Children's Art

Isn't refrigerator art the best?

Their work never ceases to brighten my day.

Please excuse the water marks as this is after all what you call, er . . . living art.

A design in progress and a recipe (revised)

I was going through some fabric odds and ends today and came across a little soft toy design that I had started working on a few months ago, tucked away in one of my drawers. I have my materials assembled and the templates drawn out and ready to try. Hopefully in a week or two I will be able to show you my little creation!

Since I am unable to show you my new project, I thought I'd share one of my tried and true cookie recipes with you that my daughter and I baked up today!



This is actually a variation on this recipe, but I have fine-tuned it to our family's tastes. It is one that we make often.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup of butter 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar 1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 egg

1 cup of all-purpose flour 3/4 whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup of
chocolate chips 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, water, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flours, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Blend in the oats and chocolate chips. A handful of nuts would be quite tasty mixed in as well. If you want to be really good you could substitute the chocolate chips for cranberries. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet.

3. Bake for 13 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges begin to brown. Remove from baking sheet to cool on wire racks for about 10 minutes. This recipe yields about 3 dozen cookies.






These would make a yummy addition to the lunch box, don't you think?

A New Name!

I am very pleased to let you know that my Etsy shop, now known as Handmade Naturals, will soon be closing and I will be re-opening shop with a new name - Meadowsweet Organics.

When I opened my shop a little over two years ago it was at the beginning of a a very new creative journey. I knew that I would be sewing and I knew I would be sewing with organic cotton (and possibly other sustainable fabrics), but I wasn't set on what I would be sewing. In the end I chose a fairly open name which would allow me to move in any direction I desired.

Reflecting on my work over the past two years I feel that my design style has evolved into what one could consider whimsical, modern, colourful, yet practical and always eco-friendly.

In my new shop I will continue to use organic cotton. I may also introduce some organic cotton / hemp blends over time, and have been collecting some beautiful eco-friendly vintage trims and eco-friendly vintage cottons that may work their way into another shop.

As always, my two kids will no doubt continue to be an endless source of inspiration to me.

I am quite proud of the designs I have offered up over the past couple of years and will continue to offer up most of those in my new shop. I also expect to add more children's clothing designs as time allows.

New for summer: sunhats!

A design I came up with last Spring, and reworked several times over until I got just the right cut. Simple, yes, but all the better to show off the beautiful fabrics, and frame your little beauty's sweet face!