Musical Instrument Making EVENT!

Hi Friends!

Music is fun.  Making music is fun.  Crafting is fun. 

Combining crafting and music is AWESOME! 

 

On March 1, you can combine music and crafting at our

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT MAKING EVENT. 

This two-hour event will offer participants age five and up a chance to make three working instruments (and of course you get to take them home!) out of wood and other supplies.

Come join the fun! 

(Check out the poster below for registration info.  Register by February 25!)

 

 

 

Recipe: Gingerbread :)

Hi friends!
On a snowy day like today, I thought I'd share a yummy, cozy-type recipe with you:  Laura Ingalls Wilder's Gingerbread.  It's pretty easy, and I usually have most of the ingredients on hand.  Find it (and more recipes from our favorite pioneer gal) in The Laura Ingalls Wilder Country Cookbook, published by Harper Collins Publishers in 1995.  Enjoy!

Laura Ingalls Wilder's Gingerbread
(Makes 1 9-inch square loaf)

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup molasses
2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup boiling water; measured in a 2-cup or larger measuring cup
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. each ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 9-inch baking pan.
2. Blend the sugar and the shortening and mix in the molasses.
3. Add the baking soda to the boiling water and mix well.
4. Combine the flour and the spices and sift.  Combine the sugar-molasses mixture with the flour mixture and the baking soda-water liquid.  Mix ingredients well and pour into prepared pan.
5. Bake for 45 minutes or until cake tester inserted in the center of the gingerbread comes out clean.

Have a crafty (and gingerbread-y!) day!
Kristin at Fiddle & Frog

Hi friends!  Looking for an easy (even at the last minute, wink!) and cute valentine to make for your special people?  This 'COLLAGE HEART' took less than fifteen minutes, and I think it's really cute!  I love the quilty sort of look...ooh - maybe next time I'll try it with fabric scraps!  We (and by we, I mean myself and my two little girls) made some as cards and some as ornaments with ribbon hangers, but there are certainly other options too (bookmarks, etc.).  Here's the super easy play-by-play!

 

Materials:  scrapbook papers, fancy scissors (or you can tear the paper), stiff white paper, ribbon (if making your heart into an ornament), cardstock (if making your heart into a card), glue stick

Directions:  Cut a heart shape from the stiff white paper.  Cut or tear the scrapbook paper into lots of small bits.  Glue the small bits of scrapbook paper onto the white paper heart in any pattern you choose (or randomly, as I did).  Trim around the edges of your heart (so it still looks like a heart!).  If making your heart into an ornament, punch a hole near the top and insert a ribbon as a hook.  If making your heart into a card, glue it onto a folded piece of cardstock paper.  Deliver to your loved ones!

Have a crafty day!
Kristin at Fiddle & Frog

P.S. - Have you signed up for the Musical Instrument Making Event on March 1?  Promises to be a great, crafty, musical time!  Hope to see you there :)  Check out www.kristingontea.wix.com/chickadeemusicstudio for more info.

Musical Instrument Making Event!

Book Review: Making Toys That Teach

Hi friends!  Wondering which books inspire us as crafters?  Here's a review by Amy of Making Toys That Teach by Les Neufeld (copyright 2003 The Taunton Press)

"Today's toys are different from toys when I was a kid.  Every toy nowadays buzzes, beeps, plays music or even talks to kids.  While kids do enjoy these battery-operated toys, I think they are missing one crucial aspect of play - creativity.

This is what drew me to check out Making Toys That Teach.  This book includes easy to follow plans for making wooden toys as simple as a set of blocks made primarily from scrap pieces of wood and as complex as an eight-car train set.  Plans include both top and side views with measurements and step-by-step instructions for how to put it together.  I found the plans quite easy to follow.  Mr. Neufeld suggests adding color to the toys by either using simple food coloring or using different, contrasting hardwoods. 

For Christmas last year I made the train set for my nieces, aged 2 and 4 now.  I used a variety of woods to build it and it turned out both beautiful and fun.  My younger niece, in particular, loves to take the pieces off of the train and put them back on.

I thoroughly enjoyed Making Toys That Teach, not just because, as a woodworker, I appreciate the detailed plans and instructions.  I love the concept behind the book - toys can and should encourage children to use their imagination and be creative."

Do you have creative books that inspire you?  We'd love to hear from you...so we can read them too!


Have a crafty day!
Your friends at Fiddle & Frog