Scatter Sunshine! Gift Baskets and Seed Packets

This month for my visiting teaching  sisters I am going to give them dressed up seed packets in celebration of the month of May. For my VTing sisters I decided to get forget-me-not flowers. While at the store though I also decided to bring joy into the lives of more people around me and I picked up an addition 9 seed packets of various flowers. To dress them up I made a cover for the packets. I wanted them to look bright, cheery, and simple.

Dressed Up Seed Packets 

paper (12x12 sheets fit 2)
scissors and/ paper cutter
glue
ruler
corner rounder punch

The seed packets I used are 3.25" x 4.5". To create the basic shape start with rectangle 6" x 7.25". From each side (left and right) draw a line 2" in. From the top and bottom draw a line 3/4" from the edge.

 Cut the rectangles drawn in the corners. Fold the right and left sides in and glue up the middle.

Round the corners and glue the top or bottom. Slip the seed packet inside.

 I glued a cute "Happy May" piece on each packet and left the top unglued. Deliver!

Easy Jelly Bean Cones:

No cellophane bags needed!

Sandwich baggie
jelly beans
ribbon

Fill one corner of the baggie. Gather and twist the baggie.

Securely tie the ribbon and cut off the seal at the top. Round off any edges that poke up.

(see finished result in basket below)

Smile Gift Baskets

Don't we all know someone going through a hard time? Well I have two close friends/family members that have especially been on my mind lately. One of them has had her SECOND back surgery in 6 months and the other has always lived close to her parents and they had to move :( I put together a few things today to give them and here they are:

A magazine
Candy (gourmet jelly beans, caramels, all reds starbursts, turtles, mnms, blow pops)
A book
Seed packets :)
An exotic smelling candle
nail polish and files

Jaime wrote me an email last night filled with lovely compliments. How cute is she? Have you done something to help someone smile today?

Vintage Button Bracelet

The reason I decided to dabble again in jewelry making was a vintage button bracelet. I saw this example and wanted to try for myself as Christmas present for my mother-in-law. But where was I going to find vintage buttons? I started showing my friends pictures of this bracelet and letting them know I was on the hunt for vintage buttons. My friend stumbled upon the motherload of buttons and I got started. The bracelet wasn't done in time for Christmas, but I got it done by the time for my mother-in-law's birthday.

I started with a plain bracelet, pre made and purchased at Joann.

 Then I laid out the buttons the way I liked. Using jump rings I attached the buttons

 After the first round, I added a bunch more buttons to make it look fuller.

My mother in law loved it! What do you think?

Peanut butter Oreo truffles

I had Oreo truffles for the first time at Christmas. And where the heck have I been?! Granted, I don't particularly care for Oreos unless they're thoroughly soaked in milk, but an Oreo truffle is a totally different taste experience.

So when I was thinking about what kind of sweet treat would be good for kids to make for Mother's day, Oreo truffles popped to mind—only with a twist: peanut butter!

Peanut Butter Oreo Truffles

Full batch	Half batch (if she's on a diet ;)
1 15oz package Oreos	18 Oreos
4 oz cream or Neufchâtel cheese	2 oz cream or Neufchâtel cheese
1/2 c creamy peanut butter, plus more if needed	1/4 c creamy peanut butter, plus more if needed
12 oz chocolate (milk, semisweet, dark, chocolate chips or bars: whatever she likes)	6 oz chocolate (ditto)

Crush the Oreos to fine crumbs. The fewer chunks left, the better. Typically I like to do this by putting them in Ziploc bags and attacking them with a rolling pin, but I tried doing it in a bowl with a flat-style potato masher. (Ziploc bags work better.)

Using two knives, two forks, or a pastry cutter, cut the cream/Neufchâtel cheese and peanut butter into the Oreo crumbs until thoroughly combined. You might need more peanut butter to get to the dry cookie dough consistency. You can make them as moist or as dry as you like, as long as they stick together when pinched, like at right (though I'm going to say moist is better).

Roll the truffle centers into balls. Set on a tray and refrigerate for one hour.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Roll the truffle centers in the chocolate and allow to cool. You can garnish them with more Oreo crumbs if you'd like!

Enjoy!

What's your favorite homemade Mother's day treat?

Wonky Wavy Woven No-Sew Placemats

Here's a way to brighten up your table with homemade placemats without any sewing.

For each placemat, you will need 2 coordinating fabric pieces about 14" x 18". (You can choose a different size.), scraps of fabrics at least 14" long and 3"-5" wide, and an iron-on adhesive such at Heat and Bond or Wonder-Under.










Iron on the adhesive to the wrong side of the top of the placemat (a 14x18 rectangular piece.) Make sure it adheres everywhere. (Follow the manufacturer's directions.) You can take the paper off now or after you cut the waves.

Next, fold the fabric in half as shown. I placed my ruler at the end of the folded map so that I would have a 1" margin on each end. Then I used my rotary cutter to cut wavy lines from the fold to the ruler. They can be of various widths. You can use scissors, too.

Open up your fabric.

Now iron the adhesive on the backs of the fabric you will be weaving. Remove the paper once you have finished! (I forgot and had to fix it after the mat was woven. Wayward forever!) Cut the strips into varied widths between 1/2" and 2" wide.)

Now start weaving. Keep the strips snug together. Toward the end, you may need to make one or two  strips strips narrower.

Once you are finished, make sure everthing looks right. The edges of strips that show should line up with the edge of the mat. Carefully lift the mat and place it on the rectangle you will use for the back of mat. Line up carefully. Now, iron everything very securely. Make sure the edges adhere very well.

Trim the edges with a pinking blade and you are finished!

If you like to sew, you could zig zag around the edges or add other decorative stitching.

Sauteed Veggies

One of my favorite ways to prepare veggies is to saute them. It's pretty easy. I like to get a mixed bunch of vegetables. I typically get broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and snow peas. It works best if you  have pan with a nice fitting lid. This will help trap in the moisture. On medium heat, add some olive oil to the pan. Then throw in your veggies. Make sure the vegetables get coated in the olive oil. You can add more oil on top of them as well. I found wooden spoons to help in mixing up the veggies the best. I like to add a touch of garlic or garlic salt. It enhances the flavors but don't put too much in that it over powers tastes. Add some regular salt as well. Stir every once in a while. It really depends on how much you're cooking as too how long you need to saute the veggies. Make sure you keep the lid on as much as possible. When the veggies have turned a brighter green (minus the cauliflower) then they are ready to go!

*The broccoli is what turns the brightest green. I usually gauge if they're done or not by the color of the broccoli. And yes, that's homemade fried chicken as well :)

A Guide to Strawberry Picking

We went to a wonderful farm last week to pick strawberries! If you have never done this you absolutely must! To find a location near you try here. The farm we went to also had amazing fresh homemade ice cream. We got sweet potatoes as well for some baby food. That night it felt so good to be eating fresh locally grown food for dinner!

We picked about 10.5 pounds and PB left with a red stained face :) I have gone strawberry picking every year for quite a while so I thought I would put together some tips!

Start by doing your research!

1. Try not to go on a weekend.
2. Look for berries that are: completely red, not too soft, deeper in color.
3. With the strawberry between two the pointer and middle fingers gently pull. Try not to squish the berry.
4. We were picking by the container and not the pound so we gently shook the bucket to get more in.
5. Use them quickly so they do not rot!
6. To hull strawberries you can just cut the tops off, use a strawberry or tomato huller (a quick search on Amazon comes up with quite a few options), or you can use a straw. I tried to the straw method and I found the bigger straws you get from restaurants work better than the typical ones you get at the store. 

 A few things I did this year with my berries:

1. Eat them fresh! I cut them up and sprinkle a little sugar on them to bring out the juices.
2. Simple Preserves
3. Frozen slices for shakes. I mixed with blueberries and frozen yogurt to make them extra yummy! I slice them thick and put them on wax paper on a cookie sheet. I flash froze them until they were half way frozen and put them in a bag. 
4. In a Simple Syrup

After enjoying and sharing more than half of what we picked I sorted them into four categories. No bad spots (frozen slices), one bad spot (simple syrup), multiple bad spots (preserves), and inedible (yuck!). Here are pictures of what I was left with.

From L to R Ugly, Bad, Good

Inedible

Frozen whole

Simple syrup is in the closed containers, the pureed preserves are still cooling in the small containers which fit about 1/4 of a cup., and the frozen strawberries ready for the freezer

With some of the preserves I made muffins and I plan on making some pancakes.

Strawberry Preserves Bisquick Muffins

2 cups Bisquick
1/3 cup Sugar
1 Egg
2/3 cup Milk
1/3-1/2 cup preserves (I only used 1/4 and there wasn't enough to taste the strawberry)

Mix together all ingredients but preserves. I had to add a little extra milk to make it the right consistency then add in preserves.. Fill greased muffin tin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 13-18 minutes. Mine were done on the lower end. Since mine didn't have quite enough strawberry flavor we added preserves on top and they were really tasty! Enjoy!

Metal Tray Redo--Your Ideas Needed!

A while back, I saved this metal tray from a family member's Goodwill pile. I thought I could make something cool out of it! Here's what I did:

I gathered my supplies: Tray, painter's tape, spray paint, and a large roll of paper to put underneath the tray while painting.

I taped the tray's edges because that's the look I was going for.

I spray painted using wide, sweeping motions. Then I let it dry.....for a long time.

Here's what it looks like today. It's not very easy to photograph!

So my question is: What do I do with it?! I was thinking of hanging it on the wall, but I'm exactly sure how I want to hang it. I want to cover the middle (that says Edible Arrangements) but I'm not sure how. I need your ideas please!!!