Soot Sprites

  I'm a sucker for animation and the girls have inherited this trait. Somehow we introduced them to The Secret World of Arietty, which led to  Ponyo, which led to My Neighbor Totoro, which led to Spirited Away. If you haven't seem them, I highly recommend a trip to the library to check some of these out. 

There are these little fuzzy creatures, called Soot Sprites, in Totoro and Spirited Away, that crack my kids up. They scurry around on spindly legs and have large, saucer-like eyes. Basically, like spiders but much cuddlier. I found a tutorial and decided we needed to have some of our own.

They're insanely easy and cute. I'd bought some stuffing, fuzzy black fabric, black cording, white felt and black beads but didn't get around to making them until one day when we all had a bit of a cold and I thought the girls needed a bit of cheering up. 

I highly recommend dipping the ends of the cording in glue, modge podge or clear nail polish to keep them from fraying. I had to do some emergency amputations of two soot sprites after quiet time that day.

This has been one of my most re-pinned Pinterest entries, and it makes me very happy to think of all these little guys hanging out around the world.

Spiderweb Skirt

Halloween is around the corner and it's time to start thinking about costumes. I usually don't both with anything, maybe an embelleshed shirt at most. But this year, I saw a really cute spiderweb skirt in a catalogue and thought, "I can make that!"

 

It was really easy. The original was an appliqué, but I didn't feel like all the cutting and sewing.  I didn't have enough heat transfer vinyl in white and also figured there would be too much matching and ironing (and cursing) if I went that route. Finally, I decided on white fabric paint.

I got some black bottom-weight fabric 1.5 the width of my hips. I used my tailor's chalk and a yardstick to draw the web. I drew the longer strands out from the center and randomly drew connecting segments. I painted over the chalk with my fabric paint.

For the spiders, I downloaded a spider design from Silhouette, cut it out of card stock, and used it as a stencil. 

Then, I hemmed the bottom, sewed up the side, and made an casing for an elastic waist.  It was really easy and quick. It took longer for the paint to dry than any of the other steps.

I'm going to wear it with a black shirt, black-and-white striped stockings, black shoes and a witch hat. Not a costumey costume, but enough to get me in the, erm, "spirit".

Smoked Turkey and Cheese Salad

Sometimes it's just too hot to cook. On those days, it's much easier to just pull a bunch of stuff out of the fridge and call it dinner. This recipe is perfect for such an occasion. Even better, you can throw the whole thing together the day before, and it tastes even better.

I got this from my stepmother, I have no idea where she got it. My brother says he has some kind of issue with a fruit/nut/meat combination, so he never ate it, but I more than made up for it.

Smoked Turkey and Cheese Salad
* 1 lb. smoked turkey breast, skin removed (I've also used roasted chicken and it's just as delicious)
* 1/2 lb. jack cheese
* 2 apples
* 1 cup seedless red grapes, halved if large
* 1 cup thinly sliced celery
* 1/2 cup raisins
* 1/2 cup cashews
* watercress or fresh greens
* 6 (or more) strips fried, crisp bacon (I'm lazy and use the pre-made stuff)

Tart-Sweet Dressing
* 1 cup mayonaise
* 1/3 cup yogurt
* 2 tbsp. cider vinegar
* 2 tbsp. honey
* salt and pepper to taste

1. Prepare dressing first and chill at least 1 hour.
2. Toss the sliced turkey, cheese, apples, grapes, celery, raisins and nuts. Pour dressing over ingredients and toss to combine. Chill for 3 hours or overnight.
3. To serve, mound greens on plate and add bacon bits to top.