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Fancy Nancy Party Featuring The Orb Factory

By Stefanie

April 22, 2013

Disclaimer: I received the following products for review purposes. No other compensation was received. All opinions and experiences are 100% my own. Your experience may differ. If you click a link in this post, you will be taken to the sponsor’s site.

When we find a series of books we love we stick to it! We love Fancy Nancy at our house. She is such a sweet little girl with some high style! My daughter was very excited to learn that The Orb Factory wanted her to throw a Perfectly Posh Fancy Nancy party! We invited several friends over for this fun little craft play date. We set out some fancy snacks.

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And set up a table with all of the crafts so everyone could see and get what they needed. The Orb Factory sent me 8 Fancy tiara crafts and 24 jewel by number Fancy Nancy stickers for our little  party.IMG_0930

And then the girls got to work!IMG_0935They each had a fun time choosing their favorite “Fancy Taira” to work on. There were plenty of stickers to go around, but sometimes the sheet another girl needed was in use, so I started cutting the different colored jewels into their own sheets so that everyone could keep working. It took about an our for the girls to do their tiaras. The Orb Factory also sent some Fancy Nancy jewel by number stickers for each girl and they each ended up taking them home. Of course we needed a group shot with our finished tiaras!IMG_0937

And as an added bonus, my daughter received a “host gift” from The Orb Factory as well. Some fancy sunglasses complete the look don’t you think? Do you think she loves The Orb Factory? You bet she does!IMG_0938

You already know that I am a HUGE fan of The Orb Factory! These Fancy Nancy products just complement the already fantastic line up of other crafts and toys. All the girls loved making their tiaras together and the party was a hit! I would totally recommend The Orb Factory for your future party plans. Every activity we have ever received from them has been amazing and tons of fun! You can stay up to date with The Orb Factory by following them on Facebook. Thank you Orb Factory for sponsoring such a fun party!

Stefanie

About Stefanie

Stefanie is a stay at home blogging Mom of three. She writes for Making of a Mom. Connect with her at Google+

Latka!

By Johanna

December 13, 2012

Okay, so I know I said on Tuesday that I would give 2 recipes today, but instead I’m doing 1 now and 1 more next Tuesday!

I’ve NEVER been able to make hash browns stick together! So I knew I this was going to be a challenge, but it looked so yummy I had to try! This is what it’s supposed to look like: 

But mine turned into a pile of super delicious shredded potatoes! (And I DO mean super Delicious! My 4 year old said, “Oh this dinner is SOOO yummy! Thanks for making such a yummy dinner Mom!”)

Lots of Latkes (Click here to see the recipe on their website) naturally gluten free!! Woot! Once again, I’m super lazy, so I just bought Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash browns. You can find them in the refrigerated section by the doughs.

I also substituted the Matzo Meal with Yellow Corn Meal because we don’t have a Jewish food section in our store in the Midwest… Here is their recipe:

“Ingredients:
2 pounds russet potatoes
1 small yellow onion

3 tablespoons matzo meal
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs, such as chives or parsley, for garnish
Sour cream, for serving
Spiced Apple-Pear Sauce, for serving

Directions:
Peel the potatoes and shred them in a food processor fitted with the shredding blade; transfer the potatoes to a large bowl as the food processor fills up. Repeat with the onion. Transfer the onion to the bowl with the potatoes and stir in the matzo meal, egg, baking powder and salt.

Fill a large skillet with 1/2 inch oil. Heat over medium-high heat until the oil is very hot but not smoking. To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a small piece of potato into the oil; if the potato sizzles steadily, the oil is ready.

Working in batches, scoop the potato mixture by 1/4-cupfuls and add them carefully to the skillet, flattening each latke slightly with a spatula. Fry, turning the latkes once, until golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Remove any loose bits of potato mixture between batches with a slotted spoon.

Serve the latkes immediately, or keep them warm in a 200 degree F oven. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve with sour cream and Spiced Apple-Pear Sauce.

Cook’s Note: If you need to fry a lot of latkes, it’s best to make multiple batches rather than one double batch. The longer the mixture sits, the wetter it becomes which makes the latkes fall apart more easily as they cook.

Spiced Apple-Pear Sauce:
3 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
3 ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 cinnamon sticks
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:
Combine the apples, pears, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the apples and pears are very soft but still a bit chunky, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste the mixture and add the remaining tablespoon of sugar if desired.

Remove the sauce from the heat and stir a few times until the sauce is well combined with small chunks. Cool to room temperature. Remove the cinnamon sticks and serve. (For a smoother sauce, remove from heat, remove the cinnamon sticks and then whisk the mixture until smooth before cooling.)

Notes
Cook’s Note: This recipe can be prepared several days in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container. Let it stand at room temperature for a few hours before serving.”

 

Gyspy Melting Pot

By Johanna

December 11, 2012

Okay folks, you know how I feel about creative and simple recipes! I just fell in LOVE with Gyspys Melting Pot! They do an awesome job compiling super cute and totally adorable recipes and crafts that are so simple and so creative! I was so excited to share them with you! I’ll post 2 today and 2 more on Thursday.

Christmas tree

Gypsys Melting Pot made it with veggies, (Click here to see theirs!) but my kids are MUCH more likely to eat fruit! And our family tradition is a Christmas breakfast, so this is perfect!

Tree- kiwi- I cut my kiwi in half, then use a spoon to scoop out.  Then slice- EASY!! No peeling necessary!

Ornaments- grapes and cherries

Tinsel/garland- mandarin oranges (in juice- not syrup)

Trunk- canned, sliced peaches (juice- not syrup)

Star- canned, sliced pears (juice- not syrup)

(My picture pales in comparison to theirs, but it sure was tasty!)

 

Penguins  (recipe on fb) Aren’t these so cute!!

 

I used Laughing cow queso fresco and chipotle, but you could used any soft white cheese or even Cream cheese.

 

 

Also, GMP uses carrots for the feet and beak, but I just used cheddar instead…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is GMP’s recipe:

“Ingredients:
1 can of jumbo or large black olives
1 can of small black olives

1/4 to 1/3 pound of soft cheese, such as fromage blanc (I used goat fromage blanc), or cream cheese (what was served to us originally).
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced into rounds
Frilled Toothpicks

For the feet:
Cut a triangle out of the carrot rounds.The big piece will be the feet.

Take the small piece and cut into small slivers for the beak of the penguin.

Next take a large olive and cut a quarter inch wedge from it.

Now stuff olive with soft cheese and smooth out.

Now take your carrot feet and place the cheese filled olive on top, then place a small olive on top of the large olive.

Use a toothpick to secure. Poke a small hole in the middle of the small olive and then place a carrot beak in the hole.”

So cute! Thanks GMP!! You’re my new favorite!

Signazon.com Review

By Johanna

October 25, 2012

We’ve got a new website for you! Signazon.com makes any kind of sign you can think of! So fun! I made this banner for Halloween. It is great quality; thick and sturdy and it even comes with metal grommets. (I used 5,000 Blog Titles and Quotes to come up with a cute saying…) The color is beautiful, bright and true to what I designed. It’s also super easy- just upload your design (I made mine with MS Word, saved it as a pdf and uploaded it! So quick!) or use one of their design templates and voila! A super cute banner! The website is very user friendly; it takes you through all the steps with ease. Check out their website at www.signazon.com to see some great deals and find the perfect product for your next birthday party, homecoming or holiday décor.

 

 

 

Disclosure: I received a free product, in order to share my honest opinion.

Ghostly Halloween Tree

By Johanna

September 20, 2012

My girls have been asking to do a craft, and since I’m starting to Halloween décor everywhere, it’s getting me in the mood for some spooky crafting! I decided to take a page from the Easter crafts we did and just me it Halloween-ish. While the kiddos were at school, I found a gnarly branch in the front yard, spray painted it black and stuck it in a pot on the front porch.

When the girls came home from school, I had our stuff ready: a box of tissues, yarn (you could always use ribbon- yarn is what I had on hand) scissors, markers and tape. First, I had them roll one tissue into a ball, then they wrapped a second tissue around it to form a ghost.

 

We tied it off with the yarn and they made their ghosty faces.

 

 

To make it easy for tiny hands, I just made a loop and we taped it to the back of the ghost to hang it on the branch. I’m sure you can find more aesthetically pleasing ways to hang them, but this was easy for my preschooler.

 

 

 

Voila! A super cute Halloween Tree!

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