paint cut paste

i always try to follow novi’s lead when it comes to the art projects we do around here. her natural inclination lately has been toward the realm of still life drawing.

the other day she picked up a pen and drew on the back of a cardboard notepad, and then came and showed it to me. she said, “these are all of the tummy-symbols of the care bears. it’s so much fun to draw what i’m looking at!”

love-a-lot bear wasn't available for the photo shoot. he might be busy under the couch.

so, of course, the following day momma whipped up a pretty bowl of fruit for novi to draw — i mean, why not start out in a classic way? the little one was thrilled!

she wanted to draw a few objects by themselves, as well.

the apple

the tomato

a few tomatoes as a thank you to our neighbors who brought us some from their yard

next, novi said she wanted to draw “a different bowl of fruit that i’m thinking of in my head.”

the bowl of fruit novi pictured in her head

masterpieces!

we had such a fun morning! so sweet and quiet to draw together…

(so quiet that even i got in on the action a wee bit…)

we are anxiously awaiting WARM WEATHER over here in the sf bay area, and all of the fun things it entails… but i just could not wait any longer to make fresh squeezed lemonade with my little lady. i must forewarn you that this is a photo-heavy entry… lemons just provide so much eye-candy (and other senses, too!)

it was super-easy and fun to do! here’s whatcha need:

• 2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice (we did this with 12 lemons)
• whatever tools you wanna use to squeeze lemons dry
• 1.5 cups raw sugar  (we used organic raw turbinado sugar, so ours looked more like tea)
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 gallon cold water
• one sliced lemon & fresh springs of mint leaves for garnish

let your little one take sticker off of and wash each lemon.

have fun squeezing all of the lemons to get the juice out any way you can!

enjoy all of the sensory experiences that come along with lemons!

smell

taste

and pretending to pick lemons from a tree

in a 1 gallon container or pitcher, place the sugar and hot water and stir until sugar dissolves. add the fresh lemon juice and cold water to fill the remainder of the container or pitcher.

we cut some peppermint sprigs for garnish. (note the cute plant tag!)

chill the lemonade and serve over ice (uh, but we don’t make ice in our house, so we just had to chill it longer.)

nope, it's not tea. that's the color of the raw sugar.

i had a hard time parting with the lemon rinds, so i put them in some water with cinnamon sticks and cloves and simmered it on the stove to make the house smell awesome for the day.

then novi was inspired to make lemonade art…

i think we’re all set for a lemonade stand… if the weather would ever get outta the 60s and the sun would come out around here… come on memorial day weekend, bring it!

okay, so we don’t have any snow here in the SF bay area, but most of my east coast friends and family have been enduring the white stuff for weeks. i’ve gotten several requests for my family’s snow ice cream recipe, so i thought i’d share the ritual here that i’ve been enjoying since the 70s. it’s the yummiest snow activity i can think of! (hot cocoa is amazing, sure, but this is such a treat!) we made snow ice cream last march when we were living in virginia, so i’ll put those photos here for nostalgia’s sake.

first put a big bowl (about a gallon sized bowl) on your deck or porch to catch the freshly fallen flakes when it’s about to snow.

then bring it inside and stir one can of sweetened condensed milk into the snow. then add a one teaspoon of vanilla extract.

if you don’t have a can of sweetened condensed milk and can’t get to the store, you can always use vanilla pudding (my mom’s recommended substitute) or a cup of sugar and a cup of cream or milk… but NOTHING beats some good ol’ sweetened condensed milk, so stock up for the winter!

eat it immediately. if you don’t finish it, you can freeze some, but let it get soupy before eating it again. you can also add crushed pineapple (my mom’s fav) or other fruit, but i like mine straight up!

enjoy… and don’t you eat that yellow snow! now i’m counting down the days until my family can make snow ice cream in tahoe… sooon…

i guess we couldn’t wait until halloween… or perhaps we just got really into the summer spirit since watermelon festivals are popping up in cities across the U.S. right now. maybe we were just hungry for fruit salad. but for whatever reason, today we carved a jack-o-melon!

no, not that jacko... a jack-o-melon!

i saw this idea in family fun magazine and thought it would be a cool way to spend a summery afternoon with novi. it’s super simple (and much softer to carve than a pumpkin!) first we made a thin slice from the bottom of our round watermelon so it can sit on a stable base. then we cut the top off for the lid, much like carving a pumpkin, and scooped out the flesh with a melon baller.

novi got busy drawing her ideas for faces to put on the watermelon while my husband did the carving. (i was the creative supervisor?) i drew one of the faces onto the melon with a ball-point pen and then we cut out the features and snacked on melon balls.

dreaming up melon faces

scooping the melon balls

let's face it... this is cute!

soon our jack-o-melon was finished and brought to light with a candle inside. we put it out on the porch for the neighbors to see… though we can’t leave it out there too long. watermelon season is also ant season, and this would be an ant feast!

proud on the porch

a jack-o-melon would also be a really cute centerpiece for a summer luncheon, shower, or picnic! you and your kids could make a whole jack-o-melon family… and i bet this would work well with cantaloupe and honeydew melons, too. so, the next time you want to make a fruit salad, have a little creative fun with it! happy summer!