A New Day!

Good Morning Everyone!

I opened my eyes this morning, around 6:00 AM.  Our bedroom window was slightly opened and I could feel and smell a cool breeze, birds chirping, as they do in early morning, and also next to me the sounds of my husband’s peaceful sleeping.

Thank you Lord for this new morning.

I am sure some will not experience these simple pleasures today.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI am so grateful for this new beautiful day and all that it will bring.

Hope your day starts with joy!

Smile, be happy, be grateful!

Gratitude…recognizing the treasure in the simple – a child’s hug, fertile soil, a golden sunset.  Relishing the comfort of the common – a warm bed, a hot meal, a clean sheet.

–  Max Lucado

My “someday” Project List!

Today is a beautiful day in West Chester, Ohio.  Finally!

It is sunny, with a light breeze, and 76 degrees.

I walked around our yard just to see what trees, plants, and shrubs made it through the winter and there it was, a project that has been on my “someday” list for years. A new potting bench!

This photo shows my pitiful bench right now.  It is pretty sad!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI put it together years ago with an old picnic table.

So, I am going to get started on this and report on my progress.  It will be fun!

I already have some old birdhouses, garden signs, and old watering cans to add that rustic look.  There are so many awesome potting bench ideas on Pinterest, hopefully I can use some for mine.

See you next time for the update on my progress.  Happy Spring!

Easter Memories

I have such fond memories of Easter as a child and would like to share a few with all of you today.

We always had new outfits, my sister and I had new dresses, sweet hats, purses, and white gloves. My brother had a new suit and always a bow tie. I do remember getting Easter baskets full of goodies.

ydmWe went to church on Easter morning, and then a trip with my grandmother to the cemetery placing flowers on my grandfather’s grave. This was something we did every Easter.

granny 001This is something that I continue to do to this day.  Tomorrow I will visit my sweet Mother’s grave who is now in heaven.

We then went to Granny’s house for Easter dinner.  Everyone was there, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  There was always so much food, I especially loved my aunt’s homemade biscuits along with Granny’s gravy.

There was always a table filled with desserts, all homemade.  I remember chocolate cake, a stacked apple cake, Granny made, and my aunt’s coconut cream pie.  Yummy!

After dinner a favorite memory was my Mother and her sisters doing the dishes and singing old gospel songs.  They would sing, and cry, and laugh.  It makes me so sad that they have all passed away.  Thank God for memories.  My heart is full of joy remembering them all together in the kitchen.

These were some of the good memories of my childhood.

I hope everyone has a blessed Easter.

yvonne 001

Make some joyful memories this Easter with your family!

 

 

 

Grandma’s Disappearing Cupcakes

"Disappearing Cupckes"This is such a simple and yummy recipe!

It has been around for years as a cake, but they come out great as cupcakes.

My mom, who has since gone to heaven, gave this recipe it’s name.

As soon as she put them on the table they disappeared!

Especially good this time of year for Easter or the upcoming summer days.

There are mandarin oranges in the batter, and the topping is cool whip with crushed pineapples.

Hope you enjoy one of my dear mother’s favorite recipes.

Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 (11 ounce ) can of mandarin orange segments

Topping:

1 (8 ounce) container of Cool Whip, thawed

1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice

1(3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  In a large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, oil and mandarin oranges with juice.  Beat until  smooth.  Pour batter into a paper lined cupcake pan.

3.  Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

4.  To make the topping:  in a large bowl, beat together whipped topping, crushed pineapple with juice and dry pudding mix until blended.  Scoop lots on top of cooled cupcakes.

This recipe, as I mentioned above, can also be made as a cake by pouring into a greased and floured 9 x 13 pan baking at 350 F for 35 to 45 minutes.

Store in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

Choose Joy!

"Joy" sign!I love this little sign!

When I saw it in a local gift shop I bought it immediately.

My husband suffers from Progressive Multiple Sclerosis, and many days he has issues with cramps, burning, and muscle spasms in his legs.

My thought, when I bought this, was to hang it in the kitchen so when he gets his morning coffee and muffin he sees it and remembers, life can bring us so much joy, even when we are facing difficult times.

My prayer today is that you also remember to choose joy in your life.

Joyful blessing to all!

Bunny in a Pot for Easter!

I have had these little bunnies for years and I thought how cute they would be in small clay pots with grass and some eggs. As you can see in the photo above, adding names made them really sweet table place settings.

Bunny in a small clay pot!

Simple, easy, and so cute on the dinner table.

I already had all the supplies, so nothing to buy.  Micheal’s Crafts does carry the small pots and the raffia type grass i used.

Simple Easter Place SettingI just added grass to the pot and secured with a little hot glue on the bottom and a little on the back of the bunny to secure to the side of the pot.  Using my computer I printed out the names on card stock, cut out with a scalloped paper punch, and glued to a toothpick and then glued to the inside of the pot.  That was it!

Oh, I forgot the eggs, they can be any kind.  I used some small wooden ones that I had but you actually could use foil covered eggs or jellybeans.

It makes all of us feel good to make something creative from our “stash” of supplies.

Hope you can use your “stash” this week before Easter!

Happy Easter Crafting!

Kid’s Easter Napkin Rings Made With Scraps of Card Stock!

If you are having Easter dinner, making a table just for the kids can be so special for them and fun for you at the same time!

Chicks and Bunny Napkin Rings

Since I used my scraps of paper card stock these napkin rings cost me nothing to make.

Here is what is needed to make these cute napkin rings:

– card stock scraps (white, pink, yellow, and orange)

– a 2-1/2″ circle punch or you can trace around a can or cup the size you want

– tape and glue

-black acrylic paint or a black marker

– sticky glue dots (optional)

(All products can be purchased at Micheal’s Crafts or Hobby Lobby – don’ forget to use your 40% off weekly coupons)

Chicks:

Chick Napkin RingsAfter you have cut out all the pieces needed from the card stock, simply glue the pieces to the round head piece.  The “feather” top piece is glued to the back of the chick’s head, glue the feet pieces to the lower front part of the round piece and the beak piece somewhere in the center.

Add two small dots for the eyes, and something I always do is to add some blush cheeks.  I use a stencil brush with very little paint, almost dry to do this.  Practice first!

The long paper strip is 8″ long and about 1-3/4″ wide.  Tape or glue the paper strip together to form the napkin ring, and then glue the round piece to the strip.  I used sticky glue dots which have sticky on both ends to raise the round piece up from the strip.  I like the look, but if you do not have sticky glue dots just any paper glue will work.  See photo below.

Glue dots are only $1.00 a pack at Micheal’s.

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Bunny:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAs with the chicks, after you have cut out all the pieces you need from the card stock, simply glue them to the round piece.  The small piece shown in pink, which is the inside of the bunny’s ears, should be glued to the front side of the ears, and then the ears should be glued to the back of the bunny’s head.  Glue the nose piece somewhere in the center.

Add two small dots for the eyes, and again something I always do is to add some blush cheeks.  I used a stencil brush with very little paint, almost dry to do this.  Practice first!

On the bunny also add whisker lines and a line for the mouth, as shown in the photos. Add the head piece to the round napkin ring strip (8″ long and 1-1/2″ wide) using the sticky glue dots or just any paper glue.

For fun you could make these with your kids to put on the plates of everyone coming for dinner.

The cute dot plates were under a dollar at Walmart.

So cute, so easy, and so much fun!

Happy Easter!

 

Kid’s Easy to Make Easter Favors!

Today I will be sharing some kid’s Easter favors that were inexpensive and easy to make.

Kid's Easter FavorsThese cute chicks and bunny hand held masks are made of a thin wood which I purchased at Joann’s Fabric and Craft store for $1.00 each.

They were unpainted and were intended to be painted by kids with a pattern already stamped on the masks.  For my purpose it was better for me to paint them, since I wanted to add to the kid’s dinner table as favors.

Bunny Wood Mask

Here are the things you will need to make the masks:

– purchased wood masks (Joann’s Fabric and Crafts)

– acrylic paints

– sponge brush

– small stencil brush

– raffia or ribbon

– pen or marker

– stencil brush (optional)

I had to give the masks several coats of paint since I was covering up the stamped pattern.

I made a simple template from card stock and stenciled on the noses and used a permanent pen or marker to add other simple details like lines for whiskers and eye lashes.

I also stenciled blush cheeks on both the bunny and the chick using a small amount of acrylic paint dabbing the brush on a paper towel until almost dry before applying.

As a tip, adding cheek blush has always added the extra special touch when painting on wood or on paper when making cards or tags.

After the masks were dry and all the extra touches added, I tied green raffia around the chick and I glued a ribbon on the bunny.

So cute, and don’t you think they will add a bunch of fun to taking great Easter photos?

Enjoy!

 

 

Easy Easter Table Place Cards!

Easter will be here in less than two weeks!

If dinner is going to be at your home this year you might like these cute bunnies I found at Pier One Imports.  Not much time needed to add these to your dinner table, which is what we all need in our busy lives, and they will surely add fun to your Easter get together.

Bunny Place SettingThese small bunnies make great place cards just by adding names made from card stock and a toothpick.

They came with a bit fancier ribbon which I removed and instead added simple green raffia for the look that I wanted.

I printed the names on my computer using plain white card stock. Of course, they could be hand written.  I used a scalloped paper punch to cut out the names and then simply glued the names to a toothpick and stuck into the side of each bunny.  That was it!

The names can be removed easily without damage to the bunnies to be used again or given as favors.

Pier One also had carrot bunches which as you can see in the photo would also make cute place cards on each plate setting.

Carrot Place CardsI did the same to the carrot bunches as the bunnies, printed names, glued to toothpicks, and added to the carrots.

Simple, quick, sweet, and no fuss!

Happy Easter planning!