Easter — pleasure in simple things

Tag: Easter

chocolate bunny beverage servers

March

Want a fun way to serve milk at your Easter breakfast this holiday? Use a hollow chocolate bunny! What child (or child at heart!) wouldn’t like Easter breakfast milk served in a chocolate bunny!

Here I’m using Lindt chocolate bunnies because Lindt 3.5-ounce hollow chocolate bunnies are the perfect size to serve a small drink! (Each bunny holds about 4 ounces.) Plus, they are very easy to find…pretty much any store that sells Easter candy will carry them. I purchased mine at Target. The bunnies are sold wrapped in gold foil with a bow around their neck. The bow color distinguishes the type of chocolate of the bunny…a red bow is milk chocolate; a brown bow is dark chocolate and a cream color bow is white chocolate.

Are you wondering how I got the milk into the bunny? It was pretty easy. I heated up the spout of a small stainless-steel funnel. While the funnel was hot, I gently pushed it into the chocolate bunny to make a hole. I used the funnel to pour milk inside the bunny via the hole and added a straw to serve!

Serving milk in a milk chocolate bunny is the obvious combination of tastes, but there are so many more great combinations!

For my milk chocolate bunny, I poured in banana flavored milk! I think a chocolate milk would also taste great. For a more adult treat – how about Amaretto?!

I decided to pour my favorite beverage – iced coffee – into a dark chocolate bunny. Yummy!! I bet Kahlua or Baileys would taste great in the dark chocolate as well!

For the white chocolate bunny, I poured in strawberry flavored milk – a great flavor combo! For an adult version, I would try Chambord or Limoncello!

Wouldn’t these bunnies make a great favor at Easter brunch or breakfast? Tie a bow onto the bunnies, like I did here, to match your color scheme. How fun for your guests to eat the container when the drink is finished!

I hope you are inspired to serve a beverage from a chocolate bunny this holiday – what will you serve in your bunny?

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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diy floral egg cups

March

Using egg cups as part of your spring décor is super simple. Egg cups are very easy to come by this time of year and are very inexpensive. I think most of mine came from the bargain bin at Target, but I have found vintage ones at thrift stores as well. Sometimes I add my own embellishments – like the white egg cup in these photos where I added a painted gold metallic rim.

In addition to displaying painted or decorated eggs in egg cups, they also come in handy as vessels for flowers. Adding fresh flowers to an egg cup is an easy DIY and can serve as a wonderful addition to any Easter table!

To make a floral egg cup; first, cut a piece of floral foam to fit into the chosen egg cup. (If working with fresh flowers, be sure to use an egg cup that can hold water!) Decide on the flowers you will be using and bundle them together. Pick a flower with a stiff stem and use a small piece of floral wire to tie the stems together. The wire will also be helpful when sticking the flowers into the floral foam – making it easier to push the stems into the foam. Add water if you are using fresh flowers. Finish your arrangement with some moss to cover the floral foam.

Aren’t these sweet? Make a bunch to use as place cards on your Easter table and/or as a cute takeaway for each guest. If you have snowdrops blooming in your yard, they would be perfect to use for this project. If not, you can find small fresh flowers in plants from your local grocery store or Trader Joe’s. (I was able to make 4 egg cups from one $3.99 plant from the grocery store.)

I hope I have inspired you to create some egg cup floral arrangements!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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diy bunny topped jars

March

Today I have another easy DIY Target bargain bin Easter project!

You may remember this squirrel topped jar project (click here). Well, today I have an Easter version using bunnies! The bunnies are ceramic and I found them in the Target bargain bin. When I saw them, I knew instantly I wanted to use them on jar tops so I went straight to the Easter candy section to decide what I would use to fill the jars.

Inspired by walking through all the seasonal aisles, I thought a ‘funfetti’ theme would be cool! Target had some ‘funfetti’ jellybeans. I picked those up and then I went over to the cookie aisle and found some iced circus cookies that would also be great with my theme!

I would get the jars I needed for my project from my recycling bin.

The first step of the project is to prepare the jars. Usually, labels come off easily after being soaked in hot water. Any stubborn adhesive usually comes off with acetone (or nail polish remover). After the jars are delabeled and washed, I prepare the bunnies. This just requires a little sand paper (or emery board) to roughen up the bottom surface of each bunny. This makes for a better adhesion to the jar tops.

I use a really strong adhesive called E6000 because I happen to have it on hand, but I am sure a glue gun would work as well. I am very careful to follow the directions on the E6000 label because there are a lot of warnings associated with this product!

After the adhesive is totally dry, the bunny-clad jar tops can be spray painted the color of choice. I chose my favorite off-white color since I think it goes best with the theme I chose. And, even though the original bunnies have a shiny surface, I prefer a matte finish.

An easy project, right? And there are so many variations possible based on favorite candy, color, theme, etc.! I made a couple variations to show you some possibilities – but, they really are endless!

Isn’t there always one that loves black jelly beans? I used leftover chalkboard paint for this one.

Use spray paint left from other projects like I did or purchase some from a building supply or craft store.

Certainly, the jars don’t need to be filled with sugary snacks – these contain carrot and celery sticks! (These bunnies are painted in a glossy finish.) Or, how about using raisins as ‘bunny poop’?

In my family on Easter, we always have a guess at how many candies are in a candy-filled jar and the winner gets the jar of candy! You may want to incorporate the same idea into your holiday traditions and make a cute jar to go with it!

I hope you are inspired to create your own bunny jars!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

1 comment » | diy, holiday

wooden eggs from target

February

I love to shop at Target. Like many of us, I always have to stop and browse the bargain bins at the store’s entrance. It is so fun to find a life-changing item that costs a mere $1. or $3!

All the Easter items are starting to emerge and I was excited, on my last Target excursion, to find a box of 6 wooden Easter eggs in the front bins.

I knew it would be fun to decorate these plain wooden eggs. I recently acquired a really cool vintage Easter basket at a thrift shop and I knew one of the wooden eggs would fit nicely inside it.

I took out some Easter décor a few days ago and I had put the vintage basket in my bathroom because I thought it looked great against the backdrop of Anna Rifle wallpaper I had in that room.

Now that I brought the wooden eggs home, I knew I would paint one of them for the now empty basket sitting next to the bathroom sink on my vanity. I would just paint a loose interpretation of what was on the wallpaper. Perfect! And then I would still have 5 eggs left to decorate! Maybe I will decoupage a couple of them or maybe add a little gold leaf bunny on one!

That bargain bin inspires so many great ideas!

Pick up a pack of wooden eggs, or one of the many other decor items, and have some fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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painting easter eggs

March

Usually, every year, I come up with an Easter egg decorating theme before Lent begins. I’ve done constellations, picnic items, succulents, etc. This year is the first year that I had no light bulb moment ‘telling’ me what my year’s theme should be! I guess with COVID isolation I’m just not ‘out and about’ enough to get the creative juices flowing!

I decided to start painting and see what happened. I started with a couple different bunny designs. That felt a little too ordinary.

Next, I did a carrot design. Once I added the eyes and expressions it felt a little more creative than the rabbits! So now I am thinking maybe I will do a vegetable theme?

I’ll see what happens!

Right now I am taking a little painting break to enjoy the fabulous weather we are having here in Connecticut!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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in family we trust

April

It is strange to be isolated on Easter. It certainly is disappointing not to get together with family I don’t often see – especially the newest members of the family. But it is a time to reflect on the many blessings I have in my family.

When times are tough, people show their character. The virus isolation has taught me a lot about people – some surprising revelations about the true character of people I thought I knew. But through distancing and some other recent challenges, I’ve found comfort in knowing my family is a constant – something to count on in times of extreme distress.

So, although my family may not all be sitting around the same table on Sunday as we usually do – we are all truly together.

Wishing you and your family a blessed Easter!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

P.S. The photos included here represent the limited Easter décor I put out this year. If you follow my blog, you probably find it hard to believe I didn’t dye any eggs this year since I normally come up with a new theme each year! Fairfield Country, where I live in CT, has been hard hit by the virus and I have been doing my part by not going out. So, I haven’t been to a grocery store to purchase eggs!

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chicks in a puddle

March

Even though Easter usually has no shortage of candy available, it is still fun to add a candy favor to each Easter place setting. You have seen me make edible candy nests in the past (or candy turkeys at Thanksgiving), but today I am making ‘chicks in a puddle.’

You can easily replicate these in minutes as a super simple DIY. Only 3 items are required to pull it off – candy chicks, white chocolate baking pieces, and a little blue food coloring.

My ‘chicks in a puddle’ are simply candy chicks sitting in a ‘puddle’ of white chocolate that has been tinted blue!

To create your own, melt some white chocolate chips, from the baking section of the grocery store, in a double boiler. When melted and smooth, add a little food coloring to the chocolate – to tint it a light blue color – and mix thoroughly. With a teaspoon, spoon the chocolate in small ovals onto wax paper or parchment to create ‘puddles.’ While the chocolate is still warm, press a candy chick into each ‘puddle.’ Place the ‘puddles’ into the fridge for a minute or two to speed up the setting.

This can be a fun activity with the children or grandchildren!

That’s it! Aren’t they cute little additions to the dinner plates?

I hope you are inspired to create some chicks in a puddle for your Easter table! A great tie-in for a child’s Easter basket is the book Puddle by Hyewon Yum!

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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bunny ear napkins with eggs

March

Have you ever folded your Easter dinner napkins to look like bunny ears? You probably have.

Today, I am sharing how to DIY some Easter eggs to use with your folded bunny ear napkins! I like to make bunny tail eggs for my napkins!

Since I was making one to show you, I decided to also make one with the front of a bunny to demonstrate how easy it would be to include bunny face eggs as well. You can choose to make just the backside eggs to use with your napkins – like I do – or, mix up bunny backsides and bunny faces on your Easter table!

All you need are pompoms to glue to the eggs. Use a white one for the bunny’s tail and a pink one for the bunny’s nose.

To add a little character to my bunny, I first added some spots to the eggs so my bunny would not be pure white. I did this by making up a taupe egg dye and adding a little bit of color variation to my bunny. Black or gray dye work for ‘bunny spots’ as well. Once you have dyed your eggs – if you choose to – use a glue gun to add the tail and nose to your bunny eggs. A fine point permanent marker is perfect to add the rest of the bunny face detail to the egg with the pink ‘nose.’

Once the eggs are complete, Use the diagram here to help fold two napkins appropriately. Add ribbon to keep the eggs in place and to position the ‘ears.’

A perfect little DIY for your Easter table! Change up the bunny and napkin colors to best match your décor. I used taupe and white, but you can use whatever colors work for you. Eggs dyed gray paired with gray napkins work well too. You can also create a variety of different expressions on your bunnys’ faces. Have fun with it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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diy constellation easter eggs

March

I love dyeing Easter eggs. Each year I like to come up with a new egg decorating idea. And, I love creating a themed series of decorated eggs! Remember the picnic theme, for example? (Click here to see.) This year I decided to create a series of Easter eggs depicting the astrological constellations.

I started by creating a backdrop for my star formations! I added purple and a little bit of black paste food coloring to a ½ cup of boiling water with a teaspoon of white vinegar. I used this to dye my eggs. Once the eggs were dry, I used an old kindergarten technique to splatter white paint onto each egg. This simply involves loading a stiff brush or toothbrush with paint and splattering it onto the eggs using a finger or popsicle stick flicked against the bristles of the brush. (Something I first used when creating leaf prints in kindergarten art class!)

Now that a night sky is created on the eggs, I can go ahead and create the individual star formations. For this, I am using little stick-on crystals from the craft store. I created a graphic for myself to use as reference for the placement of the stars for each constellation. I decided to use a thin white marker to add some definition to the star arrangement – even though this wouldn’t happen in the actual sky! I included a graphic here for you to use as reference when creating your own eggs designs.

These eggs are easy to create and I think they are really cool looking. Have fun with it! Create an egg with your own sign, the signs of each family member, or all twelve signs!

I made mine on emptied out eggs so that I can display them for Easter each year.

I hope I have inspired you to create some astrological sign designed Easter eggs!

Thank you for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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easter fortune eggs

March

Today I am sharing a really quick and fun Easter takeaway idea.

For this project, I used plastic, fillable Easter eggs. It is so very uncharacteristic of me to use these brightly colored eggs! And, I have to admit, it was very hard for me to resist transforming the plastic eggs by painting them in neutral hues and adding speckles!

With that said, I decided to use the eggs I had on hand to create some ‘fortune eggs.’

I filled each egg with a mini version of my favorite Easter treat – the Cadbury crème egg (they are so cute!) – in addition to a favorite quote. These small eggs don’t fit much more. I was able to squeeze in two additional little candies inside each egg.

You may wish to use a bible quote or fortune in place of the quote. If you are creating this for a family party, you may want to write up some favorite family memories to include in the eggs.

These ‘fortune eggs’ are great when you are beyond the Easter egg hunt stage. It is the perfect opportunity to provide your friends and/or family with a little treat to celebrate Easter! So fun!

I hope I have inspired you to come up with your own version of ‘fortune eggs!’

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to find pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing with Craftberry Bush, Sand & Sisal, Coastal Charm, and Crafts a la Mode.

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Tag: Easter

chocolate bunny beverage servers

diy floral egg cups

diy bunny topped jars

wooden eggs from target

painting easter eggs

in family we trust

chicks in a puddle

bunny ear napkins with eggs

diy constellation easter eggs

easter fortune eggs