Plant Jelly Beans

Last year I found this pin, and my daughter loved it!

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/60446819970828238/

So we made it a tradition! This year, the evening before Easter we planted a few "magic jelly beans".

The kids really enjoyed planting the beans, especially packing the dirt down on top. The next morning, as we left the house for Easter festivities, the first thing they saw was the special treat that grew over night! Did you know, it only works the night before Easter?

Overjoyed.

First dibs.

So excited.

Who knew scrolling through Pinterest would lead to so many good meals, a prettier home, extra fun celebrations, and new family traditions!

Mini Barbie Cake

My daughter turned 4 last week and we celebrated with a cowgirl themed birthday party (stay tuned for that post)! But that was on Saturday. The day of her actual birthday was in the middle of the week, and she had been asking for a Barbie cake for her party. So on her birthday I surprised her with a mini version for dessert.

 

I must say, it was really easy and the perfect size for our kids to share. I thought it turned out pretty cute, especially being I had only a few minutes to decorate! If I had the time, I would've spent a half hour perfecting the icing dress, but my daughter was more than thrilled with it as is.

I used 2 cupcakes (I baked a batch of Pillsbury Funfetti), 1 can of Wilton Ready-to-Decorate Icing, and a "Madison" Barbie doll (less than half the size of a regular Barbie doll). Start by wrapping the doll with some sort of cling wrap. Wrap her up tightly, and as high up as you want the skirt of the dress to go.

I placed one cupcake upside down, and with the other I cut the top off to level/narrow it to be used as the upper portion of the "dress".

Forget the creepy cake picks, and the molds. Use a real doll and the birthday girl not only gets a fun cake, but also a doll to keep. I don't know any child that wouldn't be disappointed to learn the "doll" in the cake was just a pick!

http://www.kitchendresser.net/wonder-mould-doll-cake-pan-set-3928-p.asp

I was surprised how easily the doll went in (and stayed). I just cut and "X" into the cupcakes with a butter knife and inserted the doll.

The icing went on nicely too. The can actually came with 4 frosting tips for different types of decorating.

The cake was moist and the frosting, from a can, was actually delicious! I will do this again.

Hard Baked (Easter) Eggs

I tried two popular egg related pins last year, and again today, and they are super easy...especially when your kids are helping. Definitely the stress-less way to go.

All you need is a muffin tin, egg die, and a whisk.

Kids love to "help" (be involved). So instead of boiling the eggs, we baked them. My daughter was excited to place each egg in the muffin tin, and asked me to turn the light on in the oven so she could keep an eye on them.

To make hard baked eggs, preheat the oven to 325. Place eggs in a muffin tin. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely (I put them in a bowl of ice water to speed up the process, kids don't like to wait). Then you're ready to decorate!

Forget the silly wire spoon thing included in the egg die kit. Grab a wire whisk from the kitchen and use that to dip each egg! Keep it in the cup of die with the egg, and simply pull it up when the egg color is to your preference.

No more balancing act. So easy, and really minimizes the risk of a mess.

I don't know about you, be we are so ready for the Easter Bunny! And spring.

Wine & Dine

I was looking for ways to de-clutter the kitchen cupboards and I really liked the look of this wall shelf with hanging wine glass rack:

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/17170042302336414/

The window trim as well as the built-in hutch in our dining room are dark stained wood. So I chose a matching finish for the shelf (same as the one on Pinterest, purchased at Target). I found the exact same brackets for the wine glass rack too (on Amazon.com).

 

I tossed a canvas print on top for now. Haven't decided yet what I want up there. It's rather high up so kids can't reach & adults don't graze it while walking past.

Did you notice there are only 3 wine glasses? Wouldn't you know it, the day after the brackets arrived in the mail I dropped (and shattered) one of the wine glasses!

Pinned Pretty

In our house I don't have my own bathroom or even my own sink, but I do have a bathroom cubbie (shelf) and drawer to myself. Said drawer was overwhelming. Too many items in that small space. Then I took some time to clean it out and ended up throwing out numerous items that I hadn't used in a year, and a few sample products I never got around to trying.

The cubbie space was decorated with a collection of small glass vases. I also use that area to spread out my powder mineral makeup in the morning. But then it hit me, after thinking about a couple pins I saw...

http://likegems.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/diy-makeup-brush-holder/

http://peoniesandpolish.blogspot.com/2013/03/diy-makeup-brush-storage.html

I liked the makeup brush storage idea but I just know those beans & beads would be all over the bathroom floor at some point, and the glass jar is way to large. So I came up with this:

 

This way the brushes are placed in order as they'll be used, instead of all thrown together in one jar. And since the brushes are inside the cubbie and are used almost daily, they wont end up covered in dust! I love coming up with creative, useful, and attractive ways to use what I already have.

What do you have around your house?

Sweet Easter Gifts

I want to send my niece and nephew (in Alaska) a little something for Easter, and I know their whole family loves chocolate. So when I came across this Pin a month ago I knew I wanted to try it.

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/10/ab/b6/10abb63fa7ec4378718de637ba1d70e3.jpg

They're super cute, but I had a hard time finding unwrapped bunnies without those creepy dead eyes! And many were so large that I'd have to use especially large jars and I just didn't want to go that route when shipping them to AK. So instead I went with short mason jars. I used edible (green apple flavor) decorative grass, and wrapped Lindt chocolates (all purchased at Target)!

I like to call them "Mason Jar Nests". And they're ready to head off in the mail tomorrow. I'm sure they'll look a mess by the time they arrive, but they were fun to make and I can ask my sister to pretty them up a bit before the kids see them Easter morning!

#CUTE  #FUN  #EASY  #INEXPENSIVE  #GIFTS

Blueberry Muffin Mix Waffles

This was all over Pinterest 6+ months ago:

http://foodpinsnow.com/?p=771

We got around to trying it about 3 months ago (by "we" I mean it was my idea, but my husband ended up doing the baking). You turn a muffin mix into waffle batter by simply following the muffin mix instructions then adding some water. Turns out we didn't need to add water, the consistency was right without adding any.

When it came time to dig-in, we didn't notice any difference or improvement in flavor or texture over regular pancake/waffle mix. So I'd say just stick to the regular mix and add blueberries. But if all you have in the cupboard is muffin mix, and you have a hankering for waffles, go for it!