Crafting with Kids: Sewing a Scarf

If you’re looking for more kid-friendly craft projects, we’ve written about using knitting looms and making rolled beeswax candles.

Last year (2020) the boys got a sewing machine for Christmas. It may not be the typical gift for a 5 & 7 year old, but know how much they love tools and making things, this was the perfect addition to their arsenal. It goes well with a Viking helmet, don’t you think?

During their first year of having the machine, we did a few things.

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DIY Heart Ornaments

Sometimes we’re just looking for a little something to keep our hands busy while we watch a TV show in the evening. Or maybe we want to pass the time while waiting in the car for takeout food. Remember those days of waiting for your kids at gymnastics practice? Us too. Next year that sentence will be applicable once again, but let’s get onto that ‘little somethin’. Felt heart ornaments! Simple and oh so sweet. If we had our sh!t together, we would package up little gifts to send out to our friends with a DIY kit to create some felt heart ornaments. Maybe you can take that inspiration and run with it?

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Coconut + Rose Evening Oil & Makeup Remover

If you’re interested in more DIY skin-care potions, check out these posts.

Today we’re sharing the recipe for a super simple evening face oil.

This potion is much simpler than our winter face oil. As explained in that post, our winter face oil calls for a blend of different carrier and essential oils, each with their own beneficial properties from firming the skin to lightening aging spots.

With only three ingredients, today’s potion is much easier to make, but that doesn’t detract from its usefulness and indulgent properties. This oil smells amazing, and it’s is something that I like to use in the evenings because it does double duty: removes my makeup and moisturizes““““““““““` before bed.

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Cinnamon Ornament Surprise!

Cinnamon is our ingredient of the season! You can find our full archive of cinnamon posts here. This particular post was originally published on December 21 2014 (7 years ago!), we’re republishing it today, because I’m making up a fresh batch of ornaments tonight with my little elves.

Hey! We’re popping in this weekend to share another super simple Christmas craft (this is for the folks that have finished their shopping – if you’re rushing around the mall today, don’t even bother to read this post). You’ve probably seen some version of cinnamon ornaments popping up on your Pinterest page? Or even made them as a kid? They are super easy, relatively fast, and a fairly kid-friendly project.

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So, why are we sharing yet another cinnamon ornament post? Because as I was prepping mine for the tree, I realized that they would also make a really cute garland! The key here is to make a batch with shapes that are close in size, then your garland will hang nicely and you won’t have really heavy and big ones weighing it down in different areas.

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Ingredients

You can use your favorite recipe, but I like the ones that have a little bit of kids’ glue in them.

  • 1 cup ground cinnamon
  • 1/4-1/3 cup applesauce
  • 2 Tbsp white glue

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 Instructions

  • Mix all ingredients together, adding more or less applesauce depending upon how dry your mixture is. You want it to form a nice ball that sticks together, but still feels slightly dry.
  • Cover the mixture and let it sit for one hour.
  • Break your ball into three or four sections for rolling. Roll out one section at a time between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper. If the dough seems too dry when rolling, you can always spray it with a bit of water.
  • Cut out your shapes and add a hole for hanging. I used a wooden skewer to make my holes, and I think they were *just* barely big enough. Since there will be some shrinkage as the ornaments dry, you want to err on the side of a larger rather than smaller hole.
  • Place your ornaments in a 200F oven for two hours to dry, turning them halfway through. If your dough was on the drier side or you live in a dry climate, you may want to check on your ornaments after an hour and a half.
  • Once cool, using baker’s twine or another string for hanging.
  • To make the garland, I brought the twine up either side of the ornament and tied a knot at the top, this allowed the ornaments to hang parallel to the string rather than perpendicular.

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I ended up making two pieces of garland. The little three-piece one hangs just inside our door on a wall that was just an empty space, so you see it and the tree as you enter the house, creating a nice little Christmas scene when you enter! The longer one hangs on the empty wall going up our staircase, but because the staircase is open, we still get to see it from the living room, which I love.

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There you have it, a super simple twist on an old Christmas craft, and one that you can use to decorate a small space that could use a touch of cheer! xo

Gift Idea: Cyanotype DIY + Book

The inspiration for this gift idea developed a couple of weeks ago when I was scanning the library shelves and came across the book called The Bluest of Blues about Anna Atkins and her use of cyanotype photography. That is one of her images above.

If you’re still looking for a gift for a great kid in your life, we may have just the thing.

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My Favorite Stuffing Recipe: Sourdough, Sausage, Leek, and Chestnuts

Looking for a new stuffing recipe? Every year I pull out my well-loved copy of the 2015 Thanksgiving Special of Bon Appétit and use their handy stuffing customizer.

Don’t have your old 2015 copy of the magazine? Never fear, the formula-maker is that good that they republish it annually on their blog.

That article gives you the perfect overview of what makes a good stuffing. Of course there’s bread and butter, but what else should we think about in order to create the perfect combination of both flavors and textures? I love their scientific grouping of the ingredients into specific categories like aromatics, meats, binders, add-ins, etc. And they give you a concise explanation of why you’d want to add something from each category.

Sourdough, Sausage, Leek, and Chestnut Stuffing

What are you going to put in your stuffing? Read through the article and make choices based upon your family’s tastes. For me there were clear choices in each category. Luckily, I hit the nail on the head in 2015 and have been using that same combination of ingredients ever since.

That said, the beauty of the formula is that you can easily make minor (or major) substitutions and still produce a delicious dish. For example, we took this pics last Thanksgiving, and, in pandemic fashion, I wasn’t able to get the chestnuts, so we substituted pecans. Another year we had delicious maple breakfast sausage from our CSA, so I used that in place of the sweet Italian sausage.

Ingredients

  • bread: loaf of sourdough bread
  • add-ins: 1 cup chopped peeled and cooked chestnuts*, 2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
  • meat: 12 oz sweet Italian sausage
  • aromatics: 2 onions, 3 stalks celery, 2 leeks, 2 Tbsp fresh sage (all chopped)
  • deglazing liquid: 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • binders: 1/2 cup butter, 2 large eggs, 2+ cups turkey or chicken stock
  • pantry staples: olive oil, more butter

How-To

  • The afternoon or evening before baking day, cut the bread into 1″ pieces and let dry on a baking sheet overnight.
  • Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9×13 baking dish AND one side of a sheet of foil large enough to cover your dish.
  • Place the dried bread and add-ins in a large (very large) mixing bowl.
  • Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add your meat to the pan and cook thoroughly, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked meat to the bowl of bread.
  • Using the same skillet, add the chopped aromatics. Cook, stirring often, until the onions have softened and are starting to brown around the edges. When ready, transfer the aromatics to the bowl of bread.
  • Place the skillet back on the burner over medium heat. Pour the deglazing liquid into the pan. While it’s simmering, scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Once the liquid has almost evaporated, add the butter and cook until it has melted. Drizzle this liquid (and bits) over the bread mixture.
  • Whisk the two eggs into 2 cups of the stock. Pour this over the bread mixture.
  • Mix together everything together until well combined. If necessary, slowly add more stock to until the bread is moist.
  • Transfer the stuffing mixture to the baking dish, pressing down the mixture slightly if necessary. Dot the top of the mixture with 4 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces. Cover with foil (buttered side down, obvs) and crimp it around the edges.
  • Bake for about 30-35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the top is starting to brown (another 20-25 minutes). *The original recipe asks you to turn the oven up to 450 for that last 20 minutes. I am never able to do it because we usually have a few dishes going at once. As such, your cooking times may vary depending upon what’s sharing the oven.
  • Remove from the oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

This stuffing is so good. It’s good enough that I’m already stocking up on chestnuts so that I can make a second batch, because I’m 99% sure that there aren’t going to be enough leftovers to meet my needs.

What are my needs? A 9×13 pan of stuffing.

We hope your scheming, dreaming, and prepping for a delicious day with your favorite people. xo

Waste Less Wednesdays: Halloween Costumes

Many Wednesdays this year we’re checking in to share how we’re reducing our environmental impact. Some of these ideas are big and require a bit of effort. Others are super small and simple, like this one. But we believe that they all make a difference.

Happy Halloweenie! Halloween is a favorite holiday of mine. I start to get excited each time I see the costume stores taking over once empty storefronts. Unfortunately, Halloween generates lots of waste, but luckily, it doesn’t have to! Waste Less this year and instead of buying a readymade costume, dive deep into that closet of yours and find a unique piece, a comfy outfit, or something outrageous that you absolutely love and don’t get to wear enough. It’s a simple concept, but an impactful one. Imagine the waste that could be reduced if even half of our outfit-purchasing party guests shopped from their own closet?

In the past, this idea has served me pretty well. I’ve reused an old prom gown and went as Cleopatra and once as Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. A few years ago, a comfy dress that I love sparked the idea of a porcelain doll, and to add a little creep factor, I went as a broken one. You could go a few different ways with this costume, cute, sexy, or creepy. I choose creepy 🙂 Forgive the photos, I never have my sh!t together I’m usually too tipsy to take high-quality photos in good light on Halloween.

Porcelain Doll Essentials :

  • Porcelain doll inspired dress – look here for inspiration and then search your (or your sister’s and friend’s) closet or go thrifting.
  • Stockings or thigh highs
  • Mary Jane heels or really any shoes of your choosing
  • Long locks or a wig & wig cap – I highly recommend going to a beauty supply store and trying on wigs instead of buying one online. I spent about $25 on mine. I take care to store it properly and I’ve had it for more than five years!
  • Thin satin hair ribbons and matching choker – I simply tied a length of ribbon around my neck and it stayed put all night
  • Makeup – admittedly the hardest part for me! I enlisted the help of my makeup savvy girlfriend shown below.

That’s that! What are you dressing up as this year? Were you able to source items from your closet and home costume bin? Do you have a favorite costume from years previous that used clothes from your closet? Let us know, we need ideas for this weekend!

Lick-able Cinnamon Brown Sugar Lip Scrub

Cinnamon is our ingredient of the season. Here’s a round-up of previous cinnamon posts.

Have you ever used a lip scrub? They’re a gentle scrub, often made with sugar, that you rub on your lips to remove dry skin and add a touch of moisture. They’re a delicious solution to those pesky dry lips that are unavoidable come autumn and winter.

This DIY is so simple that we don’t really have an exact recipe, and as you’ll see, you definitely don’t need one.

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Lip Scrub

I made a tiny batch of scrub – just enough to fill a small cosmetic jar, but you can easily play around with a recipe and scale up or down. Down? Yes! Making a scrub is as simple as putting a dab of coconut oil on your finger with a sprinkle of sugar and then rubbing it on your lips.

  • Mix together equal parts coconut oil and brown sugar.
  • Sprinkle in a bit of cinnamon to taste. I liked mine with a touch more, so I sprinkled and sampled until I was happy.
  • Optional: add a drop of cinnamon essential oil.
  • Once your scrub is well mixed, transfer it to a lidded container.

You can use your scrub any time of day. I prefer morning and evening. At night, I’ll often follow the scrub with a nice thick balm like Ilia’s lip mask.

Cinnamon Posts Round-Up

Cinnamon is our Ingredient of the Season this fall. Both Sarah and I can’t believe that it’s taken us this long to feature this well-loved spice, but that definitely doesn’t mean we haven’t been using it. Below is a long list of past Live Seasoned posts using cinnamon.

Drinks

Cinnamon Hot Toddy

Golden Milk

Warm Winter Drink

Appletini

Breakfast & Brunch

Cinnamon Rolls

Pumpkin Muffins

Apple Cream Cheese Quick Bread

Soups & Sides

Lamb Meatball & Vegetable Soup

Rice & Pulses Two Ways

Main Dishes

Moroccan Chicken & Rice

Middle Eastern Lamb Meatballs

Moroccan Shepherd’s Pie

Desserts

Cinnamon Honey Ice Cream

Pumpkin Cookies

Ginger Cookies

Pumpkin Pudding

Carrot Cake

Etc

Tomato Jam

Pumpkin Butter

Apple Butter

Cinnamon Ornaments

Dry Shampoo