Exploding Popsicle Stick Ninja Stars

Up at girl's camp I was in charge of putting together a craft/service project for our girls. Unfortunately, due to the hot weather or the fact that they're 15 years old teenage girls, not many participated fully. As a result I came home with TONS of extra Popsicle sticks. 

I was putting them away when this idea popped back into my head. I remember playing with these as a kid, don't know when or what the occasion was, but I figured my little boy would have a blast.

Boy was I right!

These are so easy to make. Start with two sticks and make an upside down V.

Put a third stick in the middle of that

Then slide one up about half way, with the two sides on top and the middle stick beneath. (or vise versa, just alternate)

Lastly, use one last stick that alternates opposite of the previous and this will secure the 'ninja star'

Now toss them at the ground and watch them pop apart! 

They're pretty much harmless and the mess is easy to pick up. My little man has been having fun with these for the last couple days and just giggles and giggles when they explode!

Make Your Own Baby Food - Sweet Potatoes

I'm back with another baby food recipe.

Today I'm sharing a staple veggie that my babies have both loved, sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes are cheap very affordable and they are packed with vitamin A & C and tons of potassium as well!

They are so easy to make!

Just wash and scrub them and place on a pan (I like to put tin foil under so there's no clean up)

Poke them all over a bunch of times with a knife or fork and bake at 425 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

Allow them to cool for a bit then either take a spoon and scoop the flesh out of the skin 

or peel the skin off - whichever you prefer.

Place into a food processor or blender and add a little water (or breastmilk)

Blend until smooth

I bought the sweet potatoes at $0.88/lb and made 9 and 1/4 jars. For me it worked out to $0.14/jar! So much cheaper than store bought and fresher too!

Store in the fridge for about 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months!

How to Tie A Quilt - Universal Stitch

I'm so glad that so many of you enjoyed my t-shirt quilt tutorial. I'm very happy with how it turned out. We got hit with a nasty cold at my house so I'm just getting around to this post on how to hand finish a quilt with a universal stitch - at least that's what I was told it was called. 

So why tie a quilt this way and not with a regular old knot? Well, a knot can slip out in the wash over time and this one is not going anywhere!

So to start, thread your need with the yarn you're using and cut a good sized length. If you're tying your quilt in all the same color, go ahead and use a really long length and don't bother cutting between each tie. Just pull the yarn to the end for the first tie and keep going from there.

Begin on the top and go through all layer of the quilt to the bottom.

Now come through all the layer back to the top. Nice and easy so far.

Now it's a little tricky to explain, but hopefully the pictures will help.

Go through the top half only, beginning next to the first hole

and come up next to the second hole.

Pull your yarn all the way through 

when you're all done you can clip them all to the same length and you're done!

I used different colors of yarn depending on where the tie was.

There you go, the universal stitch for hand tying a quilt. Hope I was able to explain it clearly, enjoy!

Happy Monday!