Easter Recap

We just wanted to highlight some of the great Easter projects that we have completed over the last two years.  In case you might have missed one, you can find them all right here!

Hippity Hoppity Easter is on its way!

 Hoppy Easter Board Tutorial

 Carrot Seeds Board Tutorial

Easter Basket Liner Revamp

Inspired Chick Wreath

Personalized Bunny Shirts

Easter Egg Wreath

Crocheted Easter Bunny Basket

Eggs Sign Tutorial

Peep Garland

Spring Sign Tutorial

The Bunny stops here sign tutorial (Jill's favorite sign from Shannon!)

Yarn Easter Egg Wreath

Easter Sign

Button Egg Frame

Scrap Signs Tutorial

Chocolate Felt Bunnies

Cottontail Candies Sign

Hot Slaw Recipe

I have one of my favorite recipes to share with you today.  My Mom has been making Hot Slaw for years and it is always a must have at Easter.  Now, if you are watching your waistline this isn't the recipe for you. I guess it is somewhat healthy, cabbage is healthy, right? Some of my friends who like to eat healthier gobble this up, so don't be afraid.  Splurge on some good yummy food occasionally.

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Easter to do list finished!

Well, we can finally say that we finished most of our Easter to do list.  We didn't get to making the sweets, but those will be on our future lists.

We've been busy making all the crafts on our list.  We have a true crafting partnership.  On many of these projects we split the work to make it easier on both of us!

The first project we worked on was the Peep Bunting.  We got the tutorial from Dana Made it.  These turned out super cute, but were a ton of work.  Shannon spent hours cutting out all the peeps.  Then my sewing machine decided to die, but thankfully Shannon let me borrow hers.  I sewed the first layer of bunnies to the ribbon (for 3 different banners), then sewed another bunny on top and sewed around the exterior.  This was a labor of love, but now we have adorable buntings that will last for years to come.  My bunting is on my fireplace.  Shannon joined two buntings and has them going up her stairway.  Don't they look great?

Shannon found a great new blog called Auntie Lolo Crafts.  She has some great craft ideas.  Shannon did her button egg, which is just precious.

Shannon cut out these adorable bunnies from felt and made them for me!  I added the pink ribbon and I think they are a great addition to my Easter decorations.

Here's the family of Chocolate Bunnies at Shannon's house.

We highlighted this DIY Paint Chip Easter Garland on our Facebook page from Modern Parents Messy Kids.  This was super easy and makes quite the statement.  Shannon was nice enough to give me her template and leftover paint chips.  Here is my garland hanging from my mirror (ignore the baseball game going on in the background).

Shannon also hung her from her mirror as well.  (She was smart enough to turn off the television).

The last project we completed was this beautiful yarn wreath from The Sweet Survival.  Shannon wrapped our small foam wreath with yarn while I worked on the eggs.  We want to do it just like the tutorial, but we found the intricately wrapped eggs were too time consuming.  Instead, we opted for the messy wrapped plastic eggs.  These were easier to do quicker.  We ran out of time making the wreaths so I finished wrapping the eggs and glued them on the wreath for both of us.  My glue gun died on me, only after giving me two major burns.  I went out an purchased a new glue gun and I am loving not getting burned!

The first picture is of Shannon's wreath hanging on her beautiful mantle.

I added some yellow ribbon and hung it from a door hanger and tied on a bow for added decoration.

There you go, all of our finished Easter projects!  We hope that you enjoyed them all.

We both want to wish all our wonderful readers a very Happy Easter!

Our Easter Traditions

The Bunny does come to our house!  We leave a plate with a carrot (or a few) and this year, since my four year old is writing, we're going to leave the fuzzy guy a note to go along with it.  We also leave the girls' empty Easter baskets in high hopes he will fill them up!

When we get up in the morning, we see the Bunny's footprints from our front door, to the baskets, and back again.  He's a messy guy with great smelling feet!  His footprints smell like baby powder (which they are).  I've cut templates before to leave perfect little baby powder footprints, but honestly, I think just little squirts of powder work just as well. We also make sure the bunny eats most of his carrot(s).

The Bunny also hides eggs throughout our house, and if the weather is warm, maybe even in the yard!  He always leaves a special book in each basket and just a couple of other things.  For example, GraciAnn is a puzzle fanatic. She'll get a puzzle.  Mariella loves to practice writing.  She'll get some new bath crayons.  We try to limit how much "stuff" they get.  Especially when it comes to the junk (chocolate) we all love.

After our "Bunny Find" we get ready for Easter dinner.  Here's what's on the menu:
HoneyBaked Ham-I buy this two times a year, Easter and Christmas.
Green Beans or Sugar Snap Peas-Sugar Snap peas are definitely preferred.  I lightly steam them so they're still very crunchy and delicious!  I don't add anything to my beans or sugar snap peas. They are perfect plain.
Sweet Potatoes-Baked sweet potatoes are delicious and healthy. I usually just bake them and serve them with fresh ground cinnamon, brown sugar, and real butter.
Corn Pudding-See the recipe below
Easter Bread-See the recipe below
Cherry Jello-See the recipe below

Corn Pudding-This is a really great side dish. 
2 T Sugar
1 1/2 T Cornstarch
1/3 cup milk
3 eggs beaten
1 can cream style corn
2 T melted butter
1/2 tsp salt
freshly grated nutmeg

Mix sugar and cornstarch, add milk gradually. Stir until smooth.  Add eggs, corn, butter, and salt; mix well.  Turn into greased, 1 quart baking dish in pan of hot water.  Grate a small amount of nutmeg on top. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/4 hours.

Cherry Jello
1 can dark pitted cherries
1-3 ounce box cherry jello
6 ounces of crushed pineapple
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup pecan pieces (optional)

Put can of cherries, box of jello, sugar, and pineapple in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Make sure all ingredients are dissolved.  Take it off the stove.  Add pecans, if you want.  Pour in a dish and refrigerate until firm.

Easter Bread-This is a must make for Easter.  It could even be served for breakfast as a coffee cake.
1 pack of dry yeast
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 cups flour
1 slightly beaten egg
shredded coconut
green food coloring
powdered sugar icing (and food coloring to color as you'd like to decorate basket and 6 eggs)
jelly beans and/or other decorative candies

Soften yeast in warm water.  Scald milk.  Stir in sugar, shortening, and salt. Cool to lukewarm.  Add 1 cup flour.  Beat until smooth. Add yeast and egg and beat well.  Add 2 cups of flour to make soft dough.  Knead 8-10 mins on floured surface until smotth and elastic. Place in greased bowl.  Turn once. Cover. Let rise in warm place until double (about an hour).  Punch down.  Divide in thirds. Cover. Let rise 10 minutes. Using one third of the dough, shape into six eggs.  Use the other two thirds to form 2-26" ropes.  Twist the ropes together.  Coil around the eggs (to form a basket). Cover and let rise-1 hour.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Let cool.  Use green food coloring to tint coconut green. Set aside. Ice eggs and basket in colors of your choice.  Sprinkle with coconut, to give grass effect.  Sprinkle with jelly beans or other candy for an extra decorative touch.  So cute.

Do you have great Easer traditions?  If so, please share them with us.  If not, I hope our traditions give you the incentive to create some of your own.

Basket Liner Revamp

Shannon asked me to make a new liner for one of Mariella's baskets.  Thankfully, Shannon knows that I am a self-taught sewer.  I don't always sew exactly as I should or have a perfectly straight line, but I try.  I struggle to follow patterns as I would just prefer to figure it out on my own.  I am sure that has to do with my impatience and need to get things accomplished as quickly as possible.

This was my last project of a two week stint of sewing every evening.  I went to bed with a headache every night as I had a long sewing to do list and not enough time to complete it.  Finding time to sew with three little ones is a struggle.  My sewing machine also decided to be on the fritz.  Thankfully, Shannon stepped in and let me borrow hers!  I was ecstatic when I finished this last project as it meant I could have a break from sewing and get back to some other crafting.  (I will be showing my other sewing projects in the coming days).

On to the basket.  Here is the finished basket with the new liner.

Let me tell you how I went about making a new liner without a pattern.  It isn't a full tutorial as I got busy making it and forgot to take pictures along the way.  I do have some basic steps and tips to share with you though.

First, I took the liner that was previously in the basket (see below) and measured it from every angle.

The basket had a circular bottom which, of course, seemed way beyond my skill set.  Pulling from my Math teacher days, I knew I could figure this out! I measured across the center of the circle (diameter) which was 8.  Half of 8 is 4 which is the radius.  (Sorry for the little math lesson).  I took my fabric and drew an 8 inch line with a disappearing marker.  I made a dot at 4 inches.  Then I made a line 8 inches long vertically with that dot in the center (4 inches on each side of dot).  I continued this with two more lines (see pictures below). 

Then I cut out around to each of the lines (the circumference, aren't you feeling like you are learning something?) to get my circle.  Without making a separate template, I had a perfect 8 inch circle for the base of the basket.  Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the cut out circle!

Next, I took the old liner and folded it in half and laid it flat.  I measured the width (across the top) and length and cut out my new basket material to those measurements.  I did not trim it down for the middle of the basket.  Instead I pleated the material when I sewed it on to the bottom circle.

I also measured the width of the ties.  These were 1/2 inch width by 22 inch length ties.  I cut out material 2 inches by 22 inches.  Now, many people like to do the sewing method of folding over the material and sewing down the length of the strip.  Then they turn it inside out.  I despise this method!  It only leave me frustrated and takes too much time.  I prefer an easier and faster (surprising) method.  Let me teach you.

Now, this is where I wonder why I like to sew.  It requires using an iron.  I try to stay away from an iron as much as possible.  I love wrinkle free clothes and Wrinkle Releaser is my best friend.  Back to sewing. . .

Fold your strip in half with fabric right side up.  Press with iron.  Unfold the strip. 

Now fold each side (in half) into your newly created line and press with the iron again.  (My pictures were fuzzy and useless, sorry!)  Once you have both sides folded in you will fold them back together along that original crease you made.  This gives you nice finished edges on both sides.  Now top stitch (sew) up both sides of your long ties.  To me that is much easier and no frustration, well other than having to use the dreaded iron.

I folded over the sides of my main pieces of fabric with the ties underneath the fabric.  Then sewed up the pocket.  This way, I didn't have to string the ties through and give myself a headache.  

Then I sewed the two pieces of fabric together at the sides.  I took the circle piece and randomly pinned it around pleating it as I went.  Then I just sewed on the wrong side around the circle.  That was it.  It was surprisingly an easy project to sew.

Here is the finished product with a picture of the inside as well.

I hope Shannon is pleased with it and that Mariella likes the new cover as well.  Now, she has a basket that matches the decor of her room!

Happy Crafting!

A Crocheted Bunny Basket

Have you missed me?  You might have thought I was gone, but I wasn't!  Shannon has been rockin' the sign making and I wanted to give her every opportunity to share all her fantastic signs!  The time off let me do some catching up on some crafts that I have wanted to make.

I've had this adorable bunny basket on my list to do for a few months.

This was an easy basket to whip up.  If I had a few more days I would have made a few more as gifts, but time didn't allow that.

If you are interested in making this bunny basket, the pattern can be found here.

I hope everyone is having a great week leading up to a very Happy (or Hoppy) Easter!

Cottontail Candy Sign-The end of the Easter Signs, for this year!

This is my final Easter sign of the year.  My friend, Lesli, designed the sign on her Cricut.  After I applied the vinyl, I free handed jelly beans and painted them randomly.  It was another quick Easter decoration to make. 

I have 5 more Easter projects to do and very little time to do them.  None of the projects involve wood or paint. We'll see how it goes!

Scrap Wood Signs-A Tutorial

These were made out of scraps and completely without a cutting machine!  Anyone can do this!

I used a ribbon spool to draw a bunny head.

I cut ears out of paper and traced them on the wood.

Very easy!

Can you see the chicken I drew free hand on this wood scrap?

They're ready to paint.

I did a very thick layer of white paint for the bunny.  I really wanted him to STAND out.

The yellow chick is coming along.

They're done. This was an easy, fun craft. You don't have to have a fancy cutting machine for great crafts.