'Tis the Season....to still be sneezin'!!!

Hi everyone. (if anyone is there)...

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas/ Holidays!!! I've had a rough couple of weeks. And I wanted to let you all know that I'm taking the week off to re-coup, and not just catch up, but to get ahead!

My little 5 yr old has Mono! Not sure how that happened, but it did. She's been sick now for 3 weeks and on top of that - we now have some cold virus traveling through our family. 3 out of the 4 of us - have it - yuck!!! Bust out the tissues - we have issues!

So if you are just now finding my blog - and this is the first post you are reading - please find one of my better posts to read and stay a while! But I am off to rest my head and drink some warm water with Honey and Lemon juice! It's my favorite thing when I get sick. That and my Neti Pot!

I wish you all a VERY WONDERFUL & SAFE New Year! Please follow along with me - the new year will be bringing some really fun tutorials and cool updates about my 2 is Beautiful business!

Thanks so much for checking me out and reading about all the things I love to do and share! And if you wouldn't mind, please vote for your favorite post categories on my blog - up on the right hand side! Thanks! -kg

Edible Wednesday: Creamy Potato Soup

During this time of year when we all need a little "comfort food" to wash away all the colds and other illness' we bring home or our kids bring home, potato soup will comfort like no other.

This isn't the potato soup recipe that my mom always made when we were little (still waiting to get that copy from her)....but here's a great Creamy Potato Soup recipe you will enjoy by Jason Hill from Chef Tips.

Here's what you will need from the grocery store before you get started:

2 Cups of Shredded Smoke Gouda
1 tbsp Dried Basil
4 Tbsp Butter
2 chopped Carrots
2 Chopped Celery Stalks
1 cup Chopped Onion
2 cups Heavy Cream
6 Cups Chicken Stock
6 Red Potatoes

He also adds a little Cracked Black Pepper on top of the soup at the end, but I'm allergic to that - so I'd say that's optional!

To find out how to put it all together - check out this video by Chef Tips. To Find more recipes by Jason Hill - check out his website - Cooking Sessions with chef Jason Hill. So Yummy!!!

Have a great comforting Wednesday! Soups up! - kg

Edible Wednesday: Gingerbread House Part 1

I'm off to a late start today. My daughter and I have been sick for the last few days, but on Saturday when I couldn't do much, I at least sat at my computer and got my Monday & Tuesday post ready and scheduled. That felt great. Yesterday when I started to feel a little better, I was busy cleaning house and unable to get going on today's post. But no worries - I've got it all under control!
Today I am sharing with you all the Gingerbread House Template my daughter's and I will be using to make our village this afternoon. If you haven't made one yet - this is for you too! Because blogspot won't let me upload a PDF file - I have inserted this as a JPEG. It will print nicely on an 8 1/2 x 11 - just check before you click print! It will be a small size Gingerbread house - so if you have a few kids, you'll have a village of gingerbread houses and not just one mansion! This is the recipe I plan on using from epicurious.com since I was not able to find the box gingerbread mix this year at my grocery store! They have all the instructions too - for mixing and baking after cutting out your pieces.

Oh - I can just smell it now....I'll post some more pictures later too of our house in progress...Tune in Friday for the decoration celebration, and have a great Wednesday!

Busy Monday: Starting a Blog Part 1

As you can see from my archive list, I signed up to start blogging in January of this year. But as you can also see from my archive list, I didn't start really blogging until September! I really wasn't sure what to blog about, I didn't have my product up and running anywhere to purchase or promote and I wasn't sure I'd have anything interesting to say!

As soon as I got my Etsy shop up in September, I started to hear "the" buzz that blogging was a great way to promote your shop. But I didn't really want a blog that was all..."hey everyone , look at me"!
So where do you start? First you have to decide which free blogging service you want to sign up with. There are pros and cons to each, so please do your research. Here's a few to check out:

Blogger (aka blogspot)
Wordpress.org or Wordpress.com
Live Journal

Not so free blogging: fees
Typepad - you can start blogging with a free trial, but it can cost between $8.95 a month for the minimums to $89.95 a month for a Business Pro account.

If you want to blog and get paid to blog - check out this list of sites...from Hongkiat.com.

After you've checked out those blogs, and you've signed up, come back here next week for more information about changing the look of your blog and personalizing it to really represent you!

See you tomorrow for a little bit of This 'n' That! Happy reading! -kg

'Tis the Season....

So it's monday night and I never had time to post my Busy Monday post - because I was too busy.

Today: I shipped out orders today (yeah!!!) and a bunny for the facebook fan giveaway (yeah!!!) and a christmas owl to my dear friend (yeah!!!)! Along with all that I went to karate, then the grocery store, to the post office twice, changed my little girls bed sheets (after making them dinner and giving them a bath)...and then discovered we had a can of frozen orange juice down in our basement in a bag with some jars and cans for our food storage that needed to be put away...only the frozen orange juice wasn't supposed to be there. Slowly but surely it has leaked out everywhere, creating a nasty mess I now have to go clean up.

So instead of sitting here, and trying to catch up, I am going to go clean, and then finish some sachets while hanging out with my hubby and resume my normal schedule next week. With Christmas coming quickly - I have presents for my own family I need to start and finish!

Wednesday I will be helping out at an American Red Cross Blood Drive at my church and anticipate that being all day! But I am happy to serve and for such a great cause. So I hope you all have a great week, and will feel free to browse my blog for some other really great posts!!! See you next Monday!

Kerry

Stayed up tooooo Late

So today is not Seller Saturday. I was up really late last night posting my Balsam Fir Sachet stack and ichatting with my twin..and photographing my cute little owl friend. This owl ornament was a special request from my friend Sharlene....she wanted an owl ornament with balsam fir. I'm not into using muslin for prototypes...so this is my first one. I may make a few adjustments in the tutorial, but I'm pretty sure, it will be 95% alike!

I'm sharing the owl today - because I wanted to let you know I'll be writing up a tutorial for this owl in the coming weeks! How exciting?!! This will be my first tutorial of many - and I would love to know what other kinds of things you'd like to learn to sew. What other tutorials would you like to see here on my blog? Please post below to share your ideas. It may not have to be a sewing project, but fabric related would be great, as I have much fabric I need to destash before I can buy more!!

Have a great saturday. I'm going to get our shoes put out for the Feast of St. Nick, and then I'm going to rest my aching head. -kg

Edible Wednesday: Thanksgiving Feast

If you're anything like me....you still have to go get your turkey, and all the fixin's! With my daughter's Birthday so close to Thanksgiving - it's hard to get anything for Thanksgiving done earlier than the last minute.

Today I share a bit of my past - with some recipes for you today and hopefully many Thanksgiving Feasts to come. When I was in High School, my twin sister and I had an AWESOME opportunity to be in a Seventeen Magazine photo shoot. We were trying to get in on the "makeover" spreads they used to do, but they had enough model coverage for that.

A couple of weeks later, they called us and asked if we wanted to do a Photo Shoot for the November magazine, in the Sybille's Cookbook section. So there we were in the middle of July - dead heat of summer, we had to wear wool skirt or polyester pants, sweater, vest, flannels, layers upon layers in a small cottage in Bridgehampton, NY with no AC! There were barely enough windows to help the air circulate all the heat coming from the old brick oven. We made little napkin holders and other "decorations" for the tables, and then helped to prepare the feast. When all was said and done, we sat down an enjoyed the turkey and all the fixin's! We can't remember if we ever got paid for that (maybe $25 each)- but we certainly got bragging rights during our freshman year of college and memories to boot!

I've made this turkey recipe for friends in college. I've made it here in my own home, and now you get to try it! I've since changed the way I prep the bird, I butterfly it first so it cooks quicker and more evenly after brining overnight without drying it out. You can get instructions to butterfly your bird in the most recent Martha Stewart Magazine. You'll never cook your bird any other way! it's awesome!!! I thank my husband's Aunt Jane for showing me that trick first!

I have a lot to be thankful for in my life. This experience I had 17 years ago (half my life - with my other half) and with 17 Magazine....I will always remember. I think the number play here is very ironic! I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving....thank you for following my blog. Thank you for your comments and feedback. I very much appreciate it! God bless! kg

psst....Before you head off to the grocery store - print one of these before you go...a grocery list...it's the best! I'm sorry the images are so hard to read...I will see if my hubby can work his magic later...I revised the size and quality and it helped a little...but let me know if you'd like me to type the ingredients...Thanks, kg

Busy Monday: Need Labels?

I've had a few people local and otherwise, ask where I got my labels from. So today is label day.

Esther at Specialized Sales Corporation has been hooking me up with labels since I first ordered my Tuck 'n' Go labels in 2005. After our initial contact, she sent me a package of different label options and also various hangtag options to choose from. My husband designed them and provided the art work, and after much deliberation, we picked just the right colors and just the right materials and came up with these....They are woven labels with polyester threads that are heat cut so no adhesives are used to seal the edges (for those concerned with the CPSIA). The heat does the job. The standard care labels were printed with inks that do not contain lead contaminates (again for those concerned with the CPSIA). All the labels I have purchased from her, come pre cut and folded in long skinny boxes ready for a new home.

If you need labels, give her a call today! Let her know Kerry @ Kid Giddy sent you - tell her I said hi! She does have a minimum of 1000 units per order. Please be sure to ask all your questions. If you are concerned about the CPSIA in your labels/hangtags etc, please be sure to address those concerns with her prior to placing an order.

This is not a paid advertisement. Kid Giddy can not be held liable for any labels you order from SSClabels and affix to your products.

Giddy-Up Friday: Doll House Fun

In honor of my youngest daughters up coming birthday, I'm posting a drawing I did really quick of her doll house. I needed to know what colors she wanted for the rooms before going to school, so I drew this so she could color it in before leaving and I could paint it while she was gone. (I don't want her to know it might be ready for her birthday...Monday - I keep saying it may not be ready until Christmas!) Now it's here to share it with all of you.
If anyone wants to color it in - and send a copy of it back to me via email, I will let the birthday girl pick out her favorite version and post it here with the original drawing. You can as creative as you'd like. Draw what your family does on Thanksgiving (she was our turkey baby). We brought her home on Thanksgiving day 5 years ago! So color it in - draw some pictures - draw the thanksgiving day parade outside the window...go crazy...click the contact link above ....yeah up there....to send me the picture!

And if you like my blog, or better yet love my blog, would you please leave me a comment somewhere! I often worry I'm posting to space - not sure anyone is out there reading! So comment here if you like this sort of post...so I know to add more like this! Comments are GOOD! Thanks! and have a great weekend!!! kg

Edible Wednesday: Pomegranate

This is one of the most amazing fruits. Recently I bought 5 poms because all the other fruits are no longer in season and I have to get my antioxidants from somewhere!!! So since i still had one, I thought I'd share this awesome fruit with you today. If you've never had a Pomegranate, please PLEASE go out and get one today to try!!! It looks weird inside, but the taste will send you back to the store for more!

To Prepare: I cut a little slice of the skin - not too deep - all the way around and break the fruit in half. Keep tearing little bits of the skin off and "knocking" the arils into a bowl. Please don't wear white or any other light color if this is your first time. The juice will stain your clothes for sure! When I have finished knocking out all of the arils, I give it a cold rinse to get any little bits of the "flesh" out of the bowl.

To Eat: Grab a spoon! Ok - no really - you can put it on top of a salad, in many cooking dishes and maybe even in a drink or too...I don't drink - so when I say that - I'm talking smoothies here people!

If you want to know more about this fruit, or find some great recipes (I've never had them in a bowl long enough to find a recipe)...check out the POMwonderful website. I'm sure they also have a boat load of information on the history of the pomegranate, but if they don't - wiki does! And check it out - they have a POMwonderful contest going until Nov 30th - you can win $4,000!!!

Have a great juicy pomegranate day! k (all the pomegranates in these photographs have been devoured!)

(and just in case you are wondering...this is not a paid advertisement!)

And the Winner is.....

Hey everyone, the winner of the Fabric Jar Guesstimation was Lizzy!!!! The number of correct pieces was 41 (40 strips and 1 back panel piece). Lizzy guessed 36 (the closest number without going over).

Thanks everyone that entered. Lizzy, you have won 40% off the purchase price of any one item in my Etsy Shop. (mention this in your note to seller)...

Have a great day! See you tomorrow for Edible Wednesday! Thanks! kg

Edible Wednesday: Chocolate Giggies (No Bake Cookies)

For as long as I can remember no bake chocolate cookies in our house were called Chocolate Giggies. When my oldest brother was very little, he tried to say Cookies - but couldn't - and said Giggies instead! Until I got older, I thought this was a recipe only my family knew about. Boy was I wrong! Now there are white chocolate versions, Soy & Sun butter versions (for the peanut allergic) and so many others.

But today - I share with you, my family recipe:

Ingredients:
2 Cups Sugar
1/4 Cup Powdered "Baking" Cocoa
1/2 Cup Milk
1/4 lb Butter (not margarine)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Pinch of Salt (optional)
1/2 Cup of Peanut Butter
3 Cups Quick Cooking Oats

Directions:

• Mix in saucepan: Sugar, Cocoa, Milk & Butter. Cook on medium heat until it starts to boil. Remove from heat and cool for 1 minute.

• After Cooling: Add Vanilla, Salt, Peanut Butter & Oats. Stir well and no licking the spoon! Drop by the spoonfuls onto wax paper and let set for approx. 30 minutes (this is the bare minimum or you can really burn your mouth! - unless you stick a few drop in the freezer then it's only a 10 minute wait!).

• Grab a glass of Milk and enjoy!

After I make some - I'll be sure to post a picture - but it will have to be a little later (because when I make them, I have to eat some right away like I did when I was little). By the time they cooled off enough to harden, they were already gone. Chocolate Giggies didn't last very long in our house...and they still don't! But I do wait for them to cool so my girls don't burn their tongues like we did...and it teaches them patience (something I have but not very much - for giggies of course!)

Have a great day! Kerry

Edible Wednesday: Sue's Vegetable Sushi

The first time I ever had homemade sushi was at my twin sister Sue's house...so I am naming this for her!

I bought a Sushi Kit at me grocery store and let it sit on my counter for about 3 months. The box made it sound so easy. The images - made it look so easy...but I knew it was going to be so hard! Boy was I ever wrong!!!! Folks - Vegetable Sushi is one of the easiest things to make! So let's get started!
Unless you buy a kit with all the works, you need ingredients:

INGREDIENTS: (Look in the Ethnic section of your grocery store, or near where they may make sushi.)
Sushi Nori - Comes in a pack of 5.
Sushi Rice
Sushi Rice Vinegar (Can be "Seasoned" or not)
Your choice of veggies (I use 2 med carrots, 1 cucumber, and 1 avocado) (makes 4 rolls)
Sesame Seeds
and a Bamboo mat (get some plastic wrap or a plastic bag)

Step 1:
Make the rice according to the directions on the bag or box (for a kit). The best thing to do - is make the rice really earlier than you need it because it needs to be totally cooled off (I prefer doing it the day before). Please stay close to the rice and stir frequently so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. I would very much recommend using a non-stick pan. (Sue says to rinse the rice til the water runs clear. I've never done that - but she's on my speaker phone right now and told me to add that info!)
Step 2:
Once the rice is cooled, measure out your sushi rice vinegar and using a spoon, equally distribute the SR vinegar over all the rice. Fold the vinegar in - so as not to mash the rice grains. (it won't look as pretty!). I don't use as much rice vinegar as they recommend on the bottle - but this is a personal preference.
Step 3:
Set up your veggies. I use a peeler to cut up the carrots, julienne the cucumbers and slice the avocados (I know it's tempting but no snitching!)
Step 4:
The really awesome guy at my grocery store showed me a trick with the bamboo mat. He wraps his up in plastic wrap so he doesn't have to clean it or throw it away over time. I found that plastic wrap annoys me and so I just put mine into a plastic zipper bag. It works just as well!
Step 5:
Split your rice within the bowl so you have equal amounts of rice for each roll. Grab one sushi nori and lay it on the mat. Get a little bowl of water (this is Sue's secret trick!), dip your fingers, grab some rice and spread it out on the sushi nori. Continue to dip your fingers in the water so the rice doesn't stick as much. Again be gentle so you don't mash up the rice grains! Once it's covered, sprinkle some seasame seads on top and then flip it over.
Step 6:
So now your rice will be on the bottom and the other side of the Sushi Nori will be facing up. On one end lay some carrots, cucumbers and avocado. Nori is not squared. Lay the narrow end closets to you and the veggies on that end. As you roll it up, that should be the longer length.
Step 7:
Grab the bamboo and the veggie end, and slowly roll once so the rice from the front, touches the nori. This seals in the veggies. Scoot the bamboo in and squeeze. Roll again and do the same thing. Scoot and squeeze. Continue to do that until it's totally rolled. Once it is, squeeze and roll one last time.
Step 8:
Do not cut it up on the bamboo mat so you don't cut holes in the bag. Lay the roll on a plate and cut the roll in half. Be sure to move the knife back and forth to cut it, not squishing it down to cut, and make sure the seam is on the bottom. Cut each half in half again, and then each of those halves in half!
Repeat steps 5 - 8 to make as many rolls as you can.

Serve your Sushi with Ginger Miso dressing or a Soy Sauce of choice and by all means enjoy!!!

If I forgot something here, leave me a comment...If you try this out, leave me a comment, if you read this, leave me a comment...In other words, fell free to leave me a comment! : )

Thanks! Kerry

Giddy-Up Friday: Don't Forget to Eat your Fishies....

Good Morning! Well it looks sort of dreary outside - but that makes for a great Halloween tomorrow - right?

This morning I wanted to share a little fun snack time with you. Both of my daughters went to a Montessori school and learned so many things in such and easier way that I never learned at their age. I was blessed to be able to volunteer at their school often and decided some of the things they learned in school, I could do at home to keep that easier way of learning in our minds.

I hopped on my computer one day and made these little Fish & Bunny "It's Snack Time" pages. I even sent the Bunny page to Annie's Homegrown to see if they wanted to share it with their consumers (as my twin sister recommended). I haven't seen it on the website yet or on their emails, but they did send me a ton of Annie's products to say Thanks! That was cool!!!

Here's the Instructions: Place 1 cracker on each space in the top row (5), ask your child to move 1 cracker after the minus sign and then count how many are left. Then have your child write the number in the box. Then slide the remaining crackers (4) to the next row and continue until all crackers are gone. For fun: have your child color the Fish or Bunnies before using and then laminate the page in order to reduce excess waste as your child may want to do this more than once! Enjoy!

I am happy to have you share these with friends and family, but instead of placing the files on your own blog, instead please provide a link back to this post. Thank you for your cooperation.

Copyright 2009 2 is Beautiful, LLC

Have a great day! Kerry

Busy Monday: My First Sale!

Parting is such sweet sorrow!!!

I make all these bags, sachets, turtles, animals, Tuck 'n' Go's, etc and love them. I love making them. I love the fabrics. I love every stitch. I work on these things no matter where I go and then it comes to me again that one day I'll have to hand them over. Either as a gift, or because it was purchased. I make them and breathe love and life into them, and then off they go. I can't keep them all right?! I wouldn't have enough space.

Today I mailed out the first bag sold on Etsy! Not the first one I made, not the first one I've sold (in person)...but it was hands down one of my favorites! It's a red plaid exterior with quilted hearts and upcycled Jessie the Cowgirl sheeting (from Toy Story 2)! I LOVE Jessie the cowgirl. I wish I had a Jessie doll when I was little, she rocks!

So my Busy Monday was filled with the excitement of wrapping the bag up and packaging it just right so it would arrive all safe and snug. Thank you to my buyer. (I'd mention the name if I knew that person was ok with it, but can't)...so Thank you! - you know who you are! I know you'll take good care of Jessie!

For all you sellers, on Etsy or anywhere else....I would love to hear about your first sale. What is was...and how you felt. Today I was relieved. My shoulders are now relaxed and I finally was able to take that deep breath and exhale with my first sale.

Thanks, Kerry

Giddy-Up Friday: Orange You Glad I Didn't Say Apple

This weeks Giddy-Up Friday is all because Edible Wednesday got me thinking about oranges. It's the perfect color for the fall season and it's the perfect smell, cleansing and invigorating. Paired with cloves as in Russian Tea, it's a whole new experience. This would actually be called a Pomander, but I am not adding all the extra spices or oil for preserving.

My girls have a special bookcase in the craft room for their "works" (the Montessori word for activities). One of the works uses styrofoam balls, ball top pins and flower sequins. As soon as they were "old" enough, they were allowed to take the balls, 'thread' a few flower sequins on the pin, and poke the pin into the ball. Once the ball was totally covered with sequins, it becomes a beautiful ornament or decoration.

Making a pomander would be the step before using pins. It can help develop a child's fine motor skills and dexterity. I imagine allowing my girls to do this project once again the day before Thanksgiving, so we might have some beautiful table decorations.

Supplies Needed:
Oranges and Whole Cloves. Tooth picks will help break open the skin of the orange so the cloves don't break.

Directions:
After laying down a work space, give your child a toothpick with one end blunt to avoid injuries. Poke a small hole in the orange and insert whole clove. Be gentle with the flower of the clove, it will break easily under pressure. Continue the process to have as many cloves in the orange as you'd like. Really the only thing to decide, is pattern or no pattern! To use as table decorations, add a ribbon to the top and use a pin to hold the ribbon in place. To use for seating arrangements, make name cards, glue to a toothpick and insert toothpick into the top of the orange.

This won't be just for kids - it's too much fun and it smells amazing! I'm not sure how long these will last. Beware of fruit flies for those of you in warmer climates still. (I heard Apple Cider Vinegar in a small dish helps rid of those pesky things).

As your child becomes more comfortable with this activity, allow them to try making sequin covered styrofoam balls. Have fun! And have a great weekend! See you on Busy Monday. k

Giddy-Up Friday: Apple Sequencing

Our first Giddy-Up Friday kicks off with our very own Apple Sequencing cards. While my daughters attended a Montessori school, I was privileged enough to volunteer in their classes.

After their Apple eating and Pumpkin picking field trip I got the inspiration to make this Apple Sequence Card set. After each juicy bite, I took a picture. We later gave a set to the school which proved popular with the kids.

If you head off picking apples this weekend, have your child put the cards in order. I recommend you mount them on card stock or construction paper for sturdiness and take them to get laminated at a near by copy center to avoid having to throw them out from sticky fingers! You can also put the numbers 1-12 on the reverse side and have your child put the cards in number order.

If you'd like to share this Apple Sequencing post with others, I'm happy to allow you to do that by sharing the link to this blog post. Please do not post these images elsewhere on the internet without expressed permission. Thank you in advance.

Have a wonderful, sticky, juicy, Apple kind of weekend! Giddy-Up!! Kerry

Kid Giddy is a Registered Trademark of 2 is Beautiful, LLC 2009

Our First Giveaway Winner

Good Morning everyone,

Today is October 15th, and that means we have a winner! I asked readers to take a look at the Kid Giddy Etsy shop, and then come back to the Welcome to Kid Giddy post and leave me a comment to let me know which item in the Kid Giddy shop you like best.

Although Sam was kind enough to leave 3 comments, I only put her name in the hat once. But lo and behold my sweet girl Elephant pulled Sam's name out of the hat.

Thank you to all who entered. Our next giveaway will be announced soon. So please be sure to check in often to see what's going on at Kid Giddy.

Edible Wednesday: Cherry Salad

Cherry Salad - two words you might think don't belong together, make my heart sing!

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This recipe has been in our family for as long as I can remember. Every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas it would sit right on our dinner plates next to the turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy! Oh - no folks - it's not for dessert!!! It's part of dinner. I know that sounds crazy, but I think we all just couldn't wait for it and wanted to make sure we had some before our stomachs were full or overflowing! We didn't care much for the pies and ice cream! Thanksgiving and Christmas just weren't the same without Cherry Salad! I'm sure there was some justification on our parts because it had the word "Salad" in the title....but I can assure you, you've never had a salad like this!

So - without further adieu, here are the ingredients you will need:

1 can - Cherry pie filling (usually only comes as 24oz)
2/3 can of Sweetened Condensed Milk (usually only comes as 14 oz) (I use it all!)
1 can of Crushed Pineapple (usually only comes as 8 oz)
2/3 bag Mini Marshmallows
1 cup Chopped Pecans (optional)
16-24oz Cool Whip (personal preference richer flavor or stretch for more people)
You will need a large mixing Bowl and a spoon and a spatula (both for licking clean when finished)!

First, completely drain the crushed pineapple. I've tried this a few ways. The best way I have found is using a small wire mesh strainer and a spatula and pushing all the juice into a cup or bowl (to drink or discard). The more juice you drain the better or else it will cause separation. (Of course if you have Pineapple allergies - you can omit this ingredient too!)

Next combine all the ingredients except the cool whip and the cherry pie filling. Make sure to mix well. Then fold in the cherry pie filling and then fold in the Cool Whip. I say fold, because you don't want to crush all the cherries, and you don't want to flatten the cool whip.

The best way to eat it is to let it sit overnight. I personally cannot wait that long so I enjoy a little bowl right away and of course lick the spoons. If you are strong and let it sit overnight the marshmallows will absorb the juices and melt in your mouth. If you don't want to use all of it at right away, you can put some back into your cool whip containers and freeze them! This little trick was a whole new concept to my mom. I guess we ate it up too quickly to ever have any leftovers to freeze and scoop like ice cream! I hope you will give this recipe a try. And if you do, I hope you'll come back and drop a comment here letting me know what you thought!

Thanks! Kerry

ps...A very good friend of mine is very much Gluten free and LOVES this stuff. So if you are Gluten free too, and you check all your ingredients, enjoy!

EDIT:

Hello Pinterest lovers! I wanted to give a little shout out and say thank you for all the comments and love and pins...this post is currently at 450K + pins and I'm in shock! I've seen a lot of new blog posts popping up around the internet with this recipe and variations of it. Please be sure you are not copying my recipe and posting it as your own. I know it's not "original" but as seen in the comments below - you can tell we all have the ratios a bit different from how we grew up with it since the late 70's. If you'd like to share the recipe on your site - please only provide the link and not the recipe. 

Thank you again for all the love! Please visit some of my other commonly pinned sewing tutorials - the Modular Star, Flower Pins, Mini Tent, Grass Picnic Blanket and the Scrappy Owl. Come chat with me on Facebook and see a little bit of my world through Instagram!

Kid Giddy's Amy Butler MWM Fabric Contest Entry

Hey everyone.

It's been a REALLY long summer with my girls and that's a good thing! But on the flip side - I've spent a tremendous amount of time away from my craft room! And that is not so fun! It's a great source of stress relief for me and I miss being in there and creating when life takes me elsewhere!

When I received an email back in May, for the Amy Butler Fabrics contest using any of her Midwest Modern Fabrics, I knew I had to enter something! I know I'm not the only person in the world that can sew, so I knew I'd have to make something that would stand out from the crowd. A hard task for sure, but I was hopeful and got to work with some ideas! Quilting is not huge on my list of things I do often and I haven't gone too far into the "apparel" side of sewing. What I do best - at least for now, is come up with my "own" patterns. I dream of them. I think about them while driving and just hunker down and make it. I guess my brain works in different ways and I tend to enjoy every minute of it! What I love even more, is when my girls come into the "craft room" and craft their own shoes and clothes for their dollies with fabric and tape and we keep each other company!

I had quite a few ideas but with 2 kids home for the summer wasn't able to sit down often enough to work on them. The ideas kept coming and finally school rolled around giving me plenty of time to start and finish the projects. I am finding myself grateful to say today - I'm done! So this is what I came up with....or shall I say - this is "who" I came up with (sorry for the sunshine - it was a beautiful day!)....Turtle Crossing...Made with love.....of course!!!And these fine funny friends...I called the "3 Quarter Friends"...1 Qtr friend has not been made yet...Each "friend" was made with less than a Fat Quarter worth of fabric and is approximately 11" long!Then I made these handbags with Oval Wooden Handles that I purchased at Joann Fabrics. I've been working on my Kid Giddy Etsy site and should have some items up for sale before the end of the month...hopefully sooner! Please check back soon to see what else I've been up to! I promise it won't be 9 months before I post again!!! Thanks Amy Butler for awesome and inspiring fabrics!!!! Click here to see all the entries...including mine!

Please note that all photos, designs, and patterns are owned and copyright protected by 2 is Beautiful, LLC, 2009. They may not be used without permission. Thank you.

Everything you want to know...and probably more!

Photo by Nadra Photography

WHO AM I:
I am Kid Giddy. (KG - Kerry Goulder). I am a daughter, a twin, a sister, a cousin, an Aunt, a (S.A.H.) mommy, a friend, an entrepreneur, inventor, published songwriter, published crafter, pattern designer, licensed designer and author. 

I have 2 beautiful Girls (that I lovingly refer to as Monkey and Elephant) that inspire me everyday. I have an amazing and talented graphic designer husband that also does the dishes and mows the lawn so I don't have to, that I have been gratefully married to for more than 21 years while living in Southern Maine.

HOW DID IT ALL START:

The Tuck 'n' Go (R)

I invented the original Tuck 'n' Go (R) (as seen here) when my youngest daughter was only a month old. I needed something to keep her warm in her infant car seat and wouldn't fall out of her infant car seat constantly like all the other blankets! You can check out my Kid Giddy Etsy shop and email me if you'd like to order one for yourself or a friend.

WHAT'S WITH THE KID GIDDY NAME:
I wanted to use my initials - KG. An old boss called me KP until I got married - and then called me KG - it was an easy switch. My husband always signed his written cards and letters with just a t. so it seemed ok to follow suit. I simply wanted to be able to "leave my initials" where ever I went, but didn't want a business with my actual name all over it. I also really wanted my "name" to represent what I love to make and what I would be offering. So I brainstormed with a dictionary all the words I liked that started with "K" and words I like that started with "G"...Lo and behold, I came up with Kid Giddy! And that's the story. Some people that don't know my real name now call me "Kid" - but I usually will sign with a "k" or "kg". (just to be simple).

WHAT'S IN THE BLOG:
I started this blog back in January 2009 as a way to de-clutter my brain of everything I was holding onto, all my ideas and all the recipes (like my favorite childhood recipe made famous thanks to Pinterest: Cherry Salad) and memories of my childhood I wanted to capture for my girls. I didn't sew as often as I bought fabric, so I opened my Etsy shop to begin selling finished goods as a way to make amends with my fabric purchases. At the same time I got wind of the blogging world and wanted to somehow carve out a slice of it for me...even though I felt it was too late. It scares me to read my earlier posts...but we all had to start somewhere - right?! I've learned so much about blogging and myself since then. I don't post everyday because time is fleeting, and I love volunteering at my girls' schools and for church, and just spending time with my family....so I need to moderate and have a little time for everything.

GETTING MY FEET WET IN THE PUBLISHING WORLD:
A karate friend of mine (Phoebe of Happy Creations 4U) told me about how she had just been published in Crafts n' things magazine, and I should contact them, as they might be interested in some of my designs. I emailed the previous editor Abby, that night and the fruit of that conversation turned into my Scrappy Owl being on the front cover of the Sept/Oct issue in 2010. I had never written one of my patterns up prior to that and didn't know if I was writing it all correctly - but was ecstatic that the pattern was a hit and was later asked to design 6 patterns for each issue of theirs the following year.

WHERE DO MY IDEAS COME FROM:
I sewed when I was little with my sister and mom. We loved to make clothes for our cabbage patch dolls without patterns. They were very raw and incorrect, but it was so fun. Although I dabbled with fabrics - I don't remember designing anything else specific until I designed a light bulb pillow during one of my years at the University of Hartford art school. I got a sewing machine from an awesome boss while working as an Assistant Buyer at Casual Corner (thanks Danna) and have been sewing on it ever since. I made sachet favors for our wedding, baby blankets for gifts, and then the Tuck 'n' Go, the oh so - amazingly popular - thumbsucking covers - that requires I hire an assistant, and now all this! Some patterns come easier than others. Sometimes these ideas come from watching my daughters at play or may even come from a dream. They come from my little girls begging for specific Halloween costumes. Sometimes they work themselves out while I'm driving from Maine to NY (and back) which gives me time to process the course of the stitching along the way. Sometimes I am inspired by a birthday gift idea or a request for a Christmas ornament. If I don't write them down, they don't stay long, but often will return as a nagging challenge in my brain....and they just keep coming.

WHAT ELSE DO I DO:
When I'm not doing all that - I also love to read, run with my tunes cranked, and am training for my Third Degree Black belt in Shaolin Kempo Karate. Back in Feb of 2007 I began learning how to write songs - and participated in February Album Writing Month 3 years in a row. You can check out 2 songs I wrote the lyrics to that were also demo'd by fellow artists and later selected to be on the FAWM.ORG compilation CD's - on iTunes. "The Moon Escapes Tonight" by Becca Palm (2007) and "On Rare Occasions" by Josh Belville (2010). I hope to do it again soon - but my life is a little busy right now.

WHAT ARE MY RULES:
1 - Enjoy reading my blog posts. Enjoy my tutorials, creating them yourself and eating yummy cherry salad. And after you do - please leave me a comment! I love to read them and have finally added a "reply" feature! I'd love to get to know you all!
2 - If you like one of my posts - and you want to share it...GREAT! But please provide proper name credit ("Kid Giddy" or "Kerry Goulder") with a link to the original post. Please don't just copy all my work and post it as your own. That just wouldn't be cool and that would also be infringing on copyright laws! Please request permission before using ANY and ALL of my photos, so I don't have to have my lawyer contact you! All my images, tutorials and posts are protected by copyright laws! If you share one of my posts, I'd be happy to include a link to your blog on my blogroll (provided you have a G rated family friendly blog).
3 - I don't have guest bloggers at this time - but may in the near future. If you are interested in guest blogging on Kid Giddy with a fun craft tutorial or yummy recipe that looks nicely crafted - click the contact button above. 

Thanks, Kerry (aka - kg)