Happy Easter!

Our boy decorated bunny cake

The Bunny Cake cutting diagram

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Bunny Egg Holder

I though these would make cute place-cards or table decorations

Download bunny-egg-holder.pdf

Print on colored card-stock and cut out on dotted line.

Bring legs up then wrap one arm in front of legs and then bring the other arm around and place on top of the first arm. Staple where claws on bunny should be.

Want more bunnies? Check out Bunny Napkin Rings

Bunny Napkin Ring

Here’s a little something for the children’s table at Easter —- a bunny napkin ring.

Download bunny-napkin-ring.pdf

Print on colored card-stock then cut out. Roll end toward back of bunny head.

Staple where claws on bunny should be

I wrapped silverware in an orange napkin then fastened with a green pipe cleaner and slipped the “carrot” into the bunny.  If you have a hard time with the bunny standing up, a cotton ball glued to the back would provide stability and be a cute addition.

You will find a matching Bunny Egg holder here.

Lucky Shamrocks

My 11 year old boy made these cool hanging felt shamrocks for our window. (He wanted me to make sure that you know he was VERY bored and needed something to do and he got to use the sewing machine —stressing the MACHINE part, so it was all good)

We took two layers of felt and cut out a shamrock shape.  My crafty boy used a sewing machine to beautifully stitch the layers together and also stiched  in a ribbon at the top.  He added a few beads on the ribbon and now they our hanging in our window—hopefully bringing us lots of luck!  If you need some luck, here are the shamrock shapes we used.

Be Mine

My little girl couldn’t take any extra treats, candy or trinkets with her Valentines for preschool. That meant the lollipop lilies were out for us. So instead we made these little conversation heart garlands out of cardstock.

We added “pink fairy” glitter (carefully chosen and liberally sprinkled by my daughter) to each of the letters. I used a Fiskers 1/4 inch rectangle hole punch to punch a hole in each side and then strung the letters on a 1/4 inch ribbon. We included two mini clothes pins with each garland. We packaged each garland in a clear cellophane bag tied with a ribbon.

BE MINE Conversation Heart Garland

I LUV U 4 EVER Conversation Heart Garland

Wishing you a very happy Valentine’s Day!

Holiday beverage markers

Here is a quick solution for beverage markers—
place a 2-dimensional paper sticker on a metal rimmed office tag.

They were slightly difficult to attach to the glass, but worked in a pinch and looked really festive. If one had more time the wire ring could be changed to an actual wire beverage i.d. hoop.

Breakfast with Santa

 

For six years now we have hosted “Breakfast with Santa” for our son’s basketball team. 

I try to make it look special from candles on the table to hanging stars from the chandelier.

I hot glued three candy canes together to make an easel to hold each of the boys names for place-cards.  We drink hot coca out of Santa mugs and I let these rowdy boys use the fine china for such a special occasion!

We eat pancakes, bacon and sausage ——and a few snowman doughnuts. Mini powder sugar doughnuts with a candy corn nose and candy eyes (from the cake decorating store).

Usually we make a craft but this year I couldn’t resist playing “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader” with these fifth grade boys.  Santa graciously agreed!

Santa takes a photo with each boy

Hands out a small gift to each boy

In the past Santa has read “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”  This year Santa was so fabulous he said the entire poem from memory.  He also reminded the boys how lucky they were, to be good, listen to their moms (thank you Santa) and remember those who don’t have as much. 

I’m thankful these boys still go along and just lose themselves in the magic of the morning!

Anticipation

This Saturday is the Halloween party that I look forward to all year long.  I love Halloween, the costumes, the decorations, the tricks and treats! However,  my friend Missy loves it more.  In fact this holiday is somewhat her speciality!  Each year she hosts an amazing party.  Each detail is painstakingly planned and beautifully executed.  It is truly a fabulous evening.  I thought I would show you some  of her handmade party decorations.  I hope you will find them as inspiring as I do. 

She decorates a table especially for the kids.  I can only imagine that the kids must  feel like they have stepped into paradise.

A wonderfully decorated cone brimming with goodies dangled from each chair

A darling paper mache  cat favor box sat at each place

The adults sat down to dinner at this spooky but beautiful table wrapped in gauze

Our favors were held in this unbelievable mummy topped box

We dined underneath her chandelier that she had filled with black twigs, ghosts and then wrapped in gauze

She sends an invitation that sets the tone of the party and gets everyone excited. This paper clay tombstone was found standing at our door inviting us to the party.

 I love to sit at dinner in this stunning environment with good friends and enjoy their company and the fun of the season. Each year I look forward to the unique favors and decorations she has made.   Missy is so talented and creative and so generously bestows her gifts on her friends.  So if you can’t tell, I can’t wait for Saturday night!

Happy Fourth of July

Setting our breakfast tables

From my nest to yours

This is my last minute solution for simple Easter table decorations. I purchase mini grapevine wreaths, bundled in a 6 pack, from the craft store. They are really inexpensive and can be found even cheaper this week at Hobby Lobby—-50% off! (I used the same wreaths for the chalkboard eggs.)

Fill the center of each wreath with Easter grass and then a few foil wrapped chocolate eggs. I place one nest in the center of each guest’s plate.

Bon Appetit!

Chalkboard Easter Eggs

I was totally inspired to see Martha make her own chalkboard paint. This could be the start to limitless crafts. I already loved chalkboard paint, but to have colors—wow. I think these chalkboard painted eggs would be unique place-cards for Easter dinner or just fun for kids to decorate over and over again with chalk. I used wooden eggs but you could also use blown-out real ones. They might be fragile when decorating, so I would probably fill them with plaster to make them more sturdy.

You will need:

Eggs, Acrylic or Latex Paint, Primer, Non-Sanded White Grout, 220-150 Sandpaper, Foam Paint Brushes and something to mix the paint in.

I first gave my eggs a coat of primer

I then mixed 1/4 cup of acrylic paint with 1 1/2 teaspoons of non-sanded grout. Mix well. Paint two generous coats of paint, allowing each layer to dry before adding the next. Once the two layers are dry, LIGHTLY sand the entire egg. Wipe away dust with a damp cloth. I repeated this process until I had 6 coats of paint.

Once the egg was completely dry I was able to draw on the egg with chalk. Most colors rubbed away easily, however a few needed a damp cloth to be removed. Plain black store bought chalkboard paint would also make for dramatic eggs.

I used a miniature grapevine wreath (sold in a bundle at the craft store) and a little bit of wooden green grass to display the eggs.

The Toymaker

I think this is the most wonderful site filled with beautifully illustrated toys ,boxes, books, games and cards. We made this sweet dancing Irish Fairie, you put her on a pencil, blow gently and she will spin and dance.

I think this magic fairie box would be so cute filled with chocolate coins for St Patrick’s Day. After we cut out our fairie and box we gave them plenty of clear glitter to make them sparkle.

There are holiday ideas and plenty of toys to keep us all busy. Many of the toys use a marble so they move easily—how clever. Check out the marble mice or bunny bowling. Too fun! This site has so many ways to add pizazz to a parties and holidays but most importantly it is the perfect solution to, “Mom, I’m bored!”

A Celebration Of Hearts

I went to the most fabulous party on Saturday.  My friend Missy created the most magical atmosphere.  The invitation set the mood———–it was beautiful!

Every detail was totally and beautifully carried out.  The kids were greeted with this amazing table. Hearts hung from the ceiling dancing over their heads.  Plates were sat on handmade heart place-mats.

Each child received this handmade (by her) cone filled with treats and trinkets.

The children played fun games like eating sugar cookies off of a string and a conversation heart relay.  They shot darts at hand-painted heart targets while the moms crafted homemade valentines.

The moms sat down to this dramtic and stunning table. 

 We each recieved a hanging heart box (made by her) filled with a giant chocolate bar re-wrapped in a Love wrapper.

We dined on delectable goodies like creamy potato soup, chicken salad served over fresh greens and fluffy heart shaped blueberry muffins.  Trays of the yummiest sugar cookies could be found everywhere.

We finished  with a delicious double layer pot de creme served with whipped cream and a strawberry sliced to look like a heart.

It is truly a dreamy party every year.  Love is in the details and I  leave this party feeling loved!

Crayon Shaving Hearts

Crayon shavings melted between wax paper and then cut into hearts make a beautiful display in windows. This is an oldie but goodie craft that we love. Here are ours made with lots of kid help! I can’t think of anything more cheerful or happy hanging from a window.

We made lots of crayon shavings with a pencil sharpener.

Place shavings on a piece of wax paper.

Either place another piece of wax paper on top or fold over the edge to cover all of the shavings.

Iron on the lowest setting for about 1 second. You can go always go longer after checking to see if the shavings have melted. Be careful to not burn the wax paper. It is a good idea to do the ironing on a piece of newspaper. Some shavings could leak out of the sides and it does leave a residue underneath the wax paper. If you are worried about your iron, just place your wax paper between two sheets of newspaper or scrap paper.

I think it is easiest for kids to trace around cardboard so I took cereal boxes and cut out heart shapes to be used for patterns. This is where you get variety so let the kids draw the hearts.

Draw around your pattern.

Cut out, hole punch and tie on ribbon, thread or fishing line. Hang!

Martha has directions and a gorgeous display at her place.

Heart Garland

I love hanging decorations from my ceilings.

 

I took a few different colors of cardstock (construction paper works too) and cut out different heart shapes. I did have access to a die-cut machine but don’t let that stop you if you don’t!  Hand cut hearts would probably me much more charming!

I sewed through them on my sewing machine with clear thread. Pull out a foot or so of thread before you start sewing so you have plenty to hang your hearts with.

I could never have too many of these hanging around!

Happy Kansas Day

Today we are celebrating the 146th Kansas Day. Kansas became a state on January 29, 1861. My son and I will spend the morning at the Kansas Historical Museum. If you would like to help Kansas celebrate and learn a little more about this fine state here is a sunflower coloring sheet, a Western Meadowlark, and a buffalo. Here is a sheet about our state symbols. You can even make your own Kansas flag.

I made this simple cake for my son’s class. The center is a chocolate cake made in a small cake pan or heat proof bowl. The petals are Twinkies–as many as you need for the kids. We added some chocolate chips to the frosted center, but you could also use chocolate sprinkles.

Leave a comment to this post and my son and I will pick one person to recieve some Kansas goodies. We will notify the lucky person by e-mail.

Sweet Megan

It is kinda dreary around here today so I thought I would share a more sunny day. These are the pictures from my niece’s bridesmaid’s luncheon.

It was held ON her wedding day. We just wanted to add all the stress and fun that we could possibly add to the day. It turned out fabulous even though we had our share of perils. Our electricity happened to go out from 7:30 in the morning until 15 minutes before the girls arrived at 12:00. It was quite a crazy morning with my wonderful aunt(my lucky house guest) holding me together, my dear husband shuffling food to my dear friend’s house to be cooked, and him also transporting my cousin’s daughter (another lucky house guest) to get a shower. I served a salad (recipe follows), Grilled Vegetable Panini, Bellinis, Mini heart Cheesecakes, and Heart shaped Sugar Cookies with icing flavored with vanilla and creme bouquet instead of the almond. Okay we also had jello shots and when the girls drank every single Bellini a few…..

Slippery Nipples -1/2 shot Butterscotch Schnapps & 1/2 shot Irish Cream.

I had the most fun decorating and setting the table.

I made cones out of paper and filled with chocolates for the back of each chair.

These flowers are made from white lunch sacks. Find out how to make them here.

The salad is delicious and from my special friend Karin.

 

Tortellini Salad

4 oz tortellini (cooked)

4 oz grilled chicken

2 artichoke hearts (sliced and drained)

1 oz of fresh spinach or other greens

12 sun-dried tomatoes (softened in warm water 20 mins. then chopped)

2 oz. feta cheese

3 slices red onion

DRESSING

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

1 Tbl. tomato paste

6 Tbls. Balsamic vinegar

Puree ingredients in blender or food processor then while processor is going add 1/2 cup top quality olive oil.

Toss dressing with salad. This makes more than enough dressing for the ingredients.