Blog Posts by Sarah Lipoff

The other day I had a big hankering for a past food infatuation. SpaghettiO's. Yup. During college I ate tons of Ramen and SpaghettiO's.

Cheap, nurturing, and badly tasty.

So, the other day while at the store with the wee tot, I came across some itty-bitty ring pasta and my stomach instantly transported me back to a bowl of that creamy tomato-ey stuff, and I knew I had to try to create a healthy homemade version. While pursing around, I found a few recipes, but decided to see what could happen if I ventured off on my own. I made a big batch and figured the leftovers would be perfectly tucked away in the freezer for a rainy day.

The recipe is easy enough, and as I said, this makes a mongo-big batch, but I guarantee your family will eat it up before you have to toss any into freezer bags.

And, it passed the food tyrant test. My tot gobbled it up, and even asked for seconds.

Ingredients

1 28-ounce can of tomato sauce - whatever kind you like, but plain and

I always seem to have a stack of old magazines cluttering a corner of our living room. I've leafed through them, torn pages for my own inspiration, and then completely forgotten about them. The other day my daughter pulled those magazines down from our entryway table and was sitting and turning the glossy pages while trying to understand it all out. I sat down next to her, figuring they were getting one last hurrah before heading off to the recycling bin.

But, wait! We could use them for something else!

Paper beads.

People have been rolling up paper beads since forever. The art of making paper beads really hit it big in England during Victorian times when ladies would gather to roll scraps of wallpaper and then thread onto lengths of string to create beaded curtains. Then, during the 1920's, the art became popular in the United States as a trendy way to make cheap and interesting beads for jewelry.

And, it's really easy to roll them up.

All you need to

I had big plans for the day - we were going to walk to the post office, hang at the park, and enjoy some time outdoors. But, for some reason, it is raining. Weather in the Bay Area is temperamental and you can see rain in one microclimate and hot and sunny in another. I'm usually in the hot-and-sunny spot, so this rain has me a bit frustrated.

We adjusted our plans and got out our paints. My daughter loves pulling her brush through a paper completely coated with a single color of paint, which reminded me of Bridget Riley and all her Op Art creations. We took a closer look at her paintings and got busy creating a fun line-making tool.

Most of Riley's paintings are in black and white, but she uses color, too. Her paintings encourage the eye to move all over the creation, causing one to see not just the lines, but the hue or color of the lines grouped together in a collective formation. Op Art is all about creating movement through the use of optical illusion, so you could

With the Fourth of July right around the corner, I found myself scrambling around trying to come up with the perfect celebratory project or tastiest thing to eat. But, with a toddler, the holiday is bit confusing. Sure, there are parties, ice cream, popcorn, fireworks, and hotdogs to enjoy, but understanding the whole patriotic thing? Yeah, that's a bit of a stretch.

For Father's Day, we went to the hubs' favorite burger place, and on the drive home (while still licking our fingers) we both commented on how the pickles really made those hamburgers. The sweet tang cut through the fatty burgers creating a complete mouth full-o-happy that lingered for hours.

YUM.

So, I figured whipping up a batch of sweet pickles would be the perfect accompaniment to any Fourth of July function we ended up attending, or to top burgers at home. Either way is a win-win.

These pickles are so easy to make and keep in the fridge for a month or two. But, I'm sure you'll eat them all

Summer is here and with it long, warm afternoons perfect for a languid art activity using water. While cleaning the house the other day, I discovered a whole collection of circle shaped objects begging to be used. From cans ready to be recycled to my daughters sippy cups, we had circles of all shapes and sizes perfect for an art project.

And, Wassily Kandisnky came to mind. If you remember, we explored his artwork awhile back with some collaging, but along with creating beautiful abstract linear works, he also really got into circles. Several of his works solely focused on the swirling, looping circle, and I figured we could re-visit Kandinsky though another fun art activity.

Kandinsky was truly an abstract painter, masterfully turning shapes and lines into moving and colorful artworks. His style was vivid and exciting, which encouraged the viewer to look all over his creations, taking in all it has to offer. During the early 1900's abstract expressionism was popular,

Now that the weather has finally decided to cooperate, it's time to enjoy some fun in the sun - and with that comes fun with water. I love swimming and grew up enjoying a dip in any pool, lake, stream, or whatever when the temperature warmed up. I also was on the swim team in middle school and high school, which seems like forever ago. Having swim smarts is something I want to instill in my daughter, so I'm ready to start as early as possible getting her excited about getting her swim on.

I picked up a small pool last year that my daughter could sit, walk through, and dump stuff in, but figured she is big enough for something more exciting. Even though she's just over two, I thought we could explore other options that would keep her interested and motivated to get in the water - considering her excitement quota usually lasts about 7 minutes.

We headed out to the local purveyor of all things child and were a bit overwhelmed by the pool options. Big blow up pools with

The other day we went out for breakfast and the child just about devoured an itty-bitty jelly container of lemon marmalade. I sat watching in amazement as she licked the little plastic thing clean. I mean, I know she likes lemons. It started awhile ago when we did some lemon prints and she spent more time sucking on the lemon than stamping with it.

So, when we arrived home, I figured we should make some marmalade, but we only had a couple of those yellow things hanging about. I did, on the other hand, have a ton of mangos! I had picked some up because they were super on sale at the store thinking the wee tot was going to LOVE them - and she didn't.

Why not combine the lemon with the mango for our own marmalade combination?

I also couldn't stop singing Lady Marmalade. I know you want to, too. Go ahead, take a time out and watch...

When I went searching for marmalade recipes, I came across stuff with lots of steps. I really didn't feel like putting that much

The other day the tot got in my craft drawer and found some wire. Before I knew it she was all wrapped up - and giggling like crazy! Instead of getting upset or frustrated with her fun exploration, I figured it would be a great opportunity for creating something awesome! An Alexander Calder balanced mobile!

What's great about Calder is he made these small and uber-large sculptures that moved (yes, a mobile) that were kinetic. This means the environment interacted with his creations, helping them to move and float. I love Calder's mobiles and actually had the chance to see some up-close and personal in a vault located in a museum I used to work for. And, let me tell you, that was all kinds of awesomeness.

So, Calder has a special place in my heart, and I wanted to share his cool art with my daughter. After I un-wire-wrapped her, we took a look at his mobiles and she loved pointing out the colors she found. Then, we got to work!

All you need to do this art activity with