Craft Time: Easy Bean Bags

Bean bags aren't all that diffcult to make, but these are even easier than most. I think they would make a good first project for a child just learning to use a sewing machine.


You will need fleece, thread, scissors or pinking shears, and a 4" by 4" square of cardboard. In choosing your fleece, consider solid colors, swirls, polka dots and random patterns. Remember that some fabrics may require you to center a piece or match sides.

On the wrong side of the fleece, draw around the edges of the 4" by 4" cardboard square. Do this twice for each bean bag you wish to make. Cut out the squares. Pinking sears leave a nice edge, but scissors are fine, too. I tried to cut out two squares at once so they would be exactly the same, but found it didn't work too well. 

Put the wrong sides of two squares together. Using a thread that will blend in or a contrasting thread, sew three and a half sides of the bean bag 5/8" in from the edge. Use a smaller stitch than usual. I use a 1.5. If you are using contrasting thread, you might want to choose a decorative stitch.

Fill the bean bag with 1/4 cup of beans. It should be fairly full. Weight will help with both tossing games and juggling.  (If selling or giving away, label for the over three set.)

Close the fourth side using the same stitch as for the other three. Snip hanging threads and you're done!

Hope you enjoy this!

What's your favorite kid's toy to craft?

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I think I will do a "Thursday Craft Time" series for as long as my crafty ideas hold out. 

I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge. This is post #2 of 31 for October 2013.

Photos by J. Parry.

New Year's Resolution Update

Do one thing every day that scares you.

                                            ~Eleanor Roosevelt


I made a new year's resolution to learn to make candy, but it is something that I have always been afraid to try. It's not that it scared me exactly, more like it intimidated me. "Soft ball" stage? "Hard crack" stage? A whole new set of words to learn.

But I resolved to try it, and now I have. Guess what? It was easy.

Granted, I chose toffee, which has exactly two ingredients and the Fannie Farmer cookbook provided excellent directions. Still, it was a lot less difficult than I was anticipating.

Maybe it is often like that with things we are afraid of. Maybe we just have to make a decision to go for it and we'll find it's OK. Or sometimes, maybe we will fail. I guess we have to know the poential consequences of failure and decide if it's worth it.

Overcoming a "fear" can be very empowering. I encourage you to go for it.


What fear do you have to stand up to?

Diabetes Awareness Stuff

November is Diabetes Awareness Month.

Everything has a month I guess.

A friend of mine just died of complications from Type 1 Diabetes. It is treatable to a point, but it's tough to manage.

Type 2 Diabetes runs in my family and I hope to hold it off with a sensible diet and exercise. Apparently, as obesity has risen in our population so has this type of diabetes and it is now even seen in children fairly often.


Here are a few links for more information. I think they are legitimate, but use common sense.


American Diabetes Association (General Information)
http://www.diabetes.org/
About symptoms:
http://diabetes.webmd.com/guide/understanding-diabetes-symptoms
Tips and recipes:
http://www.diabeticlifestyle.com/

A dessert recipe from a website for diabetics:

Apple Pecan Upside Down Cake
Ingredients: butter (one-fourth cup), flour (one cup), baking powder (one teaspoon), cinnamon (2 teaspoons), brown sugar (half cup), vanilla (1 teaspoon), toasted pecans (half cup), thinly sliced apples (3), granulated sugar (one-fourth cup), eggs (2)

Procedure:

• Foil a baking pan and spray nonstick cooking spray onto it. Mix flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt in a bowl.
• Beat butter in a bowl with brown sugar and granulated sugar with the help of a blender. Add egg white and vanilla and continue beating. Now add flour mixture in it. Mix properly.
• Add the sliced apples in the baking pan and add the above mixture onto them and spread evenly.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool the pan and invert onto a serving plate. Remove the foil carefully.
• Serve it warm with sliced apple pieces.

And some cool quotes:

Trying to manage diabetes is hard because if you don't, there are consequences you'll have to deal with later in life.
Bryan Adams

Diabetes is a word, not a sentence. 

T-shirt

Diabetics don't need sugar to be sweet.

T-shirt

 

Life is not over because you have diabetes. Make the most of what you have, be grateful.
Dale Evans


Have  a blessed day!

A Quick Treat

Hi,

I discovered a quick and easy treat.. it takes about 30 seconds for an adult and a small child could handle it easily.

Just put about a tablespoon of semisweet chocolate chips (I like Hershey's) in the bottom of a cup. Add about two tablespoons of Sunbutter (or all natural peanut butter, if you prefer) and stir. There's really no need to measure. Eat with a spoon. 

It's sweet and it supplies protein. A good pick-me-up snack.


I actually first tried the sunbutter and chocolate combination with mini - Hershey bars on a graham cracker. That was good, too, but this is even better.


Enjoy!