More Kiddie Bento Goodness

Washing the grapes.

Hello Kitty sandwich cutters.

Bento box all ready to be packed up.

Back to School Bento

Strawberries, carrots and Japanese jello. Yummy!

Star shaped egg and Hello Kitty sandwiches. :)

She loved it and ate every bite!!!

Super Kawaii Sandwiches & Cheese Bento

Made for my daughter using cute little sandwich cutters with faces you can press into the top of the bread. I also used letter cutters to cut her name out of cheese. She LOVED it!!! :)

Summer Pinwheel Hairbows

I used the tutorial here to make these!

I made about 15 or so all at once. Now my daughter chooses a new one each day to wear to school. Very easy to make and so darn cute!!

Teddy Bear Tissue Box Cover

I bought this pattern on etsy a year or two ago but it appears the shop is no longer there and I cannot find the "Amigurumi Sweet Crochet Company" who sold this pattern.

 Therefore I sadly cannot post a link to where you can buy this pattern.

But I am glad I got it when I did!

 I made this as a birthday present for my friend.

I hope she likes it!

I made one for myself a while back and it is one of the only items that I have made and kept for myself!

The kids and I love using it!

Does Absence Make the Heart Grow Fonder??

To my blog followers. I am sorry I have nothing new to post.  I recently went back to college full time and it has left me with no free time to crochet or craft.  But the good news is my creativity has another outlet!

Through my classes I am able to play around with my photography! YAY! So I may not be posting here as much, but I hope to be posting periodically on my photography blog located here :http://nikkipaigephotography.blogspot.com/ 

Wish me luck in school! So far it is amazing and I am so glad to be back at it and SO glad I took most of my prerequisites when I went the first time! :)

Valentine's Day Surprise for My Kids

I knew the kids were gonna come home from school all sugared up with more candy & treats in tow so I decided not to get them a box of candy or Valentine treat. I decided to make a fun heart shaped dinner for them to celebrate Valentine's Day and to show how much I love them.  My homemade heart shaped pizzas were a huge hit! They loved the pizzas and the thought that went into preparing them. 

Here's how to make some special super easy heart shaped pizzas for your kiddos!

Preheat oven to 375-400 degrees.

Take flour tortillas and cut them into heart shapes.

Lay tortillas on a baking sheet and spread them with pizzas sauce.

Sprinkle pizza cheese over top of the sauce.

If you wanna get fancy, like I did, cut the pepperoni in to heart shapes.  I used a tiny "cookie" cutter that I usually use to make bento box lunches. I then took the scraps of pepperoni and hid them under the cheese and placed the cute pepperoni hearts on top of the cheese.

Add any other toppings your kids like to the pizzas.

Bake in oven for 5-8 mins. Keep a close watch, the tortillas brown up quickly.

And ta-da! Heart shaped pizzas!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Amazed by a Four Year Old

Last night Bella just sat down and went to work with her scissors and crayons.  She made this on her own NO help from anyone! Yet again, I have been amazed by my four year old! 

Yummy Vegetarian Goodness

So I've been meatless for 8 months now and LOVING it! I just tried out a new recipe that was so yummy! It is in the Taste of Home magazine's October/November issue.  It is called Moraccan Vegetarian Stew.  It was a bit spicy, but I'm a wimp when it comes to spicy. ;) It includes zuchini, chickpeas, butternut squash, potatoes, tomatoes & carrots! A meal full of healthy yummy goodness!

The Kids in Their Costumes!! I ♥ Halloween!!

Princess Kitty meow!

Eeet's a ME! Mario!

Chewy/ Wolfman

Last Halloween in Okinawa :(

Halloweenie Pumpkins

Today the kids and I carved our jack o' lanterns.  I asked them what they wanted on theirs. Chan did his own cause he is old enough to be trusted with a knife.  Bella wanted Dr. Barber from the Flapjack cartoon.  I wasn't sure I could do it, but I think it turned out rather well.  And Toph wanted a grunt from the Halo video game. That one looks okay, but I didn't know what they looked like.  We googled it and it was really complicated, so I did my best! Here are our pumpkins! :)

For those of you that don't know, this is Dr. Barber.

Halo Grunt

 Mr. Pumpkin Head

All of our pumpkins! :)

A Sad Day

Bella had her last day of preschool at Koza Seibo Yochien today.  The move is coming up soon and it was time to say goodbye.  Her class sang to her, then they each told her goodbye as they left for the day.  The class also made her a scrapbook to remember them by.  Each child drew her a picture or wrote something for her.  Her teacher told her Sayonara many times and kept coming back for just one more hug.  She was crying the whole time, which of course made me cry.  I have never been so sad to leave a school or a place before.  The love they have shown Bella is amazing and heartwarming. It is something we will never forget. And hopefully someday we can come back to visit Okinawa and her wonderful little school. :)

 Bella and her teacher Atsuko

A page from the scrapbook they made for her!

Another Spectacular Hat

I used April Draven's pattern for the convertible hat. I was running low on colors that I liked so I just mixed and matched these yarns.  They are all the Vanna's Choice yarns.  I really love this yarn. The colors are great, it is super soft and a bit fluffier than Red Heart worsted weights.  I seriously had a 6 inch scrap of the purple left when I finished.  If that's not cutting it close, then I don't know what is! I was going to make this hat as a gift since I had already made myself a hat for this winter, but now that it's finished I'm thinking I may need 2 hats this winter! ;)

Kawaii Onigiri!!!!

I made this as a gift for my daughter's teacher.  I really like it! I think I'll have to make more! :)

Benimo (Okinawan Sweet Potato)

B's class went on a field trip to the sweet potato farm.  They got to go out and dig up as many as they could fit in their bags.  She had quite a few, her bag was too heavy for her to carry. I didn't want to waste them so I tried some different ways to cook them.

The benimo look like normal potatoes, but when you cut them open they reveal a gorgeous deep purple inside. The Okinawans use them to make ice cream, tarts & sweets. 

 I tried at first to fry some, like french fries. That didn't go so well. They were just kind of blah.  So I cubed and boiled some.  Then I mashed them with some butter and a bit of salt. YUMMY!!

What they look like after just being dug up.

I peeled these.

Peeled and cut open to show color.

Water after boiling benimo.

Steaming benimo hot off the stove.

Mashed with butter & salt.

Mashed again.