Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts

Cricut Easter Baskets


Cliff Notes:
  • Baskets are from the Dollar Tree, Target, & DH Gate.  Details are below, for each.
  • Designs are from all over.  I've started this post with a list of places to find free bunny faces, then later in the post I describe each design I used and where I got the elements for it.
  • I used a regular iron for all of these.  It's what I always use, I never have any problem using an iron.  I use a silicone baking sheet inside (or behind) items when Ironing on my designs, I think it helps.  
  • Siser Easyweed HTV.  I buy it on Amazon, with prime free shipping, it's always the cheapest that way, for me.

Free Bunny Face SVG Files:

Fonts I liked for the names: Pharmacy, Twinable, Messy Marker, Moonlight, Chuck Noon


The Bags & Baskets:


Burlap Bunny Bags:
 
On Amazon, these are around $30 for 6.  Free Shipping with Prime, and a variety of additional colors, shapes, and designs are available. 
https://amzn.to/3SYWlnG

DH Gate has these at a lower price, but you have to buy a larger amount, and shipping may  take weeks - but it is also free.  
https://www.dhgate.com/product/2019-easter-bunny-bag-for-egg-hunts-burlap/447186032.html#ymlpd-1


Ironing  on them:

I used the silicone baking sheet inside the bags, as I do with most items, but because of the way the burlap and fabric are layered here, I'm not sure how much it helped.  I used it anyway.  :-)

 The seams and layers at the bottom made it a little more difficult to get the good pressure on the letters, but they have held up well.

Dollar Tree Baskets:
Find them online on the Dollar Tree Site Here -
 https://www.dollartree.com/easter-bunny-shaped-baskets/302822
  For $1.25 each, these are by far the quickest and easiest and cheapest to make!  Big Lots has similar baskets, but not nearly as cheap.

 Ironing Them On - 
You have 4 inches in length to work with on these ears.
I chose the font Moonlight - one of my current faves.  As much as I love beautiful scripty fonts, when making things for young children, I like to keep the letters clear and readable so they easily recognize their own name.



Target Baskets
In 208 these were inside the door, in the "Dollar Spot" aisles.  (Why is this called Dollar Spot?  Almost nothing there is just $1....)  They cost $3, and are sturdy - with a plastic bucket inside the layers of canvas material.  The ears have wire in them.

 Five Below has similar buckets, just a bit larger, with a bunny silhouette already on them, for $5 each.  They are 3 for $18 on amazon here - https://amzn.to/30OKGeP

 Ironing On Them:
This is the only time I have used my iron more like an iron than a "press" for htv.  Because of the curve of the bucket, I kind of ran the iron around over the design.  It attached quickly and easily - the htv seems to like this material!   I didn't put anything inside of the buckets, just my hand. I kind of held the bucket in the air with one hand, and moved the iron around the design with my other hand.  It sounds difficult, I know, but this was actually much easier than the burlap bags. 

 The Designs:

For the Bunny with the sunglasses:
I used the llama face with sunglasses from Caluya design, ungrouped, deleted the ears.
Selected both areas on the glasses, and sliced, so the cut outs are cut out, not layered.
Changed the circle behind the nose to pale blue
I added the whiskers from the printable cuttable creatables face
Font is chuck noon.

 Because I have a LOT of black scraps, rather than fuss with how to place everything to use up scraps, I just changed the whiskers & nose, sunglasses, and letters all to different colors and cut each one.  I put black on the mat each time, but because the software thought I was using different colors, it automatically prompted me to put in a new mat for each item.  It was a little more (but not much!) time consuming to do it this way, but I did almost all of these with just my scraps - and I found it quicker to put in a new mat than any other option.
This is the face I used for the girls burlap bags.  It was in my svg files names BunnyFace.svg - but there is no information in the properties for me to know where i downloaded it from.  I downloaded it in November of 2017...  The links above give similar faces, but if anyone knows where I got this particular svg (I'm positive it was free) I'd love to link to it.

The font I used for the girls burlap bags was DK Jambo.

Molly's basket was made with a photo of her.  I used graphics software to convert it to an svg, for Christmas ornaments last year.  For this, I simply had to make the graphic larger.  Font is Moonlight.  Here's a variety of software that will convert a photo to svg - 
https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2019/02/programs-sites-for-converting-to-svg.html


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Party Games For Large Groups

We love cards and board games, but when our crew gets together, there are just too many of us for most board games, which often only allow 6 players. Before the holidays this year, I went on a search for some games we could play when there are 9, 10, or 15 of us.

Partners In Pen

Items Needed: A bag full of random objects, a paper, a pen and a bunch of friends.


Take the tablet and pen out of  the bag.  Add  random objects from around the house to the bag—you’ll want 2-3 items per a team.

Hand one of the partners the tablet  and a pen and hand the bag full of random objects to the other partner.

Now ask the player with the bag to describe 2-3 objects, one at a time,  without naming them or telling what is it used for while the other partner tries to draw the object. 

Then flip to a new page in the tablet, pass the bag and tablet to the next team, and repeat., with them choosing different items from the bag.
 ====================================

Likes & Dislikes

Items Needed: Index Cards, Pens

Ask everyone to write down 5 of their likes and 5 of their dislikes on index cards. Help the younger ones by writing for them.
At mealtime when everyone is gathered together, read the cards one at a time and have everyone try to guess which relative the information belongs to.

======================================

React and Act

Pass out sheets of paper and pens to the players. Have each person write an event. Tell them to be creative! Examples of events can include:

  • Being surprised by a large, aggressive bear in the woods
  • You just won the lottery
  • You have just been proposed for marriage with an engagement ring
  • You just got fired by an incompetent boss
  • Making the game winning pass to win the Superbowl
  • You just fell in love
Once everyone writes an event, fold the paper once and place it into the bag. Divide the group into two teams.

Ask one person on each team to randomly select an event from the bag. Instruct them to react to this event, without explicitly giving away what the event is. Choose a time limit (usually 30 seconds to a minute works well) and when you say “Go!”, have all five people to simultaneously react to their event using exaggerated gestures, facial expressions, and their voice.

For example, the person who has just won the lottery could raise his or her arms and scream excitedly, jumping up and down. The person who has just confronted a bear might make a terrified look, shake in fear, and call for help. And so on. Each of the five actors can interact with each other, but they must stay “in character” and continue reacting and acting based upon what their sheet said.
=============================================

Saran Wrap Candy Ball Game


Items needed - Saran wrap, tape, candy, two dice.

This is one we've played here, and it was a lot of fun!  It's really great for large groups of teens.  I found the game on this site, when looking for an activity for all of the cousins to play one Christmas.  

She specifies not to use plain saran wrap, but that's what I had, so that is what I used, and it worked great.

The game is simple.  Before hand, wrap candy in saran wrap, one piece at a time, making one large ball with layers of candy in saran wrap.

Have everyone sit in a large circle on the floor. give the first person the ball of candy, and the person to their left two dice.  When you say "go", the person with the ball tries to unwrap as much of it as possible, while the person with the dice rolls until they get doubles.  As soon as they get doubles, the ball moves to them, and the dice to their left, and you repeat around the circle.  You must stop unwrapping as soon as doubles are rolled.


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Heart Shaped Pierogies for Valentines Day

Heart Shaped Pierogies For Valentines Day
Pronounced ‘puh-row-gee', Pierogies are a polish dish, consisting most commonly of a mashed potato mixture inside of a flour based dough.

You could not drag me kicking and screaming into a restaurant on Valentines Day.  WAY too crowded, and usually overpriced, for me.  I would rather stay home and cook.  My favorite menu is prime rib, or steaks, and heart shaped pierogies.

I use a simple heart cookie cutter to cut out the dough, place a spoon of mashed potatoes (Into which I have already mixed some sour cream, cheese, garlic, and sauteed onions ) and top with another heart of dough.  Then I use a fork to crimp the edges.

I usually boil these lightly, then toss in melted butter and more sauteed onions, and serve with sour cream.

For the Dough:

2 cups of flour
2 eggs (room temperature, and lightly beaten with a fork)
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup of room temperature water

Mix until the dough is well mixed and firm.  Let sit in a covered bowl for a few minutes.  (I usually let it sit while I mix up the potatoes)

For the Filling:
half an onion, sliced thin, sauteed in butter
mashed potatoes - you can even use instant
a little sour cream, to thin the potatoes

mix all together. 

Cook in boiling water until they float. Optional, after boiling, pan fry in butter and seasoning [garlic pepper is our favorite]

 For "regular" [not heart shaped] pierogies, cut 3 inch circles, fold in half after adding the filling.


Filling suggestions:
Sauerkraut
Bacon
Sausage
Mushrooms
jalapenos
spinach



===============
An Index Of My Cooking & Recipe Posts Can Be Found Here:
https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html



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Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa


(printable label at the bottom of this post)

This is easier than it sounds.  Trust me.  The post is really long only because I typed out the steps the way I actually do this - placing ingredients in the right areas so I do not forget anything (I once forgot the vanilla) and so that I'm not wandering to the pantry and getting sidetracked, then forgetting what I have already added and what I still need to do.  (Sadly, this has been known to happen on many occasions, with many recipes, in my kitchen...)


Ingredients Needed:
5 C sugar 
6 T vanilla 
3 C cocoa powder
4 T  sea salt 
2 C dry milk 
1 1/2 C packed brown sugar
2.5 C chocolate chips

Materials Needed:
Baking sheet with sides (not a flat cookie sheet)
parchment paper
food processor or blender
Large pan (I used a nonstick dutch oven)
whisk (I sprayed mine with non stick baking spray)


Step One:
-Measure out sugar, placing in a saucepan.  
- Measure out vanilla - leave in a measuring cup or cup to the side of your stove
- Line a cookie sheet or baking pan (the kind with a rim, not a completely flat sheet - you don't want the caramel to run off the sides) with parchment paper

Make the Caramel

Caramel
5 cups sugar
6 T Vanilla

Heat the sugar in a saucepan - do not stir.  When it is all melted, occassionally life the pan and swirl it - still not stirring, but moving the sugar around.  Leave it cook for about 15 minutes, the sugar will melt into a deep amber color.
 The first time I swirled the sugar 
a few minutes later 
almost done


Remove the pan from the heat, and slowly add in the vanilla (it will pop and fizz & splatter - be careful) whisking the sugar until it is smooth again

Dump the mixture onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet with sides.  Let it sit to harden - it will take an hour or more to completely harden.

Now breathe a sigh of relief - the hard part is over.  All that is left is to mix things together.

Step Two:
measure out the other ingredients, set them beside your blender or food processor.

Break the hardened caramel into pieces, then place in the food processor and pulverize.
Add the salt, pulverize some more
Add the brown sugar and powdered milk, mix thoroughly into a powder
(I have a LARGE food processor, if you make this full recipe - you can cut in half - you may need to mix in a large bowl)
Dump all of the now powdered, mixed together, ingredients into a large bowl.

Place the chocolate chips in the food processor.  Add 2 cups of the mixed powders, and pulverize the chocolate chips.  

Mix everything together well.


This is the label I used.  It is not round, and ideally I would have cut it out and glued it to card stock, then attached it to the jar lid.  But instead I placed it on the insert, then placed the jar ring over top.  It was quick and easy.  Simply right click on the photo, save it, then you can paste it into a word, or google doc.  Paste it a few times, to print as many as you need on one page.

To see more 
24 Days Of Simple Christmas Projects
http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2013/11/24-days-of-simple-christmas-crafts.html






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Chocolate Pretzel Reindeer Rods


Last week-end we went to Bethlehem Pa for our anniversary.  In one of the chocolate shops downtown, they had these adorable reindeer "peeps" on chocolate covered pretzel rods.  They were not cheap.

The next day we stopped at the Peeps store - did you know Marshmallow Peeps are made in Bethlehem PA?  I did not know that before last week-end!  They had the reindeer heads, so I bought a few packs.

The chocolate covered pretzels are simple - melt chocolate (I like the wafers from AC Moore best - the ones at Michaels are waxier, and chocolate chips never work as well for me) swirl the pretzel rods in it, then place on wax paper to dry. I sprinkled them with colored sprinkles before they dried.

To attach the marshmallow reindeer heads, I spread some chocolate on the back of the marshmallows, then set them on top of the pretzels.

Once dry, I wrapped them in saran wrap and tied a ribbon around them.

Quick and simple!  I'm going to put 2 in each gift bag with the jar of salted caramel hot cocoa and a bag of homemade peppermint marshmallows.

To see more 


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Memory Ornaments



For our sons first Christmas away from home, I made him an official "Get The Tree Day" box & shipped it out to him on base.  We wanted to make him ornaments with family photos from over the years, so when I went into JoAnns with my 40% off coupon and saw these, I was inspired,

 25 Wedding Favor Tins



I simply cut out photos and glued them in, then added some glitter for "snow".  Placed the top on them, glued a ribbon around the edge and a tie on the back.  I used the labels meant to be used on the front, on the back to write descriptions of the photos.

These would be great for small vacation mementos like sea shells from the beach, beach sand, pebbles...


Our sons first tree on his own, with the memory ornaments on it.


To see more 
24 Days Of Simple Christmas Projects
http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2013/11/24-days-of-simple-christmas-crafts.html


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24 Days of Simple Christmas Crafts - A Scarf

24 Days Of Simple Christmas Projects

A Very Simple Scarf

This is so simple, it is a great "learn to crochet" project.  Or you could do a fancier pattern, or knit it, if you already have experience with knitting and/or crocheting.

Charisma Loops & Threads Yarn

I like this yarn - it's soft and warm works up beautifully.  It goes on sale 2 for $5 at Michaels, although it's 2 for $7 this week.  

 For the scarf above, all I am doing are 18 stitches of triple crochet, using a J/10 crochet hook.   I'll use two skeins for this scarf.  Count your stitches every row or two, to make sure you do not drop or add any stitches.  I did the amount shown above one evening while watching tv..  I'll easily finish it in a second evening.

 There is a simple tutorial with photos on how to triple crochet here:
http://www.lionbrand.com/faq/116.html
(The site above has both step by step photos, and a video tutorial)

 Or go to YouTube and search triple crochet - YouTube is great for learning how to knit and crochet.
To see more 
24 Days Of Simple Christmas Projects
http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2013/11/24-days-of-simple-christmas-crafts.html




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24 Days Of Simple Christmas Crafts


24 Simple Crafts
 that can be used for small Christmas gifts this season. 
Why 24 & not 25?  Because 3 across worked better for the size of my blog.  :-)
Almost all of these can be completed in an afternoon.


 1
Tea Light
Snowmen
 2
 3



6



9
Tea Lighted
Felt snowman




10
11
Soap Dispenser



Personalized Books
How To Make A Quick 
Family Tree
Soap



16
The Perfect Baby Blanket
17
Reindeer on Chocolate Covered 
Pretzel Rods
18
Salted Hot Caramel
Hot Cocoa Mix



19
20
21



22
23
24
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