool baseball bracelet. 

 

 

I followed this tutorial over at I Can Find the Time .

 

 

One edge is a little raggedy because I found the skin already ripped off the ball. But if you are willing to sacrifice and old ball, you could make your edges a lot neater.

 

 

A little Murphy's Oil Soap did a nice job of cleaning off the leather. They were a big hit and only took about 20 minutes to make.  Perfect summer craft. 

Still Knitting

I am feverishly working this scarf...

super simple. Cast on 18, knit, repeat. It's a gift so there is a deadline. You know how I am with deadlines. 

I also have 2 baby blankets and 2 pocket dolls to finish. It's going to be a busy week!

Quotable Sunday

Another Quotable Sunday from Karie at Are So Happy. My contribution...

 

 

“As we sail thru life, don’t avoid rough waters, sail on because calm waters won’t make a skillful sailor”   ~ Mang Kepweng

Quotable Sunday

I thought I'd start participating in Quoteable Sunday, a mem started by Karie at Are So Happy.

 

 

"Acquire a peaceful spirit, and around you thousands will be saved."

- Saint Seraphim