Notebook Experiments: Can I Make a Juicy Turkey Burger?

Experiment: Can I make a juicy turkey burger?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 10.23.08

Materials Needed: Please see Serious Eats for the full instructions. I followed the instructions exactly and made my turkey burgers in my stainless steel cookware because it is was roomier than the cast iron skillet I have.

Results: I was really excited to try this turkey burger recipe because every turkey burger I have ever tried seems to come out really dry. I was really intrigued by the ingredient list and that there were no eggs or milk involved (as my past recipes) and instead the only binding agent was ricotta cheese.

I am really not a fan of ricotta cheese, but I was willing to give this a try. I was very worried the ricotta would add a gritty texture to my burger (especially with 1/2 a cup of ricotta in there) and I was also worried how it would go over with the rest of the family.

I prepared the burgers as instructed and cooked them for four minutes on each side. I then reduced the heat with the lid cracked for ten minutes and then served them up on bakery buns with a slice of cheese and ketchup.

These were the best turkey burgers I have ever eaten in my life. They were moist and flavorful all the way through. Even the protesters in my family who said they would not eat one of my burgers finally relented and ate everything on their plate.

We all agreed that we could not taste the ricotta at all, but could only taste the meat and a hint of mustard that was incorporated in the mix.

Conclusion:I will be making these over and over again for my family. It was a great quick meal to put together and served with apple slices, it was a great meal for the entire family. Thanks to Serious Eats for sharing this recipe idea!

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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Notebook Experiments: Can I Make Oatmeal in the Slow Cooker?

Experiment: Can I make oatmeal in my slow cooker?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 02.14.07

Materials Needed: Please see Tip Nut for the full instructions. I decided to attempt cooking the oatmeal in my slow cooker and followed the instructions exactly except I substituted the steel cut oats for regular rolled oats because that is what I had in my pantry. I wanted to see if the experiment worked well before heading to the store. My slow cooker is the standard size and I poured the ingredients in there. I was really intrigued by the water to oats ratio because it just seemed like far too much water. I flipped the slow cooker on and let it cook for eight hours.

Results: I programmed my coffeemaker for the same exact time and woke up to a steaming bowl of oatmeal and hot coffee this morning. The oatmeal still seemed a little thin, but I let it set up for a minute or two before I tried it. Within minutes, it thickened up and I had a perfect bowl of oatmeal.

This oatmeal is extremely creamy and tastes delicious! It tastes more on par with restaurant oatmeal because of the great consistency of it. With a lump of brown sugar and some dried fruits, it would make a wonderful way to start the day.

Conclusion: I will definitely be buying the steel cut oatmeal to eat this again. It was a wonderful way to walk up and motivated me to have breakfast which is very hard to do! Thanks Tip Nut for sharing all of your tips with your readers!

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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Notebook Experiment: Can I Make Applesauce In My Slow Cooker?

Experiment: Can I make applesauce in my slow cooker?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 09.25.08

Materials Needed: Please see A Year of Crockpotting for the full instructions on ideas for completing this task. I followed the instructions exactly, but doubled the recipe to make a bigger batch. I also employed the use of a blender to make the applesauce even smoother. My family has weird texture issues so that is why it was a necessary tool in this experiment. NORMAL people can handle apple chunks (like myself), but my children cannot.

Results: Today's experiment got to happen because I have a very thoughtful and sweet neighbor across the street who brought me all of these beautiful apples. They have a friend that is a farmer so she brought over a big bag of apples for our family to enjoy. I was so excited to put them to good use and could think of no better way than making some of that homemade applesauce in my slow cooker.

I peeled and chunked up the apples for the slow cooker, and poured a little lemon juice over them to make sure that they didn't brown. It takes me a loooong time to peel apples. I have one of those apple thingamabobs from Pampered Chef, but sometimes that takes just as long so I skipped it. I need to work on my knife skills anyway.

Since the house was already going to smell like apples, I put the apple peels and cores in a freezer bag so I could break them out when I want the house to smell nice. I love to put these in a pot with water and cinnamon and simmer them on my cleaning day.

Here's my apples all cut up and ready to go. I sprinkled the cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla on them and added my water. I put the slow cooker on low for about five hours, and then checked the apples. They mashed easily so I gave them a good mashing and then put them in the blender to make it smoother for my strange eaters.

I served the applesauce with a rosemary stuffed chicken in my thrifted clay cooker, some herb buttered noodles, & mashed potatoes. My husband declared it a Thanksgiving feast and we dug in.

And the kids gobbled it up...except the applesauce. The color was a brown color instead of their usual yellow because of the addition of spices and brown sugar. I used my marketing background and promoted my product as best I could ("Oh, this CINNAMON applesauce is so delicious, isn't it Daddy? I have never tasted such good applesauce in my life!")

I fooled no one. Which was fine by me because my husband & I could have polished off the whole dish and not ever share it with anyone.

Conclusion: I might try this again without the spices and see if it goes over better with my children. If you have picky eaters, be aware of the color difference and don't be scared to employ the use of a blender to make it smooth as pudding. Hopefully your family is better sports about trying something new than mine. Regardless, GREAT recipe and thank you to A Year of Crockpotting for sharing all of her slow cooker endeavors.

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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Notebook Experiments: How Will I Ever Stand Being By Myself?

Experiment: How Can I Ever Stand Being By Myself?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 08.07.08

Materials Needed: Please see The Simple Dollar for the full instructions on ideas for completing this task. Trent has a great list of fifty things you can do by yourself and you can pick any activity out of it for budget-friendly ideas that don't involve spending any money!

Results: I know that today's entry is a bit of a stretch, but I am leaving today for two trips and started packing my bags with things to do to keep myself entertained while I am waiting for my flight. What did I pack?


Well, I packed lots of yarn so I can crank out some knitted gifts while I am waiting at the airport. I picked this robin's egg blue and a soft pink to mix in with a brown stripe. I have done this notebook experiment before, but not in these hues. I need to start working on these and plan to give these as gifts with some homemade soaps that I am ordering through Etsy. I just love how modern the addition of the brown stripe made this dishcloths and I think they will be a real hit!

I was a little concerned that I couldn't bring my knitting needles on the plane, but I checked the guidelines and it said that knitters and crocheters are more than welcome to bring their supplies so I was very happy about that. Then I was worried about cutting the yarn, but saw that nail clippers were perfectly acceptable and after a couple of practice clips, I knew that I would have no trouble whipping up a few of these washcloths.

I have finally memorized this pattern so it makes it much easier to do it without so much thinking.

I also packed a few library books for reading...

Love the One Your With by Emily Giffin. I have never read her before, but I am really enjoying this book. Has anyone else read her? Do you have any recommendations for a favorite from her? So far I am really loving it!

Waiter Rant by Steve Dublanica is another one I picked up. I know nothing about this book, but I guess there is a Waiter Rant blog and that is where the book came from. I waited tables through high school and after I got married so I have a few rants of my own. I am looking forward to reading this and hope it is a great light read!

The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue is one I am very excited to read. I read her first book, Slammerkin, and it was really good! Her first book was a very steamy historical fiction book that I devoured in a couple of nights so I am hoping this one is just as good.

I also tucked our Nintendo DS in with a few games that Nintendo sent me to review. They are trying to get moms to give gaming a try so they sent some really fun brain games and crossword type puzzles.

Conclusion: I think I will be able to be by myself, but I know I will miss my babies terribly while I am gone! I will still be checking & posting so no worries that you will miss anything! I can't wait to see everyone's experiments and be sure to see the entire list from last week!

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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Notebok Experiments: Can I Make Decent Brown Rice?

Experiment: Can I make a decent batch of brown rice that is edible?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 09.11.08

Materials Needed: Please see The Kitchn for the full instructions on ideas for completing this task. I chose to perform this experiment with long grain brown rice and followed the instructions as directed.

Results: I have to admit that I was intrigued by the idea of boiling the rice as you would boil pasta and wasn't sure if the rice would actually turn out good or not. I brought my water to a rolling boil and then salted the water before pouring in my rice. I followed the instructions on the bag and set the timer for 25 minutes and went downstairs to work. Occasionally I checked on it, but I didn't hover over it like I do when I cook the rice in a 2:1 ratio, like usual.


The idea of cooking the rice this way appealed to me for two different reasons. First, I never seem to get the right consistency with the brown rice and it is still always a little too chewy for me. I have also found that the top layer doesn't taste like the bottom of the pot, which might be because I am not spending enough time hovering over it. Second, I also have been known to burn the rice a time or two and I hate wasting food and cleaning a burnt pot.

The rice using the boiling water method cooked up beautifully and tasted more like white rice than the brown rice grainy taste that I usually end up with. I do have concerns that I am boiling out a lot of nutrients though so I don't think I would do this method all of the time, but it was much easier for me to get my lunch together today and make a huge batch without the measuring and hovering.

Conclusion: I definitely would try this method again and enjoyed my brown rice so much more. I think I might add a rice cooker to my Christmas list this year, but until then this is a great way to make a good batch of rice with a more consistent result.
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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Notebook Experiments: Can I Make a Deep Dish Pizza?

Experiment: Can I make a deep dish pizza that the whole family will love?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 08.21.08

Materials Needed: Please see Chocolate On My Cranium for the full instructions on ideas for completing this task. I featured this recipe last week, but this week I tried something new with it. Instead of making the breadsticks (as directed), I mixed up two batches of the dough- one batch for breadsticks and one batch to be made into a pizza for the family.

For the pizza, instead of the 4 tablespoons of butter, I used two tablespoons and just used a pastry brush to brush the entire cookie sheet so the dough would not stick. I made my easy pizza sauce and then we topped the pizza with our favorite toppings.

Results: This dough makes a delicious pizza! I decided to bake the crust for ten minutes minus any sauce or toppings, to give it a good start on the baking. I then added all of the yummy pizza fixings and put it back in the oven for another twelve minutes.

Conclusion: This was a very easy way to make a homemade pizza for our Friday family nights together. I loved that I didn't have to get out my rolling pin and that we had plenty of food for leftovers for lunch the next day. The entire family loved it, especially the family members who love a nice thick crust on their pizza! We will definitely be making this again and again in our house!
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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Notebook Experiments: Can I Make Homemade Breadsticks?

Experiment: Can I whip up a batch of homemade breadsticks?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 08.21.08

Materials Needed: Please see Chocolate On My Cranium for the full instructions on ideas for completing this task. I followed her instructions and just used my stand mixer for this project. I also added my own additions of a 1/4 tsp garlic powder, a 1/4 tsp of Italian seasoning mix, and a handful of Parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top. For a fast dipping sauce, I used a jar of Aldi's spaghetti sauce.

Results: This is the first time that I have ever tried to make homemade breadsticks, but I really needed some type of bread for dinner and this recipe looked fast and easy. I was doubly inspired to try this because Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, had attempted making these and I read through all of the suggestions on her comment thread before making them.

I added 1/4 cup of extra flour to make sure that the dough was sticky, but not too sticky. I let the stand mixer do all the work for me and plopped all of the ingredients in the mixer after the yeast, sugar, and water had proofed. Within five minutes, the dough was nicely incorporated.

I poured the butter onto a rimmed cookie sheet and then scooped the dough with a spatula onto the sheet. I flipped it, covering both sides in butter and then sprinkled my addition of Parmesan cheese.

I covered the whole cookie sheet with plastic wrap and popped it in my fridge until our dinner hour. About a half hour before our dinner, I pulled it out of the fridge and let it rest on the counter while our oven preheated.

I slid a big tray of my favorite baked ziti into the oven and then popped in the breadsticks for the last twenty minutes at 350 degrees. It needed a few extra minutes more than the required cooking time, but I think that was because they had been refrigerated.

Conclusion: These breadsticks were amazing and a great way to get a large batch of bread on the table while being creative with your pantry ingredients. Next time I will add a little bit more salt to add more flavor, but other than that, I thought they were perfect. I can see us making these over and over again in our house and I want to thank Chocolate On My Cranium for a wonderful new side dish we can add to our table!
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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Notebook Experiments: Can We Survive a Money-Free Weekend?

Experiment: Can our family survive a money-free weekend?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 07.24.08

Materials Needed: Please see The Simple Dollar for the full instructions on ideas for completing this task. Since it is a money-free weekend, you can bet that all those materials need to be free and laying around your house.

Results: I will admit it, we have the most trouble with our spending on the weekends. All of the leisurely free time just makes me think of all the things that I could be buying. It really doesn't help that we live off the main drag for shopping either!

For this experiment though, we made a commitment to have a money-free weekend. I had withdrawn our grocery money earlier in the week though for our grocery shopping, but that is where our spending ended.

What did we do on our no spend weekend? Well, we played board games in the evenings and caught up on our favorite shows. I spent some time working on knitting some washcloths for my grandma's birthday. I cleaned out my closet and took a load of stuff over to Goodwill to make a donation. But our favorite no spend idea that we did... well, maybe our kid's clothing choices might help you guess!


No, we didn't get to see a free game, but my husband's work throws an amazing tailgate and we thought this would be the perfect way to celebrate not spending that weekend.


And you know what is free at those events. Yup, tons of free food! My kids gorged themselves on a plethora of sugary treats and salty snacks. We all ate until we were in food comas and then swung by to see the local radio station all set up and distributing stickers and football necklaces for a special little treat for the kids. We threw our name in a raffle and chatted for a bit at their table. We watched all of the craziness that ensues for Notre Dame games and just drank in all the fresh air and sunshine.

"How convenient," I exclaimed to my husband, as we walked over to our car! "We just so happened to have parked right next to the Starbuck's. Momma could go for some delicious coffee." My husband just grinned at me and kindly replied, "Oh wait! Didn't you say we were having a NO SPEND weekend? Awww, too bad!"

I think one of us took this no spend thing a little too seriously!

Conclusion: I really loved having a money-free weekend and I plan to do this more regularly in our house. Thanks to Trent, at The Simple Dollar, for encouraging families to save instead of spend!
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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Notebook Experiments: Can I Make Wall Art?

Experiment: Can I Make Wall Art?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 08.21.08

Materials Needed: Please see Simple Mom for the full instructions on this task (originally taken from Mt. Hope Chronicles). I had two places in my house that was in need of some art so I thought I would attempt this craft. I hit a local scrapbook shop and picked out some scrapbook paper for my project. I then headed over to Michael's and picked up Mod Podge and the canvases to do the work on. I also splurged and purchased a circle punch so that I would have nice and even circles. I am lousy at cutting and this made the work go so much faster. I will use it to make our gift tags for Christmas gifts this year and banners for birthdays. See how I can justify any purchase as an "investment opportunity?"

Results: My husband & I put together our design and then I glued them onto the canvas. After gluing them and letting them dry, I used a sponge brush and brushed the entire canvas with the Mod Podge to create a smooth surface. I did two layers of the Mod Podge on top and this created a nice sheen to the pictures and made the project look more finished

I had a window that I wanted surrounded by art and these turned out great. The ones for our family room incorporated the reds in them, and had a little tribute to our favorite date nights together. Can you find it?


The one I created for my husband's office. He loves anything to do with fonts and is a proud collector of them (can you tell I married a web guy?) so I made this one as a tribute to his font fascination.

Conclusion: I absolutely loved this craft and am thinking of all the other art work I could create for our walls. I often feel limited by my crafting abilities so this easy project was right up my alley. Thank you Simple Mom for the great suggestion!
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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Reader's Notebook Experiment: Burp Cloths

Hi Amy,

Here's my experimental submission for The Notebook Experiments. I have a little guy who has been a "spitter" since birth and have been longing for some cuter burp cloths. Came across the burp cloths in your notebook from Make and Take.

I used some scrap fabric instead of the cloth diapers. I cut rectangles and backed with flannel. I then used ric rac, like the site, to give a little cute flair.

This was fast and fun, and I think my baby will love these as much as I do!

Thanks for all the great info and inspiration.

What a fun contest!

Haley

Reader's Notebook Experiment: Clay Dough

It has been so great to see what everyone is coming up with for their notebook experiments. We have over twenty entries! Just remember that it is not too late to enter for our Flip Camera! The contest will be open until Tuesday (08/26) at 8PM and we will even accept reader submissions who do not have a blog.

Here is Katherine's experiment- I think you guys will really like it!


Amy--

Thanks for letting us participate even thought we don't have a blog. I found your blog a few weeks ago, and after both my kids wound up sick this week, one spending the night in the ER, I scoured through your notebook experiments to find something for my 4 year old and 2 year old to do. Clay dough which was in your notebook entry on 7/31/08 was perfect! It allowed them to do something fun and creative, and required a mandatory rest period (during drying) for my kids to rest and anticipate the next step.

My kids enjoyed each step, from measuring and mixing to watching the dough cook and harden in the oven. By far their favorite part was the painting. Now my son has a handmade treasure box which he took straight up to his room as soon as it was dry, and my daughter a little jewelry box. Instead of making beads (as was done in the original post) we also used cookie cutters to cut out little shapes which the kids painted for 'decorations'. Now they each have a butterfly sitting on their shelf.

Thanks for giving us a great way to spend a sick day!
(And a chance to win the Flip Camera!)
--
Have a great day!

Katherine

Notebook Experiments: Can I Make a Fun Hat?

Experiment: Can I Make a Fun Hat?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 07.31.08

Materials Needed: Please see maya made for the full instructions on this task. Since I was doing this with my 2 year old daughter, we decided to color our hats instead of the flowers because it involved her helping more.

Results: With my son gone to school during the day, I wanted to carve out some special time with Emily and what could be more fun than making a hat together? Emily helped me color the newspaper and then I had to fit the hat to her head. That part was not fun because she was wiggling and screaming underneath the newspaper. If you have a younger child, you might want to keep that in mind and have the tape ready so there is no waiting. We tied our hat with ribbon and Emily declared herself the queen and even did a queenly little curtsy for me. I think she really liked the idea of the hat, but it didn't stay on her head very long.

Conclusion: This was a fun and thrifty craft that I would like to do again when she gets a little older. I picture having tea parties with her and her friends and sharing the tea under their newspaper brims. It is definitely a craft worth repeating! Many thanks to maya made for the fabulous craft idea!
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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

Today is the big day because I am giving away a Flip Camera to one lucky participant! Please read yesterday's post for the full scoop!

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Notebook Experiments: Can I Craft Some Bath Toys?

Experiment: Can I Craft Some Bath Toys?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 06.26.08

Materials Needed: Please see plumpudding for the full instructions on this task. I hit our local dollar store and picked up a ten pack of craft foam to use for this project. The craft foam is thin enough that you can cut these with plain old scissors or you could break out your zig-zag scissors from your scrapbooking materials.


Results: I am not very good at free-hand drawing so I went ahead and looked for a template where I could stencil some really cute shapes out of my foam. I found this handy template from the Martha Stewart website and whipped up several fishes, flowers, and hearts for the kids. These were very easy to trace and took only a few minutes to whip up. My husband also put together some that he drew for the kids.

The kids absolutely loved these and didn't want to get out of the bathtub. I also saved a few sheets of foam for the kids to do finger-painting on. I am planning to use these foam sheets with some of our homemade pudding paints (with only enough water to make a finger-paint consistency instead of a water paint consistency) and then I will just rinse the sheets off when they are done so that they can make brand new creations!

I would recommend making sure to soak the foam before you begin sticking it on walls. The pink color did bleed onto the walls and left a pink shade that is going to take some serious scrubbing to get out. None of the other colors caused this problem, but giving them a good soaking first should prevent this problem.


Conclusion: One package of foam can keep my children entertained for many baths and I can't wait to whip up some more of these for them to play with. I am thinking that these would make excellent stocking stuffers this year and you can't beat the price! Thanks plumpudding for your creative idea!
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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster's blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can't wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Notebook Experiments: Can I Green My Sink Routine?

Experiment: Can I Green My Sink Routine?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 05.29.08

Materials Needed: Please see ohdeedoh for the full instructions on this task. I used the vinegar and a lavender essential oil to make my homemade disinfectant, but you could also use tea tree oil. For extra credit, grab some baking soda and use this to scour the sink before disinfecting.

Results: I will admit that I really used to love bleaching my sink. I am all about cleaning the sink and have been ever since I read Sink Reflections. There was just something so therapeutic about having a fresh clean sink and there is just something so cleansing about that sparkling white sink after a good bleaching. To this day, if I smell Comet cleanser it makes me think of my mom and her sink cleaning days when I was a little girl.

But the times, they are a changin' and I am trying to incorporate more green living into my life. I have talked a lot about implementing homemade cleaners into your routine, but I was still dragging my feet on cleaning my sink with the green stuff.

I really wanted to try this homemade disinfectant and thought I would give my sink a good scrubbing with baking soda instead this time.

I just sprinkled my sink liberally with baking soda and ran a tiny bit of water. This made it more of a scouring paste and I scrubbed it with a little brush (or whatever else you have on hand). Once I scrubbed it well, I gave the sink a rinse and then wiped it out with a towel. I finished the routine off by spraying my homemade disinfectant and wiping the sink down again.

If you are a bleach user, I wouldn't say it was exactly the same type of white, but it came very close. It did require a bit of elbow grease and took longer, but it was oh-so-worth-it!


Oh, and did you notice that sweet little dishcloth hanging over my faucet? I made that! It is a gift to myself after all of the gifts I have made. It isn't even a reject one (which is what I normally give myself). It is the first item that I have knitted for myself since I have learned how. Oh, and it also happens to be green- just like my new sink routine!

I feel like this is something that I can do regularly and am proud that I have finally given the bleach up for good! Thanks ohdeedoh for this great idea!

Notebook Experiments: Is WHO Bread Delicious?

Experiment: Is WHO bread really and truly delicious?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 02.14.07

Materials Needed: Please see SouleMama for the complete recipe and instructions.

Results: I have had this recipe bookmarked for a very long time and have finally replaced my bread machine so I can test another fun bread machine recipe.

We grilled out last night and I thought I would make a loaf of this bread and (just because I am over-the-top kind of gal) I decided to make a batch of my Honey Butter to spread on top.

This bread is delicious and smelled like heaven as it baked. It has all of my favorite elements in it- a dash of brown sugar, honey, oatmeal, and cinnamon. I did substitute one cup of the white flour with whole wheat flour, which gave it a deliciously chewy texture with a nice firm crust.

Conclusion: I would definitely make this bread over and over again. It is such a perfect balance of flavors and adding my addition of the honey butter really made it even more delicious. Every single person in the family loved this bread and I look forward to smearing some jam on it for toast in the morning.

If you don't have a bread machine, don't despair because Soule Mama also has an acoustic version for those without bread machines. Many thanks to Soule Mama for generously sharing her wonderful recipes!