Fire fighter playing - Recycling

My son loves to play pretend as a firefighter!

When he is playing he always wants me to join him (maybe he needs a sibling  = ) ). However, as you know, life is busy and especially this day I had a pile of dishes to wash and dinner to make.
So, I invited him to help me build a tall building.
We, then, put the building on fire! And the fun began...
Sirens sounds, fire engines, fire hoses, hard helmet, ladder, people asking for help, help!!!

Just a grocery bag, some markers and a lot of creativity!

I finally entertained him and while he was "saving lives" I could do my chores.

His cow was also part of the scene... He rescued her from inside the building.
So lovely...

Tip: to make the bag sturdy you can tape a cooking stick on both sides from the inside.

Enjoy the playing time!

Bird Mobile

I made this cute bird mobile for my son's room.

I draw a bird template and cut an old calendar using different sizes of birds.
I hang them with a thread and used invisible tape to attach the birds.

I used a piece of bamboo (leftover from the Fishing Game - http://casadacamila-decor.blogspot.com/2012/05/fishing-game-for-kids.html) but you can use any stick that you may find in your backyard.
I used a nail to fix it into the ceiling...

 ... and it brought some "nature" inside our home!

Thanks for reading,

"Brazilian" Corn Bread/Pudding

I just love any type of cake!!! I like to bake it but especially to eat it =)

This one is something between a flan (pudding) and a cornbread.
It's very easy to make and tastes sooo GOOD.

 
It's perfect for an afternoon craving and it goes well with a cup of coffee.

The recipe can be found here (in Portuguese):
http://meus5minutos.globo.com/colheradas/2012/02/09/bolo-de-milho-com-coco-de-liquidificador/

But it's so delicious that I'll make it international translating to English.

Ingredients
4 eggs
1 can of corn (300g)
1 can of condensed milk (like the one I used for the Lime Pie )
100 g of coconut flakes
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of baking powder

Directions
Preheat the oven 375F.
Blend all the ingredients, except for the baking powder. After blending pour into a big bowl and mix the baking powder. Pour batter into a greased pan.
Takes about 20-30 minutes to bake.




Enjoy!

Flower Wreath

I recently made this Flower Wreath to embelish my front door for Spring/Summer.

The Spring Wreath, I made out of a cardboard paper, but for this one I used a grapevine wreath. I decorated with a wooden hummingbird, some felt flowers and a welcome sign made from a piece of scrapbook paper and letter stickers.

 

 The tutorial for the felt flowers can be seen at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3odubMG_kAQ&noredirect=1




Happy Crafting!

Fishing Game for Kids

I like to make educational games for my son and I've come up with this magnet fishing game.
I draw a fish template on a paper and used it to cut 4 different colors of felt (here I chose yellow, red, orange and green). I sewed the inside, leaving a hole to turn the fish around. After turning into the right side, I filled each fish with pillow stuffing and put a nut inside.

I finish hand stitching the hole of each fish.

Hand stitch the hole after stuffing each fish

For the fishing pole I used a piece of bamboo, attached a piece of thread and made a "bag" containing a magnet inside.
The magnet will catch the nut inside the fish!

Piece of felt sewed with a magnet inside to catch the fish

Make sure that you're closing very well the magnet "bag", because you don't want to see your kid playing around with it.

I put the fishes into an empty container and my son played for the whole afternoon. The magnet and nuts (or screw) make a lot easier for toddlers who are still developing their motor skills.

Happy fishing,

Lime Pie

I got inspired to make my Mom's special recipe of Lime Pie!
So, let's do it!

First, I made the dough and beat the eggwhites (I do all by hand like my greatgrandma used to, using a pinch of salt for better results).
Then, I waited for my husband to squeeze the limes (by hand, of course =D ).

I poured 2 to 3 tbspoon of sugar for each eggwhite and mixed it to obtain the meringue.

  

Now you just have to bake the dough until light brown. Wait until cool down and pour the filling (condensed milk with lime juice) and the meringue on the top.

Put it back into the very hot oven (I use the broil) to make the meringue light brown. This step is really quick (takes about 3 minutes) and you need to pay attention not to burn the meringue.

and TAADÁÁ....

Delicious Home Made Lime Pie!!!!

Here's the recipe:

Lime Tart (casadacamila-decor@blogspot.com)

Dough
8 tablespoon of allpurpose flour
3 tablespoon of butter
1 yolk
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of baking powder
optional: 1 tablespoon of sugar


Filling
1 cup of lime juice
1 can of condensed milk (I particularly like the Nestle brand)

Bed Headboard Decoration

I wanted to give a new look to my bedroom. So, I decided to create a new headboard to my comfy bed.
However, we're planning to move very soon and I don't want to spend money on something that we're not gonna be able to take with us.

I got inspired by http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ and came up with the perfect, inexpensive, easy to make and, of course, beautiful Art Piece:

I cut some toilet paper tubes and glue them together, making this arrangement. I finished using some paper flowers and beads to give some color.
I used small nails to attached the flowers to the wall.

A great, easy, inexpensive and beautiful addition to my bedroom!