I'm So Pleased!

I can't help myself. I am so pleased with this one that I just HAD to show it somewhere. Since it is a Mickey Mouse fabric and I am NOT licensed this is NOT available for sale (so sorry), it was made as a gift for my friend's grandson. I had so much fun making it, AND I found the up cycled shorts at my friend Ginger's shop. Don't they just match perfectly?

Superhero Tips from "The Green Girls" - Saving the Planet One Lightbulb at a Time!

The Many Uses of
Baking Soda

OK, I grew up thinking Baking Soda had one use only. To sit open in the fridge for undetermined amounts of time with no apparent reason. (Sorry Mom, its true) So as a teenager I discovered that it could be used to whiten the teeth if I could only stand the taste... and the fact that it had absorbed months of fridge odors probably enhanced the taste.

As a mom and a somewhat environmentally friendly one I've discovered that Baking Soda has many uses and sometimes when nothing else works thats when Baking Soda comes to the rescue once again. So, in honor of one of the "old fashioned" house cleaning remedies here is a list of household uses straight off the Arm & Hammer Box!

Uses in the Kitchen (for scratchless cleaning)
- Sinks, Counters, Ovens, Refrigerators, Coffee Pots, Microwaves, Pots & Pans, Stainless Steel, China

Uses in the Bathroom (will safely remove stains, and lift off dirt and soap scum)
- Sinks, Counters, Tubs, Showers, Toilets, Tile, Grout & More

For Household Deodorizing (absorbs & eliminates odors on contact)
- Garbage Pail, Carpets, Disposals & Drains, Litter Boxes, Dishwasher (between uses)

For Pure & Natural Personal Care
- Relaxing Bath (add 1/2 cup into your tub for a refreshing bath or foot soak)
- Fuller, More Manageable Hair (add 1 tsp to your shampoo once a week)
- Invigorating Yet Gentle Facial Exfoliant (after washing face, apply a paste of 3 parts Baking Soda, to 1 part of water in a circular motion. Rinse for a fresh, clean face).

Visit armhammer.com for more baking soda tips and spacial offers!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed my Green Girls Tips for this Thursday and remember We have only one Earth, let’s treat it with respect so our children can learn from our example and have a great place to raise their children.

Children's Book Review

It's Hard to Be Five,

Learning How to Work My Control Panel
by Jamie Lee Curtis
illustrated by Laura Cornell

Quote from book jacket
"It's hard to be five. Just yelled at my brother. My mind says do one thing, my mouth says another."
"Its fun to be five! Big changes are here! My body's my car, and I'm licensed to steer!"

This book is fabulous! My little one is just now five and this not only helps her to understand the big physical and emotional changes that are going on, but it truly helps me as well. When we have a "Hard to be 5" day; one of us remembers the book and we talk about how it is hard to be five, how it relates to the problem at hand and what we are going to do to change it and make it a "Fun to be 5" day. I highly recommend this book to the parent of any toddler (plan ahead it will be worth it) or Pre-Schooler. Now if I can only get my husband to read it and realize how it applies in our 5 year olds daily life...

Newest Items!

First I must apologize for not posting my recipe today, things just didn't flow in the right direction for that to happen, I'll do a real doosie next Sataturday to make up for it.

Now, drum roll please (parumtumtumtutmtutmtutmtum)
I have finally made a boy item. For all of you who have been asking me for the past year when am I going to come up with something for the boys? Well, here it is! The first of many (ok, well lets be realistic I'm only one person so the first of several boy styles). Let me know what you think, I thought the fossilized dinosaur was pretty cool personally.
The puppy onesie is a 0-3 month that was a local custom order.
It is SO tiny!

Also, here is another of the other items I do, an up-cycled shirt dress. I take a shirt and make a dress out of it, it really is as simple as that. Some have a matching appliqué as my Christmas one did and others seem to look best without. I just take my cue from the shirt and fabric that I'm using as to how to do it. Some have a drop waist and others empire. If you would like me to make one of these custom shirt dresses, just drop me a line and I'll give you a quote.

Easter Toile Dress

I am just so very proud of this one that I wanted to blog about it. It has been rolling around in my head since early January, and its SO nice when it turns out just like I envisioned it. Thanks for looking and for checking out my blog. Recipe will be up Saturday in the afternoon in case anyone was needing idea's of what to make for Valentine's Day dinner.

Superhero Tips from "The Green Girls" - Saving the Planet One Lightbulb at a Time!

I have to admit I'm feeling a little weak on the Green Post this week, so I'm just going to offer a few quick tips from my favorite book, the green book.

Toy Manufacturers
Try frequenting shops that sell locally made toys. Of all toys purchased in the United States, 80 percent are made overseas, and 71 percent are made in China, where environmental laws are weak. If you support locally produced goods, you could reduce the pollution and fuel costs associated with shipping products across the Pacific Ocean.



Crayons
Avoid Crayons made from paraffin wax, which is derived from petroleum. Instead, try using crayons made from soybean oil, which have the added benefit of being nontoxic. America is the largest producer of soybeans in the world. From this we could product well over one trillion crayons - without tapping oil supplies.
These chunky crayons made my "MonsterBug" are made from Crayola crayons which are non toxic (and I'm still researching to see if they're soy).

Crystal
If you buy crystal, choose lead-free varieties. The lead content of a beverage stored in a standard crystal decanter can be 130 times higher than the EPA standard for lead in drinking water. Not only is exposure highly toxic to humans, but the environmental effects of lead mining can last for millennial. Groundwater supplies in Wales, famous for its crystal making, continue to be polluted by lead mines excavated more than two thousand years ago.
WHAT??? THIS ONE BLEW MY MIND!!!! I never thought of that!


More next week! Hope you enjoyed my Green Girls Tips for this Thursday and remember We have only one Earth, let’s treat it with respect so our children can learn from our example and have a great place to raise their children.

Children's Book Review

"The Dream Jar"

by Lindan Lee Johnson
Illustrated by Serena Curmi

Well, first I must say that I am a firm believer in everything happens for a reason and only just when its supposed to. That being said this book is exactly what we needed and when exactly we needed it. So we have had a rash of bad dreams lately that have caused this mommy to not have a solid night's sleep in well over a month. This book is looking to be the perfect cure for her bad dreams AND without looking too deep you can see that there are simple directions to follow to teach your own bad dreamer The Secret of how to change their bad dreams to good ones.

I can't say enough about how much we enjoyed this book. We read it twice in a row and prepared our own substitute "Dream Jar" until we can make a proper one as our craft project tomorrow. The illustrations are fun, quirky and rich with color and deep with definition. This is a definite must purchase since it came from the library we'll have to return it and look for a copy of our own to have.

Recipe!!!!!

Yes, I am finally bringing back my weekly recipe posts.

This one is for a homemade version of Pizza Pockets. It comes straight from this month's issue of Cookie Magazine. It is relatively easy to make and fun to involve the kids. It wasn't until after the whole dinner was made that I remembered to take pictures, so I'll post the recipe with a finished product.

I will also list their recipe and my modifications since I never do anything "by the book."
Cookie calls for: (what I used will be in parentheses)

1 16 ounce bag store bought pizza dough (Jiffy Pizza Dough mix - not too bad but a little more effort)
6 TBSP fresh or jarred marinara sauce (Pre-made Pizza Sauce, generic brand)
6 store bought turkey meatballs (6 store bought frozen beef meatballs)
6 TBSP shredded mozzarella cheese
1 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese (I didn't use it, I forgot)
1 egg
1 tsp milk (I didn't use it)
(canned sliced mushrooms, we LIKE mushrooms)
Muffin Pan

-Since I used a different dough style I had to modify my oven temp - recipe calls for 375 and Jiffy Mix called for 425 so I cut the difference and heated my oven to 400.
-They call for the dough to be rolled out about 1/4" thick and cut into eighths (noting that a little has to be wasted). Since I had to make the dough, I basically patted, smacked and flattened it out to something close to 1/4" and cut it into 6 even(ish) pieces.
-Grease muffin cups - I used good ole' fashioned butter flavor Pam, but so long as its greased I don't think it matters how. Line each muffin cup with a piece of dough letting some hang over the sides.
-Fill each with 1 TBSP of sauce, 1 meatball, (mushroom slices) and 1TBSP of shredded cheese.
-Gather each bot of excess dough up around the filling, pinching it together at the top.
-Whisk the egg with milk (oops I forgot the milk and it didn't really matter) and brush it onto each pouch.
-Bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes (I went for 20 with my oven well preheated).

TIP - Pinch of some pizza dough, hand your toddler a rolling pin, and watch him/ her lock in.

I'm being featured!

WOW! If you'll look to the left you'll see the "I've been featured on Dashin Fashion" button... well as a matter of fact I AM BEING featured currently. If you haven't seen it, please click on the bright pink Dashin Fashion button to your left. Halfway down the page right in the middle is a lovely feature of Maddie & ME, Handcrafted Children's Couture. I'm also currently in the top spot on the Dashin Fashion blog. I'm very proud to be in such company as those others on this lovely website. If you haven't checked it out, take some time and bump around Dashin Fashion and see what all you can find. Lovely items for children from all over the globe, who knows you just might find something you can't live without!

Superhero Tips from "The Green Girls" - Saving the Planet One Lightbulb at a Time!

Well as a handmade clothing designer it seems a little awkward to to recommend this Green Girls Tip, but in the long run this is definitely the way we do things!

Quoted from the green book
Secondhand Clothing: Give secondhand clothing a chance. The average American purchases forty-eight articles of new clothing per year. If just one of those articles were purchased from a secondhand store, the energy equivalent of more than half a gallon of gasoline could be saved, because of all the energy used to manufacture and transport new clothes. If one in every ten Americans substituted his or her next purchase of one new garment with a vintage one, the energy saved could fly every resident of Hollywood to New York for Fashion Week.

We shop at several Resale Shops in our area not only for children's clothing, but also for items to up-cycle for sale. As a children's clothing designer I know the value of what it takes to make an item, even if I'm not mass producing on Mega Store scale. If I can get some resale items and up-cycle those to make something different and keep yet one more item out of the land FULL then absolutely I will do it.

Also in my area it is the resale shops that allow me to sell my boutique items on consignment and have some local customers in addition to my loyal following from the internet. Please take a few minutes and check out your local resale shop by going to the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops NARTS shopping guide. Here are links to my local shops that I frequent most Gingerly Dressed and Jack N Jill.

I'm sure you too can find some fabulous items at your local resale shop, and save the planet while saving money.

We have only one Earth, let’s treat it with respect so our children can learn from our example and have a great place to raise their children.

Introducing The Collection

So here is my grand introduction to The Collection! A friend of mine, her mom and I have gone in together and started a new line of children's clothing called The Collection. Some of these items will cross over into Maddie & ME, but not many and not often. The Collection is more about stock items for local boutiques than custom sized couture.

We officially launched during a Ladies Conference at a local church and have already dispersed our items among several local boutiques.