Party Perfect - Displaying Easter Ornaments

Last year for Easter I received a set of wooden bunny ornaments. They're super cute and I really wanted to display them but didn't want to spend any money on an Easter tree. I know that Easter and Halloween and various other holiday trees have really gained in popularity but they're just not my thing so what to do with hanging bunny ornaments?

Inspiration struck when I was looking at some leftover Easter ribbon from last year. I threaded the ribbon through the ornament loops and then taped it up over our front closet. It's so simple but it adds a pop of Easter right at the front door that would be perfect if we were having a party this year.

Now I wish that I hadn't passed up all those cute Easter ornaments I've seen over the last month or so because I didn't know what to do with them ;)

Stampin' Up Thank You Card

This past weekend I went to my very first Stampin' Up demonstration where I learned to heat emboss, made a really pretty thank you card and had a great time!

Our demonstrator Kathleen showed us how to put together this butterfly thank you card from start to finish. Because I'm fairly crafty I was familiar with most of the tools and techniques but heat embossing was something new.

In order to create the butterfly I used a stamp and then sprinkled on embossing powder while the ink was still wet. The embossing powder was black with some glitter mixed in. The last step is use a heat gun - simply hold it over the embossing powder until it starts to change and set. You can tell it's finished when it gets the really shiny finish on it. View the full size of the picture to check it out.

It was free to attend the demonstration though I did some shopping at the end (of course!). I'd love to host one of my own but I just don't have enough crafty friends so I don't know who I would get to attend. The thought has crossed my mind to become a demonstrator myself but I have a feeling I'd end up spending more than I'd make. Guess I'll just have to wait for another invitation!

By the Batch - Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

This particular Oatmeal Chocolate Chip recipe is a family favourite that I have blogged about before. We seriously love these cookies around here and I love making them because they're super easy and made with ingredients I pretty much always have on hand.

This time I made them with dark brown sugar instead of the golden kind because that's all we had in the house. It made them darker and sweeter. They didn't spread out like they normally do either but I don't know if that would be the result of the dark sugar or not.

This slight change yielded such a noticeable result that it makes me want to tinker with some of our other favourite recipes to see what I can come up with. In the meantime, you really need to make these cookies!

DIY Spring Wreath

I'm so excited to show you the newest addition to my front door - my bright and sunny, flower covered, super pretty Spring Wreath!

I'll admit that this project was a bit time consuming but I'm so happy with the final result. I started with an old straw wreath that my mom didn't want anymore and I covered it with plastic wrap so the straw wouldn't poke through. Then I wrapped it with fluffy white yarn.

Next I made what felt like a million flowers. There are three types. The fabric rosettes were made using this tutorial from NatSprat. The felt flowers were made using this tutorial from I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar.

Last I made my little banner using triangles of fabric, letters that I cut out with my Silhouette and some pink ribbon. I just mod podged it all together in an attempt at weather proofing - we'll see if it works!

The last step involved a lot of hot glue to put it all together and tying on a ribbon and it was done! The best part is that I made it on the super cheap. The wreath was free, the yarn was about $3, the scraps of fabric for the rosettes and banner were free (also from my mom) and I spent $2.50 on sheets of felt. Not bad!

It makes me smile every time I pull in the driveway :)



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Simple Silhouette Bookmarks

For my birthday this past weekend I was lucky enough to receive my very own Silhouette from my family. I have been entering contest for months trying to win one and now I can stop crossing my fingers ;) Now I know that it can do all kinds of crazy complicated and cool projects but I started off very simple by making pretty little bookmarks for the girls in my book club.

This really could not have been easier. I just cut all of their names out using the Silhouette. What's really cool is that you can cut any font that you have on your computer! Instead of using the letters that were cut I used the outline that was left over (I put the letters aside for another project, of course!). I cut the paper with all of the outlines into strips and backed them with plain paper so that I could glue on all the extra bits (like the little triangles in the As).

And that's it. I gave them out today and everyone really seemed to like them. I can't wait to make my next project tonight!

By the Batch - Easter Treats

This past weekend was my birthday and unfortunately, I was too busy celebrating to find any baking time. Instead I've pulled together some great ideas for homemade Easter treats that I want to try over the next few weeks!

Let's start simple with these super easy Easter Cupcakes from Kraft Canada. Use a cake mix to bake up cupcakes in any flavour then top with icing. Then make them special for Easter by building nests out of Cadbury Flake bars and Mini Eggs. So cute, easy to make and the kids can help.

I absolutely LOVE this idea for Stamped Easter Cookies from Martha Stewart. Again, it's a really simple concept - just stamp the cookie dough with regular rubber stamps before baking. This idea definitely doesn't have to be limited to Easter - you could use different stamps for any occasion!

If you're feeling a bit more ambitious then Glory over at Glorious Treats will walk you through decorating adorable cut out Easter cookies with royal icing.

Lastly, how adorable is this Easter Basket Cake made over at BabyCakes by Rachel? She made the basket with the bottom half of the Wilton giant cupcake pan which I just happened to receive from my husband for my birthday. I will definitely be giving this one a try!

How about you? Do you have any plans for Easter baking or do you have a recipe that you make every year for the occasion?

Magnetic Calendar - April

Last month I posted about starting a magnetic calendar with different squares for every month. I'm excited to show you my April calendar - full of purple, pink and bunnies!

This month I included some bottle caps with scrapbook paper and Easter eggs glued inside.

There are cute little Easter stickers for a few of the days and I also cut out some shapes like a little yellow chick and blue peep bunny.

For more information on the materials and how to put it all together you can check out last month's post. It takes a bit of time creating all of the elements but its such an easy and inexpensive project that has big impact on my shelf.

I'm so glad I stumbled across this idea out in blogland because I'm having so much fun putting the months together. Make sure you click on the images to see the full size versions and check out all the details!



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