Singed flower headband

I have seen these flowers all over and have been dying to make one.  Finally came up with an excuse to make one!  I made a headband and singed flower to go on the headband for my daughter's birthday.
Its not hard!  Slightly intimidating since you are "playing" with fire!
1) Find polysatin fabric and cut it in imperfect circles.  You will need about 8-15 circles varying in size.
2) Find a candle that sits in a shallow candle holder.  Light the candle
3) Hold the fabric edge of the circle close to the flame.  You will see the fabric melt and curl some.
4) Keep turning the fabric edge above the flame until the entire edge is melted and curled up.  If you have the flame heat the fabric further into the circle it will cause the fabric to curl more creating a nice dimension

5) Cover a plastic headband with ribbon- use a low temp glue gun.

6) Use a low temp glue gun to glue each fabric circle on top of each other.  Begin with the largest on bottom and work up to the smallest on top.  As you glue, you can manipulate the fabric to so that it gathers some in the center where the glue is causing the flower to have more dimension.

7) Glue the flower to the headband with a low temp glue gun.

(Note: some people like to add tulle in between some of the fabric layers.  I didn't have tulle on hand so I did not do it.)

For those that don't prefer colored pancakes...

While my daughter was enjoying rainbow pancakes, I was enjoying my own kind of pancakes.  These are similar to the IHOP version of the Harvest Grain N' Nut pancakes but with some healthier alternatives!
I typically experiment with different nuts and flour ratios each time I make them.  Feel free to play around with the recipe!

Ingredients:
3/4 c. oats (try to use regular oats)
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour (you can use a mix of wheat and white flour too)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. skim milk
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 c. applesauce ( you can also do a mix of applesauce and oil)
2 eggs
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c. nuts ( I have been using all pecans because that is what I had on hand but you can mix it up with walnuts and almonds too)

Mix the milk and vinegar together and let it set for about 5 minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients to the milk mixture.  Stir until just mixed.  Heat griddle and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Pour batter on griddle and what for bubbles to appear on surface.  Check for underside to be darker brown.  Flip pancake.  Cook other side until it is a darker brown color.

Rainbow Pancakes

Occasionally, I will be posting awesome recipes and cooking / baking ideas.  For my almost 3 year old daughter, we have been working on color recognition.  She knows most of her colors already, but I am using books and projects to reinforce what she knows and to learn the other colors she is not too sure of (grey, black, brown, etc).
The other day we made rainbow pancakes.  I had found them on another blog (not sure which one- sorry!) and thought it would be a great way to work with various colors and get to eat them!
Begin by using your standard pancake recipe.  We love this Fluffy Pancake recipe from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• cooking spray

Directions

1. Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

After you have mixed the batter, divide the batter into little bowls.  We used 6 bowls for red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet.  I only colored enough batter to make one small pancake for each color.  (My husband and I were okay with plain and boring pancakes!)

Add food coloring to each bowl to make the color your prefer.  Stir well.  Pour into a griddle, keeping the colors separate.  Cook as normal.

My little girl loved them!  She ate all of them and didn't even use syrup!

(Be warned... she was CRAZY after eating them!  Maybe there is an argument for artificial coloring causing attention deficit problems!)

Blog Following

Now a days, everyone is creating a blog.  There are so many out there with great ideas and money saving posts.  How do you read and follow all of them?  If you have a google email (gmail) account, it is quite easy.  Log into your account.  At the top left of your email page, you will see several options (calendar, documents, etc) 

You are looking for "Reader".  If you don't see it at the top, choose "more" and find "Reader" under the drop down selection.  

In Reader, find "Add Subscription" on the upper left.  You can type in blog names (crafty 2 and a half girls) or blog URL's (crafty2andahalfgirls.blogspot.com).

 Google will add the subscription you entered and you can see all your blog subscriptions listed on the lower left.  I have listed some blogs I follow on the right side of my blog.
Each time you log into Google Reader, it will show which subscriptions have new posts.  An easy and quick way to follow all your favorite blogs

Magnetic Menus

When I do my grocery shopping, I try to shop for about two weeks worth of dinners.  This allows for better budgeting, ease of planning and a more sane mommy!  To keep track of the meals I planned, I created a magnetic menu that adapted from The Amazing Mess.

Just take paint chips, and write the days of the week and menu items on them.  I used magnets from business that we either frequent or were given to us.   Most people have them on their fridge but don't really use them for their information.  I cut the magnets into 1/4 inch strips the length of the paint chip.  Using white glue, glue the magnet to the back of the paint chip.  Let dry and organize on your fridge.  You can see how they are aligned on our fridge for two weeks worth of meals.  (Make sure your husband understands it is not lunch and dinner for two weeks- only dinners!)

Paint Chip crafts

Who would have guessed that the free paint chips at your local home improvement store would result in great crafts and projects?

At I Can Teach My Child, she used paint chips to create a fan to help teach her child his colors.  I worked with that idea and made a paint chip key ring for my daughter to use to learn her colors and match them with colors in books we read.  Lowe's Home Improvement Valspar paint has one color paint chip squares that are perfect for this.  We picked out chips that corresponded to the colors of the rainbow as well as grey, black and brown.  Punch a hole in the center of the bottom and thread them on a keychain.  

Rag Quilt and Rag Quilt Letters and Numbers

On my wish list of crafts to make is a rag quilt.  Thanks to my sister finding this idea, I can now start with a smaller version of a rag quilt by making letters and numbers using the same techniques.  

I would love to be able to make a "Happy Birthday" banner with the letters for my upcoming daughter's birthday.  If you have some time, try it out!  Post a comment and pictures if you are successful at the rag quilt or rag quilt letters!

The steps to making the rag quilt letters and numbers can be found at Oh So Happy Together.

If you have more time, try making this full rag quilt at I Can Teach My Child.