OT Tip - St. Patrick's Day Craft

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I wanted to share a couple of craft ideas that I have been having my kids at work complete the last couple of weeks. There are so many websites and ideas out there, it is very easy to find printable and free craft ideas to work on fine motor skills with. Here are a couple that I found and are very simple to do.

"Katie" or "Sean" the Clover
Website: dltk-Kids.com 

Photo Credit: dltk-kids.com 


This craft is for ages 2+. Isn't it adorable? There is a girl "Katie" and a boy "Sean." Here is what you need:

• "Katie"(clover & body parts) and "Sean" (clover and body parts) printable cutouts. 
• crayons
• scissors 
• glue 

Have your child color all the pieces on the paper before you cut them out. Some of the body pieces are a little small so you may need to help depending on how well your child can cut. Kids should be able to at least cut out the clover piece successfully. Once my kid's clover people were glued together, I put them on a piece of construction paper and hung them up in the hallway outside my room.

Shamrock Scissor Skills Practice

Photo Credit: dltk-kids.com

This craft is for ages 2+. For this craft all you need is: 

• clover leaf printable cutout 
• green construction paper
• scissors 
• glue 

Cut the construction paper into strips, about 1/2 inch wide or more. Then have your child snip pieces from the construction paper into squares or different sizes. Then take those and glue them onto the clover leaf until it is completely covered. They can go over the edges, don't worry about that. Once the clover leaf is dry, cut out the clover leaf shape along the dark line and hang it up!

All my kids really enjoyed making these this week and now my wall is all decorated for the holiday!

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tudung malas utk santai bersama yg tersayangsss

hey dudes... al kisah aku duk pelik jgk kenapa ada org kata pakai tudung macam ni lawa. i mean mmg lawa, lawa bila hana tajima pakai, maria elena pakai, fatin suhana pakai, tp aku pakai sebab aku malas iron + malas nak lilit + malas pakai brooch + nak cepat + santai.

nak tau satu benda lawak? 1st time aku pakai macam ni, dkt Kuantan hari tu. sebab dah OTW (on the way) balik KL, so mestilah duduk dlm kereta lama kan. mestilah nanti tudung aku herot sana, herot sini sebab dalam kereta berjam-jam for sure aku akan tertidur. then mama nak singgah Tanjung Lumpur. Tanjung Lumpur tu bkn mcm Tanjung Rambutan ha! Tanjung Lumpur ni kalau dkt Kuantan mcm tmpt org makan ikan bakar, sotong goreng tepung, Satar, Otak-Otak, kuih tradisional semua tu lah.

lepas tu, mama ajak aku teman dia, turun kereta, pergi beli kuih. aku pun turun je lah.

mama : akak. tak nak pakai tudung elok-elok dulu ke? mama tunggu.

aku : elok macam mana? tak elok ke ni?

mama : tak de la, tu kan tak siap lagi, pakai la pin apa semua dulu.

aku : HAHAHAHHA. mama, dah siap okay, ini memang fesyen dia longgar2 macam ni.

mama : oh ye ke? macam kemek-kemek macam org arab camni?

aku : ye mama. nanti mama tgk dkt KL naaa da berlambak.

pastu tak lama tu die nampak yuna dkt TV. baru die duk "O0o0o0o0" -____-''

Isnin malam lepas, teh semua datang, dengan sepupu sepapat & cucu dia. mama abah plak memang asyik nak tengok HMM (Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa). So ptg tu, bertemankan namin, aku pun gi Wangsa Walk, just nak beli ticket utk malam. Guess What, the whole hall tuh full. FULL okay full. tinggal couple seat je. aku duk bilang, memang 6 org nak tgk HMM. so beli je lah.

3 couple seat HMM - RM 78

2 adults Rango, 2 kiddies Rango - RM 38

cerita ni, best malay movie everrr lah. well, ramai org suka, and a few tak suka.

yg tak suka semua LELAKI. termasuk namin. :P

apa aku blh ckp, cerita ni aku tak letak high expectations at first, sbb ni 1st try dia org. aku biasa-biasa je perasaan. tapi start je cerita, mmg aku rasa macam tgk cerita overseas. seriusss. and mmg aku tergelak seorang ada lah few flaws, very little, tp utk 1st try, mmg amat sgt hebat lah bg aku. almost perfect dah. and cerita-cerita camni lah buat aku rasa makin syg dkt broadcasting. :')

bahasa dia org pun simple je, tak de la klasik mana pun. mudah je faham. mostly pun english, little chinese, few malay. semua 6 org family aku, setuju cerita ni best. mama abah sampai nak tgk lg taw. editing mmg bnyk mainkan peranan penting. camera movement jgk. setting terbaekkk. ape pun. aku suka cita ni! SUKAAAAAA :D

oh ye, bebudak tgk cerita ni. tak da la budak mana.

Badlishah yg dah jd doktor, ayie yg tgh nak jadi arkitek. KAH3. budak la sgt.

then aisyah, akashah, rian. ha tuh kecik. dia org kata best!

bebudak tu x yah kira lah, semua best. tp yg 2 org tua tuh ckp best.

so best la kot. sbb 2 org tuh mmg choosy gila.

and hari ni, di saat aku tulis ni, aku tengah duk sorang je. sobbb. mama pergi UPSI. Abah pergi Temerloh, ada pegawai meninggal. Kak Sally kerja. Kema pun nak pergi kerja dah. Namin pergi lawatan dkt Kedah/Penang. Faris outstation hong kong & Taiwan. Mama ngah & abah ngah pun dkt India lagi... Teh, cik, kanak2 semua pergi bercuti dkt PD...

and so, since semalam last lah kot aku jmpa namin utk minggu nih, kita org gi Wangsa Walk tgk Unknown. nasib baik semalam booking guna credit card, sebab Rabu kan ramai org dkt hall. so semalam sampai, ambil tiket, beli popcorn, terus masuk. Cerita unknown ni mmg lama dah aku nak tgk, mmg genre aku kan. so semalam, puas hati jgklah. namin kate best. but bergantung pd org, if korang ske cite inception, maybe korang ske cite nih gak. eh tapi namin x ske pun inception ;(

esok, pagi pergi facial, then petang gi Melaka kot, kalau jadi. kalauuu~ ada anak kawan abah kawin. Ahad aku maybe pergi Sunway. maybe. so, till then. astalavista!

If You Stand On Your Own Shoulders, Are You Taller?

Dig this.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said Wednesday finance ministers and central bankers from the G-7 countries—the U.S., Japan, the U.K., France, Canada, Italy and Germany—would discuss ways to support Japan's response to the crisis, including the potential purchase of Japanese bonds.

So the Euros, who are bankrupt, will buy Japan's bonds because Japan is bankrupt and facing more expenses just a few months after Japan, which is bankrupt, bought European bonds because the Euros are bankrupt.

M. C. Escher, please pick up the white courtesy phone!

Things That Make Me Smile

Here is an explanation of this series of posts.

Golden dogs that can't wait for you to come home.

BBQd Leg of Lamb with Rosemary and Honey

Note:  I've been nominated for Babble's 100 Top Food Blogs!  I have 28 more votes to get into the top 50.  If you like what I've done here, would you follow the side link to Babble and vote for me?  I am on page #2 "Snippets of Thyme"

S. Kenney - BBQ'd Leg of Lamb

I had another great class at Williams Sonoma on Saturday.  We ate some delicious bbq grilled steak and sausages.  That definitely put me in the mood to cook any kind of meat dish.  My brother and his family came for a visit during Spring Break.  They are wonderful company and we all had a super time.  My SIL is taking some fabulous cooking courses through Viking School in Mississippi so I wanted to make something special for all of us.  I turned to my trusty Curtis Stone's program "Take Home Chef" and found just the right meat dish - Barbequed Leg of Lamb stuffed with garlic.  

After braising the lamb on the stove top, it is covered in a thick layer of honey.  Messy indeed but fun!  Then, garlic cloves are smashed and stuffed on the inside.  The lamb is laid on rosemary stems and rolled up with twine.  Just preparing this was so aromatic I knew it was going to taste delicious.  Honey, garlic, rosemary??  Wonderful scents already...

S.Kenney-BBQ'd Leg of Lamb with garlic and rosemary

Lamb is so aromatic cooking on the grill.  I think the entire neighborhood could smell this delicious scented roast from our backyard.  

I will shamelessly  highlight a new item that I purchased at that Williams Sonoma class!  It is an instant read thermometer.  It is magical indeed.  I kept inserting it periodically into the leg of lamb.  It instantly reads the temperature.  I was able to pull that meat off at just the right time in order for it to rise  a little more while cooling.

I would definitely cook this again.  The scents are divine, the cut of lamb isn't too lamb-y.  I scooped out the garlic and served it with the juices from the meat.  

My brother and his wife are a lovely couple with 2 bright and fun teenage boys.  I love bringing everyone around the table with a succulent meal like this one.

Barbequed Leg of Lamb wrapped in Rosemary with Garlic and Honey

Take Home Chef, Episode 20: Deanna's Menu

INGREDIENTS

20 large branches fresh long-stemmed rosemary

Six 24-inch/60-cm long strands of kitchen twine

One 6-pound/2.5-kg whole leg of lamb, large bone removed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 garlic cloves, bruised (I used more because I love garlic)

1/4 cup/90 ml honey

PREPARATION:

Soak the rosemary branches and kitchen twine in cold water for 1 hour. This will help prevent the rosemary and twine from burning while they are on the grill.  Prepare the barbecue for high heat. Sprinkle the leg of lamb generously with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Grill the leg of lamb for 5 minutes, or until brown on all sides. Transfer the lamb to a baking sheet. Rub the garlic over the outside of the lamb then place the garlic pieces inside the lamb.  Lay the strands of kitchen twine horizontally across a work surface, spacing them evenly apart.  Lay the rosemary branches perpendicularly atop the twine.

Spread half of the honey over 1 side of the lamb and lay the lamb honey side down atop the rosemary. Spread the remaining honey over the top and sides of the lamb. The honey will help adhere the rosemary to the lamb.  Tie the twine as tightly as possible around the lamb and rosemary, completely encasing the lamb with the rosemary. 

Decrease the heat of the barbecue to medium so that the temperature inside the barbecue is about 350°F/170°C (use an oven thermometer to help gauge the temperature inside the barbecue).  Place the lamb on the grill.  Cover the barbecue and grill the lamb about 1 hour and 30 minutes, turning the lamb on a regular basis, or until an instant-read meat thermometer registers 140°F/60°C when inserted into the thickest part of the lamb meat.

Transfer the lamb to a carving board and let rest for 30 minutes.  Remove the twine and rosemary from the lamb.  Carve the lamb into slices and serve with any juices that accumulate on the carving board.

DIY Leather Flower Necklace

Hello my people! It has been a long time since I've posted a crafty project. I've been in a craft lull for some time and haven't had the inspiration to get my hands dirty. After strolling through Etsy yesterday some thing caught my eye that I just had to try! 

In the Jewelry making world I have previously worked with such materials as wire and beads, with my last obsession of bringing fabric into my collection. After seeing this necklace on Etsy, I have been inspired to try something new...Leather!  This is what I found and the next photos are me trying to re-create it.

 

Cute right! So the first thing you have to do is find some leather. When I started researching on where to get dyed leather, I found out its not as easy or cheap as I had hoped it would be. I did however go to Michaels and grabbed a couple of their scraps to work with. They don't have a great selection of color range but because this was my first try and was basically an experiment, I bought what I could. The thicker the leather, the better...but its also more expensive. :(

Something I thought about after I had been home for a couple days after my purchase was that I could have totally gone to Goodwill and bought old purses to cut up and use for leather! Next time, that's what I'll be doing. 

Ok so first things first. I drew a flower pattern in Illustrator in a few different sizes and cut them out. 

 

Then I used my pattern to cut out my leather flowers.

Next, I arranged my flowers how I wanted to put them together before gluing them down.

 

Once I have them how I want them, I used a hot glue gun to stick them together. Needle and thread would work just as good, but I love my glue gun when working with fabrics/leather.

After they are glued together, I cut out a piece of felt to put on the back to keep the bunch in place.

I also looped a metal ring through each side, so the chain has something to hold on to.

And there you have it! A rockin Necklace! Perfect for spring.

 

Cute Right! I'm itching to get more colorful leathers to play with.

Here are a few other necklaces that I found on Etsy that I am totally in love with.

 

Haunted House

I took this one while driving through Delaware last week.