EtsyKids Design Challenge for August: In the mood for school!

(images via Flickr: school zone, pencils, letter a for apple, alphabet street, crayons, school room)

Each month EtsyKids Team members are challenged to create a unique item within a chosen theme. "In the mood for school!" is our challenge for August, picked by our last month's winners Redrane and BellaSeraBoutique. We'll be featuring items such as book bags, backpacks, lunch carriers and fall fashion.

EtsyKids members will have until August 19th to submit their entries, and voting will be open to everybody from Sunday, August 21st to Saturday, August 27th. So, be sure to come back to the EtsyKids blog for a new post on the 21st to see all of the entries and VOTE! In the meantime, please click here to get a sneak peek at some exciting entries so far!

Tweet

Summer Recipe: Sauteed Green Beans

When I was in college at Syracuse University, we used to eat out from time to time at a Chinese restaurant near campus. With rare exception, I always got the sauteed green beans. I loved them, and every time I’ve ordered Chinese since, I’ve looked for something similar. I never really found it.

Then, a few years ago, I picked up a recipe at the grocery store for “Green Beans Chinese-Style,” and lo and behold, there were my beloved sauteed green beans again! It’s a simple, fast recipe, and whenever I have fresh green beans (as I did from last week’s farm share), it’s the first recipe I think of.

Plus, it gets my son to eat green beans.

Sauteed Green Beans

1.5T minced fresh ginger*
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 green onions, minced**
2T dry sherry
2T sugar
2T soy sauce
2T vegetable oil
1.5 lb. green beans, trimmed, rinsed and patted dry

* I often substitute 1t ground ginger.
** If I don’t have green onions, I use a couple of tablespoons of regular onions.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the ginger, garlic, green beans, onion, sherry, soy sauce, and 1T water. (Important note: don’t double the sauce. It might seem like there’s not enough, but there is. The sauce is supposed to mostly cook away and get sticky on the beans.)


Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Stir fry the green beans for 2 minutes. Add 2T of water and cook for another 2 minutes or until the water is evaporated. Add the sauce and stir fry for 5 more minutes or until the beans are tender. Serve over rice.


Serves 6. (Yeah right — my husband, son, and I can polish this off in one sitting!)


Enjoy! -Cori of Peace, Baby! Batiks

Tweet

EtsyKids Design Challenge: We have a Winner! ( ..well two winners really)

We had a tie this month. Congratulations to our two winners of Etsy Kids July Challenge
56. Little Stinker Skunk Hat - Baby to adult sizes available by Redrane!

and
78. Custom Boutique Crochet Tiger Hat UNISEX ANY SIZE photoprop each hat unique by BellaSeraBoutique!

Each of our winners deserves an introduction, so without further ado.....

~About Redrane
Full of vibrant color and artistic design, Redrane shop presents items such as baby slings, cozy blankets, baby hats, cute dresses with hand painted details and more. You can visit Redrane right here.


~ About Bella Sera Boutique
Bella Sera Boutique features unique hand crocheted designs, hand painted items, accessories, and graphics. It' fun, whimsical, and you can visit it right here.

Tweet

Very special thanks to our Blog Captain, Inter-Blog Coordinator, EtsyKids Treasury Team Captain and all of the guest contributors for your incredible work in promoting the EtsyKids Christmas in July Event.

Thank you all.

Tweet

Slide into Sunday Savings with EtsyKids - Last Day for Xmas in July Sales!

EtsyKids Christmas in July Savings slip away at midnight!

Tweet

Toy Story

There was a very very large package under our tree last Christmas. It wasn't the first present that Maizie opened. My own present-opening strategy would have been to start with the biggest first, but she started with the small boxes under the tree. When she had opened the last book, she looked at the penguin wrapped tower in front of her, not sure if it was really a present or not. David and I had been tittering with barely concealed anticipation, while she slowly went through the small stack. We managed to wait patiently without blurting out, "JUST OPEN THE BIG ONE ALREADY!!!".

The moment finally arrived. She tore off the paper and paused a moment. "It's a house for all my dolls". She scurried away, returning with an armful of princesses.

My favorite present as a child was the dollhouse that my father had made. Wendy and I played with it for longer than any self respecting twelve year old would admit. Watching Maizie, open her's started the deja vu's rolling in.

Waiting patiently upstairs in our attic were the boxes of doll furniture, from that Christmas over 30 years ago. Maizie helped me bring them down stairs, now her time to be tittering with excitement. We unpacked kitchen appliances. She exclaimed over tiny pots and pans. Furniture had to be placed just right. I cleaned the pieces while she played, smiling. I had found a time machine back to my childhood.

Not everyone was as happy as Maizie and I that morning. My own dolls, stripped of their clothes for washing, watched homeless piled on the side lines, while Cinderella and her pals settled into their house.

Tweet

Activity:: Birdseed Treats for Feathered Friends

Each winter Michelle, of Hi Mamma, and her family make bird seed ornaments. They've done it for years during the kids winter break, but it really does not need to be a winter craft/project. Their craft room is the sunroom and they enjoy listening to music and watching their feathered friends have a little snack. Depending on the type of birds you have in your area, really depends upon the type of bird seed that you purchase for this project. If your children really get into watching the birds, there are lots of great kid friendly bird watching books and state specific bird field guides you can pick up at the local library, that will help you identify your backyard birds and what they enjoy eating.

Here's how you can make your own::

Ingredients and Supplies

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup water

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

3 tbsp. corn syrup (can be dark or light)

4 cups birdseed

cookie cutters (to form the shape of the bird seed holders)

waxed paper

ribbon/yarn/string

Combine the flour, water, gelatin and corn syrup in a large mixing bowl. Stir until well mixed together.

Add the bird seed and continue mixing until it is well coated. You can tell when the bird seed is coated as you cannot see the flour on the seed, and it starts to clumping.

Spoon your bird seed mixture into each mold (aka the cookie cutters), fill it half way in the mold. Use your fingers to push down on the bird seed so that is packed/dense and will stay in it shape. Then add your “hanger” at the top of the mold. We cut our desired length of yarn and folded it over to form a horseshoe…placed the ends of the string about 1 inch down from the top of the mold, so that the loop would be hung on the tree branch, and then placed more of the bird seed mixture on top of the string and the mold. Once again made sure that we packed the bird seed down tight.

Keep the birdseed mixture in the molds for roughly 2 1/2 hours. Afterwards, gently remove the ornaments from the mold pressing lightly at the edges (not the middle or it might break), and place them back on the wax paper. Allow the shapes to dry for at least 2-3 hours or even overnight before hanging.

Thanks Michelle for sharing one of your families traditions. This makes a fun activity to do with cousins or when it's too cold to play outside.

Michelle's shop, Hi Mamma, is participating in our EtsyKids Christmas in July promotional and offering free shipping when you enter the promotional code, 711CHRISTMASINJULY at checkout!



This post and many more like it can be found on Michelle's blog, Hi Mamma Designs, where she shares her journey through motherhood, crafting, cooking and living.

Tweet