Welcome to Camp

Way back at the end of February we had a little birthday party at Hump Day. It was a double-birthday-camping-in-stripes themed party... and it was fun.

We rigged a few sheets together to make a tent in Hannah's living room. It turned out that she already had nails in the wall at just the right places. We made a little campfire (from paper) and filled the inside of the tent with blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags.

For dinner we had baked potatoes and chili. Dessert was a s'more inspired bar that I'm still thinking about. I think it will be the first thing I make when I get my hands on some more veggie friendly marshmallows.

Happy Birthday to Sarah and Molly!

Another Market Bag

Do you ever zone out while sewing? I do. I planned to add a few pockets to this bag. I even prepared and sewed some. After that I guess I entered a trance because I didn't realize that I didn't actually include the pockets until I was nearly finished. There was no going back. Oh well.

So the market bag with lots of handy pockets I planned to make for a friend's birthday became just a plain old market bag.

At the very least I did remember to add a velcro closure. I hope that counts for something! The tutorial for this project is from Film in the Fridge but the exact link doesn't seem to be currently working.

Happy Birthday, Shera!

(And thanks to Molly for leaving her camera at home during the day. I was able to get a few last minute photos!)

Aprons for Thailand

Today I'm setting off for Thailand! I will be doing a few weeks of volunteering with the Thai Child Development Foundation (and a few weeks of travel as well). Last month I was reading over the foundation's Wish List and noticed they were asking for aprons. Having too much fabric and ample time on my hands, I decided to make some!

It was a slow process at times. I really hate turning tubes of heavy weight fabric. But it was all worth it. Now I have 5 cute aprons to donate to an amazing cause.

I used this pattern for a child's apron from Sew Liberated. I used the 6-8 size pattern pieces but added an inch across and an inch in length. I don't know exactly how big the children will be but I wanted the aprons to be able to fit older kids, if necessary.

The reverse side.

It always feels great when you can use your skills or something you love doing to help other people.

Utensil Roll

I was trying to think of something useful to make for Molly's birthday. I also wanted it to be small and easy to pack. Knowing that Molly is often on the go, a utensil roll seemed to be a good choice.

I went back and looked at pictures of the rolls I made for Jenny and Kevin. This time I decided to make it a bit smaller and less bulky. The light blue fabric is actually a dishtowel Taune sent me. I added a stripe of forks, spoons, and knives because... well, it's the perfect print for a project like this!

Molly just needs to add some cutlery and she's covered for picnics, cookouts, or lunches at work. She could even stock it with several of these fun sporks and provide utensils for the whole party!

A Scarf for Sarah

I saw this pin on Pinterest weeks ago and immediately thought of Sarah. I kept the idea in the back of my mind until just a few days before her birthday.

I roughly followed these instructions but mostly did my own thing because either the steps weren't very clear or I thought of an easier way.

In all, it was a pretty quick project and very satisfying. I wrapped it up in a box and gave her the advice to "Double it!"

via Skylar's instagram

I think it kind of looks perfect on her!

What's for Dinner? Vday Edition

A few days ago I hosted a belated Valentine's Day party for Hump Day. Something about not working right now has my mind racing for party ideas...all the time. So many ideas meant that there were a lot of themes going on. But that's ok. Right?

Beverage: Love Potion #9 aka strawberry soda

Appetizer: Asparagus and White Bean Pesto Tart

Salad: Spinach, red onions, cherry tomatoes, walnuts

Soup: Broccoli Seed Soup

Dessert: Vanilla cupcakes with frosting

All of the foods (except drinks and dessert) are considered "heart-healthy" and I typed up little cards to explain their health benefits. It's always good to know what your food does for you!

The cupcakes we had for dessert were actually offered as a bake sale. I put the money raised towards a donation to V-Day. V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls worldwide.

Hopefully, the cupcakes were judged worthy of money. I worked extra hard to put a little surprise inside!

Yep, that's a cute little heart in there. It took a lot of extra time, but it was pretty fun to put together and very exciting to slice each cupcake.

The entertainment of the evening was making mailboxes and exchanging valentines. I didn't get a photo of all of them but everyone did a great job. There were doilies, cookies, and even a mix cd. I made scratch off valentines that corresponded to numbered boxes. Inside the boxes were draw string bags in different colors and patterns. (That's a mix between being a keener and having a lot of fabric to use up and extra time on my hands.)

It worked out well that each bag suited its recipient.

Not pictured: Sarah and Box #3

Unfortunately, Sarah couldn't make it so I pulled together a little "V-Day in a box" and dropped it on her doorstep.

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day!

Wild Rice Salad with Miso Dressing

This is my new favorite salad and I need to sing its praises!

Last week Molly and I teamed up to tackle this recipe. She provided most of the ingredients and the kitchen, I brought over some wild rice and did the cooking.

It was so good.

We both liked it so much that we made plans to make it again this week. A double batch.