I was going to make some necklaces with them but never got around to it.
First they need some bling.
My girls started blinging out the rest of the animals in the house.
When they ran out of animals they took the dinosaurs out of the garage and got them done up too!
Basically I hot glued any tiny beads, felt, sequins, fine yarns or cording/string onto the animals – really anything I liked. I stuck to a blue/silver/white color scheme. Kids refused to adhere to that so their animals are not welcome on my tree. I had some old moss from Michael’s from a few years ago so I used that too. Oh and tiny pine cones from Clover Park.
Tiny white lights would be cute if I didn’t have to go shopping for them etc. etc. I have a tiny set but the battery pack is huge and I’m afraid its weight will tear the whole shebang off the wall.
Here’s what I used:
- 4 or 5 animals embellished (you don’t have to but it’s fun!)
- sequins/beads/string/felt/fabric scraps etc for embellishment
- small to large sticks. Thick enough to hold some stuff on them. I was lucky – I collected so many I didn’t have to cut any.
- thumb tacks
- hot glue gun & tons of glue sticks
- moss
- tiny seeds/pinecones etc that can be found outside
You can get anything at Michael’s that can’t be found outside.
1. I laid out the sticks on the table.
2. I held them to the wall one at a time to see how they would best lay against the wall. I picked two spots that would touch the wall and squirted a big blob of hot glue there and stuck the back of the thumbtack in the blob. Then I used a hammer to hammer the whole kit and caboodle to the wall. Sometimes the thumbtack cracked off or fell off but at least I had the placement and could just hammer the thumbtack into the wall then hot glut the stick onto the thumbtack again.
3. I made the little star out of some tiny twigs I had – I just wrapped yard around them to hold them together. Kind of like starting a God’s eye. You could also make a tiny stick star and paint it gold etc! Or make a yellow/gold god’s eye! Add glitter!!!
4. Now the fun part, add moss/seeds/shells/nuts etc. with hot glue. Finally glue your animals on. Mine are Narnia inspired.
It’s been exciting having this huge yield of lemons from my next door neighbor’s tree. I’ve been getting “Southern Living Magazine” this year thanks to my niece’s magazine drive and have stumbled upon a few yummy recipes.
Lemon curd can be used for lots of things including Lemon-Yogurt Crumb Cake, Lemon Tiramisu, Lemon Souffles, Lemon Bar Cheesecake and even Rosemary Lemon Curd Martinis which I shall try as soon as I lose this hacking cough. Wonder if I can make a Lemon Curd Nyquil Martini?
This is a really quick microwave/cheater method. I’ll tell you how to do it via stove top too though if you really can’t stand the idea of nuking your curd. Haha!! “Nuking your curd!”
INGREDIENTS:
2 TBPS lemon zest (about 4 lemons)
1 c lemon juice (about 4-6 lemons)
1/2 c butter, softened
2 c sugar
4 eggs
Beat 1/2 c butter, softened and 2 c sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add 4 eggs, one at a time. Beat until just blended each time. Add lemon juice slowly until just blended.
Now add zest & stir.
If it looks curdled, you
You’re about to microwave this so make sure it’s in a large microwave-safe bowl!
**NOTE: See bottom of post for stove-top method!**
Microwave on HIGH for 5 minutes, stirring every minute. That means just set it for 1 min, then open, stir, put back in or 1 min etc. I wrote hash tags on a little paper because I was being talked to and interrupted the whole time.
Now microwave 1 or 2 more minutes on HIGH stirring every 30 seconds. It should be thickening and sticking to the spoon.
Poor into an airtight container. Cover with plastic wrap being sure it touches the surface of the curd to keep it from getting a “skin” on top. Can be refrigerated up to 2 weeks.
A quick way to make your own lemon curd. A yummy addition to tons of foods!
Ingredients
2 TBPS lemon zest (about 4 lemons)
1 c lemon juice (about 4-6 lemons)
½ c butter, softened
2 c sugar
4 eggs
Instructions
Beat ½ c butter with 2 cups sugar until well blended.
Add 4 eggs, beating in one at a time until just blended.
Slowly add lemon juice mixing on slow until just blended.
Stir in zest. (It will look curdled – this is OK!)
If microwaving, transfer to microwavable bowl.
Microwave on HIGH for 5 minutes, stirring every minute.
Microwave 1-2 minutes more stirring every 30 seconds, until mixture thickens and clings to spoon.
If using stovetop method, cook over medium-low heat in a 4 qt saucepan.
Whisk constantly for 14-16 minutes.
Pour into air tight container. Place plastic wrap over the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
Stores for 2 weeks in refrigerator.
3.1.09
Stove top method:
Instead of microwaving, place in a 4 qt saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook for 14-16 minutes, whisking constantly. Pour into air tight container & cover with plastic wrap (directly touching surface of curd to prevent “skin” from forming.)
It ended up being just over $20 for a really beautiful & heartfelt gift. And I’m sure you can do it much more cheaply than I did…
When the baby was napping, M and I went out back. I poured silver-dollared size blobs of the five different paint colors, each on a different plate. Next to the table I had a bucket of water & an old towel for hand rinsing between colors. I only brought out ONE color at a time and let M smush her hand in it all over the plate. I put all three mattes (I planned on making 3 of these for gifts) on the table. First we did pink. I let her practice pressing her hand down on a piece of scrap paper first so she understood what we were doing. Then I had her press her hand in the pink and PRESS, PRESS, PRESS stamp all three mattes in the same spot. Very factory-like. When she was done, I moved the pink paint away, she washed her hands in the bucket & dried them with the towel. I then brought over the next color.
After they dry – the fun part. Assembly!
This is the one I made G for Father’s Day.
Photo taken by Tempting Weddings (click picture for link!)
Our friend Katarina made this for her son’s room. So cute! Stay tuned – I’ll attempt my own version with a how-to posting in the near future…(with her counsel of course.)
She got the letters from Michael’s & JoAnne’s Fabrics. Then she applied the patterns to them & stuck them to the wall with double sided tape.
While we were ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the wall, we noticed some little bags hanging on a hook. Book bags! She took The Hungry Caterpillar and made a bag of what they call “realia” (real stuff) to give her son a richer understanding of the story as well as some additional tactile and visual related stimuli. This is soooooo cool!! (And cute!) Would you buy this if it were sold on Etsy? I would!
First, you got this little caterpillar. He’s hungry. VERY hungry.
He eats through a whole lot of stuff!
And gets BIG!
Builds his cocoon and turns into a BEAUTIFUL
Butterfly!
Katarina: you rock!
Bea had nothing to do with this but she DID like this box.
