Pretzel Butterfly Lunch

I met a mom recently who told me she is frustrated because her 5-year old daughter never wants to stop playing in order to eat. She asked if I had any suggestions to help her get her daughter excited about mealtime. I suggested she look through my edible crafts for ideas, but I also wanted to dream up something fun for that little girl to combine her love of play with her need to eat. I think these butterflies might be just the thing.

 

I chose the ingredients and quantities based on what a 5-year old might eat for lunch. You can, of course, substitute other ingredients and change the amounts to suit your child's needs and preferences. Affiliate links below. 

---------

Pretzel Butterfly Lunch

 

Ingredients:

• Pretzel Crisps (2 per butterfly)
• baby carrots (1 per butterfly, plus one extra for antennae)
• ricotta cheese
• 1 T. peanuts
• 1 T. craisins
• 1 T. M&Ms

Instructions: 

(Note: Before giving the ingredients to the child, an adult should use a sharp knife to cut 2 antennae per butterfly. If the child is younger than school age, an adult will need to help spread the ricotta; older children can do this themselves.)

 

Line up pairs of pretzels to make butterfly wings. Spread ricotta on the front side of each wing, then decorate it with peanuts, dried fruit, and candies. Continue until all the wings are decorated. 

Place a baby carrot between each set of wings, then add a pair of antennae at the top. Eat your butterfly creations and any leftover toppings right away while they are fresh and delicious.

This would be really fun as part of a full day of butterfly crafts!

Felt Carrot

Look at the cover of Kids' Felt Cuties and tell me you are not in love with the Bella's Garden project. It is adorable! Trevor has long since outgrown his pretend kitchen (SO cute), but he would have LOVED this felt garden to harvest before cooking for his diciers years ago. (Where has my baby gone?!)  

Although our days of playing with plastic animals and faux food are behind us, I was inspired to put my own twist on the felt carrot in the book. Affiliate links below. 

---------

Candy-Stuffed Carrot

Materials:

• Orange felt
• Green felt
• Scissors
• Orange embroidery floss
• Embroidery needle
• Jelly Belly Sours
• Adhesive magnet roll

Steps:

Cut two identical carrots from the orange felt. Set one aside to be the back of the carrot. 

Using three strands, use the embroidery floss to backstitch partial horizontal lines on the front carrot piece. I made a total of 7 lines (alternating sides, starting with the left), but you can do whatever.

Cut three carrot tops from the green felt. These should not be identical, as they look more realistic when they are different. Put all three carrot tops under the embroidered carrot front and use a backstitch to secure them. 

Place the back carrot piece behind the front carrot piece. Stitch the two pieces together, starting about an inch down from the top left, going around the point, and stopping about an inch below the top right. 

It should look like this before you tie off the floss.

Stuff the carrot with Jelly Belly Sours. (Go ahead and eat the red, yellow, and blue ones since they clash with this project. Yum!) Cut two matching lengths of adhesive-backed magnets. Stick them together, then peel the paper off both. Place them between the two carrot tops. The adhesive is strong enough to stick to the felt, and the magnet will prevent Jelly Bellies from escaping.  

This would make a fun addition to an Easter basket, if I did Easter baskets. Maybe I'll just hide the carrot along with the eggs on Easter morning and let Trevor find it. 

---------

I really enjoyed making the carrot and am eager to try one of the other projects from Kids' Felt Cuties. The Piggy Coin Banks and Taco Plushie are particularly adorable. Expect to see more felt projects from me in the near future, inspired by this awesome book!