Bow Ties

This year for Easter I want to get a picture of all of the small children in the family, girls with Easter bonnets and boys with bow ties. So I e-mailed all of the moms with small children and told them my idea. My number three (Melanie) e-mails me and says "Mom you can make them, I just made some for the boys". So, I am challenged by number three!!! I Googled bow ties and I found one that looked pretty easy at livingtheswelllife.blogspot.com. I can make one of these in about an hour, it is that easy. I am always encouraging others to try one new project a week, because all things are possible through Christ. Thanks number three.

Monkey Bread

There are some days you just need sugar and today was one of those days. I make it for work, take a small piece for myself and feed the rest to the hungry savages. I think brown sugar is so good, it is right up there with chocolate. I especially like it with ice cream like in Banana Foster, yum. Now I try to make a lot of recipes low cal but this is one recipe that I will NOT try to make low cal. You dip the biscuit pieces in sugar and then pour sugar on top of it, how good is that?

I buy the four can of Pillsbury biscuits because it had to feed my six kids years ago and now an office full of people. My office only has three women and the men would be just as happy with biscuits and gravy but I want sugar! Buy the buttermilk biscuits not the layered biscuits.
Monkey Bread
3/4 cup of sugar
2 tablespoon of cinnamon
4 cans of biscuits
8 tablespoons of Parkay butter
1/3 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 pan with foil and spray with oil or use a disposable pan sprayed with oil. Mix 3/4 cup of sugar with cinnamon. Remove biscuits from wrapping, place three stacked biscuits on a cutting board and cut down in half, cut halves in half again. You will get four pieces from each biscuit. Dip the biscuit pieces in the cinnamon sugar and roll around to coat. Place in a single layer in the pan loosely, if needed a second layer. Melt butter, add sugars and vanilla, drizzle over biscuits. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. pull some biscuits from the center to make sure the bottom layer is cooked thoroughly. Enjoy!!

2012 Easter Bonnet

I found this darling hat and decided this will be my 2012 Easter bonnet. Last year was a straw hat that I put a band around the crown that matched my dress. This year I bought the hat first now I need to find a black with white stripe dress. I will probably just make a black skirt with white trim on the bottom, I hate shopping for clothes!!! I do think this hat might need a white flower or maybe white gloves. I pray that more families will celebrate Easter at Church.

Easter Bonnets

This is one of my favorite Eater photos,
I will call it Easter Bonnets. I have this picture in my office at work and I get more comments on this photo than all the rest. Sooooo, I want to get another photo this year with all the little ones, girls with their Easter bonnets and boys with bow ties, won't that be cute? I think I will sew some bow ties so we will have plenty.

What a Darling Apron

I saw this apron on amyheartsit.blogspot.com and I just fell in love with it. I followed her instructions except she cut the top and the bottom of the apron into two pieces and I cut one piece 32" long by 22 1/2" wide and just sewed the band across the front. The rest of the apron was about the same. I think I will making a few more of these and maybe one with pockets. If you have to cook you might as well look good doing it!

Cardboard Pirate Ship

What kid would not want a cardboard Pirate ship in their back yard? What about a cardboard rocket or air plane? My imagination is endless with cardboard and duct tape. How about a cardboard fort with rope swings and tunnels and invite friends over for a bean bag war. You and your kids should draw a picture of what you want or you can get plans off of the Internet. Go to the hardware store and ask for refrigerator boxes, duct tape and some paint. If you click on the link below you will find a cardboard exhibit. http://blog.vickny.com/search/label/cardboard

** I saw large sheets of cardboard at a Mattress store

Special Days Calendar

Kids off from school for the week and you are looking for something to do? Maybe its summer and the kids are bored, just open up the attachment and download the Specials Day Calendar. Celebration ideas, National Days and Birthdays. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AivUI-g_PpPudFRCR0F1VmtmNmlWbFZqNXpHR3lZQmc#gid=0

Bridge to Terabithia

My daughter & her Husband (Sarah & Dave) gave me Bridge to Terabithia to watch with my Husband. It is a Walt Disney movie and kids will like it but I think adults will enjoy it more. It is a movie about friendship and imagination. I hope that my children watch this movie and take their children on an adventure just like this. Build a cardboard tree house, gather ammunition (marshmallows, you can eat them too) and battle the evil or any one else who might cross into your space. Get in there and battle too! There is never enough imagination.

Old Dress Patterns

When I make the Peonies I use precut coffee filters and then I saw one made from an old dress pattern and I heard the angels sing, laaaaaaa. I had just sorted my clothes patterns and put some of them in my old red truck to take them to the resale shop but they will never make it now! Coffee filters are precut in this cute round circle but the dress pattern wasn't so cute. I took a salad plate, traced 10 circles around it and cut them out. Then I worked the flower just like the coffee filter flowers and I think this is my favorite so far.

Birthday Fun and Elf Fun

Do people have fun with their children anymore? I want to get on my soap box and say "yes" people should have fun with their children. For birthdays take a dab window writer and write "Happy Birthday" with their name and age on your car windows. The kids will smile and die of embarrassment, but they will love it. Other parents are too busy to even try to do this...you win! Christmas Elves write all sorts of things on car windows...naughty and nice. Run crepe papers streamers all over their room before you wake them up on their birthday, this is also something a Christmas Elf might do. For Valentines day run crepe paper streamers from the door (mark each with a different name, even one for your husband) all over the house in different directions to a hidden treasure. You could do this for St. Patrick's day or an Elf might do this for Christmas. Plan ahead, if you lose electric cook on your grill, maybe grilled pizza. Have Italian night, the Hoffart's have Hoffartino night (I love that one). Celebrate special days, I believe there is a National holiday for every day of the year, pick a few and have fun!

Pink Peonies

After making the yellow Peonies I decided to make some pink Peonies. No pink food coloring and no pink paint but I did find some pink watercolors. I chipped some of it off of the tray and mixed it with water in this spray bottle. You can find spray bottles in the toiletries section at Walmart for a dollar, I have lots. I wasn't sure I would like the pink flowers as much as I did the yellow flowers but I do....so pretty.

For those of you who like Pinterest, try to make at least one project a week. It will become addicting....Pinaholic.

Razor Holder

I saw this picture on Pinterest and I knew I had to try it. I bought a new shower caddy for my bathroom and I didn't realize it didn't have razor hooks like my last caddy. I place the razor on the top shelf and it was in the way or would get knocked off. I knew I had the PVC pipe and twist ties so I got started on it right away. My caddy has vertical bars like the one in the picture but the guest bathroom has horizontal bars and I had trouble getting it to stay on that one. I though about painting it but I decided not to. I'm just glad to get the razor out of the way.