Doily Turkey

 Making sweet turkeys with different kinds of materials goes hand and hand with the month of November. I love seeing what my children create and hearing their silly turkey "gobble gobbles" come out! We made this turkey with a clothespin and a doily. To see my full tutorial of our Doily Turkey, head on over to The Studio, by Kiwi Crate and join us for some Thanksgiving fun!

For another fun turkey craft check out the cork turkey we made last year.

Fall Owl Burlap Flag

Did you know I LOVE owls? Surprise, surprise...I know. I just can't seem to get enough of these cute round birds. They make me smile. When Emma and I were looking to make a fall flag similar to our winter snowman flag...an owl seemed like the perfect way to go. Our secret to getting that perfect owl shape, an apple! Who knew? To see exactly how our adorable owl flag came together--head over to The Studio, by Kiwi Crate where you can join us in our full tutorial of this fun fall decor craft.

Corn Dough

Well, it's not quite time for peppermint dough and I am a little over the pumpkin pie dough....what's a mama to do? After finding my old cast iron corn mold (and wiping the dust off) I thought it was the perfect tool for some fun November corn dough!   

Ingredients:
4 cups flour
4 cups water
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
3 tbs. vegetable oil
3 tbs. cream of tarter
1 cup salt
food coloring

Add all ingredients to a large pot except for the food coloring. Mix over medium heat until a soft dough forms. Dump the dough onto a cutting board and let cool.

Once cool, knead until soft and smooth. Next, divide the dough and knead food colors (of your choice) into each ball of dough.

This dough had a fun texture to it from the cornmeal. The kids loved using the cast iron corn molds along with some corn husks I had left over from corn husk dolls! Perfect way to wait for the peppermint dough to make it's first appearance.

Melissa & Doug Terrific Twenty List and Giveaway!!

I am so excited to share with you today The Terrific Twenty Holiday Gifts for 2012 from my friends over at Melissa & Doug! 

Melissa & Doug is my go-to for gifts every Christmas and with so many new great things to choose from I can't wait to get shopping! 

Check out their Terrific Twenty here and also enter for twenty chances to win these great toys over at Melissa & Doug on Facebook!!

My favorite this year is the limited edition Trunki! It's tie-dye! How cool is that? Your little travelers will never look so good. Because I love it so much and because my awesome friends at Melissa & Doug want to celebrate their Terrific Twenty with us....I am giving away a Trunki to one of you!

To enter to win this cool little travelers must have leave me a comment below telling me how you will do most of your Christmas shopping this year. Are you a late night web shopper? An early morning after Thanksgiving shopper? Or are you the one I envy who can make all gifts homemade? Tell me, please!
This contest will close at 7am on November 20th. A winner will be chosen randomly. Good luck!
I hope you win!!
For more chances to win head over to Melissa & Doug!

Lunch for Daddy - Teaching Healthy Choices

I teach my children to make healthy food choices everyday in the best way I know how....by making healthy choices for myself. It is simple and has worked liked a charm so far.

"Be the person you want your children to be."
Not sure who said that, but it is very true!

Inspired by a simple recipe I saw on a this great vegan blog yesterday, Oh She Glows; Emma and I made some lunches to go for Daddy. Easy, healthy, and sturdy salads are great to put in jars and take to work or the park. All you need is a fork.

Emma was super excited to prepare some lunches for her Daddy. She added all the ingredients to some large mason jars.

Next, she gave it a shake! This was a really fun way to get her involved in the kitchen. being around all these healthy fresh food options, learning to prepare healthy lunches and snacking all the way through.

When we were finished making our salads Emma made a sweet little tag to tie around the jars. Now that is a lunch that is good for your body and soul.

Pumpkin Seed Mosaic

 Did you get a little nuts with the pumpkin seeds while carving all those pumpkins last week? Yes, sometimes I get a bit seed roasting happy too and then we have seeds for snacks one too many times. We put our overabundance of pumpkin seeds to good work at our art table this week.
Join me at The Studio, by Kiwi Crate for my full tutorial on how we made this adorable seed owl.

 

One Year Celebration! GIVEAWAY!

 It has been one year since I started rambling on about my kids, art and the happy mess that the two create together. I write about our adventures because I feel so passionate about children learning and growing with art. I write because it is documenting special times I have with my little ones as we fly through these precious years way too fast. I write to keep my family (that is a little too far for my liking) connected to us. I write in hopes of inspiring others. I don't know if I do so, but I hope so.

Thank you friends for all the support! I love our little inspiring circle we have. To celebrate my first year as a speaking out loud, owl loving, mess embracing, rambling too much, professional glue remover and play dough making extraordinaire.....I want to give away my favorite art caddy by Boon. It will also be filled with some of my favorite art creating goods! All you have to do is tell me here what inspires you to create.
I hope you win!
xo
green owl mama
P.S. Contest closes on November 9th at 7am. Winner will be notified asap!