Back to blogging... and a last minute printable!

Hello? Anybody out there? I hope some of you readers are still checking in now and then. It has been pretty silent around this blog lately, which is the opposite of what it's been like in this house! Between sick kiddos, two trips to Canada and Andrew's fourth birthday party, the past six weeks have not been project friendly! However, I am desperately needing to get both the boys and I back into a routine, and for me sharing a project or a kids activity every now and then helps me feel productive and maintains my motivation! So, I am hoping that the multitude of stomach bugs are behind us and I can get back at it!

Today I wanted to share the printable Valentine that Andrew shared with his Daycare friends last year.
If you are interested in sharing these Frog Prince Valentines with your little sweeties you can download the file here! (Frog Valentine PDF) 

Easter Wrap Up...

What an exciting Easter weekend! My parents joined us, in London, on Friday and we had a great time playing with the boys and visiting. The weather was finally a little warmer and it was great to get outside! We tried some new recipes, cooked up some old favourites and had a wonderful Easter meal on Saturday night. Rob's mom joined us for the feast and Andrew and Henry were happy to have all of their grandparents together! Rob was stuck at the hospital on Easter Sunday, so the boys and I joined our "second family", my best friend Sara, her husband Andrew "aka "Beezer", and baby Jake, for a second Easter dinner.

Here are a few shots of some treats we enjoyed!

We all indulge our sweet tooth over Easter, but no chocolate was as sweet as the safe arrival of Ayla Reese! My great friend Shannon and her husband Jeremy proudly announced the birth of their baby girl Monday morning and I was so happy to get to meet her that afternoon. She is just precious!!

This Easter proved to be quite productive for "...And Away We Go!!", there is nothing like a holiday or celebration to get the blog world humming and my creativity flowing! Here are the projects I shared, I hope they gave you some inspiration too!

Thumb Print Easter Eggs

Easter Garland

Bunny Taggie

Mini Egg Blondies

DIY Easter Baskets

DIY Easter Baskets

I'm sure that it is a little late for anyone to decide to throw together an Easter basket project, but I wanted to share the baskets I finished for the boys anyway! Maybe you can "Pin it" for next year?!

I wanted the boys to have matching baskets and when I took a look at what as out there, I thought that I could probably DIY it for much cheaper and be happier with the finished product. So, using a couple of Dollar Store baskets, and some scrap fabric (from this project), I got to work!

I didn't have enough fabric to make a full liner for the basket, but there was just enough to trim the edges. To do this, I simply sewed a very long rectangle, and folded it around the top edge of the basket. 

I secured the fabric with a small piece of velcro, and added a piece of twine. I painted a couple of wooden letters and attached them with hot glue.

I wonder what goodies the boys will find in their baskets this Sunday??

Happy Easter!

xo

Mini Egg Blondies...

I was looking for a fun recipe for a "Girls Night In" when I stumbled upon (this pin), that I had found a few months back. The recipe was for Cake Batter Blondies that had both white chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles... they looked fabulous! However, I wanted to make a few changes to "Easter them up" a little so made a few adaptations...

Here is the recipe, you can throw the batter together in about two minutes, but they do take about forty minutes to bake.

Ingredients:
1 box of Rainbow Bit cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
1/4 C canola oil
1/4 C table cream
1/4 C milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 200g package Cadbury Mini Eggs

Combine cake mix, oil, cream, milk, egg and vanilla in a large bowl and stir until the mixture is smooth. In a separate bowl smash Mini Eggs (I used a mortar and pestle). Stir half of the smashed Mini Eggs into the batter. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 cake dish/pan. Sprinkle the remaining smashed Mini Eggs over the batter and bake for approximately 40 min. The blondies are finished when the edges are golden and crispy and the middle is still quite soft (they will harden as they set). Allow blondies to cool for 20 minutes before slicing and removing from the pan.

I think I'll make some more for Easter brunch!

Enjoy!!

Linking Up

The Taylor House - Pinterest Power party

Mom 4 Real - Knock Our Socks Off Party
Tatertots and Jello - Weekend Wrap Up Party
Alderberry Hill - Make the Scene Monday

Bunny Taggie Tutorial

Yesterday I decided that with Easter just around the corner, I better make Henry the Bunny Taggie that I have been dreaming up for the past few weeks. It was a fairly quick little project, but as a sewing beginner (maybe turning the corner on novice), I made my share of mistakes! I took pictures along the way so that I could put together a little tutorial for you, but you'll have to forgive the lack of technical sewing terms!! You can download and print the pattern here if you would like to make one yourself!

For this project I used a coordinating set of flannelet remnants that I picked up at Walmart, but any scrap fabric would do. It would also be a good way to repurpose old receiving blankets.

First, place two pieces of fabric, right side together, trace the "body" and cut. 

Using a different fabric, fold over a strip wide enough to accommodate the "belly". Place the pattern piece along the folded edge, trace and cut. Using the same technique and varying fabrics, cut out four "outer ears", two "inner ears" and one "muzzle".

Once all of the pieces are ready to go, it is time to sew the muzzle and belly to the bunny's body. I was concentrating so hard that I missed one important detail.... the ribbon whiskers (wouldn't be much of a "Taggie" without them!).

There wasn't much I could do to fix that mistake... so I started again.

 This time remembering to carefully tuck three pieces of ribbon under each side of the bunny's muzzle.

On to the ears! First, sew the "inner ear" to the front of the "ear". Then place the front of the ear 

and the back of the ear right sides together. Sew along the perimeter, leaving the bottom open. Turn right side out and iron flat. Then, to get the "crinkle effect" that babies love, stuff the ear with your noisiest grocery bag and sew the bottom closed.

This is where it gets tricky... Lay the front of the bunny body down, placing his ears at the top of his head, but folded down over his body. The ears should not be flush with the edge of the fabric, but overlap by about 1cm. Then, carefully fold in the whiskers, and lay the back of the bunnies body directly over top (right side down). Pin this whole little package together and sew around the perimeter, taking extra care around the ears to ensure your needle goes through both pieces of fabric. Remember to leave an opening large enough to stuff the bunny through.

Turn the little guy right side out... and... wait for it... Yay! It worked!! (I always hold my breath waiting for something to fall off at this point!)

Use a permanent marker to add eyes and a nose. Buttons would be cute for an 

older child, but not safe for a baby.

Almost there! Fill the body with cotton batting and add a few bells. To close the opening, tuck the edge of the fabric in to line up with the seam and iron flat. This is where knowing how to do that fancy invisible stitch would come in handy, but I don't, so I always just sew around the perimeter again. I decided to keep going all the way around, to make it look uniform, but I forgot to watch for the poor little guy's whisker!

I was definitely not starting again at this point, so I just ripped those stitches out and called it complete!

As it turns out, Henry loves it even though it's not perfect!

Happy Easter, Bug!!

Linking Up
The DIY Dreamer - From Dream to Reality
The Taylor House - Pinterest Power party

An Easy Easter Garland!

Hello everyone! Today I am over at The Taylor House sharing a super simple Easter Garland that your kids can make from supplies you have at home! Click on the link below to check it out!

Craft Time with Kids: Easter Garland

"The Taylor House" is a great blog with lots of wonderful recipes, crafts and DIY projects! I'm excited to say that Chrissy has asked me to join her team as the regular contributor for kids crafts... right up my alley!!

Thumb Print Easter Eggs...

This weekend got crafty in the Leeper house! The weather is warmer, but the rain and the mud is still keeping us in more than out! Here is a quick craft to keep the little ones busy and to add a little more colour to your day!

The whole family (even the baby!) took turns adding spring coloured thumb prints to a small canvas. Once it dried, I added polka dots, stripes and chevrons to transform them into adorable little Easter eggs.

Pretty cute!!

Linking Up
The DIY Dreamer - From Dream to Reality
The Taylor House - Pinterest Power party
The Pin Junkie - Friday Link Party