easter treats

 I know cake pops are all the rage right now but I seem to have trouble getting my pops to the right consistency so they dont fall off the stick lol.  So instead... COOKIE POPS!!!

Yep, these are just Oreos on a stick.

you'll need:  bag of Oreos, I used golden Oreo's so the color of the cookie doesn't show through
1/2 bag or so of Wilton chocolate melts in yellow
Wilton candy eyes
orange candy for beak (I used 1/2 an M&M, but you can use 1/2 jelly bean or skittle or any orange candy)
lollipop sticks
 ------ the sticks, melts and candy eyes can be bought at Michaels or a Wilton Store ------

I bought regular Oreo's but you might want to get double stuff so there's a little more room for the stick. My cookies broke but not a big deal, they were covered in chocolate anyway.

Melt your chocolate according to the package directions.  I microwaved mine in a bowl, took about 6 minutes on defrost, but only heat for 1 minute at a time.  Every microwave is different and you don't want to burn or scorch your chocolate.

I found it easier to first dip the lollipop stick into the chocolate and then insert it into the cookie.  The stick doesn't need to be inserted quite so deep and therefore less chance of breaking the biscuit.  Put enough chocolate on the stick so it will stick to the inside of the cookie. Once the stick is dried you can either dip your cookie in the chocolate or spread the chocolate over the cookie with a spoon or knife.  I liked the spreading method better because I was afraid of my cookie falling off the stick lol.  Once the cookie is covered in chocolate, lay it on a wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry. 

Melt some more chocolate in a small zip lock bag.  You don't need a lot. Once it is melted snip a small piece of the bag off the corner.  Use the zip lock like a frosting bag, squeezing out the chocolate to make the 'curly q' of the chicks head, and "sticking" the eyes and beak onto the head.

Ta-da!! DONE.  I wrapped mine individually only because I have a few days before my kids get here (and if I wrap them there is less chance of me eating them all :)).  Fill a bowl with jelly beans to use as a base to plant your pops

Free easter bunting

While being too lazy to pick something up to dust underneath it, I instead tried dusting around it and of course ended up knocking it off the mantle and smashing it into a million little pieces.  Needing something to at least temporarily put on the mantle, I once again turned to my trusted friend, the internet. Found this free printable and it does the trick - at least until Easter at the end of the month anyway lol.

You can go to

http://cakeslikesaparty.com/2011/03/28/free-and-awesome-happy-easter-happy-spring-printable-banner/
to print your free Easter bunting too. (and no, you don't need fancy paper, print on plain white paper, the background print also prints).

Easter Project # 2

I usually like to greet my guests with an inviting entry to our home, including the yard.  At the moment, we don't have a yard!!  That's to be our summer project.  But the least I can do is having an inviting front door decorated for the season.  With that in mind, it's time for Easter project  2.

Again, pretty, but this time super cheap and super easy.

Here's what you'll need:

The eggs are from the dollar store - they're just those plastic eggs that you can take apart to put stuff in the middle.  I bought 5 bags of 8.  I could have used some smaller eggs for filler too, but I didn't think of that ahead of time.  Now you could go to the craft store and buy a foam wreath but this is a much cheaper option.  Go to your hardware store and buy this foam piping.  I believe it was 99 cents!!!

Wrap the foam piping into a circle and duct tape it together.  Ta-da!!!  Foam wreath ring!!  Now just glue your eggs on.  It's that easy.  Place them in the same direction or all willy nilly.  How you do it is up to you.  I placed mine willy nilly.  I even pulled some eggs apart and used halfs to fill in spaces and around the edges.  As I said earlier, could have used some smaller eggs to fill spaces but since I didn't have any, I used some easter grass (you know that crinkle paper strip stuff you use to fill baskets) and glued it in the spaces.  I kind of like how that worked.  Gave it some texture and dimension.  Now all you have to do is add an Easter bow and ribbon to hang it and you are done.  Easy peasy.

Easter project # 1

I'm really hoping the old addage of "in like a lion out like a lamb, or in like a lamb and out like a lion" is not true. It's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood today, so I'd just like to see it stay that way.  I am so over winter!!

Anyway, it is March and Easter being early this year will be at the end of the month.  2 of my 3 kids and their significant others will be here for the long weekend - and of course The Bug.  So excited to have them come.  Time to start getting ready.  I've already decided on the menu for the weekend and have the grocery  list ready to go.  So now I'll be pulling out all the lovely spring colors and getting things looking a bit more light and airy around here.

First up...

as usual easy, cheap and pretty!

Here's what you'll need:

for each candle stick you'll need two round wooden pieces. I got a five inch diameter and a four inch diameter. A piece of dowel, styrofoam eggs and whatever kind of paint you want. I got everything at Michaels. (you'll probably have to cut the dowel to the right height you want your candlesticks to be).

Start by drilling a hole for your dowel on the top of the larger wooden circle and the bottom of the smaller wooden circle.  Paint all three pieces.  I just used crafters acrylic paint because I had it on hand, but I'm sure you can use spray paint too.  You don't have to paint the whole dowel, just the tips that might be seen.  Once painted you can glue the dowel onto the top of the bigger wooden circle.  At first I used the ever reliable E6000 glue but it seemed a bit flimsy once I got everything together.  So I took it all apart and just used a hot glue gun.  Its a bit more sturdy.

Once it's glued in place, put on your eggs.  The ones I bought were on a stick.  Just pull the stick out.  You may want to push a screwdriver through the hole first to get all the way through the styrofoam, it just makes it easier to put on the dowel. Put as many eggs on each dowel as you like, but be warned, the higher it goes, the more it tends to sway or lean.  Once your eggs are on, hot glue the smaller wooden circle to the top of the dowel, and voila, easter candlesticks.

Now to find project # 2 to do  :)

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful spring weather wherever you may be