How to Make Sushi - vegan sushi, that is!

Ever wondered how to make sushi?  Well, here's an easy way!

First I take a sheet of dried seaweed and fold it in half.  Then I bend it backwards and fold it in half again, along the same fold.  This creasing and re-creasing will break it in half.

Then I take a scoop of warm rice and place it on the seaweed.  Seasoned rice is delicious!  In this example I have used leftover red clover rice that was featured in a blog post earlier this week.

 

Then I just slowly begin to roll... The heat from the rice will help the seaweed to stick to itself.  If I wanted to get really fance I could put avacado and vegetables inside like raw carrots, onions, cucumber cut julienne-style....  But in this case, I was hungry and just wanted to eat so nothing fancy here.  Sorry about that!

And before you know it, you're done! 

 

The only problem at our house with making these is that the Little Farmhands really, really love them!  I can't seem to make them fast enough!  In fact, the first "rule" that I had to lay down with they were babies was, "No eating seaweed between meals!!!"  That's probably not typical and I can't guarantee that your children will like seaweed and "sushi rolls" as much as mine do, but at least they can have fun making them!

How to Fold A Cloth Diaper

One of the questions I am asked most frequently when people hear about our lifestyle is, “HOW do you fold cloth diapers?” Just today a dear friend called me with a newborn and the same question.  I tried to walk her through it on the telephone and I don’t think I was very successful… so Mrs. T, this one is for you! 

When Farmgirl was born I was very new to the cloth diapering world.  I didn’t realize that there are fancy cloth diapers that you can get, so I bought plain old rectangles from a Mennonite company called “GVS” (which is short for “Great Value & Service… And they definitely live up to their name!).  These diapers were a great investment!  I spent less than $100 in diapering supplies (including covers, which I bought elsewhere) and this stockpile has lasted through 3 babies.   (Papa the Farmer says the next baby definitely gets its own new diapers.  Some of the diapers are getting pretty worn out… But still… $100 to diaper three babies is pretty good!)

(GVS does not have a website, but call for a free catalogue!  They have lots of neat stuff, not just diapers!  Their number is 1-800-398-2494 and their email address is sales@gvsdis.com)

I fold my diapers in two different ways, depending on the size of the baby.  The first way I will show is the way I fold the diapers for the littlest babies.  I think I folded the diapers this way for about 3 months with Farmgirl, but only for about 6 weeks with FarmBaby.  (He was much bigger)…

So here it goes!




How to fold a cloth diaper for a little baby (approximately 0-3 months)

First, lay the diaper out in front of you:


Next, fold the diaper in half by matching up the two short ends so you have something that resembles a square:
 

Then you take that square, and fold in half one way, and then in half the other way (so you just folded it in quarters and now you’ve got another, smaller square):
 

Now is the tricky part (but it’s not too bad, I promise!).  Slowly, lift one corner of the diaper…


Now watch as I do this…  Continue to lift that corner and pull it across the diaper, and then several inches off the diaper, forming a triangle.  Did you see how that worked?  The corner that I lifted in the photograph above is the corner that is now the upper left tip of the triangle in the photograph below:



There!  That’s the hardest part!  The rest is easy!  Now, simply flip the whole thing over so that your triangle is now beneath the diaper:
 

The square part that is sticking out to the right is going to be the absorbant part of the diaper.  Start folding it over.  Here’s the first time I folded it:
 

And here’s the second time:
 

Ta da!  Diaper is now ready for Baby!  My baby is too big to model this style, so my favorite baby doll agreed to model it for you instead.  (Yes, I still have my original cabbage patch doll from 1984!  Her name is Amy, if you’re wondering!)

The diaper in the picture above is technically upside down, so just rotate it around so that the long side of the triangle is at the top.  This is the part that will wrap around the baby’s waist.  Next, lay your baby on top the diaper.  The rectangular part comes up between the baby’s legs:
 

Next, simply bring each side piece around the baby’s waist and pin it to the part in the middle.  Usually you only need one pin to do this.
 

And you’re done!  See?  That wasn’t too bad, was it?

Now, what if you have an older baby?  Well, then it’s even easier!




How to fold a Diaper for a Larger Baby (3 months - 2+ years)

As before, you lay the diaper out in front of you and then you fold it in half.

Next, fold it into thirds:

 

Now, take the upper corner and fold it out.  Depending on the way you folded it, your diaper may need to be pulled out to the left or the right:
 
Repeat this step with the opposite corner:
 

And ta da!  You are ready to put a sleepy, cranky baby in that diaper!

 

 

As before, the long, rectangular part comes up between the baby’s legs and the “wings” on the side wrap around and are secured with a pin.

Then, I put a diaper cover over the whole thing.  Personally, I really like ProRap diaper covers!  We’ve had several diaper covers over the years and these ones have held up really well through literally thousands of washings!  They're inexpensive (only about $7 each) and they also have great little leg gussets that help prevent leaking!  Click here to Search Amazon.com for Prorap

By the way, in a pinch, you can use a T-shirt to fold either of these diaper styles.  (Please don’t ask me how I know this.  Let’s just say I’ve been diapering steady for almost 7 years now!)  Just fold the sleeves in so you have something that looks like a rectangle and follow the steps above!

                                                                        Happy Diapering!

Farm Life Easter Bonnet Tutorial

Last week I showed you a pretty spring hat we made from dollar-store materials that would make a perfect Easter bonnet for the little girl in your life! 

Today, I want to show you another hat we made… This one is perhaps less appropriate for church, but definitely more adorable!

Avery Akeman is our official farm friend!  She is the same age as our Little Farmhands, but she has various medical issues.  Serious medical issues.  Her heart stops when she eats and her immune system is so compromised that she can’t be around other children…  but she can receive letters and the Little Farmhands love writing to her! 

Well last Monday was her birthday.  We wanted to make her something (inexpensively!) that would remind her of her farm friends…  Well, we came up with a hat that was very much one-of-a-kind!

(Here’s a picture of our Farm Girl modeling it for the camera!)

Here’s how we did it: 

First we gathered up our supplies (a hat from the dollar store, artificial flowers and greenery from the dollar store, ribbon, and a “Farm Toob” from Hobby Lobby (yay for Hobby Lobby’s 40% off coupon!)  We also used two elastic bands and about 1/2 skein of brown “I Love This Yarn” from Hobby Lobby.  It is so soft!

The Farm Boy really wanted Avery to have “Rainbow Ribbon” on her hat.  I was skeptical about how it would look, but it turned out pretty well!  We pulled off the ribbon that came with the hat and replaced it with a band of “Rainbow Ribbon.”  (We just hot glued the bottom down.)

The “Rainbow Ribbon” didn’t quite fit the shape of the hat so I tacked it down with hot glue:

Next we made a big bow with long streamers hanging down in the back and glued that on:

The next step was lots of fun!  We took all the little creatures out of the “Farm Toob” and arranged them around the brim of the hat.  Then we glued them on to the ribbon:

We added some greenery to the brim of the hat:

And tucked some flowers into the ribbon (hot glued in place, of course)!

I can’t remember whose idea the “final touch” was, but what is a Farm Girl without braids?  So we added Farm Girl Braids!  We made the braids by wrapping yarn around a huge book 65 times:

Then I very carefully slid the yarn off the book and sewed the top together several times.  (Sorry for the sloppy stitching, but this part was really tricky!)

It occurred to me that Avery’s parents might not want to be seen in public with a little girl in a farm hat complete with farm braids, so I added some velcro to the braid to make them removable:

I was careful to put the soft side of the velcro inside the hat so that it will feel soft against Avery’s head when she is wearing the hat braid-less:

I cut the bottom loops of the yarn, braided it and secured it with an elastic band.  Then I made it look pretty with more “Rainbow Ribbon!”

Here are some final shots of the hat!  I suspect it was one of Avery’s more unique birthday presents this year!

 

 

Frugal Girls’ Easter Bonnet! (Tutorial)

Am I the only one who thinks paying $15+ for a little girls’ dress hat that they are only going to wear to church a few times is obscene?  Well, for those of you needing Little Girl Easter hats, here’s a tutorial for a sweet little Easter Hat… just barely in the nick of time!

I found some very simple (pretty flimsy) little hats at “Dollar Tree” for $1.  We bought two.  One for the farm girl and one for a friend.



We also found these really pretty artificial flowers for $2:



With a little hot glue, this is what we ended up with:



In case you’re thinking to yourself, “Is that grass on the top of her head…” please don’t judge me!  She really wanted a butterfly up there.  Here’s a bird’s eye view:



We also made a second hat for a friend.  We started with the same $1 hat, but this one was green.  The Little Farmboy wanted “rainbow ribbon” on this one so we pulled off the little ribbon the hat came with and added some “rainbow ribbon”:



Then we tied a bow and glued that onto the back, leaving long beautiful ends! 

 

As you can see, the ribbon fits at the base, but it needs some adjusting to get the top of the ribbon to lay flat.  I was going to sew it little tucks into the ribbon, but I found that hot glue did the trick pretty well:



I think our friend will be very pleased when she gets her hat!  We had such fun making these today!  Now, we will not be wearing ours to church, but with the right ribbon and/or flowers, this could make an adorable hat for Easter!

How to Build a Pole-Bean Teepee (Tutorial)

Somewhere deep inside of me there is a lady who does really unusual things sometimes… and I’m not sure if it’s because she’s a really awesome mother who does fabulous things with her children, or if it’s because she’s a really big kid who never grew up.  I’m pretty sure it’s because she’s a big kid…

Last week I built a teepee for my children… because you know, as a child, I never had a teepee.  If you can’t have a teepee as a child, having one in your 30’s is definitely the next best thing.

Now let me tell you… I have never built anything in my entire life.  So if I can do this, you can do this too!
First, I sent the Little farmhands to gather up the tools:
 

(I really didn’t know which shovel I would need, so bringing them all seemed like it would save time!)

The next step was to take a pick and just sort of chop-chop a circle into the ground.  My circle was a bit oblong and I didn’t bother turning over the soil where I wanted the door to be.  (That’s right… we never did use the shovels!):

 

Next, I put 4 bamboo poles in the “corners” of the teepee.  I just gathered the poles at the top and tied them with twine.

Then I filled in the teepee by adding more bamboo poles and tying those poles up, around the poles that were already there.

(By the way, if you make one of these, make sure you take the stepladder out of the teepee before adding too many poles.  Otherwise you’ll have a stepladder permanently inside your teepee.  Yes, I learned this the hard way.)

 

Then I just wrapped twine around the poles (making sure to leave an opening for the door!).  The idea is that the beans will grow up the sides of the teepee and it will support the beans and provide a really unusual, shady place to hang out during the hot summer months!

 

Oh, but guess what.  When Papa the Farmer came home, we made him close his eyes and we brought him around to the side of the house and then said, “Surprise!  We made a teepee!”

And Papa the Farmer said, “Beans will never grow there!”  And he picked the whole thing up and moved it down into the garden.  It will add an interesting dimension to the garden, but when I think of all that time I spent digging up the ground!  

So maybe I will plant sunflowers there instead.  I think sunflowers will grow there!

Do you have anything unusual that adds dimension and interest to your garden?  I would love to hear about it!  Please don’t be shy!  Leave a comment!