Kitchen

It's Friday... in household across America, it means PIZZA! So what better day of the week to introduce our play Felt Pizza? And not just ANY pizza. We have enough toppings here to satisfy the most discerning palate, or the pickiest eater! And with 6 different toppings... pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, pineapples, and yes, even anchovies, children can mix and match to their hearts content. As a matter of fact, there are 720 unique pizzas they can create. And that number goes up like crazy if you make them without cheese or tomato sauce! (And, no... I did not count them all... let's just say geek math and leave it at that :)

So, roll up your sleeves, floor the board, metaphorically speaking, and let's start cooking!

Materials:
assorted wool or wool blend felt (bothWool Felt Central and A Child's Dream carry felt)
embroidery floss in matching colors
large plastic lid from protein mixes or coffee
wool roving or fiberfill
pattern

HINT: If you haven't done so already, ready our tutorial on How to Cut Out Felt.

Make a copy of the pattern. Hint: You should only need 1 pattern if you begin cutting the pieces from outside in.

Cut out 2 pieces of dough. (traditional flour or gluten free :)

Cut out pattern along the running stitch line near the outer crust. Hint: If you place tape over the cutting line before cutting it out, it will make the edge rigid and make the next step easier. Place the pattern on top of the pizza dough piece, and trace the ring using a disappearing marker.


Remove the outer rim of the plastic lid and cut a circle with a 5 1/2" diameter.


Using 2 strands of matching floss, stitch the 2 pieces of dough together halfway, then slide the plastic circle between the 2 pieces of dough, and finish stitching around the circle. The plastic ring is now sewn into the dough. This makes the pizza rigid.

Rip a piece of roving the width of your ring finger. Make it long enough to go around the pizza plus several inches.

Lay the roving between the running stitch and the edge of the pizza. Begin sewing the edges of the pizza closed using a blanket stitch and 3 strands of floss leaving an inch long roving tail. You will begin encasing the roving in the dough, creating the outer crust. Continue around the pizza until you get back to the start. Overlap the roving and sew closed.

Cut out 2 pieces of tomato sauce, and sew them together using a blanket stitch and 3 strands of matching floss.


Cut out 2 pieces of cheese, and sew them together using a blanket stitch and 3 strands of matching floss.

Cut out 8 pieces of each of the toppings. The toppings remain single thickness and do not need to be sewn together.

Your pizza is now read to assemble!

Start with the crust...

Add the tomato sauce...

Then the cheese.

Arrange your toppings in bowls, then create the perfect pizza.

There are pizzas with pepperoni...

Pizzas with pepperoni and mushrooms...

Pizzas with pepperoni and mushrooms and green peppers!

What about a lactose free pizza? Just hold the cheese and add some yummy toppings like anchovies, onions and green peppers.

And how about a veggie pizza with mushrooms, onions, green peppers and pineapples?
And, finally, really indulge... pizza with the works!

As you can see, the possibilities are endless (well, if not endless, at least mind boggling!)

So, now, Friday night can be pizza night even in the play kitchen, and I suppose, ANY TIME the wee ones are in the mood!

BON APPETETE!

Well, it is official. We finally went through all the testing with Fairy, and on top of her already known lactose intolerance, we found out that she cannot eat gluten either. For the past few weeks we have been experimenting, and sadly, we've tried some seriously awful things. Really!

So, this is my call for help... I know there are many of you out there who are traveling the gluten-free path already. I would greatly appreciate any recipes you can share with our family (and potentially our readers) that actually taste good :) If you have a recipe to share please email it to us at weefolkart@yahoo.com. If you would like the recipe to be considered for publication here on WFA make sure to include a photo... it just makes the recipe directory look so much prettier and somehow makes us all a little more adventurous to try something new! Feel free to include a little story of how you found the recipe, when you make it, etc. Be sure to include your blog address if you have one so we can link to you if we post the recipe... that way we can all stop by and pay you a visit!

We will try to include as many recipes as possible on the blog. Please note... if you submit a recipe and photo, you are giving us permission to share them on Wee Folk Art.

Also, we would love recommendations for different products. We used the flour shown above and we did not care for it. In our opinion, everything we made tasted like bean sprouts! So if you have suggestions for ingredients or prepared foods you have enjoyed and found particularly yummy, please include them here in the comments. We also welcome any advise you may wish to share. Being new to all this, we welcome your comments and you will help put a smile on Fairy's face :) Thanks! 

Thank you all for the kind words and tons of resources. I have a lot of links to sift through this weekend. I'm sure I will be able to find some new favorites for Fairy. Thanks!

To kick things off, here is a recipe that we do like and will be on our go-to list now.

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
2 cups Peanut Butter
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla

Place on cookie sheet. Press down with a fork in a crisscross pattern.
Bake a 350 for 8-10 minutes.

A couple of months ago we were contacted by Rhythm of the Home and asked to submit a project for their Autumn Edition. We were very excited to participate since we so enjoy the publication. If you are not familiar with Rhythm of the Home, here is a description from their website:

"Rhythm of the Home is a quarterly online magazine. Our focus is to unite a readership which is interested in Waldorf or Montessori education, or simply living intentionally and hoping to incorporate a rhythm and reverence for the natural world in the lives of their children. Each edition will publish seasonally, with articles and projects dedicated to incorporating the upcoming season into the family’s rhythm."

The hard part was trying to decide what to make. We decided to share something that anyone could use to celebrate the season. Michelle and I love to use wreathes in our decorating. The wreath, a symbol of eternity, reminds us of the circle of life; of how one season flows into another, only to return again and again. So, we designed the Autumn Oak Leaf Wreath, combining sewing and stenciling. To get directions for this wreath visit Rhythm of the Home.

And while you are there, pay a visit to their blog. As an extra bonus, they are hosting a giveaway featuring handmade goodies from some of this edition's contributors. They asked for a giveaway that directly related to the submitted project, so we created two over-sized Maple Leaf Potholders, using the same fabrics and stenciling techniques as our wreath. You can sign up to win our potholders or any of the other giveaway items being offered from Rhythm of the Home blog.

It has been a lot of fun crafting and contributing to another publication. You can now visit Rhythm of the Home to find our tutorial for the Autumn Oak Leaf Wreath and check out all the other wonderful crafts being shared to help us celebrate this beautiful season!

I bought this cabinet over ten years ago to hold my ever expanding collection of music cds. Designed for that purpose, it served me well. Then, in the past few years, I started buying my music online and was going to the cabinet less and less. Finally, I moved the collection downstairs and began using the cabinet for napkins. It was in my dining room and the shelves were the perfect size for napkins. I had a few stacks of homespun napkins and stored votive candles in there as well.

Then, last summer, I decided I wanted napkins for each month of the year. I made my own using the easy Rip and Tear Napkins that I wrote about last August. So here I am, 1 year later, and I did it! I now have 24 napkins for each month of the year. (Actually, I have 48 for December since we have a large Christmas dinner.) Before you start taxing your brain, that is 312 napkins. Crazy, right? Given the fact that you can get 4 napkins from a yard of material (let's see... 312 divided by 4)  that's, gulp, 78 yards of fabric!

Me: Ah, Tim... we have 312 napkins.

Tim: I love you.

 Me: You must.

But, in my defense, the children LOVE them! They are excited each month to get out the new napkins. Some months, like March and August, all the napkins are the same. Some months have 2 prints, some 3 and April and December have 4. Each day the wee ones try to be the first to get out napkins so they are sure to get their favorite pattern. (BTW... Gammy is very tolerant of napkin exchanges so everyone gets a favorite!) I have to admit, even though I bought all of the fabrics on sale or with coupons, it was an expense, BUT, they will last for years and years. 

I'm not suggesting any one else should get so carried away... BUT if you do... it's tons of fun, and I love leaving the cabinet door open and just staring at them! 

January:

February:

March:  

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:

Want to go a little crazy with your Easter eggs this year? Instead of the standard dyed eggs, try this easy technique. With a little tissue paper and Mod Podge, you can turn out these colorful and fanciful eggs in no time. This is definitely a craft you can do with children, and you really can't mess up since the whole thing is random. So, fore-go the Paaz tablets this year, and try something new.

Materials:
eggs - can be blown or boiled
tissue paper cut into small, random pieces
Mod Podge
small bowl of water
soda bottle caps
paint brush 

1] Using your paint brush or finger, wet the egg. (It should be damp... not dripping.)

2] Place a piece of cut tissue paper on the egg. Use your paint brush or finger to moisten enough so the tissue lays against the egg. Use the smallest amount of water necessary to accomplish this. If you use too much water the tissue will bleed.

3] Continue adding tissue paper, overlapping edges, until the whole egg is covered. 

4] Place egg on a soda bottle cap and allow the egg to dry until it is merely "damp". If it dries out completely, the tissue paper will fall off. If it is too wet, the Mod Podge will drip. (Note: At this point you CAN allow the tissue paper to dry completely. Then remove the paper, and the dye will have stained the egg leaving behind patchwork color. You can either leave the eggs as is or add a coat of Mod Podge.)

5] Apply Mod Podge to the top 2/3s of the egg. Set on the soda bottle cap. Allow to dry (about 15 - 30 minutes) then turn the egg over and Mod Podge the bottom 1/3 of the egg. Return to the cap and allow to dry completely.

If you covered eggs that have been blown and want to pack them away for future years, you may wish to add 3 - 4 more coats of Mod Podge, allowing them to dry completely between each coat. The extra coats of Mod Podge will make them sturdier and make a lovely surface.