: Lunch Bag and Accessories :

The demands of going back to school can be fairly expensive. Between supplies, clothing, and any other necessary accessories, you are looking at spending a chunk of money. Many people have been hit by the recession, so spending heaps of money is not an option. Well, we like to get creative and use what we have. So, this year I decided Jared needed a new lunch bag for school (his old one was somehow left outdoors at night and got chewed up a little by a raccoon). I also decided to make him some reusable snack/sandwich bags to cut down on the waste.

I started the bag itself by measuring 5 rectangles: 6 1/2" x 14 1/2" for the back/flap, 5 1/2" x 6 1/2" for the bottom, 6 1/2" x 8 1/2" for the front of the bag, and 2 pieces of 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" for the sides of the bag. I did this twice on 2 different fabrics (one was an old corduroy shirt from my mother in law) so that it was nice inside and out. You could use the same fabric if you so choose.

I faced each matching size of fabric inwards towards itself (so you have wrong side facing out) and sewed a straight stitch along the outer edge, leaving an opening so that the fabric could be turned right side out. I then ironed the edges and set each aside until I was done with all 5 pieces. I then matched them up and sewed them altogether, as seen above.

Now, for accessories, I made these little bags like the old school disposable plastic sandwich/snack bags, with the fold over closure. I found the tutorial here. I recomend this for anyone. It is fast, easy, and very handy.

Aw, how quaint....

This bag is even cute on the inside and is easily washable.

This sandwich bag was created with the intention of using a velcro closure, but I had no velcro on hand and I then found the other snack bag tutorial. It works well to keep the sandwich fresh until lunch and it stays closed pretty well on it's own. The best feature is the liner in the bag... I made the fabric piece the same as the pieces on the bag itself, and then I lined it with a piece of cereal box bag cut to the same size. I used a straight stitch around the edges and the folded it to create a pocket which was sewn with a straight stitch along either side.

For the other snack bag shown in the center matches the sandwich bag in it's ultimate design. It is double sided fabric, lined with cereal bag material, but the catch is that it was sewn like the other sandwich bags. I want to certainly make more. The fabic snack bags are great for dry goods, but the lined ones are wonderful for sliced apples, cherries, grapes, slices vegetables, and so on. The fantastic thing about the lunch/snack bags is they can be thrown in the wash. The lined bags will simply have to be either quickly wiped with soapy water and dried. If the outer part of the bag starts to get icky, then hand wash and set out to dry. Other ideas may include pocket or slots within the bag or making matching cloth napkins.

I will be making another set this week. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and making a personal lunch kit for your child.

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: Fairy/Gnome Home :

Today is National Fairy Day. So, Jared and I decided we were going to make a fairy/gnome home. There are countless ways of doing it and numerous tutorials, but we decided to simply go outside and let the outdoors lead us.

We started by clearing a spot at the base of a tree in front of our house and gathering some leftover wood pieces and moss for the house/porch itself. We also gathered several acorns because we started out having a tough time finding rocks for our pathway. We liked the results anyway.

We then gathered pinecones and built a fence around the yard.

We used a shell for a pond, Jared found a "bench" in the wood scraps, and we successfully found little rocks, which now lined the garden.

The garden was filled in by freshly fallen pine needles and freshly pulled weeds. We also built a table by stacking a fairly flat rock on top of a hollow acorn and surrounding it with little comfy stools. Jared is shown here building a campfire.

So, that is all there is to it! Basically, use your imagination and the resources you have around you to create as simple or as elaborate a fairy/gnome house and property that you and your child would like. In fact, we would love to see what you come up with. So, if you have a link to your fairy/gnome home, please add it to the comments below. Enjoy!

: Brown Rice Pudding :

My kids periodically ask me to make rice pudding for them. It has become somewhat of a tradition in our family. We make it a little different every time, but I will share how we made it this time around. Making brown rice pudding is a healthy way to add delicious flavor to your breakfast, snacktime, or dessert.

We simply used about 2 parts water, 1 part brown rice, about 2 parts milk or alternative milk (soy, rice, almond...), brown sugar or honey, cinnamon, and currants or raisins.

Directions

1. Bring water to a boil. Add rice. Bring back to a boil. Turn to low and cover. Cook brown rice for about 45 minutes.
2. Add milk. Cook on medium-low 10 minutes or until thick and creamy, stirring frequently.
3. Add the cinnamon, honey, and raisins.
4. Serve it warm or chill it for snacking on later.

Create your own variation or enjoy the recipe as it is shown here. Include your children in pouring, mixing, measuring, and stirring. Talk about the changes in the milk being a liquid to it turning to a creamy solid. Talk about the initial absorption of water by the rice. There are so many ways to involve your kids. Plus, there is nothing like being able to taste their own work. Brown rice pudding is great for all seasons and an inexpensive way to share delicious creations with the ones you love.