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Hi beautiful people ;)  Becca and I have branched out to try new things.  You can check out Becca's most recent ideas at BeccaMarie Designs or see both of us at our photography blog

  Carrie Eliza Photography.

Thanks, 

peace + hugs, 

CK

Play Therapy + Stories

One of my favorite classes in college was Play Therapy.  I am not currently working in play therapy- but as a Mom of small kids I constantly see how healthy, therapeutic play can help young minds process emotions and information they experience on a daily basis.

Example:  My son watched a cartoon called Chuck & Friends, a story about a little dump truck that has fun building race-car and monster truck tracks.

Next thing I know my son is building race-car tracks from wooden train tracks and my kitchen utensils :)

He was experimenting with gravity, velocity, cause & effect, etc.

His mind was processing some of the race-car events and reactions he saw on Chuck & Friends.

I also see my children experimenting with their emotions, processing what they have experienced through role-play and imaginary characters.

Sometimes I ask my children to draw or describe some of their own make-believe characters.  One day my kids got on a rainbow-people kick:

My son kept talking about a Fireman Captain that has rainbow hair, wears a rainbow jacket, and has a rainbow dog.  The captain has a huuuuuge family.  He always loves rainbows and he is so, so nice!  

My daughter (3 yrs) imagined a Fire-girl Chief with rainbow hair and a rainbow unicorn.  The chief lives in a rainbow city on a rainbow-colored road.  She feeds, cares for and plays with her unicorn all the time.

Creating back stories for characters help children explore the multifaceted complexities of a human personality.  In real life, the people we meet are never as simple as they look and seem by appearance.  Exploring emotions and stories of trial and triumph can help children bring meaning and understanding to the relationship they have with symbolic fictional characters or (in the case of telling stories from your family and friends' past) the real people they love.  

And that, to me, is what bedtime tales are all about.

-CK 

Winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered our spoon puppet giveaway.  We really appreciate your support.

This morning CK and I woke up and found out who the winner is.  Wanna know?

Sonia Barton!

Sonia is a lovely friend that we met through this here blog almost two years ago.  Have you checked out her blog?  Well you should.  She is the talented seamstress and pattern designer behind Three Unique Rabbits.

I think my favorite posts would be her boys wallets, and a newer tutorial showing how to create a laptop sleeve.  Now that's something I could use!

Thanks again for entering the giveaway!

Wooden Spoon Puppets

Giveaway: CLOSED

In celebration of me finishing all the illustrations for The Proclamation ABC's we'd like to host a give-away for this cute spoon family:

They're simple spoon puppets- packed with character!

This is the spoon family up for the give-away:

To enter just leave a comment and a way to contact you below.
Giveaway ends Monday, April 2 at Midnight.


Here are a couple other spoon bundles in the Bedtime Tales shop.

You know that Becca painted these guys with personality when you start to talking to them in your head as the photographer.

 "Hi Misses Rudolf, can you tilt your head a little to your left?"

"Great!  Now Benny, put your arm around her." (j/k)

And here comes Goldilocks and the Three Bears!

All in the shop :)

Here is the free-download for the Proclamation ABC's.

It has been a pleasure to work on this project- my kids and I have had a lot of fun.

Please take a minute to give a shout-out to Jocelyn at We Talk in Christ, We Rejoice in Christ.

She has a ton of fantastic ideas for teaching your kids about faith and Christ.  

A very timely message with Easter and General Conference just around the corner.

-CK

 A friend of mine is in the beginning stages of opening her etsy shop, and guess what one of her products will be?  Barbie clothes!  My goodness, fine quality and classy barbie clothes are either too hard to find or gosh-darn overpriced at a commercial store.

She wants to sew clothes that are in demand.  Would you mind taking this teeny survey to help further her efforts?  It will take about one minute and would mean the world to her.

It can be found here.

Thank you!

-Becka

New Branches

Talk about a construction zone....  We are semi-retiring this blog- temporarily pursuing other things.  Becca is branching out with her new "Becca Marie Designs" blog and shops.  CK is excited to pursue more photography with a new project called Opal Dream Photography. 

We may post back here from time to time when we find something appropriate but overall we won't keep it regularly updated.

We have had a fantastic time with Made by Bedtime Tales blog and we are so grateful to everyone who has been here, commented and encouraged us through our experience ;)

Thank you all!

-CK & Becca

A free "Green" downloadable puppet stage pattern

Under the Sea

The Proclamation ABC's Free Download

If They Could Talk Series

Handmade for Haiti

Baby Duschshunds

Please be patient with us!

Or blog is currently in the middle of a construction zone.  

We don't know how it got there, it just up and jumped into the middle of a muddy pit between a ninja and a robotic flying bunny.  

Please be patient while we get it sorted out :)

In the meantime, here is a coupon to go eat that treat that is in your cupboard that you keep telling yourself is for later....

go ahead, it will make you happy.

Popsicle Sweater

I showed this little pillow that I made to my mom on video chat 

and she thought I'd gone off and gained time to knit a pillow with seven different colors in it.

haha.  ha.

No, truth is, this pillow used to be a sweater.  And yes, it was a pretty little sweater.

I debated for a week or two trying to decide if I really wanted to be a clothes murderer.

But then if I didn't go ahead and make the jump, I'd never be a pillow creator.

This is what she used to look like.

Yes, adorable.  It was a hand-me-down.  But to tell you the truth, my daughter was given quite a few hand-me-down sweaters this year.  And this one was a little... boxy.  Can you tell I'm trying to justify myself here?  But that wasn't what really made me feel like it was okay to chop her all up, she didn't even have a stain.

It was the little pieces of yarn all broken and fraying on the shoulders.  This seemed to vindicate things in my head.

Here's what I did:

I cut out a square right from the bodice of the piece.  I made sure to be cutting out of the front and back so that I had two squares.

This middle step there isn't a drawing for, but I basically cut two muslin squares the same size.  I then sewed the two squares of sweater together wrong sides facing out, with the muslin sandwiching them.  I made sure to not sew it completely shut, but to leave a hole so that I could turn it right side out (is that how you say it?)  This makes a nice pillow like the sketch below, with muslin lining the insides.

I then filled it with stuffing and sewed up the gap with another piece of yarn.

I made a tiny one too with the one of the sleeves.

I think it would be nice to be decorate a whole child's room around these colors.  They're beautiful.  And to be honest, I think this thing is going to get a lot more use with it's second life than it did the first.

-Becca

A Family Proclamation Celebration

My friend, Jocelyn, is holding a very special blogging celebration over at We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ.  Bloggers from all over have come together to celebrate and explore the Family Proclamation each on a personal basis.  I have thoroughly enjoyed reading inspirational posts on the family all week long.

Check out some of these posts; Forgiveness for Past Abuse, by my friend, Jackie Sarager.  We are at War by Middle-Aged Mormon Man.   From a Young Age by my sister, Becca!

And I have a few new letter worksheets I've added to our Proclamation ABC's download.

Note that the worksheet for letter "Nn" is copied from a painting my sister did in college (with her permission, of course).  

This painting was displayed at a art show on the family in the lobby of the General Conference Center.  Pretty cool, huh?

Here are a couple more of the worksheets included in the free download.

Its taken me a long time to draw all of these but I've had fun doing it and I am super grateful for Jocelyn for coming up with the way to organize the Proclamation sentences for the ABC's.

As you can probably tell, Becca and I are pretty enthusiastic about our faith around here.  But we love it and we mean it and we really enjoy sharing our faith with our friend and children.

Thanks again, Jocelyn!

-CK

Kale Rolls

These are some of my favorite rolls!  They're healthy, delicious and you can have them with every meal.  And, with a cup of kale mixed inside, you can be happy to know that you children will get some vitamins, calcium and iron with every bite.

Ingredients

3 cups hot water

4 TB yeast

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup green pureed kale (boiled and blended)

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup honey

3 tsp salt

3 eggs

6 cups of whole wheat flour

4-6 cups white bread flour

honey butter:  1/2 c honey and 1/2 cup butter

Preheat oven at 375 degrees.

 

Mix the yeast into a big bowl with the hot water.  Add the oil, sugar and 1/3 cup honey and let the mixture stand for 15 minutes.  

Next comes the eggs, salt and kale.  I like to make a big batch of cooked kale (from CSA) and keep it stored in the fridge and freezer so I can slip it into lots of different recipes.  

Side-note for kale puree:  The kale is pretty easy to prepare.  Just cut off the big stems and clean the kale leaves.  Put it into a pot to boil.  Once it is cooked and soft, you can pour the kale (with some of the nutrient-rich water) into a blender and puree it.  

*This makes a great healthy add-in for scrambled "green eggs and ham."

  Because of the kale, your mixture will look a little green but you really don't notice it very much in the finished product.

 

Next, start to add your flour.  I like to throw in all the whole wheat at one time.  Then slowly add the white flour in, one cup at a time until the dough gets thick and sticky.

((I should really add this recipe to a St Patrick's Day Link-up Party ;))

Sprinkle flour onto the counter top and roll the dough out in a big ball.  You might need to add more flour so that it is easy to kneed. 

 

Technically you probably don't have kneed the dough but I think it is fun and it really mixes in all the flour.  Kneed the dough and continue to add white flour until it is less sticky and easy to work with in your hands.  But don't put so much flour in that your dough gets too dry.  You should find a happy medium of white flour between 4-6 cups.

Roll the dough out with a rolling pin.

Keep going until your dough is about 1/4- 1/2 inch thick.

Now for the honey-butter.  

Put the honey and butter into a microwave-safe container and nuke it for 15-30 seconds so it is melted.

Stir up the honey-butter and poor it onto your flattened dough.  Spread the honey-butter out with your fingers or a wooden spoon.  You might not use all of the honey butter- you want just enough honey-butter to make a thin spread on top of the dough. 

However, I recommend that you DO NOT skip this step.  The roll dough has very little sugar which makes it healthy, but they are pretty bland without the honey-butter on top. 

 

The next part is really fun and it comes from a trick I learned from an Aunt.  

Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into long triangles, just like...

THIS!

The kids love that part.

Roll each triangle like a small sleeping bag, starting at the fat end and ending with the tip.

Place rolls on a greased pan.

Let them stand for 10 minutes and then bake them at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

 

 Mmmmmmm!  Warm rolls are the best!

Watch out.  They are addictive!

This is a recipe I've experimented with for years.  This is my favorite variation I created. 

 

There are all sorts of ways to switch up the recipe.  You can substitute coconut flour/almond flour/ground flax seed, etc for 1-2 cups of the regular flour.

These rolls have a pink tinge because I used pureed, cooked beets instead of kale!

 

I usually make 2-3 batches of these rolls at one time so I can freeze and defrost them at a later date.  They work great for a quick snack at the park or even fancy dinner dates.They are great with jam!

Chances are that if you are a friend and have come over to my house for snack or lunch time, I've probably served you these rolls.

Happy baking ;)

-CK

Temple Softie Pattern Giveaway

Like the new Temple Softie Becca made?  Would you like to make your own? 

Becca is giving away a pattern and you can win it here.  Just comment on the post!

-CK

Love to See the Temple Softie - Pattern

Hey friends!

I have some exciting news to share with you today.  We haven't had anything listed in the Bedtime Tales etsy shop for a while, and this is a very sad thing.  But sometimes life makes strange twists and turns, and we just have to step back and breath for a bit.

One of the top requests I've had since opening this shop was for my Temple Softie.  And it breaks my heart to say it, but I just can't make many more of these custom orders.  I feel like I have limited crafting time in baby/mommy-world and there are so many other projects that must take precedence.  

But never fear! 

I have a plan to dispel the grief from this news.  I've made a pattern for a Love to See the Temple Softie, and now you can make your own!

It's the perfect softie for quiet time, church, or a long car ride.  It features an LDS temple on the front, with a bride and groom who fit snugly into a pocket on the back.

It's been altered a little from the original, but I chose to make these changes so that it would be easier and cost less to make.

And although I think I will miss the bride's lace dress (Which would be super easy to make!  Just sew lace right across her waistline and tuck the edges under when sewing her front body form to the back.)  I thought this new couple looked pretty spiffy themselves.

The pattern will be listed in the shop for $2.00.  

I'll admit that this is the first time I will be selling one of my patterns online.  If you come across a problem while ordering, please email me at madebybedtimetales(at)gmail(dot)com, and I will be delighted to work it out with you.  I hope there are many more of my patterns that will join this one in the coming months!

And one last thing, if you are a frequent reader of this blog: thank you.

We appreciate every one of you who join us for a minute of your day.  You have no idea how much it means to us.

-Becka