Giddy up Friday: Gnome Sweet Gnomes!

My daughter's and I just returned home from watching the awesome and adorable Gnomeo and Juliet movie! We've been waiting so long to see it and since Daddy is on a business trip - I planned to take them to do a fun thing to keep them from getting too sad...this was the PERFECT pick me up!

As soon as we got in the car, we began chatting about our favorite scenes! We then moved right onto:
"When we get home....I'm going to draw a picture of my OWN gnomes!" exclaimed Elephant!
"Yeah, and I'm going to draw some too", replied Monkey! and she continued with "Ph and Mommy, can we play with the clay and make some clay Gnomes?"
To which I most certianly replied with, "well....YEAH!!!, totally!"

So we bust out the sculpey and made these....They were so much fun and are sure to come to life when we leave the house! If you make some - drop me a link, I'd love to see your Gnomes - I'm obsessed! Have a great weekend!

Giddy-Up Friday: Photo Booth Magic

There's just something magical about a photo booth! It certainly isn't the lighting or the lack of Photoshop to adjust the picture to my liking and rid any and all imperfections! But every chance I get to hop into a booth and snap a few random pictures to capture the joy or chaos of a moment...is nothing less than magic! Move over kiddos I'm coming in! In this instance my girls and I were buying new vest and coats (on sale) at LL Bean's since they grew out of their old ones!

If you can't find a photo booth near you....try setting up your camera on a tripod, in a really crammed space and take some of your own random and silly photo booth style pictures! Have an awesome weekend! See you Monday for my trip to CHA day 3!

Edible Wednesday: Wonton Soup (Semi-Homemade)

So I kind of made this soup by accident. And I just love a yummy accident. I was really hungry and was really only in the mood for a nice brothy style soup, but wasn't happy with the canned soup I had to choose from! At the same time, I was being tempted by this (new to me) bag of mini frozen wonton's in my freezer, ever so softly calling out my name....

I grabbed the bag and saw that you could cook them up a couple of ways, IE: microwave, stir fry, or in a soup. And I thought - hmmm...I could do that.

So I just grabbed what I was in the mood for (chicken broth), julienned some carrots, re-heated some frozen broccoli (needed some good color), and once that was all nice and warm, I added the mini wonton's. It literally took me all of 10 minutes to prep and cook. My husband was eyeing it the whole time, so I did have to share, but wow - it was so delicious!

So if you are a fan of Semi-Homemade recipes...this one is for you! You can't help but love it!

Here's what you need:

Annie Chun's mini wontons (pick any flavor that speaks to you!)
1 1/2 cups of Chicken Broth (you can also use Vegetable broth if you'd like - or a combo)
1 cup of frozen Broccoli (or fresh)
1 Small - Med carrot stick - julienne

(you can also add Garlic, Ginger, or any other extras you'd like. I kept mine simple.)

Here's what you do:

1) Defrost your broccoli in the microwave if you are using frozen.
2) Pour your broth into a stove top safe dish and turn stove onto medium heat.
3) Julienne your Carrots and immediately add this to the broth.
4) add the Broccoli with the carrots if using it fresh or add once defrosted.
5) Once your soup has come to a boil and your carrots are a little soft, add your frozen wontons. and continue to heat until almost boiling again.

The great thing is - The bag of mini frozen Wontons was only $3.69 and there are 4 wontons to a serving, with 6 servings to a bag. 4 Wonton's is only 100 calories, so you can easily have 8 (for 200 calories)- and really that's only $1.23 for 8 minis. That rocks! Once you add the broth and the broccoli and carrots, you are only at maybe 330 calories total and maybe $3.00?! What a deal!

My husband is just as hooked as am I, and while I was just buying 3 more bags from my frozen food isle, I called my sister and now she's on a mission to get some too! Dude - you have to try this!

I hope you have a great day!!! I'm off to make Wonton soup for lunch!

Busy Monday: "Bits 'n Pieces by Kerry Goulder" - Hedgehog Softie Photo Tutorial

Hi everyone,

I'm teaming up again with Crafts 'n Things Magazine to bring you my new series "Bits 'n Pieces" during 2011. The series starts off with this little cutie, the "Hedgehog Softie"! Here is the photo tutorial to help you put your Hedgehog friend together.

Please be sure to get your copy of the Jan/Feb issue of Crafts 'n Things Magazine so you can get the pattern and written instructions, as they will not all be included here.

Due to contractual copyright agreements, this tutorial is no longer available on my blog. To get the Hedgehog pattern and instructions, please visit my Etsy shop.


If you have any questions at all - please do not hesitate to drop me a comment here to let me know! If you'd like to share your Hedgehog creation - you can visit my Kid Giddy Facebook page and upload a picture of your cute little Hedgehogs and all the fun places they are hiding in! Thanks for purchasing a copy of Crafts 'n Things magazine and supporting crafters like me! Have fun sewing!

Please note these photos are for home and personal use only, as is the pattern. All are copyright protected 2010-2011. These photos will only be up while the magazine is on the newsstands through mid to late February 2011.