Life with Poot-n-Toots

the *mother* of all treat bag posts....

O'kay ladies you've got 24 days to get your treat bags ready for this Halloween.

If you missed last year's tutorial you can find it HERE and if you want to remember all of your amazing bags you can find them all in the archives (on the left look under October 2009)

8 of you participated in making 12 bags in last year's treat-bag throw down and I'm expecting a few more of you to join in the fun this year since we've got some more babies in our blog-reading crowd.

So, to get your creative juices flowing, I've scoured the internet (and ETSY) high and low to find some awesome treat bags to inspire you.

For those of you that will have little princesses, check out these amazing bags at Kids Bowtique. She's got bags for Snow White, Tinkerbell, Jesse the Cowgirl (from Toy Story), Alice in Wonderland and many, many more. I think the tulle is super fun and girly.

 

Will you have a Frankenstein? I love how this gal, made the ears and bolts come out of the seams.

Will you have a monster or two this halloween? How about making one of these cool bags. I'm sure the kids would get a kick out of 'feeding' the monster.

For the Mommas of boys, will you be having a skeleton this Halloween? This bag is beyond cool.  I love how fun and funky it is.

This skeleton bag could work for a boy or girl (with or without the bows)

If you'd rather not have to make a personalized back each year, why not make ONE general personalized bag that can be re-used each year.

This Jack-o-lantern bag is adorable and seems easy enough to make.

This oneis super cute too (heck save time, and buy it from etsy, it's a mere 7 buck-a-roos)

I think this little candy corn bag is adorable. It would be easy and cheap enough to make a batch to give out to friends.

This bagis super girly too. If you're not crafty, consider buying a personalized bag from a site like etsy instead of a uber store like pottery barn.

With a few Halloween inspired fabrics you could make a personalized name bag fairly easily.

I LOVE this bucket style bag. So much so, I might have to order one for myself to have to pass out the candy. I love how simple it is, with the classic Halloween colors. I need to find a sturdy bucket style pattern, because these beauties are all over the crafty blogs I read.

Or how about this totally-over-the-top Minnie Mouse bag. I love how this one is super sturdy.

For those of you without little ones, why not make some of these super cute candy corn goody bags. Fill them up with some treats and give them to your favorite little gremlins or coworkers.

This isn't the best picture, but I love how this gal, used the ribbon to make the handles. I may have to try this technique out.

Consider using other materials than felt (my standby). This Mermaid Bag and Tin Man bag are great bags.

 This bag is so cool, she sewed strips of cheese-cloth to mimic the texture of a wrapped Mummy



 

Here's a bag that reminded me of the one that Erika made last year. If you're a poor artist like me, get a friend to sketch our the shape/item you want (Michelle sketched the red shoes for Ally's bag last year and the hat for Paige's glinda costume). You can also print it out on-line and then use that as a template.

Want a more sophisticated look? How about addding some of these cute little rosettes (you can find a billion and one tutorials on the web)

This Cat in the Hat Tote bag is really creative. I love it when the shape of the bag takes on the shape of the character or costume

 

I love how this gal used some contrasting embroidery thread in the center of the letters and on the handles. (her screen name on etsy is drfeltgood...get it? Dr. Feel Good, ha!)

 

And now for your over acheivers out there. You can make this AMAZING felt bag AND the felt candy to go with it. Seriously? That's beyond awesome.

Are you feeling inspired???? I can't wait to see the bags you all create. Send me a photo when you're done and I'll post it to the blog. Some of you out there that *SWORE* that you didn't have a crafty bone in your bodies came up with some of the coolest bags.

I bought all my goodies to make Paige and Ally's bag last week. Now I just need to scrounge up the time to make them.

Happy crafting!!!!

I ♥ drive-in movies.....

Tonight the girls and I went to the drive in to see Legend of the Guardians- The Owls of Ga'Hoole

    

Seriously, this movie was ***AWESOME***. Paige has been dying to see this movie since seeing all the previews this summer. It's based on a series of books, of which we just bought books 1-3 at the book fair and borrowed 4-6 at the library. She started reading the first book this week and it's a good challenge for her. They remind me of Harry Potter and have lots of made-up words and a very detailed story line. We read the first few chapters together and she's in the middle of it now.

I had such a fantastic time at the drive-in. You can't beat it, for all three of us, it cost a whopping $9.00 bucks (heck, we could have seen the second movie too). We brought our dinner with us, and ate on the camping chairs outside (um, by the way, it was freakishly hot today so the weather was perfect). After we finished our dinner we climbed in the back of the car and settled down with ample pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals, of course we had some skittles too.

We are so lucky to live in a town where we have TWO drive-in movie theatres within 15-20 minutes of us. I just love seeing all the families there, all decked out in their jammies, in all kinds of  set-ups. It seems like such a fun wholesome family activity. Everyone is always smiling, people are hanging out outside of their cars chatting with their 'neighbors' and just ready to have fun. I like that the Sunset drive-in in SLO still seems Mom & Pop to me, I don't feel robbed like I normally do after seeing a movie. I think we're definitely going to have to make this a new tradition.

SLO farmers market 2009, a pirate, larry the cucumber, and a bumblebee....

Last night we went to the SLO farmers market to go trick or treating. On our way, we stopped at the Avila Barn to get our annual Halloween pictures. (note to the new Mommas..this is WAY easier and less stressful than trying to get a good picture on Halloween night). I was pleased with the one of the girls together, but had a hard time getting a good one of Ally...

Trick-or-treating...

Luckily, we were able to meet up with Kelly, Aubrey and Lynnette for a bit.

We really had a great time, without any of the drama from last year...

Treat Bag Updates

I'm so excited that Kirsten took on the treat bag challenge. She claims that she's non-too-crafty, but really, who is she kidding? Um... HELLLLLOOOOOOOOOOO........... Check out this Bob the Tomato bag she made (her adorable son Adam is going to be Larry the Cucumber, and his sidekick fittingly, is Bob the Tomato). I love that not only did she reluctantly jump on the treat-bag-bandwagon, she knocked it out with some serious skill. Way to go Kirsten, I can't wait to see the costume! (to see how Kirsten made this incredible bag, click on her name and it will take you to her blog post)

 

This cool bag was made by Erika.. Her son Andrew is going to be a pirate.. Can you believe that she free-handed the skull? She claims that she's not crafty either....whatever. Way to go Erika, I LOVE it!

 

Brianne just sent me this photo of Jenna's bumblebee bag and I totally LOVE it. I must say that I really bullied Brianne into doing this, and I'm SO glad I did! The bag turned out quite impressive for this so- called 'beginner'. I love the antennae and the ribbon handles. (Brianne, you're quite the seamstress to change the thread around the top of the bag...I can't even see the stitching) Really people the next time someone tells me that they're just not crafty, I will politely remind them that  they're probably full of crap. I'd say that the beginners made some pretty fantastic bags...

It's done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The girls' room is finally finished and I LOVE IT! In case you need a refresher, here are the before pictures....

We found a used bunk bed on Craigslist, and new bedding from Walmart......

 

Got a new dresser from Target, and oval mirror from Lowe's...

 

(this is what the room looks like if you're standing in the closet)

 

I purchased one matching curtain panel from Walmart for $19.97 . With it I sewed new bedding for the doll crib, and a new seat cover for the highchair....   

 

New liners for the small baskets...

Personalized pillows for the girls (the colors are a bit off in these two photos)...

     
 
A small pillow for the reading chair and a curtain topper....which I actually don't  love. I'm debating whether or not to change it out with a plain white topper. It seems like it's a tad too busy for me... it also looks weird because the stripes appear to compete with the stripe on the wall.... opinions?...

 

I made some quick little frames with the girls' names (I'm planning on re-hanging the girls' baby hand-prints under the shelves, I just haven't done it yet)....
 

re-painted the table...

bought a chair off of Craigslist, and a new slip cover from Pottery Barn (Auntie Kim, I finally used the gift card from Christmas 2007, I knew I was saving it for something special)... and I bought some cheap plain-white frames from Target and framed some of the girls' art work. This reading corner is BY FAR my favorite spot in the room.. The Chinese Lanterns are from Luna Bazaar and the little red tub that holds the library books is from Michael's....

Ally painted this family portrait and I just love it...

 

(view from in front of the bunk beds).....    

 

So there you have it....the new and improved room.

**for you inquiring minds I'll do a special post on the painted racing stripe later this week**

Trick or Treat Bag Tutorial.....

Melissa started this tradition of home-made trick or treat bags back in '04 and since then, the girls have had special one-of-a-kind bags to match their costumes. This year I've had a few people ask me how to make them (who am I kidding? It was just one person....) so I figured a tutorial was in order...

You'll need:

• 4 pieces of 9x12 felt to make the base of the bag. Felt can be bought at Walmart, Michael's, Beverly's, etc. for about .39 cents a sheet.
• Embroidery thread (2) in a contrasting color, needle
• a sewing machine/thread
• tacky glue
• scissors
• glitter
• ruler or tape measure

 

Sketch out a plan of what you'd like your bag to look like.....

To make the base of the bag you'll need 4 pieces of felt.I chose to make Paige's bag entirely of one color (light pink)......

Leave 2 pieces of felt whole. Cut the 3rd piece of felt into 3, 3 inch strips. Cut one strip at 9 inches. These strips will be the sides and bottom of the bag....

Sew the 2 whole sheets and the 2, 3x9 inch strips together to make the front/sides of the bag....

Take the 3x9 inch strip and sew it to bottom (making the base of the bag)...

which will then look like this....

Turn the bag, right-side-out and hem the top of the bag 1/4 of an inch (folding it in)...

Cut 2, 2 1/2 inch strips from the fourth piece of felt, to make the handles...

Hem both sides of each handle 1/4 of an inch....

 

Sew each handle to one side of the bag....

Getting the base of the bag together takes about 10 minutes (including cutting/sewing)

Now comes the fun part....Depending on your costume, you can make an applique of sorts...

I chose to make Glinda's crown for Paige. I sketched a simple crown on cardstock, cut it out, and traced it onto a white piece of felt.

 

which was then glued to the front of the bag....

outlined with glue and then glittered....

I used a chipboard star and a strip of glittered felt to make Glinda's wand...

Wrote Paige's name in glue and then glittered that as well...

For Ally's Dorothy bag, I used a different technique (the basic bag is the same)...

I made a yellow brick road (sorry Dad,I'm missing the masonry gene)....

Temporarily put the the bricks down with glue(BEWARE..if you're planning on stitching details on the front or back of the bag.... do this BEFORE putting your bag together) and stitched an outline...

followed the same template idea for the shoes, and the name...

and then stitched the seams with contrasting embroidery thread (this is really just to give it a fun finished look)...

 

and wa-la! Personalized trick-or-treat bags for 2009....

Here are some from years past.....

The original bags...Melissa used ribbon for the handles and contrasting colors for the sides...

This boot was also made by Melissa...I love that it's in the shape of a boot (although much harder to do), and has the handkerchief for the sides and handles...

Ryder's bag (also made by Melissa- seriously, this was my all-time-favorite-costume).....

Melissa made this butterfly bag too...you can't really tell, but she sewed a 3-D butterfly in the center..

My first attempt.....

Kelly's bag that she made for Aubrey last year (she was smart enough to sew the giraffe spots BEFORE putting the bag together)

 

Last years bags......

So there you have it, simple and fun personalized trick-or-treat bags. I'm hoping that a few of you will try 'em out and make them this year....Christy? Brianne? Karen? Holly? Michele? Marcia? Kristy? Kirsten? Tiana? If you do, send me a picture and I'll add it to this post..... Happy Crafting!!!!!!

A special post for all the Halloween fanatics...

If you don't LOVE (yes, I'm screaming) Halloween, then you'll think this 6-minute-cheesy-montage-with-goofy-graphics is totally lame.

Really, if you think it's some silly-free-loading-candy-begging-escapade you should definitely skip this post.

Consider yourself warned.

But, surely you won't be able to not watch considering lots of YOU lovely blog-readers are in it.

and just in case you're calendar inept.....  

you have a mere ****49***  days left before Halloween.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Shoot n' Share Weekend.....

Photo L-R: Cori Derksen, Kelley Frese, Poots, Kori Friesen, Toots, Erin Davis

Back in April, Kori Friesen (a photographer from Fresno, that takes our family photos) invited my girls to participate in a Shoot n' Share weekend. Kori and 3 other photographers were getting together to do two different photo shoots in SLO. The goal was to use the weekend as a time to learn from one-another and further develop their craft... all 4 ladies are professional photographers that have their own businesses, but together they've found that they learn best from one another while 'doing'. So, all they needed were some 'subjects'. When Kori explained this to me, I jumped at the chance to let her use my kids as 'models' in exchange for some photos (really, was there even a choice? Who would say no to such a sweet deal?)

Today I got the final CD in the mail with some awesome images...I've been dying to share them, but now that I have them all, I can. Kori even made me a DVD slideshow of all the images but I can't figure out how to load it to the blog...So I've decided to post 'em. Of course I couldn't just pick a few, so I've added a photo album with all the images (in the side-bar at the left). I'm showing significant restraint by choosing just two favorites from each photographer to post. I've listed the photographer's name with each photo and click-able links to the sites; if you want more info on these talented ladies check out their sites...seriously, if you're like me, you'll drool over their collective talents...

These ladies are all from the Central Valley, but don't worry local-girls they do come to the Central Coast on occasion...

Kelley Frese, Frese Photography

  

Kori Friesen, Captured Moments Photography and Design

  

Cori Derksen, Derksen Photography

 

Erin Davis, Studio 317

 

...and I just couldn't resist including this one (taken by Kori)....simply hilarious!

Thanks Kori, Cori, Kelley, and Erin you all are some seriously talented ladies!

**the photos in the album are all saved differently (each photograhy named them...except for Kelley's which I accidentally saved as 'staff appreciation luau, I unintentionally downloaded them with the same name as the photos from yesterday)

chocolate-chip pumpkin muffins....

 

Every-other Friday I cook with my class and Kelly's class during our Big Buddy time. Two weeks ago, we made these delicious muffins.  For some reason when I cook at home, I rarely try new recipes; but when I cook at school I'm more adventurous. My Mom had a really yummy chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe but the cooking time was too long to complete in an hour.

I really wanted to make something including pumpkin. Kelly had just completed a fun pumpkin math unit and I wanted to tie the two together. Thus, my search began for the perfect pumpkin muffin recipe.

Google didn't disappoint. I found this awesome recipe on a cute blog called Muffin Top. The recipe is actually from the November 2006 issue of Gourmet magazine (sounds pretty fu-fu, no?). I only tweaked it a wee bit by adding chocolate chips.

The muffins were a huge hit, the kids seriously devoured them. The next week I volunteered in Paige's class and made the muffins with both the AM kinder's and the PM class. Kelly even made a batch last weekend for Andy.

Try 'em out and let me know what you think.....

Chocolate-Chip Pumpkin Muffins

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2  cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice (a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice- I used the Pampered Chef cinnamon plus)
1 1/4 cups plus 1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup chocolate chips (optional, but who wouldn't want them????)

Equipment: 12 foil or paper muffin liners; a muffin pan with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups

DIRECTIONS:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350F. Put liners in muffin cups.

Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.

Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture and chocolate chips until just combined.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.

Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full), then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack for 5 minutes, makes 12 muffins

Enjoy!

Halloween 2008, it was worth it.....

We've spent the last two days celebrating Halloween, and it's been quite the adventure.....

I must admit that at about 7:00 last night, as we were fighting the crowds at the SLO farmer's market (which is no small feat when 1,001 people stop you to admire you kids' costumes....and photograph it, touch it, ask you how you made it, etc.) ....all the while listening to a litany of Paige's complaints; I was beginning to seriously wonder if all this work on the costumes and the bags was really worth it.

Suffice it to say, last night I snapped at Paige and informed her that next year I would be purchasing a generic costume at K-Mart, and she could forget the fancy treat bag, since she'd be using a pillow case to collect her candy.

Really, I was feeling a little put-out and under-appreciated.

I totally learned a thing or two this year:

• Don't put the kid that doesn't like attention from random strangers in the totally attention-getting costume
• feed your children before trick-or-treating (trust me, this is important)
• just because your kid asks to be a cupcake, and you do in fact make one, it doesn't mean that she'll love wearing it (even if it is the coolest costume ever made)
• just because the photographer from the paper wants to take her photo, it doesn't mean that she'll smile for them, or for her mother (although, she will in fact smile for numerous strangers and their camera phones)
• I vote NO on all the lame protesters at the farmer's market.....really, people....this isn't the venue for you. Let the kids trick or treat in peace without your silly signs.
• even though your kid complains for 30 minutes straight about how she's not having any fun, there's too many people, that she's hungry/tired/irritated etc., it is in fact possible for her to spend the 25 minute car-ride home telling you what an awesome time she had (what??????? was this child the same child who just spent the first half of the night in near meltdown mode?????????)

The most important thing I learned is that one tiny comment from a stranger makes it all worth it. So, to the sweet little gentlemen at the farmer's market who shouted: "good job, mama!"................... I love you, I really do. I so needed to hear that, at that very moment.

Tonight's round of trick or treating went SO much better. We did it right this time, we fed them first and then did a quick 25 minute jaunt around the block.

Jason didn't really believe me when I told him how many people stopped to admire Paige's costume last night...Tonight as we were leaving one house we heard a lady shout to her husband "hey honey look! It's the cupcake and baker from SLO!" ......at the same time Jason was actually filming a guy taking pictures of Paige, while a lady walked by and said: 'that's the best costume I've seen in my entire life!"

With those comments, I suppose it *was* worth it.

Thursday night at Farmer's Market......

     

Photos from the pumpkin patch after work today.....

   

The girls posing with their 'monies' from Nonna (Jason's Grandma) and Great-Mama (my Grandma)

 

Trick-or-treating at the neighbors

   

More trick-or-treating after dinner...

 

Two happy girls, and one tired Momma....

 

So tonight, I'm offically taking a moment to give props to all the Momma's out there that have ever either hunted down the *perfect* costume, or sewed one...just know that it *was* worth it.

Someday they'll thank us, right?